Bergen County Criminal Defense Lawyers

When the State files an indictable criminal complaint in Bergen County, the matter routes to the Bergen County Justice Center at 10 Main Street, Hackensack, into the calendars of Bergen Vicinage 2 — Criminal Division. Avery & Avery, Esqs. has practiced before that calendar for fifty years. Robert W. Avery brings 1976-onwards Bergen criminal trial experience and a fifteen-year tenure as Judge of the Ridgefield Municipal Court (1986-2000). John S. Avery anchors the firm’s modern constitutional-defense / search-and-seizure-forward practice. Together we cover the full Bergen criminal docket: DP and PDP charges in any of Bergen’s seventy municipal courts, and indictable matters at the Justice Center.

If you have been arrested or charged in Bergen County, call (201) 943-2445 for a free first consultation.

Where Bergen Criminal Cases Are Heard

Bergen County Superior Court — Justice Center, Hackensack

The Bergen County Justice Center, 10 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601 ((201) 221-0700) houses Bergen Vicinage 2’s Criminal Division. Indictable charges (first-, second-, third-, fourth-degree) sit here: drug distribution under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5, weapons offenses under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4, aggravated assault under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1, robbery under N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1, theft and fraud, and the full Title 2C indictable docket.

Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office at 2 Bergen County Plaza, Hackensack is the State’s Bergen-side prosecuting authority for indictable matters. Pretrial Intervention (PTI) under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-12 applications are evaluated here for first-offender indictable matters.

Bergen Municipal Courts (~70)

Each Bergen municipality maintains its own municipal court for DP, PDP, traffic, and DWI matters. We appear in all of them, including:

• Central Municipal Court of Bergen County — consolidated and rotating dockets in Hackensack
• Hackensack Municipal Court (215 State Street)
• Ridgefield Municipal Court (604 Broad Avenue) — the firm’s home court
• Fort Lee, Paramus, Englewood, Teaneck, Bergenfield, Ridgewood, Fair Lawn, Mahwah, Garfield, and the rest of the seventy

NJ Criminal Charge Grading

Bergen criminal exposure follows the standard NJ Title 2C grading framework:

Sentencing is governed by N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6 for crimes and N.J.S.A. 2C:43-8 for disorderly persons offenses.

Our Bergen Criminal Practice

We handle the full Title 2C docket in Bergen:

• Drug possession under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10 — Schedule I/II third-degree, post-decriminalization marijuana ancillary charges, Conditional Discharge under N.J.S.A. 2C:36A-1
• Drug distribution under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5 — third- and second-degree exposure; school-zone enhancements under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7
• Weapons offenses under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4 — Graves Act mandatory minimums under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c), permit-to-carry matters
• Assault under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1 — DP simple assault through third-degree aggravated assault
• Domestic violence with restraining-order overlay under N.J.S.A. 2C:25-17 et seq.
• Theft and fraud under N.J.S.A. 2C:20 and N.J.S.A. 2C:21
• Juvenile delinquency in Bergen Family Part
• White-collar including identity theft and computer crimes

Constitutional Defense at the Bergen Justice Center

Modern criminal defense begins with the constitutional question: was the stop lawful, the search lawful, the arrest lawful, the custodial interrogation properly Mirandized? John S. Avery leads the firm’s suppression-motion practice, drawing on:

• Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) — reasonable suspicion as threshold for the investigative stop
• State v. Locurto, 157 N.J. 463 (1999) — NJ probable-cause framework
• The Fourth Amendment + Article I, Paragraph 7 of the NJ Constitution
• Mapp and Wong Sun derivative-evidence analysis

Suppression motions filed at the Bergen Justice Center are heard by Bergen Vicinage 2 Criminal Division judges. A successful suppression disposition can dispose of the case without trial — the State cannot try evidence the court has suppressed.

Diversion at the Bergen Prosecutor’s Office

For first-time offenders charged with non-violent indictable matters, Bergen County’s PTI program is the standard diversion path. PTI applications are evaluated by the County Prosecutor’s office; eligible applicants serve typically a year of supervised conditions ending in dismissal of the indictment. We routinely structure PTI applications on third- and fourth-degree drug, fraud, and theft matters where the defendant’s prior record and the victim circumstances support the program.

For DP-grade drug possession matters, Conditional Discharge under N.J.S.A. 2C:36A-1 offers a parallel municipal-court diversion path.

Schedule a Free Consultation

For a free first consultation, call (201) 943-2445 — same-evening callbacks for arrests are routine. For background on our criminal defense team, see John S. Avery’s bio and Robert W. Avery’s bio.

For deeper background, see our criminal defense practice page.