Sussex County

A Former Judge. A Father-Son Trial Firm. Fifty Years of New Jersey Practice.

Avery & Avery, Esqs. is a leading Sussex County trial firm. The firm represents clients across all 24 Sussex County municipalities from our offices in Ridgefield (Bergen County) — the same office where Robert W. Avery has practiced since 1976 and where he served fifteen years as a New Jersey Municipal Court Judge (1986–2000). Sussex County is one of our six core practice counties — Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Passaic, Morris, and Sussex.

If you have a Sussex County matter — criminal, DWI, traffic, personal injury, family, landlord-tenant, estate, or municipal court — call (201) 943-2445 for a free first consultation. Robert or John picks up when we’re in the office; voicemails returned promptly.

Sussex County at a Glance

• Seat: Newton
• 2020 Census population: 144,231
• Municipalities: 24 (operating 20 municipal courts)
• Vicinage: Morris/Sussex Vicinage (Vicinage 10)
• Superior Court: Sussex County Superior Court, Sussex County Judicial Center, 43-47 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860 — (973) 579-0680
• Surrogate: Sussex County Surrogate’s Court, Sussex County Judicial Center, 43-47 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860 — (973) 579-0920
• Trauma center: Newton Medical Center / Atlantic Health (no trauma designation; Level I via Morristown ~30 mi)
• Land area: 518.6 sq mi

Where Sussex Cases Are Heard

Sussex County Superior Court — Newton

Indictable criminal matters (first- through fourth-degree crimes), contested civil disputes over $20,000, divorces and custody disputes, chancery equity, and Special Civil Part landlord-tenant matters all sit at Sussex County Judicial Center, 43-47 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860. The Morris/Sussex Vicinage (Vicinage 10) operates separate divisions for Civil, Criminal, Family, Chancery work. General phone: (973) 579-0680.

Sussex Municipal Courts (20)

Each Sussex municipality maintains its own municipal court (with a few joint-court arrangements among smaller boroughs). First-offense DWI, Title 39 traffic offenses, disorderly-persons matters, and ordinance violations are heard in the municipal court of the municipality of the stop or incident. The highest-volume Sussex municipal courts are in Newton and the next several largest cities by population.

Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office

Indictable matters arising in Sussex County are prosecuted by the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, currently led by Daniel M. Perez. The office is at 19-21 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860, phone (973) 383-1570. The Prosecutor’s Office handles indictable felony presentations, the Sussex Vicinage’s Pretrial Intervention (PTI) program under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-12, the Megan’s Law unit, and county-wide diversion programs. Defense engagement on a third-degree-or-above Sussex charge routinely involves the Prosecutor’s pre-indictment conference and PTI screening.

Sussex County Surrogate’s Court

Uncontested probate, executor / administrator qualification, and minor guardianship for Sussex County route to the Sussex County Surrogate’s Court at Sussex County Judicial Center, 43-47 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860. Will contests and contested probate escalate to Sussex County Superior Court — Chancery Division, Probate Part.

Why Avery & Avery for Sussex County Matters

Three things distinguish our Sussex County practice:

Fifty years of continuous New Jersey trial practice. Robert W. Avery opened his Ridgefield trial practice in 1976. John S. Avery joined the firm in 2012 after admission to the NJ Bar. Across two generations, our family-run trial firm has represented North Jersey clients through every meaningful change in NJ criminal, traffic, civil, and family law.

A former New Jersey Municipal Court Judge in the room. Robert served as Judge of the Ridgefield Municipal Court from 1986 to 2000 — fifteen years on the bench. That background informs how we read prosecutorial offers, municipal-court procedure, and judge-by-judge tendencies in a way that matters when Sussex cases are routed to local judicial panels.

Statewide federal-court experience. The firm’s reported case Delvoye v. Lee, 329 F.3d 330 (3d Cir. 2003) — a Hague Convention international-custody matter — established Third Circuit precedent on “habitual residence” of an infant. Sussex County families with cross-jurisdictional issues are not foreign territory to us.

Our Sussex County Practice Areas

We handle the full Title 2C and Title 39 docket in Sussex, plus civil and family-part work:

• Sussex County DWI Defense — Alcotest 7110 + refusal defense across all 20 Sussex municipal courts
• Sussex County Criminal Defense — DP, indictable, and federal-court matters at Sussex County Superior Court
• Sussex County Traffic — Title 39 defense across the county’s road network
• Sussex County Personal Injury — Auto, premises, wrongful death; coordination with Newton Medical Center / Atlantic Health (no trauma designation; Level I via Morristown ~30 mi)
• Sussex County Family Law — Sussex Vicinage Family Part divorce, custody, support, alimony
• Sussex County Landlord-Tenant — Sussex Special Civil Part eviction and security-deposit recovery
• Sussex County Estate Planning — Sussex County Surrogate’s Court probate and inheritance-tax planning
• Sussex County Municipal Court — the cross-cutting Title 39 / DP / DWI practice

Sussex Cities We Serve

We routinely appear in the major Sussex municipalities:

• Vernon — population 22,354
• Sparta — population 19,602
• Hopatcong — population 14,362
• Wantage — population 10,818
• Newton — population 8,375

We also represent clients across the rest of Sussex County’s 24 incorporated municipalities. If your matter arose in a town not listed above, call (201) 943-2445 — local court coverage is the rule, not the exception.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do Sussex County indictable charges go?

Sussex indictable matters (third-degree and above) route to Morris/Sussex Vicinage (Vicinage 10) — Criminal Division at the Sussex County Superior Court in Newton. Pre-indictment conferences run through the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Where do Sussex divorces and custody cases go?

Sussex divorce, custody, support, and domestic-violence final restraining orders route to Morris/Sussex Vicinage (Vicinage 10) — Family Part, also at the Sussex County Superior Court.

Where are Sussex traffic tickets heard?

In the municipal court of the municipality of the stop. Sussex County operates 20 municipal courts. The Superior Court hears appeals from municipal-court convictions on the trial-de-novo standard.

Who is the current Sussex County Prosecutor?

Daniel M. Perez. The Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office is at 19-21 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860, phone (973) 383-1570. For confirmation, the office’s website is the canonical reference at engagement time.

Schedule a Free Sussex County Consultation

For a free first consultation on a Sussex County matter, call (201) 943-2445 or submit through the form. Same-business-day response. After hours, leave a voicemail; calls returned promptly the next morning.

For background on the firm, see About, Robert W. Avery’s bio, and John S. Avery’s bio.