In the past year Chief Jonathan Parham has dealt with the apprehension of a terror suspect and the loss of one of his police officers. Now after 25 years of service he will retire from the force. Suzanne Russell | Wochit


After our review of legal terms, we will revisit some of the other basic concepts that make up our legal system. We will look at our judicial system and how civil and criminal cases work their way through that system. Finally, we will consider some alternatives to litigation.

During this somewhat lengthy review, we will likely take a break or two to consider actions by the United States Supreme Court and if there are major legal issues in the news that warrant a discussion.

The year 1948 was a very important one in the history of the New Jersey judicial system. It was in that year that our current constitution was put in place, containing the structure of our court system — one of the three branches of our state government, along with the legislative and executive.

While there have been some modifications in the decades since then, the general arrangement has not changed much.

Prior to 1948, our courts more closely resembled those in place at the time of the American Revolution than our modern system. In fact, the previous constitution was enacted in 1844 and that one only slightly changed the court system that was created in the 1776 constitution, the year of the Declaration of Independence.

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Under our current organization, the structure looks something like a pyramid, with the court hearing the fewest cases, the Supreme Court, on the top, and the Superior Court, with Law and Chancery Divisions, dealing with the bulk of judicial matters, on the bottom. In the middle sits the Superior Court, Appellate Division.

The role and function of each of these courts, and a few specialized ones, will form the bulk of our discussion for the next few columns.

When most people talk about going to court, they usually envision one of the courtrooms handling matters in the Law or Chancery Divisions of the Superior Court. These are the courts where most cases begin and trials held.

The distinction between law and chancery (sometimes called equity) dates back 1,000 years to the King’s Court in England. The differences have gradually faded, especially under the 1948 constitution, but the Chancery Division still exists and typically hears cases arising out of marriage and others where the main relief sought is other than money, such as an injunction ordering someone to do, or not do, something.

The Law Division is the workhorse of the New Jersey court system, hearing criminal cases and those civil matters where one party is seeking money damages from another. More than one million are commenced in the Superior Court each year with the vast majority being resolved short of trial. There are more than 350 trial judges assigned to the 21 county branches of the Superior Court, with more than 25 in busy Middlesex County.

In a future column we will look at the typical path that a case takes from start to finish though the court system.


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