There are 21 counties in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Superior Court subsumed and replaced the New Jersey County Courts, which were abolished in 1978. The Superior Court has 15 vicinages (jurisdictional districts or circuits), some encompassing two or three counties, each of which has its own courthouse or courthouses. Frequently the county courthouse is home to the appropriate vicinage of the Superior Court. Some counties have different facilities for different divisions, such as the criminal, civil, family, and finance courts. In some counties there are other buildings which house court facilities where proceedings take place, some of which are historic county courthouse or administration buildings, which may also serve as offices for county, state or federal agencies.
Many court buildings have been evaluated by the state historic preservation office (SHPO) and have been listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places (NJRHP) and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), either individually or as contributing properties (CP) to historic districts. Several have been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). Three courthouses (at Salem, Sussex, and Burlington) dating from the 18th century that are among the oldest courthouses in the United States still in active use.
The Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton, the state capital, is home the administrative headquarters of the statewide court system of the Judiciary of New Jersey, including the New Jersey Supreme Court and the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court.
The below lists include buildings in active use as well as extant historic buildings that have served county courthouses.
Courthouses
County,Courthouse,LocationImageMapBuilt,ArchitectSHPONJRHP (SR)NRHP (NR)HABSNotesReferences Atlantic,Atlantic County Criminal Courts Complex,Mays Landing,Hamilton Township 1978 Atlantic,Atlantic County Civil Courts Complex,Atlantic City Bergen,Bergen County Court House,Hackensack 1910–12,James Riely Gordon SR: 520 (1982)NR: 83001468 (1983) Burlington,Burlington County Courthouse,Mount Holly 1796,Michael Rush CP: Mount Holly Historic DistrictSR: 842 (1972)NR: 73001084 (1973)HABS NJ-27 Camden,Camden County Hall of Justice,Camden 1982 Cape May,Cape May County Courthouse,Cape May Court House,Middle Township 1927,Edwards & Green Cumberland,Cumberland County Courthouse,Bridgeton 1909,Watson & Huckel CP: Bridgeton Historic DistrictSR: 1020 (1982)NR: 82001043 (1982) Essex,Essex County Courthouse,Newark 1905,Cass Gilbert,Piccirilli Brothers SR: 1246 (1975)NR: 75001135 (1975) Family Court located in Gibraltar Building Gloucester,Gloucester County Courthouse,Woodbury 1885,Hazelhurst and Huckel CP: Broad Street Historic DistrictSR: 1429 (1988) Also a Gloucester County Family Court building Hudson,Hudson County Courthouse,Jersey City 1910,Hugh Roberts SR: 1510 (1970)NR: 70000385 (1970)HABS NJ-841 Hudson,Hudson County Administration Building,Jersey City 1953, 1964 Hunterdon,Hunterdon County Courthouse,Flemington 1996 Mercer,Mercer County Criminal Courthouse,Trenton 2013 Mercer,Mercer County Civil Courthouse,Trenton Middlesex,Middlesex County Courthouse,Civic Square,New Brunswick 1959 Also a Middlesex County Family Courthouse (see table below) Monmouth,Monmouth County Courthouse,Freehold 1954,James W. Mancusa Morris,Morris County Courthouse,Morristown 1827,Lewis Carter,Joseph M. Lindsley SR: 2190NR: 77000898 Ocean,Ocean County Courthouse,Toms River 1851 SR:NR: 83001610 Passaic,Passaic County Court House,Paterson 1904 Salem,Salem County Court House,Salem 1969 Somerset,Somerset County Courthouse,Somerville 1907–09 SR: 2582NR: 89001216 Sussex,Sussex County Judicial Center,Newton 1992 Union,Union County Courthouse,Elizabeth 1925–31,Albert Randolph Ross SR: 2665 (1994)NR: 950001143 (1995) Warren,Warren County Courthouse,Belvidere 1826,L. H. Lewis CP: Belvidere Historic DistrictSR: 2747 (1978)NR: 80002525 (1981)
Historic buildings, annexes, additional and alternative courthouses County,Courthouse,LocationImageMapBuilt,ArchitectSHPONJRHP (SR)NRHP (NR)HABSNotesReferences Atlantic,Atlantic County Courthouse,Mays Landing,Hamilton Township 1838, 1916, 1978 CP: Mays Landing Historic DistrictSR: 338 (1990)NR: 90001245 (1990) Office of County Clerk Cape May,Old Cape May County Courthouse,Cape May Court House,Middle Township 1848 SR: 1006 (1981)NR: 81000389 (1981)HABS NJ-1112 Hunterdon,Old Hunterdon County Courthouse,Flemington 1828,Springer CP: Flemington Historic DistrictSHPO: 79 (1977)SR: 1587 (1980)NR: 80002493 (1980)HABS NJ-771 Mercer,Mercer County Courthouse,Trenton 1900–02,William Slack Mercer County Prosecutors Office Middlesex,Middlesex County Family Courthouse,Civic Square,New Brunswick 2000 Passaic,Old Passaic County Court House,Paterson 1902,Fred Wesley Wentworth (supervising architect)CP: Passaic County Court House and United States Custom House & Post Office Historic District SR: 5441 (2015)NR: 15000443 (2015) Passaic,Passaic County Court House Annex,Paterson 1899,Fred Wesley Wentworth Salem,Old Salem County Courthouse,Salem 1735, 1818 CP: Market Street Historic DistrictSR: 2449NR: 75001157 2nd oldest U.S. courthouse in continual use Sussex,Sussex County Courthouse,Newton 1765 original1847 rebuilt CP: Newton Town Plot Historic DistrictSR: 2618 (1979)NR: 79001523 (1979) Sussex County Judicial Center
See also
List of counties in New Jersey Courts of New Jersey Judiciary of New Jersey List of United States federal courthouses in New Jersey List of the oldest courthouses in the United States List of courthouses in the United States Vicinage Clause
Sources
References
External links Wiktionary: Vicinage