New Jersey Supreme Court Dismisses Minor Municipal Court Warrants

If you have an outstanding arrest warrant for a municipal court case issued before 2003,
your case may have been dismissed.

Search dismissed cases here.

Q. Was my case dismissed?

Your case might be dismissed if:

  1. Your case is open, you failed to appear in court, and an arrest warrant was issued before Jan. 1, 2003;
  2. The arrest warrant was still in effect as of Jan. 17, 2019;
  3. Your case did not involve and is not related to any cases on the excluded charges list.

Q. I did not find my case. What does that mean?

Your case might involve a charge listed on the excluded charges list, or it might have been filed after Jan. 1, 2003. If you did not find your cases listed on the dismissed cases list, your case is still outstanding and you should contact the municipal court where your case was filed to resolve your case. Find municipal court contact information.


Q. Now that my case is dismissed, is the arrest warrant for failure to appear also withdrawn?

Yes. There is no more warrant for your arrest for failure to appear.


Q. How do I find out if I have other outstanding municipal court matters?

You can search for your outstanding municipal court cases on the municipal court ticket payment system, NJMCDirect.


Q. Why did the Supreme Court dismiss those cases?

The Court’s order addresses less serious municipal cases that were unlikely to be adjudicated after sitting unresolved for more than 15 years. Read the press release, the court order, and the report to learn more.


Charges NOT included in the order:

  1. Indictable charges
  2. Disorderly persons charges
  3. Petty disorderly persons charges
  4. The following motor vehicle charges:
    • N.J.S.A. 39:3-10 Driving without a license
    • N.J.S.A. 39:3-10.13 Operating a commercial vehicle while intoxicated
    • N.J.S.A. 39:3-10.24 Refusal to submit to a breath test while operating a commercial vehicle
    • N.J.S.A. 39:3-10.18(b) Operating a commercial vehicle while commercial license suspended or revoked
    • N.J.S.A. 39:3-40 Driving while license suspended or revoked
    • N.J.S.A. 39:4-49.1 Drugs in a motor vehicle
    • N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 Driving while intoxicated
    • N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a Refusal to submit to a chemical test
    • N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.14 Underage driving while intoxicated
    • N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.19 Failure to install an interlock device
    • N.J.S.A. 39:4-96 Reckless driving
    • N.J.S.A. 39:4-98 Speeding (only those complaints in which the speed was alleged to be in excess of 35 mph over the posted speed limit
    • N.J.S.A. 39:4-128.1 Passing a stopped school bus
    • N.J.S.A. 39:4-129(a), (b) Leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury or property damage
    • N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2 Driving without insurance
    • N.J.S.A. 12:7-46 Boating while intoxicated

    Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark

Criminal Civil Lawyer

Jeffrey Hark is a New Jersey Civil and Criminal Lawyer.

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