With a population of 643,615, as of the 2020 census, Monmouth County is the fifth most populous county in New Jersey. Freehold Borough is the county seat, while Middletown Township and Howell Township are the county's most populated and largest municipalities, respectively. Monmouth County was founded in 1683 and has a land area of 468.18 square miles.
Courts in Monmouth County
The Monmouth County Superior Court is the preeminent court in the county. It is the county’s trial court of general jurisdiction with different divisions handling varying cases. The Criminal Division hears felony and misdemeanor cases. The Civil Division handles civil disputes involving monetary compensation. The General Equity Division hears civil cases without monetary damages, such as trade secrets, labor matters, and foreclosures. The Family Division hears all domestic matters, including juvenile matters. The Probate Division deals with contested probate matters.
Monmouth County Surrogate’s Court handles uncontested probate matters. The court can only handle wills, estates, and trusts that have no disputes in their execution. Contested probate matters are handled by the Superior Court. The Surrogate Court also deals with adoptions and oversees the assets of minors. There are four Surrogate Courts in Neptune City, Wall Township, Oakhurst, and Freehold.
Finally, there are 52 municipal courts in the County. The Municipal courts hear traffic offenses, municipal ordinance violations, and small claims cases within their municipalities.
Where to Find Public Court Records in Monmouth County
The Clerk of the Superior Court is responsible for court records in Monmouth County. The Clerk’s office indexes, sorts, maintains, and stores these records in compliance with county and state laws. Members of the public can search for Monmouth County public criminal court records on the New Jersey Courts Public Access portal. Persons interested in finding civil records can use the New Jersey Courts Civil Case Public Access portal after registering to use the portal. Public court records of municipal courts can be found on the New Jersey Courts Municipal Court Case Search portal. Alternatively, individuals can visit the courts to inspect or request copies of public court records in those courts.
Types of Public Court Records in Monmouth County
The following are the types of court records available to the public in Monmouth County unless sealed by orders of the court:
- Civil Case Records: includes small claims, personal injury cases, and breaches of contract
- Criminal Case Records: includes court proceedings for misdemeanors, traffic offenses, and felonies
- Probate Case Records: includes documentation for appointments of guardianships, admission of wills, administration of trusts and estate
- Family Case Records: includes annulment, custody, and adoption cases
Confidential Court Records
Confidential court records in Monmouth County are court records sealed by default under Florida laws or by court orders. Court records typically exempted from public access in Monmouth County include the following:
- Juvenile records
- Adoption records
- Identifying information about jurors
- Mental health records
- Divorce records
- Substance abuse treatment records
- HIV/AIDS test results and treatment records
- Records related to victims of sexual assault
- Unexecuted warrants and summons
- Expunged records
- Records of victims of domestic violence
- Certain criminal offenses after ten years
- Municipal ordinance violations after two years
- Disorderly person offenses after 5 years
- Cases resulting in dismissal or acquittal
Parts or all of a Monmouth County court record may be sealed if it contains sensitive information, such as:
- Personally identifiable information, including social security number, driver’s license number, insurance policy number, and active plate number
- Financial information
- Psychological evaluation report
Juvenile Delinquency in Monmouth, NJ
Unfortunately, in many areas of the Monmouth County, juvenile delinquency issues are on the rise. There are many reasons for the rise in youth offenders. The juvenile sentence in New Jersey often depends on the severity of the crime, the number of crimes, and other family matters.
In 2017, a total of 1487 juvenile cases were reported for every 100,000 people age 10 to adulthood in the jurisdiction of Monmouth County. Of that total, 88% of those proceedings were delinquencies which equaled 1306 court cases. Another 0% were dependency cases that accounted for 0 of the juvenile cases.
A lot of counties, including, Monmouth County, are focusing on family therapy and relationships rather than punishment for juvenile crimes. Future Monmouth County juvenile delinquency numbers will show whether or not this approach is working.
| Juvenile Cases | Number of cases |
|---|---|
| Delinquency | 5,800 |
| Dependency | 0 |
| Status | 1,836 |
Government of Monmouth County, NJ
| County Seat: | Freehold |
| Government Type: | County |
| Authority: | Dillon's Rule |
| Year Organized: | 1683 |
| Total Square Miles: | 665 |
| 2019 Population: | 626,351 |
| Persons/Square Mile: | 0.00 |
| County Contact: | 1 E Main St
Hall Of Records Freehold , NJ 07728-2273 https://www.visitmonmouth.com/ |