Virtual Municipal Court: How Our Law Offices Handle it Differently

Since the pandemic many courts have decided to go virtual in New Jersey. It seems as if the virtual courts are here to stay at the municipal level. Many people go to municipal court without a lawyer and they don’t have a positive experience. They may have to appear multiple times to properly resolve the case. Our offices handle virtual municipal courts differently than other law firms. One strategy is to make sure that the prosecutor has whatever defenses we believe beforehand by directly contacting them before the court appearance. The following article will detail some of our methods that our law offices use to successfully represent a client when they are charged with a crime, DWI or traffic tickets in virtual municipal court.

If you have experienced virtual municipal court you know that many lawyers do not introduce themselves to the administrator handling the case. Our offices always make sure we introduce ourselves to the administrator and indicate to the court who we are representing and then we will proceed to speak with the prosecutor. The next step is our law office will join a separate room and speak with the prosecutor. If it is a more complicated matter, we have already filed motions by email or provided the prosecutor with defenses in order to benefit our client. Since we have been appearing in virtual municipal court for many years, we have all the prosecutors and administrators’ direct emails and are very proactive in our cases.

Another strategy for handling cases in virtual municipal court is that we advise our clients to label their device with their name and to indicate that they are represented by an attorney. Also, we suggest that you dress as if you were present in the court and always make sure that your mute button is pressed when your matter is not being heard. We also suggest that you stay stationery and you do not move your device while you are in court. If somebody cannot handle the virtual municipal court in their home or work, we will have our clients in our office and we can both be on the Zoom at the same time. At times it is more complicated. For example, when a translator is needed. We suggest coming to our law office is a better option and makes for a smoother process. This also helps people who are not tech savvy in regards to Zoom and makes them feel more comfortable if their lawyer is right next to them. We are able to advise them of the plea and the results of what the plea will entail.



Our offices take these cases very seriously and are still able to use our people skills and our legal knowledge to obtain the best results for our clients. Even though you are in virtual court, the same penalties apply and you can possibly lose your license, the results of a plea can affect your immigration status and there is a possibility of jail time in certain cases. We suggest that you hire a criminal defense lawyer that understands the process and will obtain the best results possible for your situation. If you feel that when you have been in virtual municipal court and the court staff are not acknowledging you or experiencing technical difficulties, feel free to reach out to our office for proper representation in your legal matter.