Middlesex County, New Jersey Court Records

Middlesex County Court Records

Legal proceedings in Middlesex County's Municipal and Superior Courts produce numerous documents and other materials that comprise the county's court records.

Middlesex County court records are preserved to provide detailed and accurate accounts of judicial proceedings to members of the public, attorneys, and the courts. Considered a part of Middlesex County Public Records, these documents are public information disclosed to the public unless otherwise determined by a court.

N.J.S.2B:3-2 empowers each court's clerk to serve as the custodian of its records. However, most case records are transferred to the custody of the Superior Court Clerk's Office once the cases are concluded.

Are Court Records Public in Middlesex County?

Yes, Middlesex County court records are available to the public with specific exceptions. The New Jersey Public Records Act authorizes the state's Supreme Court (in C.47:1A-12) to create and implement rules it considers necessary to achieve the objectives of the Act while regulating access to court records.

Records declared confidential by court rules and state or federal law are not publicly available. Examples include records of trade secrets, sexual abuse cases, probation cases, and juvenile court proceedings. Certain confidential cases, e.g., divorce cases, can only be accessed by the parties involved.

Court Rule 1:38 lists other restricted court documents and establishes the procedures for sealing and unsealing records.

What Do Middlesex County Court Records Contain?

Middlesex Court records contain information about cases filed in the county's courts, such as:

Case details (filing/hearing dates, case description, hearing locations, attorneys, party names)
Docket entries
Exhibits from trials
Pleadings
Transcripts
Witness statements
Motions
Orders
Judgments

Where to Conduct a Middlesex County Case Lookup

Individuals who want to find court records in person in Middlesex County or via other means have the following options:

Search for case details on the New Jersey Judiciary's website.
Utilize the New Jersey Electronic Access Program.
Visit the Superior Court Clerk's Office or the division maintaining the record.
Submit a records request form to the clerk's office.

How to Conduct a Middlesex County Case Records Search

There are different ways to search for Middlesex case records, and the search option an individual chooses depends on their objective.

Case Search Portals on the New Jersey Judiciary's Website

The NJ Judiciary has several free online applications that provide details about court cases filed or heard in Middlesex County. These resources primarily provide unofficial case records. However, users can obtain important information about cases, which they can use to request official court records.

The Civil Case Jacket Public Access System: This system displays information on General Equity, Civil Part, Special Civil Part, and Tax cases. Individuals can search the database by docket number or party name. Results include:
Case caption (includes the names of parties to the case)
Case type
Court (division)
Case venue
Case status
Judge
Docket entries (with text descriptions)
Filing, discovery, arbitration, trial, and disposition dates
Descriptions, date, status, and time of case proceedings
Filing fees

Users can also download some files generated in a court case from this portal. However, they can only use such records for informational purposes.

The PROMIS/Gavel Case Management System (criminal convictions): This resource provides information on criminal cases that reached conviction or sentencing. Even so, not all cases can be found on the database, as availability depends on when each county started using the system.

Individuals can search for cases on PROMIS by defendant name, indictment/accusation number, or CDR (Criminal Disposition Report) number.

The search results include details about a defendant's conviction alongside their name, date of birth, alias, and reason for conviction.

The Criminal Judgments Public Access Database: This database contains judgments related to criminal cases, including:
Judgments of Conviction and Orders of Commitment
Judgments of Conviction
Change of Judgments of Conviction and Orders of Commitment
Change of Judgments of Conviction
Judgments of Acquittal and Dismissal

Individuals can search by defendant name, indictment/accusation number, PROMIS case/defendant number, State Identification (SBI) number, or CDR number. Search results include the type of criminal judgment, the defendant's full name, the county of conviction, the judge's name, dates, and case-related numbers. The searcher can click on any result to download the judgment.

Note: Recent judgments may not be available on the database, and information currently on the system may be removed, given the status of a case. Additionally, the Criminal Judgements database only contains judgment records entered on and after June 30, 2017. Interested individuals can find prior records in the Middlesex Criminal Records Room.

The Judgment Records Search (judgment liens): A judgment lien is a legal device that creditors use to collect what is owed them. By accessing the Judgment Records Search platform with a name, judgment number, or docket number, members of the public can find liens resulting from court judgments in Middlesex County.

Search results include the name of a case party and their role, the judgment number, judgment status, case title, filing location, and judgment file date.

Selecting the judgment number brings up more details about a case, showing information such as the creditor's name, the amount owed, the attorney fee, and the judgment amount.

The Tax Court Case Search Database: Interested individuals use this system to look up tax cases handled by the Middlesex Board of Taxation and filed with the NJ Tax Court.

They can search cases by docket number, party name, or Block/Lot. The search results contain the case initiation date, docket number, case caption, and party name. Clicking on a docket number provides additional details like:

Judge
Case filings
Docket entries (with text descriptions)
Attorney name, Bar ID, and email address
Case proceedings descriptions, date, status, and timelines

Searchers can also download and print some case files.

Municipal Court Case Search: Individuals can use this database to search for cases heard in the Middlesex Municipal Courts. They can search by ticket, license, or complaint number. They can also provide a name (first and last names required) to initiate a search. Search results include court names, case numbers, offense codes, offense descriptions, case and warrant status, and dates. Searchers can select a case and click View Summary to find additional details.
Track Appeals (supreme court cases): Members of the public can use this free tool to search for Middlesex County court cases appealed to the Supreme Court of New Jersey. The page lists the appeals from newest to oldest by default. However, users can add filters to find specific court cases.

The New Jersey Electronic Access Program (NJEAP)

This is a subscription program administered by the New Jersey Superior Court Clerk. Subscribers can access case records through different judiciary case management systems for $4 per minute. These case management systems include:

Automated Traffic System (ATS)
Family Automated Case Tracking System (FACTS)
Civil Judgment and Order Docket
PROMIS/Gavel
Automated Case Management System (ACMS)

Users can view the case information by judgment number, docket number, or party name, including:

Orders
Documents filed in the case
Motioned dispositions
Scheduled proceedings

A Judiciary Account Charge System (JACS) account is required for subscription.

Submitting a Records Request Form

Individuals who want to obtain official copies of court documents can follow these steps:

Download a request form from the NJ Courts Website.
Fill it out by providing information such as the court location, county, and case number.
Submit the form through the Judiciary Electronic Documents Submission System (JEDS) or send it to txctrecords.mailbox@njcourts.gov (for tax records). Members of the public can also send their request to the following mailing address if they do not have access to a computer:

Attention: Customer Access

Superior Court Clerk's Office
Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex
P.O. Box 971
Trenton, NJ 08625-0971

Pay the required fees (fees are listed on the form).

The Superior Court Clerk's Office is the processing location for the following cases:

Open foreclosure and statewide judgment liens cases
Closed special civil part, family (excluding divorce), divorce (until archived), criminal, and civil (including general equity prior to archiving) cases.
Archived records from civil, divorce, foreclosure, and general equity cases
Archived satisfaction of statewide judgment liens and judgment liens records

The county superior court handling a case (in this case, the Middlesex Superior Court) is the processing location for records from open cases in the Civil (including General Equity), Family, Criminal, and Special Civil Part Divisions.

Interested parties can find more information, including a blank request form, on the Copies of Court Records page.

Visiting the Superior Court Clerk's Office or the Division Maintaining the Record

Members of the public can visit the Superior Court Clerk's Office or the county superior court division where a case was filed to search for or purchase Middlesex County court records. The office one visits depends on the sought-after records.

Middlesex County Civil Court Case Records

Civil case records in Middlesex County are produced during lawsuits involving two or more disputing parties. Civil cases are typically heard in different divisions of the county's superior court.

Members of the public can obtain records of some open cases from the Middlesex Superior Court division handling the case. However, most closed cases are maintained by the state's Superior Court Clerk's Office.

Middlesex County Criminal Court Case Records

Middlesex County criminal case records are created from proceedings initiated to determine the culpability of individuals accused of violating New Jersey law. The county's superior court criminal and municipal divisions hear these cases and maintain associated records.

Records of ongoing criminal cases are typically held in the superior court divisions handling the cases, whereas records of closed classes are transferred to the NJ Superior Court Clerk's Office.

How to Get Court Records Online for Free

The New Jersey Judiciary provides free access to Middlesex County court records through several online case management systems. These resources provide public access to the county's municipal, tax, and superior court cases. However, people looking to obtain official copies of court records must pay a fee to the division holding the record or the NJ Superior Court Clerk's Office.

Courts in Middlesex County, New Jersey

Although Middlesex County has one superior court, the court has different divisions that resolve legal matters for the community. The court is located at the following addresses:

Middlesex County Courthouse
56 Paterson Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0964
Phone: (732) 645-4300

Middlesex County Family Courthouse
120 New Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08903
Phone: (732) 645-4300

Individuals can find the contact information for the divisions within the Middlesex County Superior Court on the Middlesex Court Offices/Divisions page.