Municipal Court

Violations Bureau Hours

Monday – Friday 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

1621 Long Beach Boulevard

Ship Bottom, NJ 08008

Phone: 609-494-2171 Ext. 118 or Ext. 124

Fax: 609-848-9229

Judge: Daniel F. Sahin, JMC

Court Administrator: Karen M. Garcia, CMCA

Municipal Prosecutor: Bonnie R. Peterson, Esq.

Public Defender: Debra H. Rumpf, Esq.

NOTICE

Due to construction, when coming either to the court’s violation bureau window to pay a ticket or discuss your matter or to court for an in-person hearing, it is strongly suggested that you park on the street. You may enter the municipal building either through the front entrance which is located on the Long Beach Boulevard (closest to 17th Street) or through the rear entrance which is nearest to Central Avenue (between 16th and 17th Street). Finally, post-pandemic safety protocols (e.g., the wearing of face coverings and social distancing) remain optional.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING COURT PROCEEDINGS

How to Be Scheduled for a Court Session:

If Your Matter Requires a Mandatory Court Appearance
• If your matter requires a mandatory court appearance, you MUST contact the court by telephone or by emailing municipalcourt@shipbottom.org to provide your name, case/complaint # (if you know it), telephone number, and email address.
• Notice to Attorneys – You may request a court date for your client by contacting the court directly with your client’s and your office’s information.
• If your matter is scheduled for a court session, please allow a minimum of one and a half hours for your hearing.

If Your Matter Does NOT Require a Court Appearance

• If you received a traffic or non-traffic summons that does not require a court appearance and you wish to enter a plea of guilty to the violation and pay the fine you may do so. Simply mail the summons with a check or money order made payable to “Ship Bottom Municipal Court” to the court. If you do not know the amount of your fine, please call the court for assistance. You may also pay online or pay in-person. To pay online go to www.njmcdirect.com to process your payment with a credit or debit card. To pay in-person, you may simply come to the Court’s Violation Bureau window. The Court accepts the following forms of payment: cash, checks, money orders, credit or debit cards. Please note, the Court does not accept American Express for payment.

• If you wish to plead NOT GUILTY you MUST contact the court to be scheduled for a court hearing. You may contact the court by telephone or by emailing municipalcourt@shipbottom.org to request that your matter be scheduled for court. Please provide the court with your name, case/complaint #(s) (if you know it), phone number, and email address.
• Please allow a minimum of one and a half hours for your court hearing.

IF YOU ARE SCHEDULED FOR IN-PERSON COURT PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS

INSTRUCTIONS FOR IN-PERSON COURT APPEARANCE

IF YOU ARE SCHEDULED FOR VIRTUAL COURT PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS

INSTRUCTIONS FOR VIRTUAL COURT APPEARANCE

SHIP BOTTOM 2023 COURT SESSIONS ARE HELD AT 1:00 PM

Please Note: The regular court session falls on the second Monday of each month at 1:00 pm. A second Monday at 1:00 pm has been added for the months of July, August and September to accommodate the busier summer months. In addition, February and November’s court dates have been moved from the second to the fourth Monday to accommodate scheduling conflicts. Finally, since the second Monday in October falls on a holiday (i.e., Columbus Day) an alternative Monday has been selected. The scheduled court dates for this year are as follows: