Serving Jersey City, Hudson County & all of New Jersey · Free Consultations · Se Habla Español
Serving Jersey City, Hudson County & all of New Jersey · Free Consultations · Se Habla Español
A Jersey City criminal defense attorney defends charges filed by the Jersey City Police Department or Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. Disorderly persons offenses, DWI and traffic matters are heard at Jersey City Municipal Court; indictable crimes go to Hudson County Superior Court. Ibrahim & Ibrahim Law Firm, at 910 Bergen Avenue, appears in both courts daily.
New Jersey does not use the words felony and misdemeanor. Offenses are either indictable crimes (first through fourth degree) or disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses. That distinction decides everything about a Jersey City case: which courthouse, which prosecutor, whether a grand jury is involved, and whether state prison is on the table. Disorderly persons matters, along with every DWI and traffic charge, stay at Jersey City Municipal Court, the busiest municipal court in the state. Indictable charges are screened by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and prosecuted at the Superior Court on Newark Avenue.
Jersey City police make more arrests than any department in Hudson County, across four districts covering Downtown, Journal Square, the Heights, Greenville and the West Side. Most of those arrests begin with a stop, a search or a statement, and most of the cases we win are won there: a stop without reasonable suspicion, a search without consent or a warrant, a statement taken without proper Miranda warnings. New Jersey’s constitution protects you more than the federal one does, and Hudson County judges enforce it when the motion is made properly.
Simple assault in municipal court; aggravated assault in Superior Court
Possession of CDS, distribution, marijuana, heroin and fentanyl
Breath test, refusal and drug DWI cases at 365 Summit Ave
The criminal charge and the restraining order, defended together
From Newport Mall shoplifting to first-degree robbery
Unlawful possession, Graves Act mandatory minimums
Points, driving while suspended, eluding
The charges that follow a bad night out
Megan's Law and parole supervision for life exposure
First-degree defense with investigators and experts
State and federal prosecutions of financial crimes
Family Part delinquency cases for minors
Clearing a Hudson County record under the 2019 clean-slate law
Everything heard at 365 Summit Avenue
Also defended: possession of CDS (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10), burglary, harassment, speeding tickets and driver’s license suspension. We also handle legal name changes in Hudson County.
We defend clients from every part of the city — Journal Square, Downtown, Paulus Hook, Newport, the Heights, McGinley Square, Marion, Greenville, the West Side, Bergen-Lafayette and Communipaw. Wherever the arrest happened, a Jersey City case follows the same path: most complaints are filed by the Jersey City Police Department, disorderly persons, DWI and traffic matters are heard at Jersey City Municipal Court (365 Summit Avenue), and indictable charges move to Hudson County Superior Court. Our office at 910 Bergen Avenue is in Journal Square, two blocks from the municipal court, so we can usually meet the same day. Charged in a neighboring town? See our Bayonne and Hudson County criminal defense pages.
| Grade | Examples | Maximum exposure | Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petty disorderly persons | Disorderly conduct, harassment | 30 days jail, $500 fine | Jersey City Municipal |
| Disorderly persons | Simple assault, shoplifting under $200, paraphernalia | 6 months jail, $1,000 fine | Jersey City Municipal |
| Fourth degree | Some thefts, criminal mischief, certain weapons | 18 months prison, $10,000 fine | Superior Court |
| Third degree | Possession of CDS, burglary, aggravated assault | 3–5 years prison, $15,000 fine | Superior Court |
| Second degree | Robbery, distribution over 1/2 oz, unlawful handgun | 5–10 years prison, $150,000 fine | Superior Court |
| First degree | Murder, armed robbery, aggravated sexual assault | 10–20 years to life, $200,000 fine | Superior Court |
Criminal defense in Jersey City is local knowledge: which municipal prosecutor will amend a simple assault to a city ordinance, what the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office screening unit needs to see before downgrading an indictable charge, which judges grant PTI over a prosecutor’s objection, and how the detention hearing calendar actually runs. Our office at 910 Bergen Avenue is two blocks from the Lewis S. McRae Justice Complex and a short walk from the Brennan Courthouse. We are in those buildings most days of the week.
Ihab Ibrahim built this firm in Jersey City and has defended criminal cases in Hudson County for more than a decade. Clients work with him directly, and the office speaks Arabic, Spanish and Russian natively, which matters in a city where a third of residents were born outside the United States and a statement taken in a second language is often the State’s whole case.
Disorderly persons offenses, DWI, traffic and ordinance charges go to Jersey City Municipal Court at 365 Summit Avenue. Any indictable charge (fourth degree or higher) is prosecuted by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office at the Superior Court, 583 Newark Avenue. The complaint you were given lists the charge and its degree.
Not in the traditional sense. Since 2017, New Jersey uses a risk-based system: after a warrant arrest the prosecutor either files a motion to detain you or you are released with conditions. If a detention motion is filed, a hearing is held within days and the State must show clear and convincing evidence that no conditions would assure your appearance and public safety.
Often. Municipal court offers conditional discharge (drug offenses) and conditional dismissal (other disorderly persons offenses) to first offenders, both ending in dismissal. In Superior Court, Pretrial Intervention (PTI) is available for many third- and fourth-degree first offenses. Eligibility must be established before pleading.
Municipal court matters are quoted as a flat fee at the free consultation. Superior Court cases are quoted after we review the complaint and discovery. We accept payment plans; the consultation itself is free.
Yes. We appear in all twelve Hudson County municipal courts, including Bayonne, Hoboken, Union City, North Bergen and Kearny, and in the Superior Court that covers the county.
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Ibrahim & Ibrahim Law Firm
910 Bergen Ave, Suite 203
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Directions · a five-minute walk from Journal Square PATH; two blocks from the courthouse complex
