Island Heights Municipal Court – What To Know

Reviewed by William A. Proetta, Esq. · Updated October 2026

Island Heights Municipal Court meets one evening a month, on the second Monday at 5:00 p.m., with the courtroom in Borough Hall at 1 East End Avenue, Island Heights, NJ 08732. It hears motor vehicle tickets, DWI cases, disorderly persons offenses and borough ordinance violations from Island Heights, a riverfront borough of about 1,650 residents. A few months have no session, so check your notice and confirm the date with the court. If you have an Island Heights case, call (848) 238-2100; someone answers at any hour, and Spanish speakers can talk with us in Spanish.

Island Heights Criminal Defense Lawyer

Island Heights is small, but a ticket or complaint here carries the same weight as one written anywhere in New Jersey. Even a disorderly persons offense can lead to a jail sentence of up to half a year plus a lasting record, while a DWI conviction brings license consequences such as an ignition interlock or suspension. Our Ocean County criminal defense lawyers represent people with Island Heights cases, which usually means planning around a court that meets only about ten times a year.

Why Island Heights Clients Call Us

• Missing one date can cost a month. With a single evening session per month, and some months skipped entirely, a postponed or missed appearance can push a case back by weeks.
• The office keeps evening hours. The court office is staffed on Monday evenings, so getting answers by phone takes planning. We plan contact with the court around those hours.
• Two ways to appear. Island Heights holds sessions in the Borough Hall courtroom and also runs virtual court on Zoom by registration. Your notice says which applies, and we make sure you are ready for either.
• Almost all traffic. Nine of every ten filings in the borough last year were moving violations, so the stakes are usually points, surcharges and insurance.

Island Heights’ Court Schedule and Office Hours

Island Heights Municipal Court sits on the second Monday of the month at 5:00 p.m. A few months have no session, so a month can pass without court; your notice controls, and the court line confirms your date.

The court office is open Monday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Borough Hall’s general office is open 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on weekdays, but court questions go to the court office. For anything about a court case, call the court line, 732-270-6161, or email islandheights.mc@njcourts.gov; Borough Hall’s main number is 732-270-6415. Court mail goes to P.O. Box 797, and sessions are held at 1 East End Avenue.

What Island Heights’ Court Numbers Mean

The Island Heights docket is larger than the borough’s population would suggest. The NJ Judiciary counted 918 filings in Island Heights from July 2025 through June 2026, down about 3.7% from 953. Of those, 826, about 90%, were moving violations. There were only 50 criminal filings and 6 DWI filings, compared with 5 DWIs the year before. With totals this small, a handful of cases can swing the year-to-year changes.

The court closed 927 matters, slightly more than it received, for a 101% clearance rate, which means it worked down part of its older caseload. Island Heights had 79 cases in backlog and 186 pending at the end of June 2026. Take these as workload figures; no individual outcome can be read from them.

Attending an Island Heights Session

Island Heights offers two ways to appear, and your notice tells you which applies:

• Courtroom at Borough Hall. In-person sessions are held in the courtroom at 1 East End Avenue.
• Zoom by registration. Virtual court runs on Zoom, and the borough posts a registration link for it.

Your notice controls. If it says Zoom, register ahead of time through the link the borough provides; if it says in person, arrive before 5:00 p.m. with your paperwork. For any question about the format, call the court office during its Monday evening hours before the session date.

What Cases Does Island Heights Municipal Court Handle?

Because the borough is so small, most of its cases are routine traffic matters, but the court can hear any non-indictable offense charged inside its limits. Examples by statute:

Criminal and Disorderly Persons Offenses

• N.J.S.A. 2C:33-2 — public disturbances such as loud late-night gatherings
• N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4 — harassment, often between people who know each other
• N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(a) — minor-injury assault
• N.J.S.A. 2C:17-3 — vandalism of property in small dollar amounts
• N.J.S.A. 2C:18-3 — trespassing on private property

DWI and Traffic Offenses

• N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 — impaired driving (DWI)
• N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a — Alcotest refusals after a DWI arrest
• N.J.S.A. 39:4-98 — speed violations on borough streets or Route 37
• N.J.S.A. 39:4-144 — rolling through stop signs on residential streets
• N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2 — driving uninsured

Route 37 runs along the borough’s northern edge and ties into Route 35, Route 9 and the Parkway, so it can be a source of the borough’s traffic tickets. Inside the borough, the streets of the Island Heights Historic District and the Toms River waterfront draw visitors, and the borough’s statistics also include 36 parking filings.

Paying or Contesting an Island Heights Ticket

Many New Jersey municipal tickets that do not require an appearance can be paid online through NJMCdirect, the state’s payment site. For payment options or plea by mail on an Island Heights ticket, call the court office at 732-270-6161 before your deadline.

Whichever way you pay, the payment is treated as a guilty plea, and the conviction becomes part of your driving or criminal record. Points, surcharges from the MVC and rate increases from your insurer can follow. If the ticket carries points or a license suspension, speak with a defense lawyer before you pay, because options such as an amendment to a no-point offense disappear once the fine is paid. Anyone who cannot afford private counsel can ask the borough court to assign the municipal public defender.

Getting Ready for an Island Heights Court Date

• Mark the evening, not the morning. Island Heights sessions begin at 5:00 p.m., so arrange time off work or child care around an evening start.
• Plan around the monthly gap. If you need an adjournment, ask early; the next available session may be a month or more away.
• Contact the right people. Judge Benjamin H. Mabie III presides, Keturah Coronato is the court administrator and Brittany Stapon is the deputy administrator. The court’s fax is 732-270-5070.
• Bring your documents. Have your summons, license, registration and insurance card, and anything else, such as photos, that you want the judge to see.

When an Island Heights Charge Leaves Municipal Court

Indictable offenses, such as burglary or aggravated assault, cannot be resolved in Island Heights Municipal Court. The borough refers them to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, and if they advance they are heard at Ocean County Superior Court in Toms River. Some come back after a downgrade, returning to Island Heights for handling as disorderly persons offenses. First-time defendants may be eligible for diversion through Pretrial Intervention or conditional dismissal, with dismissal as the reward for finishing the program.

Nearby Courts

Island Heights borders Toms River and Berkeley Township. Across the Toms River are Ocean Gate, Pine Beach and Beachwood, and South Toms River is a short drive west. A Route 37 stop just outside the borough is often a Toms River case, since the ticket’s location, not your address, picks the court.

Official court page: islandheightsborough.gov court contacts

Island Heights Municipal Court FAQs

Talk to an Island Heights Criminal Defense Lawyer Today

With only one Island Heights session a month, a quick start can keep your case from slipping. Phone (848) 238-2100 for a confidential review of your Island Heights case at no charge. Calls are answered 24/7, and help is available in Spanish. Most first conversations happen by phone or video, though we will meet you in person if that is easier.