Why Burlington County Has No District Court
New Jersey does not run county "district courts" for ordinary trial cases. That trips up a lot of people. In many other states the district court is the main trial court, so users type that phrase out of habit. Here the statewide trial court is the Superior Court of New Jersey. It is one court, spread across the state, and it is split into local units called vicinages.
Burlington County is its own vicinage. It is known as the Burlington Vicinage, or Vicinage 3. When you search for a Burlington County trial-court case, you are really searching the Superior Court records for this vicinage. The work is done at the county court facility in Mount Holly, but the court itself is a state court. So if you came here looking for a district court, you are in the right place. The name is just different in New Jersey.
The Superior Court handles the heavy lifting. Felony-level crimes, big civil suits, divorce, and estate fights all run through it. Smaller local matters go to municipal court instead.
Burlington County Superior Court Divisions
The Superior Court does not hear every case in one big room. It splits work into divisions and parts, and each one focuses on a type of dispute. This keeps a divorce judge out of a foreclosure file and a criminal judge out of a will contest. In the Burlington Vicinage you will find the main trial divisions that the Superior Court uses statewide.
The Civil Division hears money disputes and injury suits. The Special Civil Part takes smaller claims and landlord-tenant cases. The Criminal Division handles indictable crimes, which are the serious charges. The Family Division covers divorce, custody, support, and juvenile matters. The Chancery Division, General Equity hears foreclosures and cases that ask a judge to order someone to act. The Probate Part deals with contested wills, estates, and guardianships.
Because the court is divided this way, the first step in any record search is knowing which division held the case. A divorce file lives with Family. A foreclosure lives with Chancery. If you are not sure, the court offices in Mount Holly can point you to the right division before you dig further. For docket-level detail, the court dockets page explains how case calendars are published and read.
New Jersey Court Hierarchy
The Superior Court sits in the middle of a clear ladder. Above it are two appeals courts. Below it sits the municipal level. Knowing where each court falls helps you read a case file and follow where an order can go next. The table lays out the full hierarchy and what each level does.
| Court | Level | What It Handles |
|---|---|---|
| Supreme Court of New Jersey | Highest court | Final review of select appeals and questions of law. |
| Superior Court, Appellate Division | Intermediate appeals | Most appeals from trial courts and state agencies. |
| Superior Court of New Jersey | Statewide trial court | Civil, criminal, family, chancery, and probate cases by vicinage. |
| Tax Court | Specialized trial court | State and local tax disputes statewide. |
| Municipal Courts | Limited jurisdiction | Traffic, ordinances, disorderly persons, and local complaints. |
The Superior Court of New Jersey is where the Burlington Vicinage fits. The Tax Court runs on its own track for tax matters only. Most readers will deal with the trial level and, if they appeal, the Appellate Division. You can read more about the state court system on the Burlington Vicinage page at NJ Courts.
Burlington County Superior Court Offices
Several offices serve the Burlington Vicinage, and they do not all do the same job. The court runs trial operations. The Surrogate handles routine probate. The County Clerk records land documents but is not the court clerk at all. Sorting these out saves a trip to the wrong building. The table below lists each office, its role, where it sits, and how to reach it.
| Court / Office | Role | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superior Court of New Jersey, Burlington Vicinage | Primary trial-court operations | 49 Rancocas Road, Mount Holly | 609-288-9500 |
| Superior Court Clerk's Office | Statewide record storage and retrieval, foreclosures, judgment liens, attorney registration | Through NJ Courts | See NJ Courts SCCO |
| Burlington County Surrogate's Court | Probate, estate administration, guardianships, adoptions | 50 Rancocas Road, 1st Floor, Mount Holly | 609-265-5005 |
| Municipal Courts in Burlington County | Traffic, ordinance, disorderly persons | Each municipality, via NJ Courts directory | Contact specific court |
| Burlington County Clerk | Land records, recording, elections (not the court clerk) | 50 Rancocas Road, Mount Holly | 609-265-5122 |
The statewide Superior Court Clerk's Office stores and retrieves court records, handles foreclosure filings, and keeps the attorney registration roll. It works differently from a county clerk. For a closer look at each office, see the Superior Court Clerk page and the Burlington County Clerk page.
Burlington County Court Facility
The Burlington Vicinage runs from one main building in Mount Holly. It houses Superior Court operations, court offices and divisions, jury reporting, and chambers contacts. The Assignment Judge is Terrence R. Cook, who was designated as the Assignment Judge for Burlington County effective February 1, 2025. The Trial Court Administrator is Alba R. Rivera, who oversees the day-to-day court operations for the vicinage.
Burlington County Court Facility
49 Rancocas Road
Mount Holly, NJ 08060
609-288-9500
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
All visitors pass through security screening at the door. Staff X-ray packages, run people through metal detectors, and may hand-scan for weapons. Plan for a short line during busy hours. Related offices cluster nearby, which makes one trip cover several errands. The County Clerk and the Surrogate share 50 Rancocas Road, the Public Defender is at 100 High Street, and the Prosecutor is at 49 Rancocas Road. County facility details are listed on the county facilities page.
Superior Court vs Municipal Court
The line between the Superior Court and a municipal court matters for any case search. The two courts hear different cases, sit in different places, and keep separate files. If you look in the wrong one, you will not find the record. The comparison below sets the two side by side so you can tell which court holds your case.
| Point | Superior Court | Municipal Court |
|---|---|---|
| Case types | Indictable crimes, civil suits, family, chancery, and probate litigation | Traffic, local ordinance, disorderly persons, petty disorderly persons |
| Where it sits | Burlington County Court Facility in Mount Holly | The local municipal court named on the ticket or complaint |
| Records | Held by the Superior Court and its clerk | Held by each town's municipal court |
A speeding ticket or a noise complaint stays in the town where it was issued. A felony charge, a lawsuit, or a divorce moves up to the Superior Court in Mount Holly. When in doubt, check the name printed on the paperwork. A municipal complaint names the town. A Superior Court matter names the vicinage or the county. You can find each town's court through the NJ Courts municipal court directory. For the underlying case files, the court records page covers how to pull both.
How a Case Moves Through the System
A case does not stay frozen at one level. It can climb if a party appeals. The basic path runs from the trial court up through two appeals courts. Knowing that path tells you where to look for a later ruling on the same matter.
The flow is short and simple: Municipal Court or Superior Court (trial) → Superior Court, Appellate Division → Supreme Court of New Jersey. Most cases never leave the trial level. The ones that do follow this ladder one step at a time.
Most final orders from the Superior Court go up to the Appellate Division. From there, further review sits with the Supreme Court of New Jersey, but only where an appeal as of right or a grant of certification applies. The Supreme Court does not take every case. Municipal court matters move through New Jersey's trial and appellate process too, and NJ Courts publishes municipal appeal self-help forms for people without a lawyer.
Note: an appeal does not erase the trial record, so the original Superior Court file stays searchable even after a higher court rules.
Recovery Court in Burlington County
The Superior Court does more than try and sentence cases. It runs a specialty program called Recovery Court. This program works inside the Superior Court and targets non-violent, drug-related cases. Instead of a straight jail term, it offers treatment with tight court oversight. The goal is to break the cycle that brings people back to court.
The program is demanding. It runs through five phases of treatment, intensive probation supervision, frequent drug testing, and regular court appearances. Participants check in often and answer to the court at each step. The Burlington Vicinage held a Recovery Court graduation in 2024 with 10 participants. Superior Court Judge Mark P. Tarantino led the vicinage recovery court team.
People who want program details can reach the Recovery Court Coordinator, Arthur Tomlin, at 609-288-9500 ext. 38666. Because Recovery Court runs under the Superior Court, its cases sit on the same criminal docket structure as other charges. For estate and guardianship matters that the court hears, the probate records page covers the Surrogate and Chancery roles.
Searching Burlington County Superior Court Records
Superior Court records cover a wide field, so a good search starts with the case type. Pick the division first, then the name or docket number. Civil, criminal, family, and chancery files each follow their own track. Some records are open to the public, while sealed and confidential files are not. Family and juvenile matters carry extra privacy rules.
The Superior Court Clerk's Office stores and retrieves many court records statewide, including foreclosure files and judgment liens. For a Burlington-specific case, the vicinage court offices in Mount Holly can guide you to the right division. Phone the court at 609-288-9500 during business hours if an online search does not turn up the file.
- Vicinage
- A local unit of the statewide Superior Court; Burlington County is Vicinage 3.
- Indictable offense
- A serious crime heard in the Criminal Division, similar to a felony.
- Chancery
- The division that hears foreclosures and cases asking a judge to order action.
- Certification
- The Supreme Court's discretionary decision to review an Appellate Division ruling.
Once you know the division and the terms, the search gets much easier. For frequent questions about access, hours, and fees, the FAQ page collects the most common answers in one spot.