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Lustberg Law Offices, LLC Protecting Your Freedom and Your Future.
A disorderly persons offense in Bergen County is not a felony. New Jersey law classifies these charges as petty offenses under N.J.S.A. 2C:1-4 and handles them in local municipal courts before a judge rather than a Superior Court jury. Common charges include simple assault, shoplifting under $200, disorderly conduct, and harassment. A summons in Hackensack or any other local court means you face a municipal prosecutor and must take the situation seriously to protect your record.
Lustberg Law Offices, LLC can defend your rights and guide you through the legal process. Criminal defense attorney Adam M. Lustberg has represented clients in municipal courts throughout northern New Jersey since 2004 and holds a 10 out of 10 rating on Avvo, drawing on more than 20 years of criminal defense experience to challenge the prosecution and work toward a favorable outcome for your case.
This page explains how New Jersey handles disorderly persons offenses and outlines the penalties you face. You will learn about common local charges, court locations, how you may qualify for an expungement, and critical mistakes to avoid before your first court appearance. Call Lustberg Law Offices, LLC at (201) 880-5311 to speak directly with Bergen County disorderly persons offense attorney Adam M. Lustberg about your case.
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We have years of experience in courts through NJ and NY and a proven track record of success in criminal cases.
Under N.J.S.A. Section 2C:1-4, New Jersey law designates a disorderly persons offense as a petty violation punishable by up to six months in jail. The law classifies any offense carrying a sentence longer than six months as a crime, while anything at or below that line remains a petty offense. This classification means a disorderly persons conviction does not create the legal disabilities that follow a criminal conviction, such as the loss of your civil rights.
A petty disorderly persons offense is a less severe charge that carries a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail, but the court prosecutes both offense levels in the same manner. Facing these charges means you do not have the right to a grand jury indictment or a jury trial, as a municipal court judge alone decides your guilt and determines your sentence. This makes a strong legal strategy critical during trial and plea negotiations.
Key Takeaway: Disorderly persons offenses and petty disorderly persons offenses are not crimes under the New Jersey Constitution, but they still carry jail time, fines, and a public record until the conviction is expunged.
New Jersey grades indictable crimes by degree and prosecutes them at the Bergen County Justice Center in Hackensack, while disorderly persons offenses remain ungraded and stay in the local municipal court where the incident occurred.
Indictable charges can trigger pretrial detention, state prison time, and the loss of your firearms rights. A petty offense can instead result in a fine, probation, community service, or a short county jail term. Prosecutors can charge certain conduct at either level depending on dollar amounts, injuries, or your prior record. This makes challenging how the state classifies your charge an important part of your defense.
| Feature | Indictable Crime | Disorderly Persons Offense | Petty Disorderly Persons Offense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court | Superior Court | Municipal Court | Municipal Court |
| Grand Jury Indictment | Yes | No | No |
| Right to Jury Trial | Yes | No | No |
| Maximum Incarceration | More than 6 months (State Prison) | Up to 6 months (County Jail) | Up to 30 days (County Jail) |
| Counts as a "Crime" | Yes | No | No |
Call Lustberg Law Offices, LLC at (201) 880-5311 to discuss how your charge is classified.
Simple assault, low-value shoplifting, and disorderly conduct account for a large share of the petty offense cases in New Jersey municipal courts. Each has its own elements, and each has a version that can be pushed up to an indictable charge if the facts support it.
Simple assault under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1 is a disorderly persons offense, but it drops to a petty disorderly persons offense when the fight was entered into by mutual consent. Bodily injury, an attempt to cause injury, or physical menace can all support the charge, so no serious injury is required.
Disorderly conduct under N.J.S.A. 2C:33-2 covers improper behavior such as fighting, threatening, violent behavior, or creating a hazardous condition that serves no legitimate purpose. While the statute also references coarse or abusive language, courts severely limit language-based charges under First Amendment protections unless the speech constitutes “fighting words.”
Shoplifting is graded by the value of the merchandise. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-11, shoplifting is a disorderly persons offense when the full retail value is less than $200. The statute also requires community service for shoplifting convictions, starting at a minimum of 10 days for a first offense.
Theft and theft of services follow the same pattern. A theft of services charge under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-8 stays at the disorderly persons level when the amount involved is under $200, which means the valuation evidence in the police report is often worth challenging.
Harassment under N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4 is a petty disorderly persons offense in most situations and is frequently filed alongside simple assault or disorderly conduct after a domestic dispute or a neighbor conflict. Harassment can also support a restraining order application, meaning these charges often move on two tracks at once.
Key Takeaway: Simple assault, shoplifting under $200, disorderly conduct, and harassment make up the majority of disorderly persons cases filed in Bergen County municipal courts.
Contact our law office today at (201) 880-5311 to speak with our skilled expungement attorneys regarding having your criminal records expunged.
Most firearms and weapons violations in New Jersey are graded as indictable crimes (felonies) under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5 and N.J.S.A. 2C:39-10, carrying state prison time and mandatory minimum sentences. Regulatory infractions involving licensing or registration under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-10 are typically graded as fourth-degree indictable crimes rather than municipal-level petty offenses.
However, certain minor non-firearm weapons infractions, such as carrying small amounts of self-defense chemical spray exceeding statutory size limits or specific local municipal ordinance violations, may avoid state prison exposure. Because state prosecutors sometimes overcharge or misclassify technical regulatory issues as severe indictable crimes, reviewing the exact grading of your weapon charge before entering a plea is vital.
If your charge involves a weapon or firearm, speak with attorney Adam M. Lustberg to determine whether the state has correctly classified your offense.
A tenacious litigator who won’t back down. Prepared to challenge the evidence against you and will fight to protect your rights.
A disorderly persons conviction in New Jersey carries up to six months in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000, while a petty disorderly persons conviction limits jail time to 30 days and fines to $500 under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-3. First convictions often result in financial penalties rather than incarceration, but your specific outcome depends on the charge, your criminal record, and the local court.
A judge can sentence you to a probation term, community service, restitution, and conditions such as anger management or counseling. Every conviction also carries court costs and mandatory financial assessments, including $75 for the Safe Neighborhood Services Fund and $50 for the Victims of Crime Compensation Board.
The same mandatory assessments apply at the petty disorderly persons level along with the possibility of probation and community service. The reduced maximum penalties become highly relevant when a plea agreement lowers your charge down one step.
| Penalty | Disorderly Persons Offense | Petty Disorderly Persons Offense |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum Jail | Up to 6 months | Up to 30 days |
| Maximum Fine | Up to $1,000 | Up to $500 |
| Probation | Possible | Possible |
| Community Service | Possible and mandatory for shoplifting | Possible |
| Mandatory Assessments | $75 S.N.A. and $50 V.C.C.B. | $75 S.N.A. and $50 V.C.C.B. |
Adam M. Lustberg graduated from Seton Hall University School of Law in May 2004, passed both the New Jersey and New York bar exams that summer, and is admitted to practice in both states. His criminal defense work began as a law student, first interning with the Essex County Public Defender’s Office through Seton Hall’s Pro Bono Program and later representing juveniles at initial proceedings through the school’s Juvenile Justice Clinic. Since then, he has represented clients at every stage of the process, from municipal court arraignments on marijuana possession charges to homicide trials in Superior Court.
He applies the same preparation to a municipal court summons that he applies to an indictable case by reviewing discovery in detail, testing the State’s proofs, and pressing for dismissals or downgrades where the evidence supports them.
He has been named to the SuperLawyers “Rising Stars” list for six consecutive years, named one of “Bergen’s Best Lawyers” by (201) Magazine, and named to The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers list in 2014. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Bergen County Bar Association, the Hudson County Bar Association, and the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey.
The municipal court in the town where the alleged offense occurred will hear your case rather than the Superior Court. Bergen County contains dozens of municipal courts, though some towns share a joint court or send specific matters to the Bergen County Central Municipal Court in Hackensack. You can find local court locations and session schedules through the New Jersey Judiciary municipal court directory.
Your summons or complaint lists a first appearance date. During this appearance, the judge advises you of the charges and your rights, confirms your legal representation, and schedules a pretrial conference or trial date. If police arrest and hold you rather than releasing you on a summons, your first appearance happens on an accelerated schedule. The court can also review your case for a possible transfer to the county prosecutor if the state files a related indictable charge.
Lustberg Law Offices, LLC handles municipal court matters in Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, and Morris counties, allowing us to represent you across northern New Jersey. Contact our office at (201) 880-5311 to confirm which municipal court will handle your case.
A disorderly persons conviction becomes part of your public record and appears on New Jersey criminal history background checks. Although the classification statute prevents these convictions from creating the legal disabilities of a crime, that protection does not erase the record itself.
Employers, landlords, and licensing boards routinely see these entries. A shoplifting or simple assault conviction can affect your applications for professional licenses, positions involving money handling, and immigration matters, even though the offense is not a felony. Some background reports also list the arrest and charge separately from the final outcome, making a dismissal worth pursuing even when the court is unlikely to impose jail time.
You can eventually expunge most disorderly persons convictions. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-3, a person without an indictable criminal conviction may petition the court to expunge disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons convictions, subject to statutory limits on how many offenses you can clear. The standard waiting period runs five years from the latest date of your conviction, the payment of any fine, the completion of probation, or your release from custody.
Courts may grant relief earlier in limited circumstances, but your eligibility depends on your prior record and the specific offenses involved, as the law excludes some charges from expungement altogether. Paying fines promptly and completing your probation or community service on schedule starts the waiting period sooner, while a violation can push the clock back.
Key Takeaway: Most disorderly persons convictions in New Jersey can be expunged after a waiting period of five years, but eligibility depends on your prior record and the type of offense.
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The most common mistakes in municipal court happen before the first hearing. A few decisions in the days after you receive a summons can limit your defenses later:
If your charge involves a domestic dispute, you should write down the sequence of events while your memory is fresh and preserve any relevant texts, call logs, or photos.
Speak with attorney Adam M. Lustberg before your first municipal court date so these decisions are made with counsel involved.
A defense attorney can obtain and read the prosecution’s file to identify any missing elements in their case. This involves reviewing the complaint, police reports, witness statements, video footage, and any valuation documents in a theft matter. In a disorderly conduct case, the state must establish a purpose to cause public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm, which police reports often fail to support.
From there, the work shifts to negotiation and trial preparation if needed. Municipal prosecutors can agree to a dismissal, a downgrade to a municipal ordinance violation, or a conditional dismissal program for first-time offenders, all of which directly change what appears on your record. Adam M. Lustberg can also appear at municipal court sessions on your behalf if your work schedule makes repeated court appearances difficult, subject to the court’s rules on required appearances.
Key Takeaway: The most favorable results in municipal court often come from reviewing the evidence early and negotiating a dismissal, ordinance downgrade, or conditional dismissal before you enter any plea.
We represent clients charged with disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses in Bergen County municipalities including:
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Municipal court moves quickly, leaving you only a matter of weeks to obtain evidence and negotiate before entering a plea. Securing early legal representation makes pursuing a dismissal or an ordinance downgrade a realistic option for your case rather than a theoretical possibility.
Adam M. Lustberg has defended clients facing simple assault, shoplifting, and permit-related firearms charges in New Jersey municipal courts since 2004. He reviews the police reports and video in your case to raise weaknesses with the municipal prosecutor, and he will take your case to trial when the state cannot prove its elements.
Call Lustberg Law Offices, LLC at (201) 880-5311 to schedule a consultation about your charge. Our office at 1 University Plaza Dr #212 in Hackensack serves clients in municipal courts throughout Bergen County and northern New Jersey, and we can review your summons and discovery before your first appearance.
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While the state constitution does not classify this charge as a formal crime, the conviction will surface on background checks and remain visible on your record until you secure an expungement.
You may appear without counsel, but the exposure includes jail, probation, fines, and a lasting record. An attorney can request discovery, challenge the State’s proofs, and negotiate outcomes that keep a conviction off your record.
Yes. A judge can sentence you to a maximum of six months in county jail for a standard disorderly persons charge, or up to 30 days for a petty offense. Although incarceration is less frequent for a first-time violation, the court retains the authority to impose it.
A standard disorderly persons charge exposes you to a potential six-month county jail term and a $1,000 penalty. A petty charge caps out at 30 days of incarceration and a $500 penalty. Municipal courts handle both charges without a jury.
Yes. County prosecutors sometimes remand indictable charges such as fourth degree theft or aggravated assault to municipal court as disorderly persons offenses, depending on the evidence, the alleged loss or injury, and your prior record.
Your summons lists a first appearance date, and you must appear or arrange for counsel to appear on that date. Contact the court or an attorney immediately if the date conflicts with work or travel, because missing it can lead to a warrant.