Toms River's New Courtroom a Response to a Growing Town

Toms River officials this week celebrated the opening of the township’s new municipal courtroom, a facility they said is designed to meet the needs of a growing population.

Opened in the 1970s, Toms River’s original courtroom on Oak Avenue—which serves the 7th largest municipal court system in the state—couldn't keep up with demand, officials said.

People waiting to enter the court would often wind up waiting outside “in all elements of the weather,” said court administrator Joanne Flanagan.

In May alone, about 1,700 people came through the metal detector and into the old courtroom, according to Flanagan.

“The biggest thing was getting people inside,” said township engineer Robert Chankalian. The new courtroom is three times bigger, with a capacity of 200 compared to 60 in the old room.

“This is a huge increase,” Chankalian said.

Planning for the project began about three years ago, according to Chankalian. Construction began 10 months ago, and the finishing touches on the second phase of the project should be completed within the next two months.

The cost for the courtroom is $1.985 million—the township was able to save more than $300,000 by combining the project with the animal shelter being built at the same site and improvements to the police department headquarters, Chankalian said.

The completed court facility will be the first in the state to have a parent-child room. It will also have a paging system for those awaiting trial, a private room for plaintiffs to discuss cases with lawyers and a training facility with computers, according to officials.

Inside the courtroom, a video conference system allows high-risk defendants to appear before a judge without leaving their holding cell, officials said.

“It’s absolutely state of the art,” said Mayor Thomas Kelaher, who joined court and township officials to celebrate the opening.

“We’re just thrilled to have a nice facility for the citizens of the town to come to,” Flanagan said.

Municipal Court Judge Jay Liguori thanked the officials in attendance for “recognizing the need that we have in Toms River” for a larger court facility.

“In all those years the population has exploded,” Kelaher said. “It’s really something that we’ve needed for a long time.”