Millville gets its court back from neighboring town after state finds rights violations

MILLVILLE — Municipal Court is officially in session on South High Street as of Tuesday after almost four months in temporary Vineland quarters.

The shift to Vineland had come on the heels of a state finding that the court had violated defendants' rights.

With its return to Millville, the court staff is rebuilt nearly from scratch, including hiring a new judge.

“We’re glad it’s back in Millville,” Vice Mayor Joseph Sooy said of the reopening.

Commissioner Kirk Hewitt, who is Public Safety director, said the final personnel touches were handled at Tuesday night’s City Commission meeting, officially confirming the hiring of a prosecutor and a public defender.

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Hewitt said changes also extend to the court facility itself.

“(We) completely gutted the office area, redesigned it to make it more user friendly,” Hewitt said. “We are in the process of adding a second pay window to speed up people paying fines.”

When did Millville court reopen?

New Jersey Superior Court Assignment Judge Benjamin Telsey had set the Jan. 2 reopening date in an order issued Dec. 18, 2023. The Millville courtroom actually was open in a very limited fashion before Christmas just to hold a few trials in driving while intoxicated cases, Hewitt said.

Millville’s new municipal judge is Frank Guaracini III, a Vineland native and the son of supermarket-owning family in Vineland. The City Commission on Oct. 3, 2023 appointed Guaracini to a three-year term that ends Oct. 4, 2026.

Hewitt said the court personnel are almost entirely new, starting with Administrator Lisa Gonteski. She was hired from the same position with the Maple Shade Municipal Court and has 21 years of court experience, he said.

Hewitt said one instance of a holdover and promotion is Deputy Administrator Amber Gandy, a longtime clerk with the Millville Court.

Millville has been getting ready for the reopening for months, he said.

“We were building a new court before we moved it to Vineland,” Hewitt said. “Then, that was our main concern. We sent all our court personnel to Vineland. Our judge was there. Our administrator was there. We were just using Vineland’s court building.”

City court records were shipped back to Millville between Christmas and New Year’s Day to be ready for the Tuesday sessions, Hewitt said.

Why did Millville close its court?

The upending of operations here all started with a December 2022 court session under then-Judge Jason Witcher.

Witcher was working through a lengthy case list when he suddenly started questioning the number of Hispanic defendants appearing in person, rather than taking a virtual court option. Witcher went on to attribute the presence of many Hispanics to a bias against defendants with Spanish surnames.

Municipal courts fall under control of the state judicial branch, which investigated the claim. Its conclusion, issued in February, was that there was no evidence of the discrimination Witcher alleged.

However, the state Attorney General’s Office also started an investigation. On August 8, that office announced it had come to a different conclusion and had filed a civil rights complaint.

Telsey then ordered the Millville court shut down as of August 21 and its functions transferred to the Vineland Municipal Court. Millville commissioners in October approved a shared services agreement to govern the arrangement.

Hewitt said the revamping of the court has been done under tight supervision from the vicinage, the Administrative Office of the Courts, Telsey and his office, and retired Superior Court Judge Joe Mendez.

Hewitt said the open seat on the bench drew three applicants, none of whom were local or previous appointees. The hiring group found persuasive Guaracini’s overall background in the law, including as a municipal court-level public defender and prosecutor.

“This is his first time as a judge,” Hewitt said. “And all reports … have been glowing for Judge Guaracini.”

The court also has a new schedule, moving twice-a-week sessions to Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

Have a tip? Reach out at jsmith@thedailyjournal.com. Support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: When did Millville get its court back and what's new there?