All judges in New Jersey, except municipal court judges, are appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate. Initial terms for supreme and superior court judges are seven years; after reappointment, judges may serve indefinitely.
The supreme court, the state's highest, consists of six associate justices and a chief justice, who is also the administrative head of the state court system. As the court of highest authority, the supreme court hears appeals on constitutional questions and on certain cases from the superior court, which comprises three divisions: chancery, law, and appellate. The chancery division has original jurisdiction over general equity cases, most probate cases, and divorce actions. All other original cases are tried within the law division. The appellate division hears appeals from the chancery and law divisions, from lower courts, and from most state administrative agencies. A state tax court, empowered to review local property tax assessments, equalization tables, and state tax determinations, has been in operation since 1979; by statute, it may have from 6 to 12 judges. Municipal court judges, appointed by local governing bodies for three-year terms, hear minor criminal matters, motor vehicle cases, and violations of municipal ordinances.
The legislature approved a sweeping reform of the state's criminal law code in 1978. Strict sentencing standards were established, and one result was an overcrowding of the state's prison system. Governor Brendan Byrne signed a law in 1981 imposing a minimum three-year sentence on anyone committing a crime with a gun. In 1982, Governor Thomas Kean signed legislation establishing a death penalty by lethal injection; New Jersey became the ninth state to use that method, although the sentence has yet to be imposed. As of 2003, 15 persons were under sentence of death.
According to the FBI Crime Index, in 2001 New Jersey had a total crime rate of 3,225.3 per 100,000 persons, including a total of 33,094 violent crimes and 240,551 crimes against property in that year. Prisoners under jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities in New Jersey numbered 28,108 in June 2001, a decrease of 9.6% from the previous year. The state's incarceration rate stood at 331 per 100,000 inhabitants.