Somerset County Court

County Clerk's office: perfectly on time for my appointment. Helped with all the various paperwork, friendly staff even pointed out how I could do some things myself and save significant money. A really polite staff made the experience simple and actually took way less time than I expected.

The main courthouse is centrally located in downtown Somerville on 20 North Bridge Street. There are plenty of places across the street to grab a sandwich, or get a cup of coffee.
The court itself has a new wing and an historic wing. .
The Old Historic Wing is just off the main corridor. Once inside you can see all the beauty from yesteryear. There are gold columns, and ornate carvings. There is so much history and character.
There are several metered lots to park in.
I prefer lot # 7 off of High Street. Make sure you bring plenty of quarters. It's 50 cents per hour. If attending court, it could take hours. I would suggest minimum of 4 hrs. Otherwise,you will have to walk back and put in more money to avoid getting a ticket.
I would suggest arriving 15-20 minutes before your court time. There is usually some type of sign in and each floor has seating.
I've been coming here for 4 years now, Domestic Violence, Divorce, and Child Support/ Alimony non payments
I've had quite a bit of ups and downs because each department is run differently and communication is not the best with each other. Always make a copy of everything you submit to the court. Paperwork gets easily lost. If you mail it send it return receipt .
The security personnel are very professional and friendly when asked a question and do a great job! They are very strict with cell phone use, and no photos or taping is allowed.
Somerset County Courthouse is very over crowded. There aren't enough judges to hear all the cases and it can take months to get a court date with a judge.
Seating in the different courtrooms are packed so sometimes plaintiffs and defendants are seated near each other or out in the halls. If you are handicapped or need assistance please call ahead and make special arrangements. There is also a full time interpreter for people who speak Spanish. The court is very good with this.
When it comes to domestic violence there needs to be more training. The staff and the court really don't understand what truly goes on, and in my case really did more harm then good.
There should be several domestic violence advocates, and counselors on the premises at all times to help battered women.
Judges shouldn't allow the victims to be re-victimized and be put on trial and made to relive the nightmares all over again.
There truly needs to be stricter enforcement when both parties sign a settlement agreement which supersedes the court order. If one parent doesn't follow it then there should be swift and immediate action. Otherwise, why bother having a settlement agreement.
The only way to correct this is to file a $50 motion for each dispute, and wait for another trial.. Motions are costly and take way too long to get results which leave a lot of mom's helpless , homeless, and broken.
If you have any problems at the courthouse contact the Ombudsman .
( In the Judiciary, the ombudsman is a neutral staff person who answers questions, addresses concerns from the public and is responsible for enhancing customer service in the courts. The ombudsman provides a bridge between the courts and the community, to enhance public access and improve customer service.)

We came here after the town's post office screwed up with the passport renewal. After being told by post Master that we didn't have an appointment despite making one 3 weeks prior.

We came to this court house to their county clerk office to process the renewal and new passports for my kids. Such a great facility, clean, timely with the nicest clerk too!

Will certainly come back again whenever we need to renew our passports.

Four stars for jury duty? Have I lost my mind? Perhaps. But the waiting area--the insides of an old Dutch Reformed church's sanctuary--was the nicest governmental waiting area I have ever waited in. People were nice, seats were comfortable--I got a lot of reading and studying accomplished. I would actually go here to study outside of jury duty. Maybe I'm a loony, but it was a pleasant experience.