1. Issuance of Summons and Complaint.
2. Arraignment in Municipal Curt.
3. Entry of Plea: Guilty or Not Guilty.
4. Attorney’s Appearance.
5. Discovery.
6. Pretrial Motions.
   1. Suppress Evidence.
   2. Exclude Statements or Admissions.
   3. Discovery Requests.
7. Trial
   1. State’s Case
      i. Direct examination and presentation of State’s witnesses
      ii. Cross examination of State’s witnesses by defense
   2. Motion to Acquit Defendant.
   3. Defense Case
      i. Direct examination of defense witnesses
      ii. Cross examination of defense witnesses
      iii. The defense rests
   4. Closing Arguments.
   5. Verdict: Guilty or Not Guilty
   6. Sentencing.
   7. Motion for Stay of Execution of Sentence.
   8. Notice of Appeal (within 20 days of sentencing).

NOTE: Court rules usually prohibit plea bargaining of drunk driving and breath test refusal, marijuana possession, and drug paraphernalia charges.

Appeals  

1. Appeal/Trial de novo to Superior Court, Law Division.
   1. Briefs filed with Appellate Court.
   2. Oral Argument.
   3. Verdict: Guilty or Not Guilty.
   4. Sentencing.
   5. Motion for Stay of Execution of Sentence.
   6. Notice of Appeal (within 45 days of sentencing).
2. Appeal to Superior Court, Appellate Division.
3. Petition for Certification to State Supreme Court (unless appellate judge dissents).  
4. Appeal to State Supreme Court  
5. Habeas Corpus Proceeding in Federal District Court. 
6. Certification of Probable Cause to Appeal (unless already certified). 
7. Appeal to Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. 
8. Petition for Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court. 
9. Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court. 
   

When and How to Plead
 
At arraignment, your plea should almost always be NOT GUILTY. The judge will also ask if you want to hire a lawyer and, if so, whether you can afford one. Indigent defendants can obtain a Form 5A: Application for Public Defendant to apply for legal representation. Most municipal courts have these forms available on request. If you use one, try to keep a copy for your records.
 
Once retained, your lawyer and you should consider changing the not guilty plea only after reviewing discovery, i.e., documents and other information received from the State before trial.

After this review:  
Plead GUILTY if serious aggravating factors exist and you have a real risk of imprisonment or other unacceptable consequences that can be avoided with a guilty plea.
 
Plead NOT GUILTY if sentence on a guilty plea will be about the same as the sentence on a guilty finding after trial.