Passaic County, New Jersey is located in the north of the state and is surrounded by New York State to the north and the New Jersey counties of Bergen County, Morris County, Essex County and Sussex County to the east, south, and west. Passaic’s 197-square miles and sixteen municipalities boast 491,778 residents (2009 U.S. Census).
Passaic County is commonly divided into two regions, the northwestern arm and the southeastern arm. The northwestern arm is more rugged than that of the populous southeastern arm, home to the majority of the county’s lakes and recreation areas. The southernmost portion of the county is dominated by the cities of Paterson, the City of Passaic, and Clifton.
Paterson, New Jersey’s third largest city, is the county seat for Passaic County. The nation’s first planned industrial city, Paterson was established in the 1790s at the Passaic River Gorge. The falls provide power for Paterson’s textile mills, earning the city the nickname of “Silk City.”
Comprehensive medical services serving Passaic County, New Jersey include the 651-bed St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, a state designated trauma center. Designated trauma centers care for severely injured patients as well as victims of accident types known to be associated with high risk for injury. Trauma patients include persons involved in motor vehicle crashes, falls and assaults. Caring for 120,000 patients in 2009, St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Department is the busiest in New Jersey.
St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center is run by St. Joseph’s Healthcare, which also operates St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Paterson and St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital in Wayne, NJ. St. Mary’s Hospital, a 287-bed non-profit acute care facility based in the City of Passaic, also serves county residents.
The major highways that travel through Passaic County are Interstate 287, Interstate 80, U.S. Route 202, U.S. Route 46 and the Garden State Parkway. Passaic County’s 1,200-mile roadway network carries millions of daily trips by bus, truck and automobile; yet, only 26 of these miles are comprised of highways, freeways and the Garden State Parkway. The majority of traffic in Passaic County is on county and municipal roadways. Passaic County’s local roadways are the most congested in the state.
According to the National Highway Safety Administration, twenty-six people were fatally injured in vehicle crashes in Passaic County during 2009. Eight fatalities occurred as the result of vehicle accidents involving alcohol-impaired drivers, and five pedestrians were killed as a result of vehicle accidents. When a severe personal injury or death occurs as a result of a Passaic County vehicle accident, the victim’s family also suffers, with emotional and economic burdens that may last for years afterward.
The structure of New Jersey’s court system is among the most simple in the nation. The state has only the following types of courts: Municipal courts, Tax Court, state Superior Court, which includes the trial courts, an Appellate Division and the New Jersey Supreme Court. The trial court in Passaic County sits at the Passaic County Court House, 77 Hamilton Street, Paterson, NJ 07505. Both criminal and civil cases are heard at the trial court level. Typical civil cases involve contracts, personal injury, automobile accidents, employment and discrimination cases.
