Union County, New Jersey is one of the most densely populated counties in the nation and is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Highly urbanized and spread over 103-square miles, the U.S. Census Bureau reports Union County’s population as (estimated) 526,426 residents in 2009. Union County is divided into 21 municipalities. Cities in Union County include Elizabeth, Linden, Plainfield, Rahway and Summit. Elizabeth, New Jersey’s fourth largest city, is the county seat for Union County and contains most major governmental offices and courts servicing the county. Filled with historic sites and home to a diverse population, Elizabeth is a transportation hub for New York City and other New Jersey points.
Major highways that traverse the county include the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95), the Garden State Parkway, Interstate 78, Interstate 278, U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 9. The Goethals Bridge connects Elizabeth to Staten Island, New York. In Elizabeth, the Goethals Bridge leads directly to the New Jersey Turnpike – a major route for traffic between Brooklyn and Union County’s Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal and Newark Liberty International Airport.
Chronic traffic congestion can make a trip down Routes 1 and 9 through Union County a frustrating experience. Union County is commissioning a study to improve the situation. According to the National Highway Safety Administration, forty-one people were fatally injured in vehicle crashes in Union County during 2009. Three fatalities occurred as the result of vehicle accidents involving alcohol-impaired drivers, and three pedestrians were killed as a result of vehicular accidents. When a severe personal injury or death occurs as a result of a Union County vehicle accident, the victim’s family also suffers, with emotional and economic burdens that may last for years afterward.
Union County residents have access to an array of hospitals in Elizabeth and throughout the county. In Elizabeth, the Trinitas Regional Medical Center and Newark’s New Jersey Medical School’s University Hospital serve county residents. New Jersey Medical School’s University Hospital offers many of New Jersey’s most advanced medical services and specialty care programs such as the state’s only Liver Transplant Program and only Level I Trauma Center, featuring a trauma-intensive care unit and the NorthSTAR helicopter transport system, which offers landings at accidents, primarily to motor vehicle crash sites. Other Union County hospitals include Overlook Hospital in Summit and the JFK Medical Center-Muhlenberg Campus in Plainfield.
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 Union County sits at the Union County Courthouse, 2 Broad Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07207. 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.
