MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris/Sussex Vicinage of the New Jersey Courts has opened a new exhibit inside the historic Morris County Courthouse and the adjoining Administration and Records Building, marking the 250th anniversary of American independence and launching a celebration leading up to the courthouse’s own bicentennial in 2027, marking 200 years since the building was constructed in 1827.

The exhibit was launched in conjunction with Morris County’s “Light to Unite” campaign and a public reading of the Declaration of Independence held on July 8. The self-guided display traces more than 270 years of Morris County’s legal and civic history, beginning with the county’s first log courthouse in 1755 and continuing through the present-day courthouse.

Through historic photographs, artifacts and interpretive displays, visitors can see how the courthouse evolved alongside Morris County and the nation over the past 200 years, reflecting the enduring principles of justice, liberty and the rule of law.

Among the exhibit’s highlights is the court-martial of Benedict Arnold. One of the most significant legal proceedings of the Revolutionary War took place in Morristown during the Continental Army’s second winter encampment. From December 23, 1779, through January 1780, Major General Benedict Arnold was tried by a military court at Dickerson’s Tavern on Spring Street. The proceedings resumed a case first opened at Middlebrook earlier that year but postponed because of military operations.

The exhibit also examines the 1887 blasphemy trial of Charles B. Reynolds, one of New Jersey’s earliest legal challenges involving freedom of speech and religious liberty. The widely publicized case was argued by orator and Civil War veteran Robert G. Ingersoll and became part of the nation’s evolving conversation about free expression and religious freedom.

Additional displays highlight notable Morris County court cases, the history of the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, and the courthouse’s Federal-style architecture, considered one of the finest surviving examples of its kind in New Jersey. Visitors also may step inside the historic courtroom, which has remained in continuous use for nearly two centuries.

As a keepsake, visitors may pick up a complimentary copy of “Founding Documents of the United States,” a pocket pamphlet containing the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, courtesy of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation.

Self-Guided Tour

The exhibit is open to the public during regular business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visitors can explore the self-guided exhibit at their own pace by following directional signage throughout the historic courthouse.

1. Begin on the second floor of the Administration and Records Building, 10 Court Street in Morristown. Access the second floor using the lobby elevator after passing through security screening.
2. Cross the enclosed pedestrian bridge into the historic Morris County Courthouse, where the exhibit begins with the history and evolution of the county’s courthouses.
3. Continue through displays featuring landmark trials, historic artifacts, digital presentations and notable figures in Morris County’s legal history.
4. Proceed to the first floor to explore exhibits on the history of the Morris County Sheriff’s Office.
5. Before departing, pick up a complimentary pocket Constitution.

Visitors requiring accessible access may view both the first-floor and second-floor exhibits by entering the Administration and Records Building and the historic Morris County Courthouse separately. Upon arrival at either building, visitors should notify a sheriff’s officer that they would like to view the 250th anniversary exhibit and require accessible access.

MORRISTOWN — At 5:59 p.m., the bell atop the historic Morris County Courthouse rang 13 times as about 70 people stood on the lawn outside to witness a recreation of one of the nation’s defining moments: a public reading of the Declaration of Independence exactly 250 years after Americans first heard its words read publicly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

At precisely 6:00 p.m., Morris County Commissioner Director Stephen H. Shaw stepped to the podium and began reading the Declaration’s opening words:

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…”

Spectators responded with a resounding “Huzzah!” as he concluded with the Declaration’s enduring assertion that “all men are created equal” and are endowed with the unalienable rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

View more photos from the Declaration of Independence reading, or watch the livestreamed recording.

Morris County joined communities across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the United States territories in reading the Declaration of Independence at exactly 6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time as part of a nationwide campaign called “Sharing the Spirit of America.” July 8 marked the 250th anniversary of when the document was first read in public in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and, later that same day, in Trenton, New Jersey.

The Morris County reading was shared by 13 public leaders in honor of the 13 original colonies. After Director Shaw, Commissioner Deputy Director John Krickus read a portion of the document, followed by Commissioners Christine Myers, Thomas J. Mastrangelo, Deborah Smith, Douglas R. Cabana and Tayfun Selen, Surrogate Heather J. Darling, County Clerk Ann F. Grossi, County Administrator Deena Leary, Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, Sheriff James M. Gannon, and Assignment Judge Stuart A. Minkowitz of the Morris/Sussex Vicinage of New Jersey Courts.

State Senator Anthony M. Bucco also attended the ceremony.

The evening began with Revolutionary-era music by the Colonial Musketeers Senior Ancient Fife and Drum Corps of Hackettstown. Attendees also explored the Morris County 250th Traveling Mural, an interactive public art project by artist Dan Fenelon touring the county as part of Morris County’s Semiquincentennial programming.

Following the reading, attendees enjoyed complimentary red, white, and blue ice pops, adding a patriotic touch to the evening’s festivities.

The Declaration of Independence reading was coordinated by the Morris County Board of County Commissioners, the Morris County Heritage Commission, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, the Division of Buildings and Grounds, County Administration, and the Office of Communications and Digital Media.

The ceremony concluded another 250th Anniversary campaign, “Light to Unite,” which involved lighting up county facilities with red, white, and blue lights beginning on July 2, when the Second Continental Congress formally approved a resolution separating the colonies from Britain. The celebration of American independence in Morris County will continue with a special 250th anniversary exhibit presented by the Morris/Sussex Vicinage of New Jersey Courts inside the historic Morris County Courthouse, which was built in 1827.

The free, self-guided exhibit commemorates America’s Semiquincentennial while launching the courthouse’s 200th anniversary celebration that will take place next year. Through historic photographs, artifacts, and interpretive displays, visitors can explore more than 270 years of Morris County’s legal and civic history, tour the historic courtroom, and receive a complimentary copy of Founding Documents of the United States. The pocket pamphlet contains the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence, courtesy of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. The exhibition is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

TRENTON — State Senator Joe Pennacchio, a Republican representing Morris and Passaic Counties, delivered the following remarks on the fiscal year 2027 budget during the Senate’s voting session:

“Once again, the people of New Jersey are presented with a budget which prioritizes where you live, not what you need. Those voting for this budget will say they are addressing the needs of the most vulnerable. That in certain instances may be true, but not when it comes to our most vulnerable and needy children. Who would deny that the education we give our special needs children should be paramount in what this budget addresses. It does not.

“A number of years ago then Senate President Sweeney and I, along with other Senate colleagues, held statewide meetings to discuss school funding. What was agreed upon by all Republicans and Democrats was that the state had to first address the needs of those children. It happened. The State began increasing its share of the cost of special education. What was important to me was that this increase was not based on the zip code that the child lived in. Those children were determined to be all our children. Unfortunately, old habits die hard. The 2022 budget funded ninety percent of extraordinary special education costs.

• 2023 — eighty-four percent
• 2024 — seventy-two percent
• 2025 — sixty-two percent

“Last year, fifty-two percent. Final numbers are not in for this year’s budget but no doubt it follows the same pattern established the last five years. So, as this budget climbs ever higher, having increased seventy percent in nine short years, the obligation that we had agreed to when it came to the needs of our state’s special needs children has begun to evaporate. Plenty of taxpayer dollars for all sorts of things, some good, some not so good. This budget does not reestablish our educational priorities for all our most needy children. It does only if they live in the right zip code. So, I would ask my colleagues to please preface their commitments to our children by saying they do care about children, only their children,” Senator Pennacchio said.

MORRIS COUNTY — The New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police has named Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll its 2026x Public Official of the Year, recognizing a professional career that has spanned more than fifty years and reshaped how New Jersey investigates and prosecutes organized crime.

“Prosecutor Carroll has consistently demonstrated the kind of leadership and dedication to public service that this award recognizes,” said former New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police President Andrew Caggiano, the Montville police chief, whose term concluded June 24, 2026. “His commitment to Morris County reflects the highest standards we hold our public officials to, and the association is proud to honor him as Public Official of the Year.”

Few careers in New Jersey law enforcement carry the weight of Prosecutor Carroll’s. He built his reputation taking down some of the state’s most dangerous criminal organizations, work that culminated in the prosecution of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious “Iceman” killer, and a hierarchy-level racketeering murder conviction against the New Jersey Lucchese Crime Family.

As Chief of the state’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Task Force, Prosecutor Carroll, working with a talented and dedicated team of state prosecutors and detectives, led investigations into all five La Cosa Nostra families operating in New Jersey, securing hundreds of convictions against organized crime figures and their networks.

That track record was built over decades, starting in the early 1970s as an Essex County Investigator and Assistant Prosecutor, and continuing with his selection in 1980 to the Division of Criminal Justice’s elite Special Prosecutions section, where he specialized in electronic surveillance and undercover organized crime investigations.

By 1986, Prosecutor Carroll was leading the Organized Crime and Racketeering Task Force itself, rising to Assistant Attorney General.

Prosecutor Carroll’s influence has extended well beyond the courtroom. He has trained hundreds of state and tribal law enforcement leaders as an instructor at the New Jersey State Police Academy, the Essex County Police Academy, and in Native American programs, and his work has drawn commendations from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Secret Service, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Attorney’s Office, the New Jersey State Police, and numerous county prosecutor’s offices.

His public service record also includes stints as Acting Sussex County Prosecutor, Director of the Law Department for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, and Compliance Officer overseeing thousands of background investigations for major Native American gaming facilities, where he also chaired a Gaming Regulatory Commission.

Since his appointment as Morris County Prosecutor in 2020, Prosecutor Carroll has continued that legacy, leading an office the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police cited for its steady leadership, integrity, and unwavering commitment to public safety.