The Trial Section of the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office consists of between 12–14 trial lawyers and 6-8 investigators. This unit handles about 95% of all the indictments that are returned by Passaic County Grand Juries, with the other 5% of indictments being retained by the special units of the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office. All of the cases prosecuted by the Trial Section involve adult defendants (over the age of 18) and juvenile defendants (under the age of 18) who have their cases waived up from the Family Court to the adult Criminal Court.

After indictment, cases are assigned to attorneys in the Trial Section. Upon receiving a case, the trial attorney reviews the file, prepares discovery (a copy of all police reports and statements of victims and witnesses) for defense counsel and sends a plea letter to the court and defense attorney advising them of the "plea bargain" that the Prosecutor’s Office is willing to offer. If the defendant accepts the plea, s/he will plead guilty before a judge and be sentenced within 45 days. If the defendant rejects the plea offer, the case is given a trial date by the judge. If a defendant elects to go to trial, the legal staff of the Trial Section presents the witnesses and evidence to the court and jury.

There are seven adult criminal courts in Passaic County. Each court is staffed by a team of two assistant prosecutors and one investigator. Each team is responsible for handling all criminal matters which come before the judge to whom they are assigned. The duties of the trial team include arraignment conferences, status conferences, preliminary motions, guilty pleas, jury and non-jury trials, bail hearings, motions to suppress evidence or statements, competency hearings, severance and joinder motions, sentences, motions for extended terms of imprisonment, post conviction relief motions, violations of probation, pre-trial invention applications and municipal appeals.

The investigators of the unit prepare each case for trial by subpoenaing, locating and interviewing witnesses and assuring the availability of the physical evidence. During the trial, they assist the attorneys by producing and safeguarding the evidence, escorting witnesses to court, keeping running notes of trial testimony and handling any other miscellaneous requests or needs that the trial attorney may have.