At the risk of getting reamed by the holier than thou types, because I am not in NJ, but this is also how it generally goes in PA (no prosecutor in attendance).
To reference a similar situation that I was in (in PA), I negotiated with the officer before the judge (magistrate) arrived and was able to get the ticket reduced (although I believe I could have had it dismissed but in that case I choked).
I would suggest you attend a court session before yours is scheduled to see how the court does it's business and how others go about negotiating.