COURTS ARE SCARY PLACES

December 4, 2001

In connection with the New Jersey bus inspections, described in great detail elsewhere in this NEWS section, on November 1 GSS Tours received three tickets from a state trooper conducting an on-the-spot inspection near casinos in Atlantic City.  The court date was yesterday  (December 3, 2001).

The state troopers did not show up.

The Judge postponed the hearing.  The writer was advised to prepare for ANOTHER 70-mile trip to the City-By-The-Sea.  The Judge said his office staff had made a mistake.

According to the tickets, if you wish to plead “not guilty” (we did), you had to phone the Violations Bureau at least seven days prior to the court date.  On 11/15/01, the writer phoned the number listed on the back of the tickets.  The time was 3:40 p.m.  The automated system directs you to the appropriate department.

On this date (11/15/01), the phone rang and rang and rang.  No answer.

Another attempt was made 11/21/01 at 11:40 a.m.  This time, the call was answered.  We asked what the “fines” would be, and immediately the response was that this would be up to the Judge.  We confirmed that we wished to plead “not guilty”.  We said our court date was 12/3/01.  The woman in the Violations Bureau said we would need to appear on that date.

In court Monday, the Judge did not call the name of GSS Tours, which is listed on each ticket.  He asked if there was anyone present whose name was not called.  Several, including GSS, came forward.

The Judge wanted to inspect the tickets.  The “box” to be checked (“Court Appearance Required”) was blank, said the Judge.  We replied that we were instructed to be present in court 12/3/01, as the date showed on the ticket.

Having experienced the Courtroom One situation December 20, 2000 (described elsewhere on this website), we had no reason not to expect a one-day hearing.  In fact, the trooper had specified “1:30 p.m.” as the time of the NOTICE TO APPEAR.  If you do not have to appear, why was a time listed?

You have to understand that Judges are sacrosanct.  From their years as sharks, they have developed an air enabling their comfort with a completely dictatorial demeanor.  After all, it’s the law.  And they are schooled in it.

After inspecting the tickets, the Judge directed GSS to report to “Window Number One” outside the courtroom.  There, a clerk looked up in her computer for information on the three tickets (#960382, #960383 and #960384).  She then turned her monitor around so it could be viewed by the defendant.  She pointed to the line which stated:  COURT APPEARANCE REQUIRED.

She then rather ordered:  “Stay right there.”  And she left the large room.

She was not unpleasant, but nevertheless did not say “Please”.  Perhaps that’s the way of the court system.

She returned and said:  “Go back in the courtroom.  Your hearing is coming up today.”

On the wall behind the Judge, an emblem declares that the Atlantic City Municipal Court advocates “INTEGRITY – FAIRNESS – SERVICE”.  What happened later Monday afternoon challenged the vow of fairness.

The Judge sorted all the defendants into those who required the assistance of the Public Defender, and those who should discuss their case with the Prosecutor.  GSS was in the latter class.  All were asked to line up outside the courtroom to meet with the Prosecutor in the small mediation room.  It was a 45-minute line.  There were alot of people there who faced a wide variety of motor vehicle charges; only one bus company.  The NJDOT usually was scheduled for Wednesday afternoons, but this was a gig by state troopers, so, would you not assume that maybe the troopers knew what they were doing when they specified 1:30 p.m. 12/3/01?  And wouldn’t you assume the Violations Bureau would know what a “not guilty” plea required involving the three tickets?  The Assisant City Prosecutor, Michael R. Mosca, was a nice enough fellow, obviously beleaguered (read that:  too many cases to handle).  When he got to GSS 40 minutes after he started, you could tell he was a bit bedraggled, but nonetheless he said he had no paperwork for the GSS case.  We should tell the Judge, the Assistant City Prosecutor said, that his office (Judge Powals’)instructed us to appear on the date specified.

After a court recess, several cases were called up for brief actions, and then the Prosecutor told the Judge that GSS was represented but it did not appear the state troopers were there.  The Judge asked GSS what the circumstances were.

The GSS response was that we had followed all the instructions on the ticket, and had phoned the Violations Bureau more than seven days in advance of the hearing date.  The Judge wanted to know how we felt all instructions had been followed.

So at the witness station, we read the red portion of the ticket, which states:  “PLEA OF NOT GUILTY   If you intend to plead not guilty to the offense charged in the Complaint and Summons and have a trial, you must notify the Court Administrator, whose address and telephone number are shown below, of your intention at least 7 days prior to your scheduled court date.  If you fail to notify the Court Administrator, it may be necessary for you to make 2 court appearances.”

Fancy that.

Although there was a second paragraph, the Judge had heard enough.  He said he did not want to engage in a “shouting match”.  He said that obviously his court staff had made a mistake, and he was sorry, but that the case would have to be re-scheduled so the troopers could be notified.

Tough, fella.

There was no “shouting match” and for the Judge to imply this was anything but an exhibition of “FAIRNESS”, as it says on the emblem behind him.

Had the Judge allowed further “testimony”, he would have heard further proof that the court’s rules had been complied with.  Paragraph 2 states:  “COURT APPEARANCE REQUIRED   If ‘Court Appearance Required’ is checked on this Complaint and Summons (at the bottom of the other side) you must appear in court at the time and place indicated, even if you wish to plead guilty.  If ‘Court Appearance Required’ is not checked on this Complaint and Summons you must still appear in court if:  a.  you wish to have a trial; or b. the charge is not listed on the State or Local Supplemental Violations Bureau Schedule.”

The three tickets were for the following allegations:  1)  Axle 3 at brake out of adjustment  2) Passenger side emergency exit window blocked by TV  3)  Missing emergency exit stickers on windows.

We had with us for presentation to the Judge two separate write-ups of billings for replacement of Axle 3 brakes performed 9/19/01.  Could the state troopers be in error, as the NJDOT inspectors were at Liberty State Park perhaps a decade ago (for what happened a decade ago, please look elsewhere on this site … see THREE TICKETS BY NJDOT  2000 VERSION).

The TV monitor has been in the same place since the bus was new.  The NJDOT inspected the bus on many occasions after it was placed in service, most of them the required twice-a-year inspections since, at the time, the bus was registered in New Jersey, as that is where the bus was garaged.

The third ticket was a nit-picker.  The red handles on the emergency windows are far more evident than the sticker warnings.  If there were an emergency, passengers would be looking for escape and would go immediately to the large red handle.  By the way, the TV monitor was not close to the red handle, either.  A representative of the NJDOT explains that the ticket likely was issued in error by the state trooper, as the law only requires that the bus have 40% or more of escape space.  We have more than 90%.

So, according to the Judge, we must return to court at some later date . . . . . because his staff made a mistake.  Well, so did the state troopers.  Another case of New Jersey and You, NOT PERFECT TOGETHER.

And there is a Post Script to the above.  On December 10, 2001, an OFFICIAL LEGAL NOTICE came from Atlantic City Municipal Court.  A new hearing date has been set for Friday, January 11, 2002, at 1:30 p.m.