Guest Post: My day in court
Rabbi Yaakov Menken is the Director of Project Genesis, a Jewish cyber-outreach organization based in Baltimore.
Yesterday found me at the District Court of Maryland, Traffic Division, to fight a parking ticket. We had received a "Warning Notice" for failure to respond to a citation that we had never received, for our van being parked in a Transit Zone, in one of those neighborhoods in which you might be ill-advised to park in the most legal of spaces -- especially after dark, which, according to the time on the notice, it was. Mistakes happen, and the most likely explanation is that the wrong license plate number was transcribed from the citation onto the notice. Besides a compliment from the judge for having a "mean" hat (like many Orthodox Jewish men, I wear a black fedora, which he didn't want me to forget on the bench), he also gave me the Not Guilty verdict I was looking for (benefit of the doubt).
The experience was notable for a few reasons. First and foremost, the judge was (as the previous comments might indicate), very friendly and down to earth, very unpretentious. He was handling "non-incarcerable offenses" (his translation: "the only way you can go to jail is by doing something really dumb in this courtroom"), and was happy to show the friendlier side of the court system. Everyone appealing a ticket seemed to have some justification, and he was happy to give a Not Guilty to, for example, the obviously handicapped woman who was driving the wrong car on the day she was ticketed for using a handicapped spot. "Justice, justice shall you pursue..." but tempered with mercy. I was impressed.
He also told the following story, which happened to take place in the same neighborhood in which we were charged with parking illegally. He walks, he says, through all of Baltimore's neighborhoods, and on a Sunday morning a young man approached him on the otherwise-deserted street corner. "Hey man," he said, "want some weed?"
The judge responded by reaching into his pocket, and pulling out his badge indicating that he is a judge. The young man looked at him, looked at his badge, back to him, back to the badge, and finally back to him. And then he said, "so does this mean you don't want any, or you can't have any?"
Of course, the story had to be shared simply because it's very funny. But I also wonder what it says when a young drug dealer is so unaware of the law and its possible consequences ... or so brazen as to imagine the judge would have no thought of having him arrested.
Religion teaches us about the need to control our baser instincts, to respect a Higher Authority. And, thinking pragmatically, a Jewish teacher of millenia past blessed his students that they should fear G-d as much as they fear other people (they were taken aback, but he pointed out that many will do in private, i.e., in G-d's Presence, what they would never do in public). What does it say about society when even an earthly higher authority is given so little recognition?
Comments
Rabbi Menkin:
I appreciate your blog regarding your favorable visit to the court. I take great pride in demonstrating the courts ability to conduct business with sensitivity, understanding and occassionally humor. I intend to capture the attention of persons in attendance and explain what logic, if any, exists about the circumstances on both sides. My desire is to have persons in attendance to, as you have, convey, educate enlighten and the public.
Many Thanks
ag
Posted by: Askew Gatewood, Jr. | July 8, 2009 12:27 PM
Excellent, Rabbi Yaakov: concise, compelling, spiritually provocative and ...true. May G-d grant all of us the grace to see his hand and hear his whisper, especially in the annoyances of everyday life. Amen!
Posted by: Brian Schrauger | July 8, 2009 10:33 PM
Nicely said. I'm also reminded of the statement from Ethics of the Fathers that if it weren't for fear of the government men would swallow each other alive. It would seem things are topsy-turvy, those who shouldn't need to do so do and those who should don't.
Posted by: Avigdor Loeb | July 9, 2009 7:26 AM
I'm honored that His Honor discovered/was informed about this entry, and responded to it. If it was found so quickly, clearly this blog is even more widely read than I thought!
Thank you all for your comments.
Posted by: Yaakov Menken | July 9, 2009 6:44 PM
Is it advisable, or required, for a Jewish man who normally wears a hat to remove it while in a Baltimore traffic court?
I kept mine on once while in a Providence traffic court. but perhaps a less cheery not-guilty, even some reluctance, than was offered to most others who were in attendance.
Perhaps I'm now tipped off to a better strategy?
Posted by: Chaim | July 11, 2009 8:34 PM