Letter To The Editor in today's Record:
No relief in municipal court
I recently received a parking ticket while shopping in Hackensack while parked in a store lot.
I saved my store receipt with the intentions of going to court and having it dismissed. I showed up for a Municipal Court hearing that was scheduled for 2 p.m.
At roll call, the judge told each individual who pleaded "not guilty" that the trial would begin at 5 p.m. I live 20 miles away and had other obligations, so I paid the ticket and left.
There were at least 15 other people in the payment line, all with proof in hand that the tickets they received were in error. But no one could wait an additional three hours to be heard. Add to that the time of trial, and about five hours had been added to the process.
First of all, people should be informed in advance of the procedure. I could have arranged my day to show up at 5 p.m. if I had known in advance.
As far as I am concerned, this is a ploy to have people pay tickets even if the tickets were written in error. It's just another tax on the public. Shame on Hackensack. Shame on the system.
Alfonso Carrino
Jersey City, Dec. 10
