Why is Maplewood Court 90% Black defendants? Maplewood = Ferguson?

A friend has been fighting a case in Maplewood Court and has appeared there on three occasions. She has observed that approx. 90% of defendants are Black. The vast majority are there for minor traffic violations, such as expired stickers, ten miles over speed limit, etc.

Wondering if anyone else has had the same observations?

Are the Maplewood Police targeting Blacks for minor offenses? I know I've driven months without expired stickers.

knowlton said:

I know I've driven months without expired stickers.

*****, I've driven years without expired stickers.

RobB said:

knowlton said:

I know I've driven months without expired stickers.

*****, I've driven years without expired stickers.

:-D

When Mrs. S. got a ticket in town and contested it my observation was exactly the opposite.

Really?

What did you observe?

Knowlton, what did you observe? That's right, it wasn't your observation but anecdotal evidence from a friend.

This thread is pretty irresponsible.

yahooyahoo said:

Knowlton, what did you observe? That's right, it wasn't your observation but anecdotal evidence from a friend.

This thread is pretty irresponsible.

That.

Ive been to maplewood court on a few occasions and observed what Knowlton said... made me wonder as well

Could have something to do with the last traffic stop I passed on Irvington Ave... near 90% of the drivers were Black. Seems like simple math to me.

As to the comparison to Ferguson, that's just stupid on a host of non-superficial levels.

Not irresponsible at all. With the news coming out of Missouri and their complete sham of a court system, one must be ever vigilant. How can bringing it out for conversation be irresponsible? Looking for observations from other people.

Don't feed the troll.

I was in Maplewood Municipal Court last spring contesting a ticket. Had to go twice. Yes, the vast majority of people were for minor traffic violations but the racial make up was a mix.

People pay and settle violations outside of court, so if you want to measure police behavior, you really have to do more than just sit in a courtroom and observe who shows up.

Not trolling. Are we to blindly trust the system and believe there is no discrimination?

knowlton said:

Not irresponsible at all. With the news coming out of Missouri and their complete sham of a court system, one must be ever vigilant. How can bringing it out for conversation be irresponsible? Looking for observations from other people.

There is a difference between opening a discussion and making irresponsible statements.

You might be right, apple44.

I'll bet you $54 that ~90% of municipal court cases in Maplewood are related to parking. I guess it's possible the police sit and wait for a black guy to park 61 minutes in a 1 hour spot so they can ticket him - but somehow I doubt it.

sarahzm said:

I was in Maplewood Municipal Court last spring contesting a ticket. Had to go twice. Yes, the vast majority of people were for minor traffic violations but the racial make up was a mix.

Did you notice disparate treatment of Blacks and Whites?

yahooyahoo,

Still haven't discussed if there is discrimination in police action in town. You're too busy call me irresponsible.

knowlton said:

Not trolling. Are we to blindly trust the system and believe there is no discrimination?

Are we equally to believe that there must be?

No.

I was in Maplewood Municipal Court last spring contesting a ticket. Had to go twice. Yes, the vast majority of people were for minor traffic violations but the racial make up was a mix.

LOST said:

sarahzm said:

I was in Maplewood Municipal Court last spring contesting a ticket. Had to go twice. Yes, the vast majority of people were for minor traffic violations but the racial make up was a mix.

Did you notice disparate treatment of Blacks and Whites?

No. I did not.

In other neighboring towns, however I have seen and heard of disparate treatment - but not in Maplewood/South Orange.

RobB said:

I'll bet you $54 that ~90% of municipal court cases in Maplewood are related to parking. I guess it's possible the police sit and wait for a black guy to park 61 minutes in a 1 hour spot so they can ticket him - but somehow I doubt it.

Ya think?

I believe court dates are set based on when the officer who wrote them will be in court. If that officer has a patrol that is in a less racially diverse part of Maplewood, then it is likely that the makeup of the defendants will be less racially diverse as well.

I've contested one ticket in Maplewood and needed to prove that I had insurance for another. The parking ticket was near Columbia High School and the group of defendants in the courthouse was very diverse. The insurance ticket was near the border of Millburn and almost all of the defendants were white.

What an asinine thread. Maplewood=ferguson? Seriously?
Plus OP's use of the term "Blacks" is in itself derogatory and outdated.

I don't think it's trolling. But as @apple44 mentioned upthread, the fact that you go to municipal court and see a lot of non-white faces (and in the municipal courts in communities closer in to New York, you sure do) doesn't necessarily stand as proof that local law enforcement is focusing its efforts on people of color. It MAY mean that people of color are more likely to actually schedule court dates for violations in hopes of pleading them down, making a deal, achieving some outcome that will hit their wallet a little more lightly than just pleading guilty and paying the fine and possibly watching insurance premiums go up.

Blacks is an acceptable term. I have a Black friend who refuses to be called African American.

knowlton said:

Blacks is an acceptable term. I have a Black friend who refuses to be called African American.

Yes, Black/s is an acceptable term. I too dislike being called an AA because that's not totally who I am or who my parents are. I am, however, Black, unless they develop a check list for Cocoa Brown, Cafe Au Lait or Brown Sugar

knowlton said:

Blacks is an acceptable term. I have a Black friend who refuses to be called African American.

I don't think 'Blacks' as a noun is a generally acceptable term in the year 2015. IMO it's akin to calling women broads or dames.
Your friend may hold an opinion but that's just one person.
If you really think it is acceptable, try using it in everyday conversation and report back on what reaction(s) you get.

In response to the original question, I don't think that is the case on an overall basis. It might be the case on any given evening, perhaps for the reason that @Runaway posited. I've been there a couple of times (for parking ticket issues) and my observation was of a much more balanced mix.

I don't think it is wrong to ask what our police and town "powers that be" are doing to encourage positive police-community relations and avoid the kinds of issues that have been raised recently.

But I don't think that anyone should jump to conclusions based on observation of a particular session of municipal court.