Joel Jacobsen

Stereotypes are odious, yet first impressions are often correct.  For instance, in high school I learned that if a boy who presented himself as dangerous wished to occupy the square foot of the hallway in which I was then located, it was best to cede the territory to him for the duration of the passing period, or however long he wanted it.  He would lift his leg, mark it as his, and further unpleasantness was avoided. 

Now, I didn't know anything about the boy as a human being.  I hadn't taken the trouble to find out what made him tick.  My reaction was based entirely on superficialities of dress, manner, psychopathic stare, and so on.  Shallow?  No doubt.  But wrong?  I'm not convinced.

Similarly, when I see a person younger than 30 smoking a cigarette, I admit that I immediately jump to the conclusion that the person is either (a) stupid or (b) trying too hard.  Pre-judging?  You bet.  But wrong?

Now, take someone who drives a Hummer.  Is it wrong to assume without further evidence that such a person is not deeply concerned about the environment, and untroubled about causing inconvenience to other drivers (not just endangering the people behind them by blocking their view but worsening rush hour by occupying excess pavement)?  Is it mere prejudice to think that no one would willingly drive an expensive but fragile car that gets 10 mpg except as an expression of some fundamental psychological impairment?

No, it's not.  Take, for example, Dover, NJ, Municipal Judge George Korpita.  In 2003 he was in the news for driving a Hummer.  Recently he was in the news again in connection with his new (or additional) vehicle, a Maserati, another vehicle marketed to take advantage of the over-compensating:

Hartzman's complaint states that on May 4, he and two friends were at the Cafe Navona Restaurant in Rockaway Borough, where Korpita has been the judge for 10 years. At about 11:20 p.m., one of Hartzman's friends asked him to join her in the parking lot while she had a cigarette. While in the lot, Hartzman "may have been leaning against an automobile" but denies scratching it, according to the complaint.

Korpita soon came out of the restaurant, yelling, threatening violence and using profanity, according to the complaint. "Get the fuck off my Maserati," said the judge, who called the plaintiff an "idiot" for not knowing how valuable the car was, according to the suit.

Hartzman responded by calling the judge an "asshole" and a "pompous jerk," then went back inside. A few minutes later, two Rockaway Borough police officers handcuffed and arrested him, and took him to a municipal holding cell, the suit says. Hartzman claims he was not photographed, fingerprinted, advised of his offense or read his Miranda rights.

Hartzman seems to have looked into the judge's soul with a good deal more perceptiveness than our President looking into the Tsar's.  But it's what happened next that separates the garden-variety self-important judge from the sort of seriously-damaged person who should never be trusted with a judge's power over other human beings:

Hartzman's criminal defense attorney, Morristown solo James Porfido, entered his appearance before Korpita on May 10. Korpita called the defense lawyer later that day to discuss the case, and Porfido says he expressed concern that the judge's involvement was a conflict of interest. Korpita said he would transfer the matter to another municipal court, but he repeated that he would not agree to a dismissal unless Hartzman paid the bill, according to the suit. Porfido confirms that Korpita conditioned the dismissal on Hartzman's payment.

On May 17, the judge wrote to Porfido and enclosed an estimate from Ferrari/Maserati of Central Jersey for repair of the scratches. According to the suit, Korpita's letter read in part: "I would be willing to end the matter if he pays me the restitution, agrees not to go to Navona which I frequent and apologize. I am not happy with his actions but don't want to see him have a problem with his securities license."

Hartzman is a securities dealer and says he paid the money because he feared a conviction would endanger his license.

That's right.  According to the complaint, Korpita heard his own case, conditioned the judiciary's handling of the case on monetary payment to himself personally, demanded that his victim be banished from a public restaurant, and capped it all by threatening his victim's livelihood.

But, I'm glad to say, our legal system has leaped to the rescue.  Not in the form of judicial disciplinary proceedings, but in the good old-fashioned American way: a tort suit.  Hartzman has already succeeded in making all of America aware of Korpita's hilariously-self-advertised (but entirely accurate) sense of personal inadequacy.  Hopefully he'll get a car out of it, too, which he can trade in for something useful.