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February 16, 2006
Dispatch from Exit 7A
From my old neighborhood in New Jersey comes this report:
Lawyer hit by van, gets ticket for jaywalking
MORRISTOWN -- A Morristown attorney was charged with jaywalking after being struck by a van while crossing the street to the Morris County Courthouse on Wednesday.
Jeffrey Advokat, 51, of Denville, whose law offices are on North Park Place, was attempting to cross Washington Street from the northwest corner of Cattano Avenue when he was struck by a white van that was turning left from Washington onto Cattano Avenue, police said.
Advokat was knocked down and suffered a cut on his head, police and Advokat said. Advokat said he was taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital by the Morristown First Aid Squad. He was treated for the cut, which he said was bleeding profusely, and released . . .
Advokat was trying to cross the street from a point that was within about 50 feet from either a crosswalk in front of the First Baptist Church or another leading to Court Street. He was charged with unlawfully crossing the road.
Advokat said he began to cross the street because he believed that the van had stopped to allow him to cross. "The truck stops for me and as I started walking in the road it started driving again," Advokat said.
Police said the driver of the van, Steven VanFanten, 33, of West Milford, told them he did not see Advokat. VanFanten was not charged.
I love the image of some beat cop handing a pen to the guy as he lays on a gurney, telling him to sign the citation, as the driver of the van tells the other cop, "This mook steps off da curb, from outa nowhere he comes; bada-bing, bada-boom! Next thing I know, my bumper's screwed up and my boss is gonna give me hell."
Then the lawyer watches the cops let the guy go with a sympathetic slap on the back.
Gawd, I love the East Coast.
And did you catch the lawyer's name? Advokat. Talk about your life being programmed at birth.
Nota Bene: You get off the Turnpike at Exit 7A to get to Morristown.
Posted by Mike Lief at February 16, 2006 07:40 AM
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Comments
Let me paint a bigger picture of this one for you... those streets are the ones in front of the Morristown courthouse. Jaywalking is extremely commonplace there, as is parking illegally, and there's few professions in our society who believe they're above the law more than attorneys.
And having dealt with Advokat professionally, I'd have to say there's few people out there with larger chips on their shoulders, or who are MORE of a know-it-all.
So I wouldn't be surprised at all if the cop who issued the ticket actually enjoyed giving it to him. In fact, I'd wager he knew of, or had dealt with, Advokat in court where Advokat was straining to get one of his "clients" off on some sort of pathetic technicality, yet again.
I'm sure you've heard this before -- It ain't what you say, it's how you say it. Well, Advokat has a knack for saying it like few others.
To put it another way, if Mr.Advokat had been run down right there in front of the courthouse, the courthouse where he's worked for 20+ years, as morbid as that thought is, I'd wager that you wouldn't have to purchase tickets to the funeral in advance.
Posted by: Mike at December 4, 2006 12:20 PM