Court's Policy 'Extorts' Family Of Poor Defendants: Federal Judge

CAMDEN, NJ — A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit can go forward by an Ocean County man who was threatened with five days in jail because he could not pay a $239 littering fine in Burlington Township.

Saying the practice "effectively extorts payment from the family or friends ... of indigent defendants," U.S. District Court Judge Noel L. Hillman ruled March 30 that Anthony Kneisser of Jackson had proven his claims against Burlington Township and its employees, including the town's municipal court judge.

The lawsuit stems from a 2014 incident where Kneisser, who was a 20-year-old student and part-time line cook earning $9 an hour, was ticketed on the New Jersey Turnpike for flicking a cigarette butt out of his car.

Unable to pay the ticket, Kneisser went to Burlington Township municipal court to try to set up a payment plan or arrange community service. Municipal Court Judge Dennis McInerney refused, instead ordering Kneisser to call people he knew to ask for money. When Kneisser told the judge he did not have anyone to call, he was sentenced to five days in jail. Kneisser was then handcuffed and placed under arrest.

Kneisser filed suit in 2015, charging the decision to jail Kneisser violated due process and discriminated against him based on income. The American Civil Liberties Union joined the lawsuit in 2016, calling the town's policy of ordering indigent defendants to go to jail the equivalent of debtor's prison.

RELATED: Ocean County Man Sues Judge Who Jailed Him Because He Had No Money To Pay Littering Fine

Burlington Township had a policy requiring fines of more than $200 to be paid in full before leaving court, which Hillman said was a violation of state law and a violation of the rights of indigent defendants.

"This policy ... violates their rights every step of the way," Hillman wrote, "by converting fine-only penalty into putative incarceration, by failing to provide indigent defendants with alternatives to full and immediate payment, by ignoring that these defendants have not waived their right to counsel relating to a jail sentence."

Under the municipal court’s policy and practice, Hillman said, "It is . . . clear that countless defendants’ constitutional rights have been, and may continue to be, violated."

"The Burlington Township Municipal Court was acting like a modern-day debtors’ prison, and this ruling validates the constitutional concerns their actions raised," said Alexi Velez, staff attorney with the ACLU of New Jersey. "This decision is a big victory for civil liberties. Judge Hillman made clear that municipal courts cannot trample on poor people’s constitutional rights by prioritizing collecting money over dispensing justice."

"I couldn’t be happier about Judge Hillman’s decision," Kneisser said. "Not only does it protect and uphold my rights, but it also acknowledges that this municipal court violated the rights of many people."

"I brought this lawsuit because I wanted to make sure that no one else would be sent to jail just because they could not afford to pay, and this ruling puts that goal closer within reach," he said.

"What happened to Anthony amounted a gross violation of his rights and of the law,” said Marguerite Kneisser, a lawyer with Carluccio, Leone, Dimon, Doyle & Sacks, LLC, and Anthony’s sister; she initiated the lawsuit.

"We count on all of our courts to be fair and treat everyone equally, but this municipal court discriminated against Anthony because he could not afford to pay. No one should have to go through what he went through, and Judge Hillman clearly wanted to make sure that this never happens again," Marguerite Kneisser said.

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