Life in the Courts

Here's a very observant little piece on daily life at the NY traffic courts. Articles like this are a big part of my love for the NYTimes.

The court often mirrors the changes in New York's immigrant groups. A judge said he first came across the surname Singh in the late 1980's in the Manhattan traffic court that serves mostly cabdrivers. Sometime later, he said, he realized that the ethnicity of the cabbie population was changing when he called out the name Singh and three people stood up.

Lawyers and judges agree that certain ethnic groups favor certain defenses or explanations, depending on one's point of view. Russians, for example, often invoke their mothers-in-law. West Africans smile broadly, a public face that judges sometimes misinterpret as lack of respect.

Then there are the bargainers, drivers from countries in the Middle East and Russia, for example, who expect to be able to strike deals in court.

I also love this little gem of a quote from one of the lawyers on call:

He talks frankly about his profession. "Look, I'm a traffic lawyer," he said. "It's not glamorous. I will not leave an indelible mark on the legal profession." He is much prouder, he said, of his accomplishments as a father.