The Docket

Issue date: 10/14/07 Section: Features

(In this story, there are two separate, yet equally important people. The judge, who hears cases, and the law student, who watches and writes a newspaper article about it. This is that article.)

9:05 AM - (ching, ching) Judge Karen A. Henenberg, Chief Judge of the Arlington General District Court, dons her judicial robes. She has a nice office. She gets to ride a secure private elevator down to the courtroom.

9:11 AM - As soon as the bailiff seats me - there's some confusion because both of us are coming in the same door - Judge H takes the bench. "All rise," the bailiff says. Judge H asks is everyone is in the right courtroom. The interpreter repeats her words in Spanish, an occurrence which will repeat itself again and again before the day is through. The judges rotate, but today Judge H is doing traffic court.

9:13 AM - Cases will be done in the order of the reporting officer. The first defense attorney enters a plea of guilty. Sentencing is scheduled for November 20th at 2 PM.

9:15 AM - The prosecutor asks for a dismissal, which is granted.

9:16 AM - The defendant shows their vehicle tags, which they hadn't had in their possession on the day of the citation. Judge H dismisses the case.

9:17 AM - The defense attorney is absent, so the Judge promises to come back to the defendant later in the docket.

9:18 AM - The police officer testifies that he pulled over the defendant driving alone on the I-66 HOV lane. The defendant is sworn in and explains that his watch is fast by four minutes. Judge H asks for his record, which is clean, and therefore suspends $125 of the fine.

9:20 AM - The police officer explains that he pulled the defendant over for passing a school bus while it was stopped. The defendant claims that she didn't see the bus.
(Judge H) "Where is that?"
(cop) "It's the school that used to be a funeral home."
(Judge H) "Oh, right, I remember that."
Judge H suspends $150 of the defendant's fine.

9:23 AM - The defendant is accused of honking her school bus horn in a no-honking zone to summon her granddaughter outside. The officer testifies that he only gave her a verbal warning at first, but she insisted on coming to court. The defendant says she wanted to see something in writing about the local anti-honking ordinance, as she had never heard of it besides being a bus driver for 27 years, so he gave her a ticket. Judge H consults the code. She suspends the defendant's fine, but only if she doesn't get any more tickets in the next six months.

Continued...

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