How many Americans have been jailed for inability to pay fines in municipal courts
Dear Warren County,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
How many American citizens have been jailed for inability to pay court fines in Warren county jail.
Yours faithfully,
Peter S.Mulshine
Dear Mr. Mulshine,
The Warren County Public Information Department is in receipt of your request for Warren County government records below. We are seeking clarification. We find your request to be broad and unclear.
- Please provide specific date parameters.
Your subject line mentions "municipal" court fines, but your statement under Records Requested does not.
- Please confirm you are only interested in the number of individuals jailed for failure to pay municipal court fines.
Once these questions are answered, we will work with our Warden to provide the information you are seeking. Thank you and enjoy the afternoon.
Regards,
Holly Luberto, Deputy Clerk
Warren County Public Information Department / Board of County Commissioners
Wayne Dumont, Jr. Administration Building
165 County Rt. 519 South
Belvidere NJ 07823
908-475-6580 / 800-554-8540
Dear Mr. Mulshine,
As stated in our email to you below, we are unable to move forward with your request unless and until you clarify a timeframe. This is aside from the fact that you do not appear to be requesting an identifiable government record, but asking a question. Our Warden is unsure if he can extrapolate violations of municipal court fines only; evidently those would be classified as "contempt", and there may be similar violations included in that group. We would like to try to help you, but first we need the timeframe. Do you want a one-day "snapshot"? For example, as of the day we research your question, the number inmates housed in the facility on that day that meet the criteria? Or over a certain period of time?
We are unable to fulfill your request as submitted.
If you feel you have been denied information erroneously, you may wish to file a Denial of Access complaint with the NJ Government Records Council (GRC). The GRC can be reached via this toll-free number: 866-850-0511 or by visiting its web site: www.nj.gov/grc.
Regards,
Holly Luberto, Deputy Clerk
Warren County Public Information Department / Board of County Commissioners
Wayne Dumont, Jr. Administration Building
165 County Rt. 519 South
Belvidere NJ 07823
908-475-6580 / 800-554-8540
Dear Warren County,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Open Public Records Act reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Warren County's handling of my OPRA request 'How many Americans have been jailed for inability to pay fines in municipal courts'.since Bearden V.Georgia 1983 Supreme court Decision Prohibiting it.
[ GIVE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR COMPLAINT HERE ]
Municipal courts in Warren County have been violating Americans 14 th Amendment rights.I want to know how many have been jailed ,For how long& is it still occurring now& what courts are ignoring Bearden V.Georgia 1983?
A full history of my OPRA request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://opramachine.com/request/how_many...
Yours faithfully,
Peter S.Mulshine
Dear Public Information,
Yours sincerely,sINCE 1983 How many have been jailed By Phillipsburg Courtfor inability to pay fines or Contempt of court in violation of Bearden V Georgia 1983.
Peter S.Mulshine
Dear Mr. Mulshine,
Thank you for providing further clarification to your original request, received by this office on September 10, 2021. Your initial request asked, "How many American citizens have been jailed for inability to pay court fines in Warren County jail."
We needed you to break that down before attempting to answer, so we appreciate your response.
Now that we understand you are seeking records relative to Phillipsburg Municipal Court, after consulting with the Warren County Correctional Center Warden, we believe it would be best for you to submit your request to the Town of Phillipsburg. Here is a link to a page with information regarding Phillipsburg Municipal Court: http://www.phillipsburgnj.org/our-town/d...
There you will find an online "New Jersey Judiciary Records Request Form", which is probably best, but if you prefer to go through OPRA Machine, I suggest the following contact as it appears on that page:
Lauri Kaulius
[email address]
Certified Municipal Court Administrator
(908) 454-5500, Ext. 326
As mentioned in my email to you below, sent on September 21, 2021, it may not be possible for our Correctional Center to extract the specific data you are seeking with complete accuracy, as they are classified as "contempt" along with other violations. While Phillipsburg is in Warren County, and the county operates the Correctional Center, it appears that the records you are seeking woud be under the purview of Phillipsburg Municipal Court, its own entity not governed by the county. If you feel you have been denied information erroneously, you may wish to file a Denial of Access complaint with the NJ Government Records Council (GRC). The GRC can be reached via this toll-free number: 866-850-0511 or by visiting its web site: www.nj.gov/grc.
We trust this has been helpful, and wish you well. Thank you and Happy New Year.
Regards,
Holly Luberto, Deputy Clerk
Warren County Public Information Department / Board of County Commissioners
Wayne Dumont, Jr. Administration Building
165 County Rt. 519 South
Belvidere NJ 07823
908-475-6580 / 800-554-8540