We are proud to intro­duce this new regular column written by Te­aneck-based, Englewood-residing attorney Jordan Comet. The Comet Corner will touch on a wide array of contemporary themes related to the law, Judaism, ethics, personal behav­ior in modern society today.

The obvious concerns come to mind when being stopped for a driving infraction: Will this cost me a ton of money; will I get a signifi­cant number of points on my driv­er’s license; will my insurance pre­miums increase will my spouse be upset, etc.?

While these issues are legitimate concerns, they are actually not the immediate thoughts that should be forefront on your mind. The truth is, all of the above concerns can be mitigated and possibly avoided by hiring an experienced attorney to represent you in court. But the one factor, with which no one can as­sist you, is the immediate interac­tion between you and the officer on the scene at the time of the stop. There is truth in the old adage from Will Rogers that “you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” Most people fail to ap­preciate the significance of their be­havior and attitude during a police stop. This is common sense, but I am invariably telling my clients that it pays to be nice and that the offic­er is merely doing his/her job. Get­ting angry and belligerent will not help your case. I am not suggest­ing that you need to admit to any guilt and you are under no obliga­tion to volunteer your laundry list of infractions to the officer as he ap­proaches your window. One needs to merely act politely and with civil­ity. Being courteous does not weak­en your innocence.

You might think it is unimpor­tant what the officer thinks of you. You might not care that he is merely performing his sworn duty. After all, you live in this town and your tax­es pay police salaries. You have an excellent driving record and have never been stopped before. You did nothing wrong and why are they wasting time stopping you when they could be catching real crimi­nals?!

The reality is much more sig­nificant than most people realize. Many judges in municipal courts throughout the State of New Jersey base their fee schedules for sum­monses issued on the cooperative nature of the driver and the courte­sy shown to the officer at the time of the stop. You might even avoid a summons altogether should the of­ficer decide to issue a warning in­stead of a ticket.

I have had numerous clients whose attitudes towards the of­ficers left a lot to be desired. In­variably, the officers will notify the prosecutors, who will then tell the judges of the lack of cooperation and any reduced plea or fine be­comes harder to obtain, based on the few seconds of anger exhibited by the driver.

However, if the policeman’s tick­et and the court’s penalty were not enough to get you in a po­lite mood, I would like to try a lit­tle guilt. As Jews we are tasked with the responsibility to embrace each opportunity to make a Kiddush Hashem (a sanctification of God’s name). Being stopped by a police officer is no exception. You have a choice: be rude and belligerent, re­sulting in a possible chilul Hashem (desecration of God’s name) or be kind and cooperative, resulting in a Kiddush Hashem.

Undoubtedly, being the sub­ject of a traffic stop is frustrating and upsetting. But, no matter how wrong you feel the officer might be in stopping you, or how angry you feel at the moment, it is im­portant to be kind and cooper­ative. Leave the lack of probable cause for your attorney to argue. Your job is to be polite, kind, and courteous and to accept the tick­et with a smile and a “thank you.” You never know—you just might get rewarded in the courts of both this world and the world-to-come.

Jordan B. Comet is an attorney with of­fices in Teaneck, NJ. His firm, Comet Law Offices, specializes in municipal, criminal and civil litigation. He can be reached at 201-385-1900 or JBComet@CometLaw. com.

By Jordan B. Comet