JC municipal court “365 Summit Ave”

prosecutor: 201 209 6755

public defender: 201 209 6761

Visit the information window at the Jersey City Municipal Court located at 365 Summit Ave 201-209-6700/38/48/28/31/34/45:
Monday, Wednesday through Friday 8:30am to 3:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am to 7:30pm

• Q: will I get a criminal record if convicted?
• Q: if I get a criminal record, will it affect my immigration petitions?
• Q: if I get a criminal record, will it show up in my background checks when I apply for a professional job (or some licenses but I have none in mind)?
• Q: Mostly to avoid the criminal record, I hope to get the charge dropped. Do I have ground to plea not guilty?
• Q: Do I need a lawyer to represent me in court?

–My statement

Sunday 28 Apr afternoon, I got off light rail at Harborside station. As there was no trespass signpost, I got down to the tracks hoping to take a shortcut. (There are rail tracks on both sides of the platform. I was crossing the west side tracks, which appeared unused.)

A policeman saw it and yelled at me to stop. So I stopped taking the shortcut and walked along the track towards the main exit at the south end. Note the tracks run north to south and all other passengers were walking towards the same exist at the south end. The difference is, they were walking on platform; I was walking on the tracks.

Then I heard the policeman calling out again, this time instructing me to come back up to platform immediately. I then realized I was in a dangerous place to be on active tracks. At that moment I was somewhere half way between the two ends of the fence separating platform from tracks. From my position on the track, I looked both ways and compared my two options — forward or backward.

Walking forward, against instruction, to the south exit was faster and safer than turning back north and climbing up the platform without stairs.

• The south end of the track had no train that day (All passengers were told to get off and board shuttle bus), so if a train were to come onto me it would come north to south from behind me. Walking forward I would have more time to escape at the south end.
• In contrast, if I were to turn back north, climb the platform, and fall on the track while climbing, the oncoming train would have to stop in time. What if the train malfunctions? Would the police officer help pick me up from the tracks in front of oncoming train?

The tracks are a dangerous place, so I was desperate to get off the tracks. I had limited time to decide or explain my decision to police officer. Instead, I gestured and told him “Okay okay i will go out from the front exit”.  I saw the policeman walking south to catch me.

Without running, I quickly walked forward until the south end, and then waited for the police officer. “It was faster to get out here than climbing the platform” I told the police officer.

I came to U.S. from Singapore in 2017. U.S. trespass laws are unfamiliar to me. I believed police officer was warning me for my own safety and I knew best what’s safer for myself. I wasn’t aware of trespass offense. Yet in any country, I never ignore law-enforcement officers  because I know the consequences. (That’s why I stopped half way climbing the fence.)  Police officer said I ignored his instruction. I didn’t as I knew he would not let me get away.

What appeared as defiance was my safety-first decision to get out of a dangerous place ASAP.

I was trespassing unknowingly, and never defiant.