New Jersey Nightly News; 03/19/1979

New Jersey night. Was with Rebecca suable in Trenton and Clayton Vaughn in Newark. Good evening. In the news tonight the men who were charged with the largest smuggling ring in American history were arraigned in Newark today as talks to avoid a strike at state colleges get down to the wire. There's finally a claim that some progress is being made. And officials from New Jersey and 13 other states are meeting in Tampa looking for a way to avoid Sunday closings of gas stations. Good evening Rebecca and sports Paul Badon has an interview with basketball coach Tom Young of Rutgers following the Scarlet Knights lost to St. John's and the NCW tournament. And on a closer look we have a report on the state Supreme Court's experiment with certification of trial lawyers and what that might mean to you the next time you need an attorney. Eight suspected drug smugglers were arraigned in Newark today they're accused of shipping the largest cash should ever see it into the United States. Jeffrey Hall reports.

All of the suspects were arrested Saturday. They were crew members aboard the Liberian freighter Olof. Three of the suspects including the captain are West German. The other five are American. The Yule log was intercepted by the Coast Guard Saturday afternoon just off Sandy Hook. The ship's last port of call was Cyprus but no one is saying where the hash came from or how the Coast Guard was tipped off. When federal agents boarded the vessel. They uncovered what they say was 40 million dollars worth of hasheesh stashed away in hundreds of rubber tires covered with burlap sacks. Agents are calling it the biggest domestic seizure of hash ever. A bail hearing for the suspects was delayed until tomorrow morning. If convicted each of the crewmembers could be fined $10000 and sent to jail for five years. From the federal courthouse in Newark. I'm Jeffrey Hall. The U.S. Supreme Court has turned down a request for another delay in the bribery case of former New Jersey congressman Henry House. His lawyers have asked the court to postpone arguments in the

case next week to sometime next month. He is charged with taking bribes in an alleged scheme to help resident aliens with their immigration status. The outcome of the case could produce new guidelines for future prosecutions of congressman and corruption cases are back in. Contract talks between the state and teachers at state colleges resume today in an effort to head off a walkout threatened for tomorrow morning. Mike Power reports. The bargaining talks have 90000 the full and part time college students waiting for word on whether they'll be going to classes tomorrow. The student government at one school Montclair today took sides even before the strike deadline. It voted to support the teachers and urged students to stay away from class if there's a walkout. The negotiators still seem far apart. Frank Mason of the state team said if he's not optimistic he's at least hopeful. But union president Marco Latina said many hours of talks over the weekend failed to produce much progress which the state's mediator

seemed to agree. I think it would be difficult to be optimistic at this point for the agreement to be reached by deadline. But the status here that you're in this here and I'm here I'm hoping that. We can pull it off. But late this afternoon after the two sides had bargained for about three hours and administration source called New Jersey nightly news to say the talks were making progress. He said the state revised its economic offer to the teachers and said there's been substantial movement on non-economic matters. It was not specific and the two sides had started the day far apart on salary proposals. Both the state and the teachers were prepared to bargain clear through the night. At the Rutgers labor center I'm Mike Howard. One wire service report now says that as of 5:30 this afternoon the union was saying it had received no no offer from the state. Clayton New Jersey energy commissioner Joel Jacobs on the day I was elected to head a coalition of Energy officials from 14 tourist oriented states and

Puerto Rico are meeting in Florida. The officials are trying to come up with state options for the possibility of federal orders to close gas stations on Sundays which the State officials say would hurt tourism before Jacobson left for Florida. He said one thing States could do is reduce their own gas consumption and that he would propose a 5 percent cut by all state departments here in New Jersey. Read Wells where points. State officials say a federal ban on Sunday gasoline sales would virtually shut down New Jersey's two billion dollar a year tourist industry. So in an effort to come up with an alternate plan to save gasoline and perhaps leave enough for private consumption. Commissioner Jacobson has proposed a 5 percent cut in gasoline usage in all state owned vehicles with the hope that the private sector would follow the example in the future state officials may be facing rationing plans and daily limitations on the amount of gas a state motor pool can be allowed to dispense. The Department of Energy is hoping that these measures will force state employees to drive more efficiently and waste less gas.

How much waste is there in the use of state vehicles. Can you realistically order a 5 percent cut. I think we can i don't think 5 percent is a lot. I think it's it's basically one gallon out of 20. And if you figure that a car has an average 20 gallon tank you're only cutting back one gallon of that. State government has got to set an example for the rest of the public. We're asking the general public to conserve gasoline and yet we feel that. They are looking to government to practice what they preach. Energy experts are confident that New Jersey's official use of gasoline can be cut without affecting the efficiency and the quality of state government. But if it doesn't work they say other alternatives will be explored including state operated carpool. Conservation and carpooling are not really new ideas. The state has made several attempts to encourage car pooling plans but they never really caught on. But now faced with the prospect of Sunday gas station closings the Energy Department may have to take stronger measures to force state employees to

carpool. In Newark I'm right well. Resorts International announced its net earnings today for 1978. The company which opened the Atlantic City casino in May a year ago earned fifty one million dollars. That's net. That's after paying salaries expenses and taxes the year before 1977 the net earnings for resorts were only two and a half million dollars. The Pinelands building moratorium should be lifted. That's the conclusion reached by a coalition of mayors from the pilots communities the mayors met last night in Hamilton and approved a 41 page resolution resolution among other things recommends that the moratorium only cover a five hundred seventy six acre core in the pine lives and that zoning power's be shifted from the governor to local municipalities. The mayors will present their recommendation to a Senate committee schedule to meet tomorrow. Quite a slum landlord could be couples and was in court in Jersey City

today on charges that he did not provide heat and hot water for tenement tenants and three of his buildings. Jersey City announced a crackdown on slum lords after television and newspaper stories about their operations gavels in particular following a series of fires including one in a tenement in which six persons died. Today however that crackdown may have broken down. Jack connoted reports. Kelson was a grim man as he headed for Judge Edward Sam pelisse courtroom flanked by his son and his attorneys. The charges involve 37 families who lived in three of couple's properties properties like the ease that we videotaped earlier this month. These families use their gas stoves to keep warm. They said the heated been broken for weeks. It forced them to live in only two rooms of the apartment huddling together in front of an electric heater in conditions that Jersey City Fire director called dangerous. But when Kev also left the courtroom he seemed relieved. Despite the highly touted crackdown on slum lowering in Jersey City Kelson was

fined three hundred seventy dollars a figure calculated on the basis of $10 a violation for each of the thirty seven families who went without heat and hot water during the coldest month of the year. And was obviously in a hurry to pay his fine and get out. He still faces another court appearance here next month on charges he placed tenants in a building the city had declared unfit for habitation. Mayor Thomas Smith was not immediately available for comment on today's court decision but his spokesman said he doesn't believe the mayor will be pleased. Sullivan said Kevin's and made him stomach sick and he pledged to bring pressure on all the slumlords in Jersey City to get them to clean up their act. But again the court fined would seem to have been less than the repair costs and the economics of slumlord still seem to favor neglect. I'm Jack Connelly. Voters who favored more money for the mentally retarded but were against more money for the prisons were caught in a bind last November. That's when both of those items were combined in a single 100 million dollar bond issue. The issue was voted in. But

some people are fighting it today their case came up before the state Supreme Court. Mariama Rosso has the story. The state Supreme Court today heard arguments about a practice called log rolling attaching an unpopular spending proposal to a clearly popular one so the voters are more apt to say yes. The case involves a state bond issue the voters approved last November. It's a lot of 30 million dollars for prisons. Fifty one million for the mentally retarded. Plus lesser amounts for a crime lab and a library for the blind. Stephen Davis of the New Jersey Association on correction said the choice given the voters was no choice at all and unconstitutional. A position that a state appellate court has already up held. They did not have a meaningful choice because if they favored prisons and did not favor spending on mental health or vice a versa they could not express their will individually project by project. And so they were left with what the court below called a Hobson's choice.

Well any time you have a combination of more than one project in a bond issue some people feel more strongly about one project than another. It's only constitutionally prohibited if it's an improper combination and if they have no common objective in this case they they clearly do. The attorney general did say that it would probably be unconstitutional for the state to include something like a racetrack or a casino in a State Building's bond issue. The Supreme Court justices seemed intrigued by the issue of lumping together different projects to make sure that the less successful ones path. With their line of questioning seemed to indicate that they'll uphold this particular bond issue. The court will make its decision sometime in the near future in Trenton. I'm Mariama Rosso. That beautiful weekend weather was with us again today and will continue at least through tomorrow. It will be clear and cool tonight. Temperatures in the low to mid 30s in the north and in the mid 20s to low 30s in the south. Tomorrow should be much like today. Sunny and mild with highs in the upper 50s in the north in the mid 50s to low

60s in the south and it will be cooler at the shore. The outlook for Wednesday is for continued mild temperature with increasing cloudiness. What are these two men have in common besides being baseball players. Well one has lent his name to a disease the other is lending his time to inform the public about the programs of the Ellis Foundation among a caustic lateral sclerosis Lou Gehrig's disease. I'm of the levy and that's one topic of discussion on this week's dirs and files. Well also take a look at an innovative program for juvenile offenders and see how our libraries are serving are you with us with the injured. Don't miss Jersey filed Tuesday at 8:00. New Jersey Public Television. It's tough to win on the road as the New Jersey Nets proven as Paul Budde line tells us. Certainly as Rebecca the Nets lost again last night this time of the San Diego Clippers 110 to

98 the nets ended a five game road trip at 0 and 5. The team is undoubtedly very happy to be back home tomorrow night against Detroit and college ball the regular season is now over. It ended on Friday night when Darryl Strickland missed the free throw in St. John's for the winning basket with five seconds the play. Rutgers wound up two points shy of advancing to the final eight teams in the country. The loss was disappointing but Rutgers did stay alive a lot longer than many thought they would. And when you take the entire season into perspective a 22 and 9 record is not bad after such a shaky start if not extatic Tom Young is satisfied anyway. I guess you really have to and as you mention the disappointment is still there because it has been that long since we lost St. John's and we felt that we were a better basketball team in a normal circumstance would have beat him but if you do reflect on the season from December 1 until we finally ended it it had to be one of the best seasons around here simply because we want to hold a festival. We want to own league. We got to regionals in I would say by the second best

years for satisfaction from any team ever at Rutgers. The woman's claim that records and not have to settle for second best they were far and away number one in school history despite a loss to Tennessee over the weekend in the regionals the lady knights finished with a 28 and 4 record. Next year Rutgers could challenge for the national championship honors continued today for Brad Wyatt of Jersey City statewide was named earlier to the small college All-American team. Today he was the top vote getter in the New Jersey State College Athletic Conference All-Star Team 6 3 Senior number 22 averaged 23 points a game as Jersey City State won the conference title. Why it is the first player to ever be selected four years in a row to that team also named today his teammate Eric Moore at Jersey City State Conference runner up Stockton Glasper as Frank Hudson and Reggie Belcher of Montclair State Belcher was one of the top small college rebounders in the entire country. And this weekend the high school state championships were contested throughout New Jersey. By the time the

games ended there was no doubt that two players really stood out from the rest of the crowd. One is Camden High sensational number 33 Billy Culbertson theory is he's a six foot one inch guard. He fired in 37 points as Camden defeated Union for the group fourth title at Standon second title in a row. Philly Culbertson can literally hit from anywhere inside or out the fish of the year as New Jersey's leading scorer with a 30 point per game average. Philly Culbertson college plans are still uncertain. You can shoot the ball watch this one at the end of the third quarter. Philly Culbertson probably the most heavily recruited player in the entire state. The other standout player is Ann Donovan of Paramus Catholic and is a leading all time score in New Jersey Girls Basketball on Saturday she added forty six point four total as or Paramus Catholic team defeated Ocean City for the group three state championship. At 68 inches and Donovan can completely dominate a game like very few others ever could. She averaged 38 a game this year and don't think that the fans of Paramus Catholic don't

appreciate her talent. By the way Paramus Catholic finished the season with a perfect 28 and 0 record. Just about every college now in women's basketball wants and Donovan is still undecided as to where she'll attend one possibility being Rutgers another being Penn State and the sports now it's your turn I think you're going to yes forgive me. Anyway a single engine plane crashed this morning in Alexandria. That's in West Central New Jersey killing one man and injuring another. Officials say 65 year old William Fritchey the owner of the airfield where the crash occurred and the former mayor of Alexandria died instantly. They say 32 year old Steve Stricker Leckie the other occupant of the plane suffered wrist and high injuries. Plane officials officials say the plane had just taken off from Alexandria airport when it crashed. 2000 feet from the end of the runway. They say they don't know yet what caused that crash. New Jersey's Symphony's music director and some of the symphonies 85 musicians are

embroiled in the controversy over hiring and firing practices arts commentator Michael Redmond tonight sounds off on the issue. Show me an orchestra that likes its conductor and I'll show you a lousy orchestra. This quip by the late Goddard Lieberson illustrates the New Jersey symphonies current troubles a lot of the orchestras musicians do not like Thomas Mahler and their new music director. He has had the nerve to tell some of them they do not play well enough. He has had the unmitigated gall to seek the demotion of some and the dismissal of others. One thing's for sure Mahomet must be stopped or accosts if he keeps on like this. There is a grave danger he may turn the New Jersey Symphony into a great orchestra. In national terms. The New Jersey Symphony is the state's only major orchestra. It went on a professional 11 years ago until the halakhah arrive the goal was to maintain the minimum artistic standards expected of a major orchestra. Well Mahal its goals are higher. He sees no reason why the New Jersey Symphony may not one day be known as

one of the top orchestras in America and all the music critics agree that if anyone can pull off this feat Mohali is the man. The musicians want a higher pay and a longer season. The halakhah in the symphony's board want a permanent home so that the orchestra does not have to play 100 concerts a year on the road all the time like some kind of traveling circus act. This too is essential to the orchestras future. The musicians at this point can't see the forest for the trees. And as long as this remains true Muhammad should keep swinging his axe. No one in New Jersey is interested in supporting a mediocre orchestra. The music comes first not the musicians. Michael Redmond. Has been another multiple fatality fire in northern New Jersey this one this afternoon in Jersey City. Six persons three adults at least two small children and clued in that one out of than a 5 killed today in another jersey city tenement fire. Flames began on the first floor of a four story brick tenement and raced up the building because the blood was not immediately determined but an investigation of possible arson

is underway. The body of Newark former Roman Catholic archbishop the Most Reverend Thomas a Bolan is lying in state tonight at New York's Sacred Heart. He died Friday of a massive stroke at St. Mary's hospital in Orange where he had been visiting other patients. Boland retired in 1974 after serving as archbishop for 21 years. Body will lie in state until the funeral Wednesday for the mass served by his successor Peter L. Garrity. I. Spent an hour with America's most unpredictable maestro for. Just. This coming Sunday at Jersey Public Television.

A new program is in the works that could make it easier for people to pick qualified trial lawyers. The program would give experienced trial lawyers who pass certain exams a certificate and those lawyers could then advertise themselves as trial specialists. Clayton has a closer look at the program where it may lead. For openers this is a court room. It happens to be a superior court room in Newark but it's similar to any courtroom used as a trial court anywhere in the state. The judge sits there the jury hear the witness here. And the opposing attorneys at those tables there. I'm going through all of that because chances are you've never been in a courtroom before as a principle. You may not even have been in one as an observer. The scary thing is that if you get in some kind of lawsuit suing someone or being sued or charged with a crime. And hire a lawyer right out of the Yellow Pages chances are pretty good that your lawyer won't be that Primeau you're with this kind of room either.

Some lawyers don't even practice law. Of those who do many practice only in corporate offices or they labor in the libraries of large law firms or do research or client relations of some sort. Leave all this Perry Mason courtroom business to somebody else. Criminal law and domestic law are notorious within the profession as being the least rewarding from the lawyer's monetary standpoint. Although they do remain the two areas in which a once in a lifetime visitor to a courtroom is most likely to be involved. So it's to meet that need to bring the citizen who needs a trial attorney together with an experienced and competent trial lawyer at the New Jersey supreme court led by Chief Justice Richard J Hughes has adopted an admittedly experimental program to certify trial lawyers very much to physicians. Requests to the knowledge of the consuming public that is to say people who are ill. As cardiologists

orthopedic surgeons psychiatry and what not. All the specialties or are can be known. To the patient coming to a physician. And we think that the same sense of concern for the consumer should pertain to the legal profession. Now this is been sharpened probably by the opinions expressed publicly by Chief Justice Berger. As to the low degree of trial advocacy excellence in the country. US Chief Justice Burger's findings are that somewhere between a fourth to a third of the lawyers who appear in court across the country and all judicial levels are incompetent. Hughes says the surveys are a New Jersey show a much lower figure. Fewer than 10 percent. Hughes is obviously pleased that it is not higher. He is obviously concerned that there are any and competence at all. Hughes and his fellow justices certainly don't see many incompetence. The state Supreme

Court is an appellate court not a trial court. And by the time a case gets here the lawyers are usually well prepared or at least that better be. If this particular Supreme Court scene looks familiar that's because it occurred during that one day experiment last December on cameras in the court room in order to try to isolate any possible effect of the photography. The court purposely chose routine cases but the fact is that few cases reach this level. Only a fraction of those are ever argued in open court and there is never a jury for the attorneys to worry about. So how does a lawyer get through trial experience. Maybe here in law school at what law students call moot court moot means having no legal significance. So what sessions like this amount to is practice for attorneys to be on what to do in real life. However because law professors no trial work is usually a minor part of the average lawyer's job. There is little emphasis in most lost arrows on this type of instruction. There has been more interest in it recently because of us Chief Justice

Burger's complaints and many law schools are responding with more trial school courses and more moot court work. But there is still a big difference and a long time between this. And this. And there is always more than just the lawyers fee involved. There is the outcome of a case in which real people like yourself for resolution of real issues like your problem are involved. So assuming that this sort of occasion thing works what's next again. Chief Justice you see there is a wide range of. Constitutional and legal problems being addressed to the courts which were. Constitutional rights of course have always been litigated. But consumers problems have come into focus environmental litigation students rights all kinds of civil rights ramifications and many other specific specialized problems product liability.

But you get right down to where the consumer lives. If I were. Involved in a divorce action if I wanted to buy a piece of real estate if I had a small claim going or criminal charge against me. The fact is that right now I couldn't go to the nearest phone book and look in the Yellow Pages and find a lawyer who specialized in any of those areas. That's true and that's the very gap we perceive. Your reference to. This rule not extending now to specialized fields workman's compensation. Industrial accidents and various who have matrimonial cases the things you describe is what we consider to be our second stage of this experiment. If the first is doable and if it's successful. We would then extend into that breakdown of specialisation to which you refer. Now however we are obliged to sit back and wait to see how certification of trial

attorneys comes out. It's possible certainly that the day will come when choosing a lawyer will be simpler less problematic less chance a thing. So this case is far from closed. I can't even say that the jury is still out because the jury doesn't even have the case yet. But we'll be watching to see how this goes. And if you think there's a chance that some day part of your future might be decided in a room like this. So should you. Once again our top story. Eight men were arraigned in Newark federal court today for allegedly trying to smuggle 20 tons of cash into the country. And that's the news. Good night. Good night Rebecca good night for the New Jersey Knightly. New Jersey Nightly News is a joint presentation of New Jersey Public Television NWN 1813 and is broadcast weeknights at 6:30 on Channel 13 and at 7:30 the New Jersey Public Television and updated edition is broadcast at 10

p.m. The New Jersey Public Television. And at seven the following morning on Channel 13 portions pre recorded.