New Jersey Nightly News; 04/12/1983

New Jersey nightly news is made possible in part by a grant from first jersey Securities. Good evening. I'm Kent Manahan in the news. There's a threat of another strike against New Jersey Transit. Glen Turner is convicted of attempting to murder State Trooper John Jacobs and parts of West New York were evacuated today after a hazardous chemical spill. Leaders of a dissident faction of the United Transportation Union today said they plan to call a new strike against New Jersey transit but the union refused to set a strike deadline saying the job action could come at any time even as soon as tomorrow morning. This evening Governor Kaine announced the state would seek legal intervention to try and prevent the threatened walkout. Diane doctor reports.

New Jersey Transit is bracing for another strike the second in as many months. Talks between NJT and members of the United Transportation Union's Conrail East faction broke off after less than an hour a face to face bargaining. Union leader Charles Jones said his members are now on a collision course with a strike against NJT New Jersey Transit will be struck by Conrail Eesh. And in the near future here is the one we know the deadline has not been set Jones said. NJT has not been willing to move on major issues. I think they want this strike. I think they want to disrupt the public and I think they want to have another strike and I think that's what they're going to have if they want to. Mr. Jones has said to the press in just the last few minutes that he's not going to give anyone any notice and that he might very well quote people out of any possible time that's the height of irresponsibility for a person is holding a responsible position for a union. In fact that that carries the public.

Jones represents about 125 NJT conductors and trainmen. Last week they voted unanimously to reject the same contract offer approved by the larger Conrail North faction. According to the mediator involved there are four key issues to be resolved. Conrail East wants a voice in determining the size of train crews. They want added flexibility in work assignments. They want assurances that NJT will not hire part time ticket collectors keeping full timers out of work. And there is some dispute over the number of pay scales. Meanwhile there are plans for putting the hundreds of substitute buses back on the road. If NJT gets adequate a strike notice. Is it conceivable then that people could show up at train stations and vyne no trains and no buses. That's a possibility. We will do everything humanly possible to ensure that our trains are running. Commuters weren't surprised by the new strike threat just angry. What are you going to do if they go out.

I guess take the bus again the same old treachery. With everybody else. I don't like it. I don't want to see it happen. I think that they get enough money. If Jones had called us straight for this afternoon rush hour in the words of one NJT official would have been total chaos. But it didn't happen. Tomorrow though is another story. You should in your. Mind die a doctor. This evening Governor Kaine ordered the state attorney general's office to seek legal action to block the walkout. Representatives of the attorney general's office are scheduled to ask federal court judge Dickinson voice for a temporary restraining order this evening Governor Kaine through a spokesman said he was outraged at the strike threat and said he was taking steps to ensure thousands of commuters would not be stranded. It took a jury five and a half hours to find reputed pegan motorcycle gang leader Glen Turner guilty of attempted murder in the shooting of State Trooper John Jacobs. Then Hodgson has the story.

Superior Court Judge Leon Windgate had charged the jury and sent them out to reach a decision late yesterday afternoon that mid-morning today they returned asking for clarification of certain points of law to help them decide if Glen Turner had been too intoxicated on speed and Angel best to be held accountable for shooting State Trooper John Jacobs. They were told the state had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Turner had acted purposely and knowingly in the shooting. With that instruction the verdict was reached within a few hours. You heard. George. Read. Junior receives the book. As he had the entire proceeding without any visible emotion. But as he left the courtroom for the final time he registered his feelings with a final defiant gesture. Prosecutor Lawrence Willingham told the jury in closing arguments a verdict of innocence would tell the public quote every drug you ingest some kind of substance is not going to be held responsible for his actions. Well I said he is obviously pleased with the verdict.

Well I think the jury recognize that there are law enforcement officers have to be protected it's a tough job and asserting some kind of diminished capacity by alcohol or drugs will not work and it should not work. Well he said the current law should be changed to make sure people who voluntarily take drugs or alcohol are held responsible for their actions. Glenn Turner's lawyer Barry HOCKFIELD said he didn't feel this trial or its outcome should lead to any change in the innocent by reason of intoxication law. At the moment is why what was it was before this trial started. I suspect it's going to remain viable for and his attorney also said he felt some aspects of the trial were not conducted properly although he wouldn't be more specific he did say there will almost certainly be an appeal. In the meantime bail which had been set at $4 million has been revoked and Turner will await the appeal and sentencing six weeks from now from the county jail in Camden. I'm Dan Hodson. Parts of the Hudson County Community of West New York were evacuated today and 19 people required emergency treatment after a white powder was accidentally

released. Bob Shapiro reports. It began as a toxic mystery 12 West New York Parks Department workers were landscaping this area when a rake apparently tore a plastic bag which contained the white powder. Within moments the whole crew was overcome. My eyes and my nose was burning a lot and my throat was getting real dry. You know we went to the West New York sewage plant. We wash our eyes. And after that to burn a lot more. The plant supervising chemist wash their eyes with water. The material is of such a nature that when water is applied to it it becomes sort of acid in nature and burn your eyes even more. Well it was the wrong thing to do however it maybe was had to be the right thing to do because I couldn't see any other way of getting the powder out of their eyes except to flush it with large volumes of water as a state helicopter rushed the white powder to a lab in Trenton. Thirty people were evacuated from a restaurant an office building and some small homes in the area.

But within a few hours they were allowed to return only about four hours after the original incident officials felt it was safe for us to move just downwind of the site. There is no detectable odor in the air there's no irritation on the skin. And right now environmental officials we've spoken to here feel it was all caused by a pool chemical. Surprise. So apparently it was sodium hypo chloride a strong alkaline that many people refer to simply as bleach diluted with only a small amount of water. It caused quite a bit of discomfort to the 12 workers and just seven others who also came in contact with it. But at last report all 19 had fully recovered although several remain at Palisades General Hospital to await the conclusive word on exactly what the chemical was and town officials are left to wonder how it got there.

Definitely somebody threw it there because they probably couldn't get rid of it anywhere else in Hudson County. I'm Bob Shapiro. Voters in 550 communities across the state went to the polls today to elect school board members and say yes or no to local school budgets totaling two and a half billion dollars in Newark the state's largest school district board elections were held for the first time in 75 years. Last week Newark residents voted overwhelmingly to switch from a mayor appointed school board to an elected one. Statewide election results should be available by noon tomorrow. The deadline everybody loves to hate is only three days away. By April 15th income tax returns have got to be in the mail. Brenda Flanigan reports many New Jersey residents are holding off until the last minute. Taxpayers waited patiently today in the state tax office where employees helped them fill out returns. I got to get a refund of everything that you paid into the state. The state expects to get about three million income tax returns this year so far

1.9 million have been filed but that's 90000 fewer returns than the state had received. At the same time last year the general consensus is. That more people probably owe planning this year when people owe money. They try to hold back and wait and file as close to the 15th it's possible. But there are other reasons for delaying the inevitable. You just don't like taxes. I don't like doing this to me a headache every time I try to figure it out. And this is my first year falling by myself. This is my first working year and I'm a widow and now I have everything to do on my own and I normally don't let things go. Taxpayers who can't make the deadline can apply for a two month extension. If you've already filed and are awaiting a refund it will take state workers about a month to get the check in the mail today. One of the half million refunds averaging $68 each have been sent out. However the total refunds won't really amount to much when compared to what New Jersey

collects. By the time tax office employees finish processing 1982 returns. The state should be richer by an estimated one and a half billion dollars. That's 200 million dollars more than last year's state income tax revenues. In Trenton I'm Brenda Flanagan. March came in like a lion for the Golden Nugget Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. Figures released today by the Casino Control Commission show the not good winning twenty two point nine million dollars for the month making it the leader among the city's nine casino hotels and six big win days the Nuggets won over a million dollars a day. All nine casinos together won one hundred and thirty seven million dollars last month. Almost 27 million dollars more than March of 82. The state's share of the market pie comes to ten point seven million dollars. The federal government may require all draft age men to register with the Selective Service. But Princeton University officials don't think proof of registration should be a

requirement for receiving student financial aid. That puts the school at odds with a new federal law. Larry stoupe nickel has that story. Until today student loan applications at Princeton required draft age males to verify they had registered with the Selective Service. A federal law is scheduled to take effect this July would require proof of draft law compliance before a student could receive financial aid. However in March a Minnesota judge ruled the law may be unconstitutional and he issued a temporary injunction preventing it from being enforced. Princeton financial aid director Don better says the injunction bars the university from requiring students to prove they've registered with the Selective Service. There is a legal interpretation by some that this injunction is now not only holds in Minnesota but is generally applicable throughout the country and I think we're on pretty good legal basis for our decision other than the legal point of view. I think it's our obligation not to burden down students with any

more in the way of forms of signatures and letters than we have to. Today the university sent a letter to students informing them completion of the selective service compliance form is optional. The state department of higher education also objects to the law because it is discriminatory and burdensome but it leaves the issue of compliance up to individual institutions. One of the co-founders of the Princeton draft counseling center Leo Shiff is disappointed the university did not reach its decision sooner. But he's encouraged by the Minnesota injunction. I was pleased by the most by this most recent news of the injunction because that is going to enable a bunch of our students to most likely get their aid for next year because their forms will be processed without the draft information. You know we've got to fight this one year at a time. I'm pretty confident that eventually the federal courts will find this unconstitutional. A motion has been filed in Minnesota to make the temporary injunction permanent but the Justice Department will file an appeal by Monday seeking to have the ruling struck down until the

issue of linking proof of draft registration with student aid is resolved. Princeton students will not be required to fill out the selective service portion of their loan application forms. However if they don't fill out the compliance form and the law is upheld those same students will have to reapply for their loans this summer at Princeton University. I'm Larry stupid. Now here's a look at the weather forecast. Clear skies tonight with low temperatures in the mid to upper 30s in the northern area and nearing 40 degrees in the central and southern parts of the state. Tomorrow finally we should see a complete day of sunshine. Temperatures will be mild in the low to mid 60s in most areas and the outlook for Thursday a chance of showers in the morning and turning partly sunny. This state's first two death penalty cases have reached the trial stage that already the

statute is proving burdensome to the legal system. Last week State Public Advocate Joseph Rodriguez appealed to the legislature for a budget increase of three point five million dollars to offset the increased costs of death penalty defenses. Michael Aaron has more. With us this evening is Thomas Smith Jr. assistant public defender and the man who's coordinating the public defenders statewide representation in death penalty cases. Mr. Smith your boss public advocate and public defender Joseph Rodriguez went before a legislative committee last week with his second plea for more money to defend people in death penalty cases. Why is it cost more money to defend someone facing a death sentence than that same person facing life in prison. Basically for two reasons. Number one is that surrounding the death penalty has the courts have developed day a body of law. That states that you have to adhere to certain procedural and substantive safeguards when you're dealing with someone's life. Also you have to understand that under the New Jersey statute we

have what we call a. Bifurcated system bifurcates statute in that there are two trials one for the guilt phase and one for the penalty phase. This requires more extensive preparation. This requires longer trials and it also requires the raising of issues on appeal that normally would not be there in a normal criminal case you talked about procedural safeguards. That's legal rhetoric. What's an example of a procedural safeguard for someone facing a death penalty under the New Jersey statute as I previously said the. Jury must make two decisions one as to whether the person is guilty or innocent. And the second decision has to be whether in fact the person should be executed or not. Because they're making that second decision. The court has developed a body of law in the selection of jurists that they have to be what is called death qualified in order to sit at that second trial phase. This is something that's not normally done in a criminal case a normal criminal. It's the same jury that sits in the first trial and the second trial. The statute anticipates that. But we have raised questions as to

whether that is a proper procedure in motions in our first case up in Essex County. You mean you might have to impanel an entire new jury for this second trial they'd have to hear the evidence all over again. We have made arguments as to why there may be may be a better procedure to impanel two juries. The trial court did not accept the arguments and there will be an issue that I'm sure will raise on appeal. Initially the public defender expected maybe a dozen death penalty cases in the first year. You're facing 30 an estimate of 50 in the next fiscal year. Why are there more than you anticipated either there are more murders being committed in which case the death penalty isn't working or prosecutors are behaving more aggressively than you thought they were. Prosecutors are taking the posture that they're discriminate that their discretion is limited under the statute and because of that they are treating more murder cases as death penalty cases. When they say to us that they are going to the grand jury to indict is a death penalty case. We then have to proceed as though it is a death penalty case.

Doesn't the death penalty apply mainly to premeditated murder and contract murder. Basically yes. And you're saying the prosecutors are extending it. To other kinds of murder. Yeah there's a thin line when you talk about a willingly or knowingly committed murder or contract killing and maybe something that maybe an aggravated manslaughter or below. But the prosecutor is of course indicting is a capital offense in proceeding under the death penalty statute. Some people I think believe that you public defenders don't like this statute. And by screaming for more money you're simply trying to thwart the implementation of this statute. What do you say to that. Well the statute and the case law requires that we provide the best possible representation we can. That representation takes money and because of the increase in numbers in cases for instance we had estimated that we would normally get a handful of cases and maybe as many as 10 cases would go to trial during a given year as death penalty cases. Are estimates based upon our first six months.

Experience has been that there would be maybe as many as 30 cases that go to trial next year. So because of this increase in caseload and because of the demands placed upon defense counsel we need these resources to provide that quality constitutional representation. And Mr. Rodriguez said that if you don't get that money. The death penalty itself may be unconstitutional because people would not be getting equal protection under the law. Are you going to. Are you going to challenge the constitutionality of the death penalty. Of course yes we will. We intend to challenge the constitutionality of the death penalty if there is a conviction and a sentence of death in the first case the appeal challenge it on these grounds. What if you could. What do you think other grounds these and other grounds. Yes. So you're going to be fighting this death penalty for the next few years. We are required to do so because our clients have been sentenced to death. Our obligation is to keep them alive as long as we possibly can. We have 10 seconds left. Look into a crystal ball. When if ever do you think somebody will be executed in New Jersey.

I hope never. But that's if we ever reached that point down the road a few years. Thomas Smith thanks a lot. Even people not opposed to the death penalty on moral grounds are probably starting to wonder if it's worth all the aggravation and money if it could be proven that the death penalty deters murder it would be. But does the public advocate asked the legislature last week how do you explain the nine presumably unrelated murders committed in Trenton in a four week period this winter. Michael Aaron. No. That's that if they get on it just once. And. Now it's time for sports with Bill Perry.

Thank you can't they started in October it's now April finally it is the last week of the NBA regular season tonight and that's how it's Boston. Larry Bird will not play. He's out with a growing pool. He's resting for the playoffs. The Nets will be in the playoffs starting next week. New Jersey is a short of the home court advantage in the best of three mini series. They will meet the Knicks Washington or Atlanta. Those three clubs are neck and neck for the remaining two playoff berth under interim head coach Bill Blair. Now 48 and 30 Nets have split two games. The Nets will be seeded forth in the east playoff picture. Four games left for the Nets including tonight's game with the Celtics. If the nets were to split the 4 they'd finish the regular season with 50 victories. So there's something to shoot for this last week of the regular season. You know that would be nice to end up with 15 wins this year. I think the most important thing is going into the playoffs mentally and physically ready you know so we're not going to I'm going to kill our players to get 50 because that's that's really not the most important thing. The most important thing is winning in the playoffs is this last week of the season and then the playoffs critical for you. I'm sure you'd like to shed that interim head coach.

At this moment I don't know what's critical for me. You know I've heard there's 42000 coaches in this job and I don't blame them it's a great job but I'm not really approaching like that I'm just really trying to approach it from the from the aspect that to get this team ready to play you know as well as a possible playoff picture three clubs of course battling for five and six. I know the way it's going to work the team that emerges the best team we have momentum is the team you're going to get the team that comes in fifth. We've won a few games too you know we either have either been fourth or fifth And you know the whole thing so we'll take you ever comes in I really don't have you know one reason or other to to like one over the other. Some people might think that Washington would be tough for the Nets because the beach or two straight last year and of the three clubs that are battling. You know it looks like they're playing the best. Well there may be two straight. Right. Well yes and there an awful physical team but we were a much younger team and we were last year. We know they're beating Boston right now they're beating a lot of people and they're just a good basketball team they're good strong physical team. I think they'd be tough on anybody else.

Tomorrow night at Resorts International in Atlantic City former light heavyweight champion Mike Rossman from Turner's ville will return to the ring at the age of 22. Rossman won the WBA light heavyweight title from Victor go in as a 13th round T.K. on September of 1978. Seven months later Gwenda's regained the title from Rossman and two years after that Rossman was cured by Dwight Braxton Rossman hasn't fought since tomorrow like the comeback that begins against a guy named Charlie Smith either for the bad taste in my mouth have going on losing. No. Isn't is it. Is it really for me to see how much money is around today. A lot more to when I was fighting. That's why I'm back. You won the title as a. 22 year old guy which gloves on doing it too. What a championship it is realistic for you to get back on top. You feel like I'm I'll wait two years if we want to have anything left. And then you say well I'm only 26. So yeah there was a lot less. Than that

the main objective is to get to the title which means more money in. Baseball today Phillies beat the Mets 4 3 and 10 home opener for the Phils. Philadelphia tied it with a run. Bottom of the ninth one hit with a run in the 10th Yankees home opener. Tigers routed Ron Guidry beat the Yankees 13 two at the Meadowlands racetrack last night Tedy escorts said a new jersey syre stakes record for the mile in the four year old pasing division. Tedy Estcourt clock a 1:56 flat mile the old record 156 one shared by Pigboy and bold rush Hall of Fame Ervay drove Tedy Estcourt in the seventh race last night. That's sports. Thank you Bill. I remember when we told you last month about little faith matter Roski who weighed in at birth at just over a pound. Setting a hospital record. Well now we have another baby weight record to report a 62 pound six ounce baby boy born Friday. A community memorial hospital in Toms River. That is incredible. The largest baby ever born there and maybe the largest baby ever born in New Jersey. Kevin Robert Clark is so big his mother says he's already

outgrown his bassinette his baby clothes and his mother's knee. Now despite his unusual weight and 25 inch height doctors say Kevin is in perfect health and he's ready to go home tomorrow. And you guessed it a football jersey bought by his proud pop up. And just to bring you up to date on little face condition she's still attached to a respirator and has been gradually gaining weight at Hackensack Medical Center and the funds set up to help pay for face medical expenses has collected over $11000. And that's good news. Yes. That big fella weighs more now than my son who will be six months old. That's it. That is a guy and then the news for this Tuesday night for Bill Perry and the rest of the nightly news team I'm getting out of hand. Wishing you a good night. In. New Jersey. Nightly news is made possible in part by grants from the Geraldine or Donje Foundation and the fidelity Union Bank Corp. with one hundred fifteen offices serving the Bank of New Jersey. New Jersey news is the production of The New Jersey network in association with in

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