Out of the thousands of cases that Magisterial District Judge Joshua Kanalis deals with on a yearly basis, almost 1,000 of them are relating to California University of Pennsylvania students who end up sitting in front of the judge, hoping for leniency. Stephen Cuneo, 20, of Indianapolis was one of three Cal U students who made his way into the courtroom on Nov. 13, who like his colleagues, claimed to simply make a “stupid mistake.”
Cuneo, followed by his father, walked into the courtroom wearing khaki pants and a white button up t-shirt in an attempt to make a good first impression. This attempt failed after he raised his right hand in front of the judge and the first questioned he answered was a known lie.
“I think I paid $100-$150 for the fake I.D.,” Cuneo said. “I don’t know. I don’t really remember.”
A smirk formed on the judge’s face.
“If you want me to be gentle with you,” Kanalis said. “You need to answer me when I ask you a question and make sure you tell me the truth. I already know the answer. Why don’t you try again?”
Looking over his shoulder at his father and then back to the judge, Cuneo paused and then replied in a muffled voice, “I think it was more around $250.”
The Cal U student was given three different citations after attempting to use a fake I.D. to purchase liquor on Sept. 12 in the California Borough Wine and Spirits store at 2:49 p.m.
In a college town, the use of fake I.D.to get into bars and to purchase liquor is a common practice, but because bars and state stores are well trained on how to identify an I.D. that is real, versus one purchased online, it’s a risky chance to take.
“I was a cop for 10 years,” Kanalis said. “The balls that it takes to walk into a state store in a college town, well, I just couldn’t do it.”
After being asked to show a second form of identification at the register, Cuneo says that he knew that he was caught and left the store immediately without the alcohol not knowing that borough police would be notified of the crime and would then use the California University student database to locate and serve him.
Cuneo was charged with two of the three citations, having to pay a $477 fine. He will lose his license for 30 days. Although he is a full timestudent at the University with a 3.0 average, the judge urged him to spend less time drinking and more time studying.
“To this date I have a never had a student with a 4.0 in this classroom serving as a defendant,” Kanalis said. “Hit the books, not the bars.”
The second case involved another current Cal U student, as well as a former Cal U student, who after a night of drinking resisted arrest, that resulted in a female officer breaking her hand.
The weekend after Cal U’s Homecoming, Chad Smith, Cal U alumnus and Brett Frantino a Cal U senior, stopped into Subway and got loud with an employee who didn’t know how to make the sandwich Smith was requesting.
Smith, who just graduated from Cal U in December, asked to extend the hearing until the injured officer could be present.
“I just got a job with a big Fortune 500 company,” Smith said. “I do not want this on my record.”
Frantino expressed to the judge how badly he feels about the situation and takes full responsibility.
“If I see the female officer again, I would like to apologize,” Frantino said. “I had too much to drink and it was not the right way to behave.”
According to the judge, he believes that students watch reality shows on T.V. and mimic their actions.
“When you see this shit n T.V., no one suffers any consequences,” Kanalis said. “Frankly, I only see a small percent of the students at Cal. I have to worry about the people who don’t ever make it in front of me.”
In other court business,
Phillip Stephens, of Fayette County, had been driving illegally for 24 years and was caught driving without a license during a trip to Wal-Mart. Stephens, who is unemployed, is required to pay a $500 fine and serve 30 days in jail with the option of house arrest.
Jesse Wolfe, of Clarksville, was presented with two citations, the first for speeding and the second for operating a vehicle without a license. The defendant pleaded guilty to speeding, but provided proof of his license and the second citation was dropped. He was ordered to pay a fine of $175
Sirhona Turner, who recently moved into the Washington, Pa area, was given two citations for speeding and driving with a suspended license. She pleaded guilty to speeding and is being required to pay a fine of $200 over the course of three months.
Cuneo, followed by his father, walked into the courtroom wearing khaki pants and a white button up t-shirt in an attempt to make a good first impression. This attempt failed after he raised his right hand in front of the judge and the first questioned he answered was a known lie.
“I think I paid $100-$150 for the fake I.D.,” Cuneo said. “I don’t know. I don’t really remember.”
A smirk formed on the judge’s face.
“If you want me to be gentle with you,” Kanalis said. “You need to answer me when I ask you a question and make sure you tell me the truth. I already know the answer. Why don’t you try again?”
Looking over his shoulder at his father and then back to the judge, Cuneo paused and then replied in a muffled voice, “I think it was more around $250.”
The Cal U student was given three different citations after attempting to use a fake I.D. to purchase liquor on Sept. 12 in the California Borough Wine and Spirits store at 2:49 p.m.
In a college town, the use of fake I.D.to get into bars and to purchase liquor is a common practice, but because bars and state stores are well trained on how to identify an I.D. that is real, versus one purchased online, it’s a risky chance to take.
“I was a cop for 10 years,” Kanalis said. “The balls that it takes to walk into a state store in a college town, well, I just couldn’t do it.”
After being asked to show a second form of identification at the register, Cuneo says that he knew that he was caught and left the store immediately without the alcohol not knowing that borough police would be notified of the crime and would then use the California University student database to locate and serve him.
Cuneo was charged with two of the three citations, having to pay a $477 fine. He will lose his license for 30 days. Although he is a full timestudent at the University with a 3.0 average, the judge urged him to spend less time drinking and more time studying.
“To this date I have a never had a student with a 4.0 in this classroom serving as a defendant,” Kanalis said. “Hit the books, not the bars.”
The second case involved another current Cal U student, as well as a former Cal U student, who after a night of drinking resisted arrest, that resulted in a female officer breaking her hand.
The weekend after Cal U’s Homecoming, Chad Smith, Cal U alumnus and Brett Frantino a Cal U senior, stopped into Subway and got loud with an employee who didn’t know how to make the sandwich Smith was requesting.
Smith, who just graduated from Cal U in December, asked to extend the hearing until the injured officer could be present.
“I just got a job with a big Fortune 500 company,” Smith said. “I do not want this on my record.”
Frantino expressed to the judge how badly he feels about the situation and takes full responsibility.
“If I see the female officer again, I would like to apologize,” Frantino said. “I had too much to drink and it was not the right way to behave.”
According to the judge, he believes that students watch reality shows on T.V. and mimic their actions.
“When you see this shit n T.V., no one suffers any consequences,” Kanalis said. “Frankly, I only see a small percent of the students at Cal. I have to worry about the people who don’t ever make it in front of me.”
In other court business,
Phillip Stephens, of Fayette County, had been driving illegally for 24 years and was caught driving without a license during a trip to Wal-Mart. Stephens, who is unemployed, is required to pay a $500 fine and serve 30 days in jail with the option of house arrest.
Jesse Wolfe, of Clarksville, was presented with two citations, the first for speeding and the second for operating a vehicle without a license. The defendant pleaded guilty to speeding, but provided proof of his license and the second citation was dropped. He was ordered to pay a fine of $175
Sirhona Turner, who recently moved into the Washington, Pa area, was given two citations for speeding and driving with a suspended license. She pleaded guilty to speeding and is being required to pay a fine of $200 over the course of three months.
Sidebar
Officer’s Best Friend (or maybe not)
The Washington County District Court isn’t exactly like the courts that you see on T.V. There is not always an attorney or even a police officer present. Boxes are piled high along the walls and a harsh fluorescent lighting bounces off the mismatched tables and chairs that fill the room. It’s casual. Not only casual in appearance, but in conversation as well, proving that outside of their authoritative uniforms, police officers as well as judges are normal people, with normal complaints. Two officers sit in the front row of the courtroom, scrolling through Facebook on their cell-phones and waiting for the Judge.
One looks to the other and says, “So I got this dog the other day…”
Intrigued, the other officer then looks up from his phone.
With a chuckle and a roll of his eyes, he puts down his phone on his lap and continues. “Yeah. It’s a Shit-h-tzu. I paid almost $400 dollars for it, but all it does is pee all over my new hardwood floor. I don’t understand it, I come home, open the door and before I can even pet it, it pissed right there in front of me…So I gave it to my brother and now it pees on his floors instead.”
The officers smiled at each other, laughing, as the judge walked into the courtroom holding a can of air freshener. Pacing back and forth through the court room, his index finger seemed to be glued to the trigger of the deodorizer filling the room with a tropical aroma. Taking a whiff of the air and then directly looking at the officers in the audience along with a student reporter, he said, “Ahh, the smell of fear,” and then casually sat down his chair ready to resume his day.
Court is in session.
The Washington County District Court isn’t exactly like the courts that you see on T.V. There is not always an attorney or even a police officer present. Boxes are piled high along the walls and a harsh fluorescent lighting bounces off the mismatched tables and chairs that fill the room. It’s casual. Not only casual in appearance, but in conversation as well, proving that outside of their authoritative uniforms, police officers as well as judges are normal people, with normal complaints. Two officers sit in the front row of the courtroom, scrolling through Facebook on their cell-phones and waiting for the Judge.
One looks to the other and says, “So I got this dog the other day…”
Intrigued, the other officer then looks up from his phone.
With a chuckle and a roll of his eyes, he puts down his phone on his lap and continues. “Yeah. It’s a Shit-h-tzu. I paid almost $400 dollars for it, but all it does is pee all over my new hardwood floor. I don’t understand it, I come home, open the door and before I can even pet it, it pissed right there in front of me…So I gave it to my brother and now it pees on his floors instead.”
The officers smiled at each other, laughing, as the judge walked into the courtroom holding a can of air freshener. Pacing back and forth through the court room, his index finger seemed to be glued to the trigger of the deodorizer filling the room with a tropical aroma. Taking a whiff of the air and then directly looking at the officers in the audience along with a student reporter, he said, “Ahh, the smell of fear,” and then casually sat down his chair ready to resume his day.
Court is in session.
Taylor Brown is a junior at California University of Pennsylvania,
where she is majoring in journalism with a minor in creative writing. See her
website at taylorshareebrown.weebly.com.
where she is majoring in journalism with a minor in creative writing. See her
website at taylorshareebrown.weebly.com.