D'Angelo Reflects on 33 Years as Kinnelon Judge

Not everyone who knows Judge John D'Angelo has met him in his courtroom.

Dozens of family members and friends proved this when they gathered to celebrate his retirement from being Kinnelon's municipal court judge at on Jan. 6. As D'Angelo, 85, leaves behind 33 years as a Kinnelon judge, he reflected upon how the borough has changed over the years.

D'Angelo, a Kinnelon resident since the 1960's, also served as a municipal judge in Bloomingdale from 1957 to 1969 and as the Bloomingdale borough attorney. He previously held offices in Bloomingdale and Butler.

Over the years, he has presided over a number of cases ranging in nature. At times, he said, the cases were almost comical. D'Angelo remembered one case where a neighbor ended up in court with the owner of what they described as an "excessive barking dog."

"The thing that convinced me that the defendant was wrong was that the dog's name was 'Thunder,'" he laughed.

Other cases were more serious, including Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) offenses, as jail time is a possible penalty. But D'Angelo said he always viewed the person on trial as a person and did not just see them for their charges.

"The people are us. It's you and I and our friends," he said.

He tried to educate the individuals that although some people make mistakes, "the law has a reason to be there," he said.

Some of the most difficult cases he had to deal with were family or neighborly disputes, as they typically involved a high level of emotion, he said.

"It's very difficult to resolve those so that one person doesn't feel that they got the wrong end [of the stick]," he said.

In recent years, "I'm getting an awful lot of young kids that are probationary drivers," D'Angelo said about the drivers who are violating the terms of their new licenses. 

Under the state's Graduated Driver License (GDL) program, drivers who are 17 years old are restricted by how many people they are able to drive with in the car and what time they are able to drive until. Now, probationary drivers are also required to place decals on their cars that alert police that they are part of the GDL program. 

D'Angelo said police are able to stop vehicles that have the decal without having probable cause to check in on the new drivers.

"A lot of them need to understand that they've got to use their discrection," he said of the drivers.

D'Angelo said he thinks there have been more cases relating to the GDL violations lately because more teenagers have cars than several years ago.

"All these things change because of the change in society," he said, noting another change over the past 45 years is that judge's originally did not need law degrees.

Society has also changed regarding alcohol and D'Angelo shared his thoughts on the Kinnelon Council is considering which would impose penalties on underage drinkers and underage individuals found in possession of alcohol on private property. He said that ordinances like this are created for those who engage in the activity excessively. Growing up in a family where it was acceptable to have a glass of wine with dinner, D'Angelo said alcohol "wasn't a forbidden fruit" when he was younger.

"If everyone did this in moderation, you wouldn't have to have [an ordinance]," he said. "The police are interested in that because kids are getting killed.

D'Angelo also offered his thoughts on and said, he feels, that they are all good people.

"I don't think I've met a vindictive cop yet," he said.

While he does plan to continue practicing law out of his Route 23 office with his son, D'Angelo said he decided now would be a good time to retire because "I'm not getting any younger" and because he wanted to leave on his on own accord.

"As we get older, we do slow down. When the tires wear down, the tires wear down," he said.