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'Jersey Shore's' Deena Cortese Fined for Not Using Sidewalk

By Andrew Chow, Esq. on July 03, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

"Jersey Shore" cast member Deena Cortese is $106 poorer, after a judge fined her for failing to use the sidewalk on a busy Jersey street, New Jersey's Asbury Park Press reports.

Cops busted Cortese, 25, after drivers complained she was drunk in the middle of traffic in Seaside Heights, N.J., last month. Cortese was allegedly slapping cars as she danced in the street.

A judge Tuesday dismissed Cortese's disorderly conduct charge and slapped her instead with a traffic code violation. A glance at that code suggests it's not just sidewalks that could get Cortese in more legal trouble down the road.

Cortese's failure-to-use-a-sidewalk fine falls under a New Jersey statute that states, "Where sidewalks are provided, it shall be unlawful for any pedestrian to walk along and upon an adjacent roadway."

If there are no sidewalks, a pedestrian must "walk only on the extreme left side of the roadway or its shoulder facing traffic," the law states.

Apparently that's nowhere close to where Deena Cortese decided to let loose with her drunken street dance.

If "Jersey Shore" history is any indication, Cortese's $106 fine may not be enough to prevent more intoxicated antics that may also run afoul of the Garden State's traffic code. Cast members may especially want to note that in New Jersey:

  • It's illegal to run across a divided highway unless there's a crosswalk.
  • It's illegal to cross a roadway as a pedestrian when the traffic light is red, even if no traffic is present.
  • It's illegal to toss any objects or debris, even cigarette butts, from a vehicle on a highway.
  • It's illegal for drivers and passengers to consume alcoholic beverages while a vehicle is in motion.

After the judge fined Deena Cortese for failure to use the sidewalk, he warned her against any future "Jersey Shore"-related run-ins with the law. "Please keep in mind you're taking police officers [away] from a job they have to do," the judge said, according to the Asbury Park Press.

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