diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 56e3a72..f98e9a0 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 
     <groupId>com.americanexpress.unify.jdocs</groupId>
     <artifactId>unify-jdocs</artifactId>
-    <version>1.4.0</version>
+    <version>1.4.1</version>
     <packaging>jar</packaging>
 
     <name>unify-jdocs</name>
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index 4b5dbc3..c2bbed2 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ JDocs is available as a jar file in Maven central with the following latest Mave
 ````pom
 <groupId>com.americanexpress.unify.jdocs</groupId>
 <artifactId>unify-jdocs</artifactId>
-<version>1.4.0</version>
+<version>1.4.1</version>
 ````
 
 ---
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/americanexpress/unify/jdocs/JDocument.java b/src/main/java/com/americanexpress/unify/jdocs/JDocument.java
index c18e067..27139a4 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/americanexpress/unify/jdocs/JDocument.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/americanexpress/unify/jdocs/JDocument.java
@@ -663,7 +663,12 @@ private static JsonNode traverseArrayEmpty(JsonNode node, ArrayToken token, bool
     // special handling for document that starts with an array
     String fieldName = token.getField();
     if (fieldName.isEmpty() == true) {
-      arrayNode = node;
+      if (node.getNodeType() == JsonNodeType.ARRAY) {
+        arrayNode = node;
+      }
+      else {
+        arrayNode = null;
+      }
     }
     else {
       arrayNode = node.get(fieldName);
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/americanexpress/unify/jdocs/DocumentTest.java b/src/test/java/com/americanexpress/unify/jdocs/DocumentTest.java
index 0d386ae..aff309f 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/americanexpress/unify/jdocs/DocumentTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/americanexpress/unify/jdocs/DocumentTest.java
@@ -904,6 +904,13 @@ void testRootArray() {
 
     s = d.getString("$.[1].cars[1].model");
     assertEquals(s, null);
+
+    d = new JDocument("{\n" +
+            "  \"response\": \"\",\n" +
+            "  \"status\": 500\n" +
+            "}");
+    boolean b = d.pathExists("$.[0].raw_response");
+    assertEquals(b, false);
   }
 
   @Test
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/americanexpress/unify/jdocs/TestMisc.java b/src/test/java/com/americanexpress/unify/jdocs/TestMisc.java
index e617174..a82d0bd 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/americanexpress/unify/jdocs/TestMisc.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/americanexpress/unify/jdocs/TestMisc.java
@@ -1,15 +1,26 @@
-package com.americanexpress.unify.jdocs;
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except
+ * in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License
+ * is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express
+ * or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
+ * the License.
+ */
 
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.List;
+package com.americanexpress.unify.jdocs;
 
+/*
+ * @author Deepak Arora
+ */
 public class TestMisc {
 
   public static void main(String[] args) {
-    List<String> paths = new ArrayList<>();
-    paths.add("$.individuals[00030].addresses[].cars[0098].model");
-    paths = JsonPathUtils.getNoPaddedIndexes(paths);
-    paths.stream().forEach(s -> System.out.println(s));
+    // place holder for test programs
   }
 
 }