Last Updated on September 17, 2017 by Lawrence Berezin
How to maximize your chances of beating NYC parking tickets
What is one of the most valuable tips to share about beating NYC parking tickets?
Here are some of the essential ingredients to baking a tasty victory cake, and vanquishing an evil orange epistle…Not all of the ingredients, mind you, or else I’d have nothing more to write about.
Tell the parking ticket judge a story
A story ignites a positive emotional response from a reader. It’s in our DNA. Don’t simply outline your defense like you’re handing in a boring history assignment. Tell the judge the who, what, where, when, and why. A dismissal lies in believable facts.
For example, I recently beat a ticket for parking too close to a fire hydrant ticket for Joe. Joe was an officer in his church and attended a church meeting every Saturday. The church lived down the block from the alluring parking space that tried to capture Joe’s hard-earned dough.
My story was about a church officer who was intimately familiar with the block where his church lived. He knew the parking landscape, including the exact location of 15 feet from each fire hydrant on the block. When Joe returned to his car with a fellow church officer, he saw the parking ticket under his windshield. He returned to the church, secured a tape measure, and measured the distance from his car to the pump.
We submitted a witness certification (the witness was in one of the photographs), Joe’s certification, and presented a series of exhibits. Ticket dismissed! Yea.
The parking ticket judge knows the law
Space is a valuable commodity when submitting your defense in writing. Don’t waste it regurgitating the law. You don’t have to explain to the judge that she is required to dismiss a parking ticket if any of the required elements are omitted, misdescribed, or illegible. She knows that! And, Her Honor will not be impressed that you know it.
For example, if you are fortunate to find a misdescribed “body type” or “plate type,” simply write, “I plead not guilty because the body type of my car was misdescribed by the TEA.” Include a copy of your registration, and you’re good to go (If your vehicle is registered in NY). If not, you may need some photographs to prove that the TEA’s description of the body type was not “reasonably accurate.”
There’s no crying in fighting parking tickets
I absolutely love the Tom Hanks scene in “A League of their own” when he rants to one of his players that there is no crying in baseball.
By the same token, there is no crying, whining, or begging in parking ticket court.
For example, that there were a gazillion cars parked in a line behind your car, that you never, ever got an NYC parking ticket, or you had to pull to the curb in a no parking zone to answer an important call on your cell phone, is of no consequence. Don’t waste the ink on your quill.
Present the proper proof, properly
When you’re right- fight is the easy part. Presenting the proper proof, properly is the most important key to victory.
For example, if you’re trying to prove the plate type was misdescribed, you are required to submit a copy of your vehicle registration to win (or additional proof if your chariot is registered out of NY State). Your word of honor, will not persuade His Honor to dismiss your parking ticket.
For example, example, if you’re trying to prove that the TEA misdescribed the days/hours displayed on the evil parking sign, submitting a photograph of the parking sign is not sufficient to win a dismissal. You must lay a foundation demonstrating that the parking sign is the parking sign that regulated your parking space on the date you were issued a parking ticket.
You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink
It is human nature to draw conclusions from evidence. However, we prefer drawing our own conclusions, rather than being told what to think. Facts are a parking ticket fighter’s best friend. Use them wisely and persuasively. After reading your story about the unjustified parking ticket and looking at the evidence you submit, a judge should be persuaded to reach only one logical conclusion…Not guilty, ticket dismissed.
For example, if you’re trying to prove that you stopped temporarily in a no standing zone to pick up your Aunt Tilly from the curb, don’t just say that. Explain the who, what, where, when and why to the judge. Why should the judge believe that Aunt Tilly was waiting curbside for your chariot to arrive? Why should the judge believe you stopped, dropped, and skedaddled?
Lead the judge to a favorable conclusion, don’t simply recite the defense and tell His Honor what to do.
By the way, always plead not guilty in the beginning, and end your story by asking the judge to dismiss the parking ticket. It’s like a call-to-action.
Commentary
The post is my commentary.
Please share your parking ticket secrets to success. We love stories!
If you get stopped by the gendarmes and issued a traffic ticket, you want to call the best, right
Thanks for the advise. I am sorry but i do not understand. You mentioned that
” if you’re trying to prove that the TEA misdescribed the days/hours displayed on the evil parking sign, submitting a photograph of the parking sign is not sufficient to win a dismissal. You must lay a foundation demonstrating that the parking sign is the parking sign that regulated your parking space on the date you were issued a parking ticket.”
How can you prove that your picture is for the space that you claim?
Steart,
Good afternoon.
Great question.
There are several ways to establish that a photograph of a parking sign regulated the “place of occurrence” entered on a parking ticket. The choice depends upon the facts of a case. For example, if the place of occurrence is pretty close to the corner, I’ll take overlapping photographs starting with the street sign at the corner and including the evil parking sign (and a close up of the rule and arrow).
If I can’t pick out the numbers on the buildings abutting the sidewalk, I’ll use the NYC DOT Parking Regulation Map. Here’s a link…
http://www.nycdot.info/
Here’s a link to a very helpful video on our blog by Gridlock Sam (former NYC Commissioner of Transportation).
https://newyorkparkingticket.com/do-you-know-how-to-take-photographs-to-beat-a-nyc-parking-ticket/
Some times I’ll use Google Map Street View screen grabs in combination with “live photographs.”
Other times I’ll use another excellent parking sign tool
https://newyorkparkingticket.com/find-a-sign/
Best,
Larry