You Only Fight Pricey Crosswalk Parking Tickets Twice

Last Updated on September 9, 2021 by Lawrence Berezin

You can beat Crosswalk parking tickets

Do you deserve a crosswalk parking ticket if your bumper touches the crosswalk? Likewise, what if your tires contact the crosswalk? Have you ever run into a weird-looking crosswalk?

A parking ticket warrior wrongfully accused Joe of parking in a crosswalk.

Joe did all the right stuff after getting the parking ticket:

• He took photos of his car before driving away
• The car photos included the license plate
• The location of the parking space matched the place of occurrence entere on the ticket
• He took a series of photos of the defective place of occurrence entered on the parking ticket

In other words, Joe documented a winning defense.

Therefore, we fought the parking ticket. However, a rogue judge found us guilty. Yikes!

I guess you only fight a crosswalk ticket twice.

Joe’s crosswalk parking ticket defense

Our best defense was a misdescribed place of occurrence. That is to say, the warrior entered the location of Joe’s car by using the metes and bounds description. However, he must have missed the compass class and entered East instead of West.

Our second defense was that Joe did not park in a crosswalk.

Here’s our defense certification:

“Dear Honorable Judge,
I hereby certify as follows:
I am not guilty of this parking violation because:

-The warrior misdescribed the place of occurrence

-I did not park my car in a crosswalk

A place of occurrence must unambiguously describe an existing location. However, the address entered on the ticket was “S/S E 12th Street, ‘0’ feet East of Avenue A,” which was incorrect. To clarify, I did park my car on the South Side of East 12th Street, but it was to the West of Avenue A and not in the crosswalk.

If I had parked at the location entered on the parking ticket, my car would have blocked the entire crosswalk, blocked the pedestrian ramp, and extended into the intersection of East 11th Street and Avenue A.

I have submitted a series of exhibits in support of my defense.
Due to these circumstances, please dismiss this parking ticket.
Thank you.

Certification

-I hereby certify that my testimony is the truth to the best of my knowledge and fully understand that if my testimony is willfully false, I am subject to punishment

-I certify that the images and photos in my exhibits are true and accurate reproductions of the originals as they existed on the date/time this parking ticket was issued. 

Respectfully submitted,

Joe

Here’s our exhibits

The Judge decided Joe was guilty

Bad decision by a rogue judge. To clarify, the rogue judge ignored our primary defense and held that Joe parked in a crosswalk. Here’s what he had to say:

You only fight a crosswalk parking ticket twice

We appealed the bad decision. Here’s our appeal

Joe attached the Judge’s decision to the appeal

Firstly, the original judge found me guilty because:

“The respondent has been charged with violating Traffic Rule 4-08 (e)(5) by stopping, standing, or parking a vehicle in a marked or unmarked crosswalk. A marked crosswalk is that part of the roadway defined by two parallel lines or highlighted by a pattern of lines (perpendicular, parallel or diagonal used either separately or in combination) intended to guide pedestrians into proper crossing paths.

To clarify, an unmarked crosswalk is that part of the roadway, other than a marked crosswalk, which is included within the extensions of the sidewalk lines between opposite sides of the roadway at an intersection, provided that (A) the roadway crosses through the intersection rather than ending at the intersection, and/or (B) all traffic on the opposing roadway is controlled by a traffic control device.

The Respondent denies they were in the cited zone and submits photographs and google images. This is not a persuasive defense because the google images and photographs do not show the vehicle or how it was parked about the crosswalk zone. As such, they fail to show that no portion of the vehicle extended over the roadway lines or into the cited zone.

Exhibits omitted. Joe attached the same photos we submitted in our original defense.

Joe’s Argument

The original judge exhibited prejudice against the Petitioner by failing to engage in a thoughtful, fair-minded weighing of credible evidence.

Secondly, I raised the following two defenses at the original hearing:

1. The warrior misdescribed the place of occurrence
The TEA entered, “S/S E 12th Street, ‘0’ feet East of Avenue A.” This was a mistake. I parked my car on the opposite side of the street, West of Avenue A, not East of Avenue A.

I offered 11 Exhibits to support my certified defense.

-Exhibits 6, 7, and 8 show the actual location of my parked car
-Exhibits 9, 10, and 11 show the TEA’s location mistakenly entered on the crosswalk parking ticket.

Moreover, If my car were parked as misdescribed on the ticket, it would have blocked the entire crosswalk, extended into the intersection, and likely would have been towed for a parking violation and pedestrian safety.

But above all, the judge did not even address my defense that the place of occurrence was misdescribed. That glaring omission demonstrated a lack of care and consideration of all the evidence presented at the hearing.

The original judge’s failure to address this defense cannot support a guilty verdict.

Our secondary defense

2. I did not park in the crosswalk
Joe offered his certified testimony and submitted photos he took immediately after finding the crosswalk ticket on his windshield. “I didn’t move my car before taking the photos. My tires and bumper were not in the crosswalk.”

On the other hand, the judge stated:

“This is not a persuasive defense because the google images and photographs do not show the vehicle or how it was parked about the crosswalk zone. As such, they fail to show that no portion of the vehicle extended over the roadway lines or into the cited zone.”

The original judge mischaracterized my evidence. Most importantly, I took photos that showed exactly how I parked my car.

Conclusion

I fought the crosswalk parking ticket. And, the credible and certified evidence was not patently incredible. (See, Young v City of New York Dept. of Fin. Parking Violations Adjudications 2007 NY Slip Op 51460(U) [16 Misc 3d 1117(A)] Decided on June 13, 2007, Supreme Court, New York County Goodman).

Please right, this wrong and dismiss the parking ticket.
Respectfully submitted,

Joe

Appeal Panel’s Decision

Reversed.

The appeals panel dismissed Joe’s parking ticket.

Commentary

Firstly, I applaud the vast majority of judges that follow the evidence and decide cases on merit. These are difficult times for all of us. And, no one needs to spend money on unjust parking tickets.

On the other hand, a gaggle of rogue judges enters decisions to appease the Evil Empire and boost their job-preserving stats.

The best arguments to make on appeal are to identify the hogwash spouted by rogue judges. And, sometimes, you have to fight twice to beat your crosswalk parking ticket.

Which one of these three drivers would you defend against a crosswalk parking ticket?

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