Last Updated on October 22, 2022 by Lawrence Berezin
Winning a Double Parking Ticket Appeal can be done.
Double parking ticket appeal. Tic.Tic.Tic. Sue was clock-watching at work, and It was finally 5:00 p.m. LIkewise, Sue put on her coat, gloves, and boots and was ready to venture into a cold winter’s night.
She got in her mini-van and braved the freezing weather to pick up her husband and one-and-one-half-year-old daughter from daycare. With her family seated and buckled in, she headed for their apartment.
When Sue arrived in front of her building, there were no empty curbside parking spaces. So, she stopped temporarily on the roadway side of a vehicle parked at the curb; her husband jumped out of the van, unbuckled their daughter, and started walking to their building.
At that moment, a parking ticket warrior appeared out of nowhere, walked to the front of their van, scanned the registration, and stuck a parking ticket under the wiper. Yikes!
Does Sue have a winning defense to this evil double parking ticket?
There were two viable defenses to this double parking ticket
What defenses would you raise to defeat this double parking ticket?
I raised the following defenses for our client:
- My wife stopped for a moment in front of our apartment building while I unfastened our daughter from her car seat, and my wife immediately drove off looking for a permanent overnight parking space in the neighborhood (minority view of a double parking ticket defense)
- The TEA did not ask for my wife’s name and did not hand my wife the parking ticket while she was seated behind the wheel
We fought the good fight and lost. Yikes! Yikes!
Here are the defense documents we submitted:
- Defense certification
- Witness statement
- Evidence that the PVB recognized stop, drop and skedaddle double parking ticket defense
Judge’s Decision
Should Sue appeal the judge’s decision?
Yesiree, Barbara!
Appeal Panel Decision
The appeals panel reversed the original judge’s decision and dismissed the double parking ticket, Yay!
Commentary
Did you think we’d win dismissal on appeal? Meanwhile, the appeals panel only reverses 13% of all appeals, so we were thrilled by the reversal of fortune after suffering the “agony of defeat.”
Here are some valuable tips:
- The burden of proof on appeal is to persuade an appeals panel that the original judge made a mistake of law or fact based on the evidence submitted
- You cannot submit new evidence
- Do not simply regurgitate your original argument; you will lose for sure
- Carefully read and re-read the original judge’s decision to unearth mistakes. The judges are under a bunch of pressure to decide cases quickly. They will often resort to “boilerplate,” easy-to-insert reasons to deny your appeal that have nothing to do with the issues you raised
This is good stuff; keep reading
- In Sue’s case, the judge was so obsessed with denying our defense of lack of service that his honor failed to address our second defense in his decision. This failure grounds the appeals panel to reverse the original judge’s wrong decision.
- The judge mistakenly referred to our testimony as claiming a curbside passenger drop-off when we acknowledged that Sue double-parked when she dropped off her husband and child. This mistake is “appeal gold.”
- Please don’t make a mistake I made, i.e., taking for granted that a judge would know that the warrior scanned the registration before placing the double parking ticket under the wiper. Spell it out because you know what happens when we a-s-s-u-m-e.
- Don’t get discouraged when the original judge arbitrarily and unjustly finds you guilty when you’re right-Appeal. Find the “smoking mistakes,” and you’ll win.
FREE Download
Are you perplexed by the double parking rule? I don’t blame you. While the PVB says double parking is a no-standing violation, a driver can stop, drop or pick up at the curb, and skedaddle immediately. Meanwhile, the Evil Empire says double parking is always illegal for passenger vehicles.
Most importantly, here’s a guide to double parking that will keep you on track and save you money.
How’s that sound?
Very glad to see an appeal where the decision is actually reversed. One question-is the term ‘persuasive’ the only word these judges are taught? I have had it used multiple times on every ticket I fought, as well as hearing that word used on all of my friends and family members. The big issue that comes to mind here is this: It generally comes down to your word against the word of the ‘warrior’ or policeman. Even when I submitted photos of the actual event, the judges have always responded by telling me that ‘the photograph that was submitted is not persuasive evidence, since the vehicle could have been moved to a legal parking spot after the summons was issued’.
This reminds me of the ticket I received 9 years ago. I was parked legally in accordance with my NYC Handicap parking permit. However, the cop lied and wrote I was parked in a different location with different traffic regulations. He also lied about the address I was parked across from. Needless to say, I was unable to convince the court and lost both the first hearing and the appeal. I can not begin to tell you how frustrating it is to receive an unjust ticket and be unable to get it dismissed (I even had the help of an NYS Assemblyman).
Sadly, as you recognize, our traffic court system is designed to raise revenue, which should not be the case. The rules and regulations are SUPPOSED to be for public safety, to ease road congestion, and to rotate parking spaces.
Oh, for the perfect world….
Enjoy the nice weather,
Lee
Great insight, Lee.
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Your thoughts are very “persuasive.”
Best,
Larry
I think I made this comment under another blog post a few days ago ~
I have found that appealing a guilty decision is not easy. After providing all the necessary evidence and arguments in defense of my position, the Evil Empire’s answer usually is: “…. we do not wish to disturb the earlier Judge’s decision” (or something to that effect.) What they’re really saying is “you are right, but, f*** you… we’d rather have your money than admit the truth.”
When one has the time, I find, it’s better to go and face a judge in the Traffic Court and make your case face-to-face. They are less likely to lie and disregard you when you are sitting there looking them in the eye. Mailed-in appeals stand less of a chance… (Just my humble opinion…)
And Thank You, Larry.
Alok,
Good evening.
You’re very welcome.
And, thank you Alok for sharing your thoughtful opinion.
Regards,
Larry
I think you are right. It is much harder to tell someone that yu don’t believe them and they are a lying stack of sh*t when they are standing right in front of you. Problem is they make it verydifficuvery difficult to appear in person. There is no parking available from what I’ve been told.
this link below that you posted is not working.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/downloads/pdf/translations/got_tickets_english.pdf
do you have an updated link to share with us, please?
Thank you
Hi Ricardo,
Good afternoon.
Thanks for the heads up. It seems like this valuable document is not available online anymore.
Here’s my link to the guide. Click and it’s yours.
Be safe.
Regards,
Larry
Hi Larry, Hope all is well with you and your family
This reminded me of what happened to my wife about 10 years ago She was out grocery shopping She returned from one store and pulled into the double driveway in front of our and neighbors house. Admittedly, she was not very close to the curb because she was just running into the house for a few minutes-to drop off the frozen food and pee. She was out within 5 minutes. But some warrior issued her a ticket for……double parking. She was nowhere near that. Maybe 3 feet from the curb. I immediately took some pictures and pleaded not guilty. Guess what? Judge said the photos were ‘not persuasive’ because they did not prove the car was there when the ticket was written..In other words, he accused me of moving her car. Lost the appeal also.
Meanwhile, what are your thoughts on congestion pricing? The ‘alleged’ purpose is to encourage drivers to use mass transit instead of their cars. Then it follows that disabled motorists with a city handicap parking permit should be exempt, since in order to obtain it your doctor AND a city doctor have to state that you are incapable of using public transportation. So no matter how expensive you make it, we have no choice and thus we are being punished for being disabled.
Manhattan has always had traffic problems But things have gotten much worse in the last 10 years. First, the city allows tens of thousands of green cabs, Uber, and Lyft into the city. Then they change the traffic laws and make it illegal to turn either left or right on many East/West streets, causing drivers to circle around more. Then they reduce the number of traffic lanes, installing bus and bike lanes. This also reduces the number of parking spaces. In addition, they add CitiBike docks every 3 to 4 blocks (thanks DeBlasio) further reducing the number of places to park. Not to mention all the ‘temporary shacks’ set up for restaurants to use during the pandemic which have suddenly become permanent, taking up still more parking places. So not we spend even more time circling around looking for a parking spot. On top of everything, they reduce the speed limit. AND THEN THEY WONDER WHY THERE IS MORE TRAFFIC CONGESTION!!!
In my humble opinion, from my experience much of the traffic problems are caused by a few things, all of which are already illegal. First, pedestrians crossing against the light backs up traffic and forces cars to gridlock intersections. Second, double parked delivery trucks reduce the number of lanes and causes back up. Finally, repair the potholes so we can drive without swerving like we are on an obstacle course. These measures would help to improve traffic flow.
It is repulsive that the city is losing close to 700 million dollars a year from fare beaters, and to make up the difference, they want to increase both fares AND tolls, for those of us that do not even use MTA, to make up the difference.
Thats my rant of the day Take care
Hi Lee,
Always a pleasure, Lee.
Meanwhile, it’s the best rant because it includes workable solutions. In other words, great rant, Lee!
Likewise, I agree with your diagnosis and cure. The MTA needs money. Moreover, the money would be available if fine collections were properly handled. Since their not, the people who can least afford it financially or physically, will be targeted to pay the way.
I advocate for newyorkparkingticket.com not Streetsblog, so I refuse to acquiesce to the stakeholders who seek to rid the city of motor vehicles. Bah humbug!
Be well, Lee.
Regards,
Larry