3 Reasons Why You Lost Your Parking Ticket Appeals

Last Updated on October 24, 2017 by Lawrence Berezin

Only 13% of all parking ticket appeals are successful

Larry and Larry’s Advice have experienced a flurry of parking ticket appeals during the past six weeks:

• The good news is the Evil Empire grants the driving public two bites at the apple.
• The bad news is that most appeals are affirmed.
• The bad news is that most appeals are doomed from the start because the original defense is fraught with mistakes.

Here are 3 reasons why your appeal may never get out of the starting gate.

1. You didn’t know the parking ticket appeals burden of proof

How do you expect to win, if you don’t know what you’re fighting about on appeal? [Tweet “You are required to persuade a 3-judge panel that the original judge made a mistake”]You are required to persuade a 3-judge appeals panel that the original judge made a mistake of law or mistake of fact.

For example, the original judge found you guilty even though the warrior failed to enter the month and year your vehicle registration expired, and the month/year was clearly displayed on your out-of-state plates. The law mandates a dismissal of your parking ticket, but the judge didn’t follow the law.

..Start off your appeal with the general statement that the original judge made a mistake of law. Then, tell your story…My Florida license plates displayed the month and year my registration expired, as required by Florida law. However, the TEA (“Ticket Enforcement Agent”) did not enter the month/year, but instead, entered “N/S.” Attached please find a series of exhibits that I presented to the original judge. I certified that these exhibits were true and accurate reproductions of how my car looked on the date the parking ticket was issued. Due to these circumstances, please dismiss this parking ticket.

2. You didn’t present the proper proof properly during your original parking ticket fight

Your appeal is based upon the evidence you submitted to the original judge.  If you didn’t present the proper evidence to the original judge, your appeal may be doomed from the start. For example:

• You and your chariot never visited, let alone, parked in NYC
• You were charged with parking in a safety zone, however,
• There wasn’t a safety zone on the entire blocked where the parking ticket warrior claimed you parked (place of occurrence)

The general rule is that you’re not permitted to submit new evidence on appeal. However, to defeat this general rule you may try what I submitted on Joe’s appeal (below). First, the Parking Violation Bureau Adjudication Unit promises to review every parking ticket for defective required elements, and the original judge clearly broke this promise. Remind ’em that this promise is clearly stated in the Evil Empire’s guide to parking ticket hearings (see page 3)

Second, present the proper proof that the safety zone didn’t exist in the place of location (misdescribed required element).

Third, remind the appeals panel that you and your chariot have never driven or parked in NYC. Therefore, the Evil Empire does not have any jurisdiction to issue an NYC parking ticket

Weave all these facts into a coherent story that persuades the appeals judges that in the interest of justice this parking ticket should be dismissed.


3. You spent your time ranting about an unjust and corrupt system

You have one, maybe two sentences to grab the judge’s attention. In other words, less than a NY minute. If you waste it on insulting the judge and indicating the entire parking ticket system, you lose. End of story. Your appeal will never get out of the starting gate.

Commentary

Don’t forget that you get two bites of the apple, but the second bite is worthless if you don’t plan the first bite correctly. I always prepare my original defenses in a way that my argument is persuasive and supported by the exhibits I prepare. This way, if a rogue judge finds our client guilty, I am ready to appeal when the starting gate flies open.

There are no shortcuts to winning your case. Have a plan, research your defense, and you’ll maximize your chance of winning the race or the appeal.