Customer Success: Misdescribed Place of Occurrence Defense

January 9, 2017 by Lawrence Berezin 10 Comments

A misdescribed place of occurrence defense is one of the best ways to beat a parking ticket

Joe hired us to fight a bus stop parking ticket. I examined the front of the parking ticket and sadly, did not find any omitted, misdescribed, or illegible required elements. Except, the misdescribed place of occurrence defense may be a winner.

There are three generally accepted formats to describe a place of occurrence:

Front
Opposite
Detailed description

The “detailed description” format can be very confusing. The warrior entered:

WS Kissena Blvd. 800 ft S of 65th Avenue in Queens.

This translates to West Side of Kissena Boulevard_800 feet South of 65th Avenue in Queens.

Can Joe win by arguing the misdescribed place of occurrence defense?

Was Joe’s parking space really regulated by a bus stop rule?

A detailed description of the place occurrence is very challenging to dispute. How do we figure out whether there was a bus stop rule regulating a location 800 feet South of 65th Avenue in Queens? Are there any tools in our arsenal to successfully raise the misdescribed place of occurrence defense?

I’m glad you asked because there are some wonderful tools to use:

DOT Parking Regulations Map (TEXT version)
DOT Parking Regulations Map (IMAGE version)
Google Maps

Here’s my winning defense certification

Dear Honorable Judge,

I hereby certify as follows:

I plead not guilty to this parking violation because:

-A bus stop rule was misdescribed

-The place of occurrence was misdescribed

The TEA entered:

“WS Kissena Boulevard_800 feet South of 65 Avenue in Queens”

A bus stop rule does not regulate the place of occurrence entered on the parking ticket

I have submitted a series of exhibits in support of my defenses.

Due to this circumstances, please dismiss this parking ticket.

Thank you.

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

-I certify that the images contained in the exhibits are true and accurate reproductions of the original parking ticket, Google Maps, and the DOT parking regulations map (text and image versions).

Respectfully submitted,

Joe

[optinform]

The Exhibits (the star of the show)

Would you like copies of the exhibits? If so, simply click on the link misdescribed place of occurrence-exhibits (no email address required)

Commentary

When you’re right, fight! Even though it may be a tough challenge to present the proper proof, properly.

-The DOT Parking Regulations Map (TEXT version ) tells you the direction of the roadway and sides (North South East and West)

-Google Maps and the DOT Parking Regulations Map (IMAGE version) have distance measurement tools that allow us to measure 800 feet South of 65th Avenue.

However, there are times you may run into a rogue judge who will find you guilty regardless of the merits of your defense. I would keep fight and appeal the bad decision

Use them wisely, grasshopper.

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Lawrence Berezin

Lawyer with 40-years experience who is committed to helping you beat your NYC parking tickets

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Comments

Al W. says
March 14, 2017 at 4:22 pm

Dear Larry,

What do you do if the ‘misdescribed place of occurrence’ is 4 blocks away from where your car was actually parked at the time of the alleged violation?

How is it even possible for an officer to scan in your registration and then type in a false location?

Reply
- Lawrence Berezin says
  March 15, 2017 at 8:35 am
  
  Al W.,
  Good morning. Great question.
  A misdescribed place of occurrence can be difficult to prove because you need more than “I say- she says” to win. For example, if the place of occurrence is misdescribed than unless it is a scam ticket, the rule regulating the place of occurrence should be wrong. My defense is not a misdescribed place of occurrence, but I argue the rule was entered incorrectly. This way I’m not focusing the fight on an “I say – she says.”
  
  I don’t know the technical aspects of working the warrior’s scanners. I trust there is a way to manually insert information that overrides scanned data.
  
  Regards,
  Larry
  
  Reply
  - Al W. says
    March 17, 2017 at 12:27 am
    
    “the rule was entered incorrectly” – great answer! And the advice about not making it into an officer’s vs. citizen’s word situation is taken to heart. In NYC traffic court, the accused is never presumed innocent.
    🙁
    Thank you.
    
    Reply
Jon says
July 3, 2017 at 1:54 pm

Hi Larry,
I recently received a parking ticket in violation of posted street cleaning rules. I pleaded not guilty and told the ALJ that the location of my car was misdescribed and I showed photos (taken at the time of incident) that my car was not in front of the address listed on the ticket since there is no legal spot infront. The judge asked me where I was actually parked and I told him the truth that I was parked probably the next house over which had a different address. He found me guilty and said that the in front of the adjacent house the same violation exists.
I am thinking of appealing the case, since if he believed me that I was not parked at the address listed on the ticket, it should be irrelevant where I parked. The parking ticket is misdescribed and therefore should be dismissed. Does my reasoning make sense?
Thank you, Larry.

Reply
- Lawrence Berezin says
  July 4, 2017 at 9:58 am
  
  Hi Jon,
  Good morning.
  Your reasoning makes total sense to me.
  Did you get an official written decision? If so, email it to me at
  larry@newyorkparkingticket.com
  I’d like to see what the judge actually said was the basis for his decision.
  Regards,
  Larry
  
  Reply
Alexander says
March 12, 2019 at 1:16 pm

I received a ticket described similarly except it was a one way. My question is what about the fact that it doesnt indicate which side of the street I was parked on.

Reply
- Lawrence Berezin says
  March 13, 2019 at 9:44 am
  
  Hi, Alexander,
  Good morning.
  There are three ways a Warrior or Cop can describe the place of occurrence:
  -Front
  -Opposite
  -Metes and Bounds (For ex: NS 5th Avenue_25 feet E of 35th Street in NYC)
  That translates, North Side of 5th Avenue_25 feet East of 35th Street in NYC
  
  Are you sure you’re not looking at a metes and bounds description? If not, you are a winner. The Warrior or Cop must enter Front or Opposite unless it is a metes and bounds description.
  
  Good catch, Alexander.
  Regards,
  Larry
  
  Reply
Becky M. says
April 25, 2019 at 10:28 pm

Hi Larry,

I recently received a parking ticket for parking too close to a fire hydrant, the officer wrote I was parked about five feet away from the fire hydrant. The address that the officer wrote on my ticket was at the front of the block where there was no fire hydrant and not where I was parked. Do you think there is any way of getting out of this? Thank you so much for your time and help.

Reply
- Lawrence Berezin says
  April 26, 2019 at 10:22 am
  
  Hi, Becky,
  
  Good morning.
  A place of occurrence must unambiguously describe a unique location. In the case of a fire hydrant, there must be a fire hydrant within 15 feet of the property lines of the place of occurrence. If not, you win. Yay! Subject to presenting the proper proof, properly.
  
  I would argue that the place of occurrence was misdescribed because there was no fire hydrant within 15 feet. First, say that you were not guilty of this violation because and set forth your defense.
  
  Make sure you measure the distance with a tape measure and take photos that show there was no hydrant 15 feet from all property lines.
  
  Good luck.
  Regards,
  Larry
  
  Reply