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
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.
Lawrence Berezin
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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?
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
“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.
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.
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