Last Updated on July 28, 2020 by Lawrence Berezin
Yes Mrs. Calabash, you can win a New York City parking ticket appeal
Parking ticket appeals are winnable. Joe received a call from his wife, Jane. She was about to get in line to pay for her purchase at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Brooklyn. She asked Joe to meet her on the 7th Avenue side of the store. She’ll be waiting at the curb.
Joe jumped into their car and drove to the bookstore (15-minute trip). He stopped on the 7th Avenue side, but unfortunately, Jane was not waiting at the curb. He learned later that Jane was delayed.
Joe glanced in his rearview mirror and saw a female Parking Ticket Warrior approaching his car. Oh boy, joe stopped in a bus stop zone and was about to get a bus stop ticket. Ca-ching, $115!
Joe fought the good fight
Joe enlisted Larry’s (that’s me) help to figure out a winning defense for the bus stop ticket. Fortunately for Joe, the Warrior didn’t enter Joe’s name on the ticket even though he was seated behind the wheel when she issued the bus stop epistle.
Our defense was lack of proper service. We fought the bus stop ticket online.
Sadly, we lost. Here’s what the judge said:
Violation Number 8778476xxx 12/14/2019 19 GUILTY – HEARING 125.00 02/26/2020
“The respondent has been charged with violating Traffic Rule 4-08(c)(3) by standing or parking a vehicle, other than an authorized bus in its assigned bus stop when any such stop has been officially designated and appropriately posted. Respondent states that the vehicle was parked in the No Standing anytime zone while Respondent was waiting for a person to arrive.
Respondent states they were seated in the vehicle at the time the summons was issued and the summons was not properly served. Respondent submits a photo of a map. This is an affirmative defense where the burden of proof is on the respondent.
This is not a persuasive defense. The map submitted by Respondent does not show where Respondent was located at the time the summons was issued. Respondent admits that the vehicle was parked in the No Standing anytime zone.
Summons sustained.”
In my humble opinion, the decision was wrong and not written properly. Ergo, we decided to file a parking ticket appeal.
Parking ticket appeal
Our burden of proof is to persuade an appeals panel that the original judge made a mistake of law or fact based on the evidence submitted. We are not permitted to offer additional evidence on appeal.
We are required to submit:
- Application to appeal
- Joe’s defense statement
- Joe’s Exhibits
- Original Judge’s Decision and Order
Here’s our parking ticket appeal:
Appeal
Addendum to Section C
Summons: #8778476744
The original judge made mistakes of law and fact when reaching his guilty verdict. The verdict should be reversed.
I raised the following defenses at my original hearing:
“Dear Honorable Judge,
I certify as follows:
I was not guilty of this parking violation because:
-The TEA failed to enter my name on the parking ticket (improper service)
I was waiting for a few moments to pick up my wife on the 7th Avenue side of the Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Brooklyn (She was supposed to meet me at the curb but got delayed in the store).
A TEA walked in front of my car and scanned my registration while I was seated behind the wheel. I opened my window and tried to explain that I was picking up my wife and asked her for a break.
The TEA said, “Too late.”
She finished the process, stuck the orange envelope under my wiper, and walked away. The TEA did not
enter my name on the parking ticket even though I was sitting behind the wheel when she issued this ticket
The TEA was an Afro-American lady, about 35-45 years old, about 5ʼ2”-5”6” tall, medium build and black hair Attached please find a series of exhibits in support of my defense.
Due to these circumstances, please dismiss the 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 my exhibits are true and accurate reproductions of the originals they purport to represent
-I certify that I was seated in the driverʼs seat on the date/ time the officer issued this parking ticket.
Respectfully yours,
Joe
The original judge found me guilty because:
“ The respondent has been charged with violating Traffic Rule 4-08(c)(3) by standing or parking a vehicle, other than an authorized bus in its assigned bus stop when any such stop has been officially designated and appropriately posted.
Respondent states that the vehicle was parked in the No Standing anytime zone while Respondent was waiting for a person to arrive. Respondent states they were seated in the vehicle at the time the summons was issued and the summons was not properly served.
Respondent submits a photo of a map.
This is an affirmative defense where the burden of proof is on the respondent. This is not a persuasive defense. The map submitted by Respondent does not show where Respondent was located at the time the summons was issued. Respondent admits that the vehicle was parked in the No Standing anytime zone.
Summons sustained.”
Argument
I offered my:
-Certified testimony
-Exhibits
The original judge exhibited prejudice against the respondent by his failure to engage in a thoughtful, fair-minded weighing of all the credible, evidence. And, by doing so, he made mistakes of law and fact.
It is well settled that a TEA or Police Officer was required to enter the name of the driver when issuing an NYC parking ticket if the driver was seated behind the wheel of the car when the parking ticket was issued.
In my case, I was seated behind the wheel of my car in a bus stop zone waiting for my wife to leave Barnes & Noble and get in the car (I expected my wife to be standing curbside when I stopped in the bus stop zone, but I later learned she was delayed in the store). Further, the judge never denied that I was seated behind the wheel on the date and time the TEA issued this ticket.
The sole reason the judge denied my defense was that he mistakenly concluded that “the map submitted by Respondent does not show where the respondent was located at the time the summons was issued.”
That was a mistake.
-The TEA described the place of occurrence on the parking ticket as, “in front of 267 7th Avenue in Brooklyn.” This was in front of Barnes & Noble.
-I testified that
“I was waiting for a few moments to pick up my wife on the 7th Avenue side of the Barnes and Noble
Bookstore in Brooklyn (She was supposed to meet me at the curb but got unexpectedly delayed in the
store). “ [See, my certification]. However, in his decision, the judge contradicted himself when he stated that:
“The map submitted by Respondent does not show where Respondent was located at the time the
summons was issued. Respondent admits that the vehicle was parked in the No Standing anytime zone.
[See, the judgeʼs decision]
-The Map the original judge referred to in his opinion did, in fact, identify the place of occurrence as, 267 7th Avenue, Brooklyn, which was the location where I was waiting for my wife.
The judge based his decision on only one fact and got that fact wrong. The Map did show my location when the ticket was issued. I even described the route I took to get to the place of occurrence. [See. Exhibit 2].
Further, the judge misapplied the rule when he stated that I was required to prove my location despite the fact that I did not deny throughout my testimony that the place of occurrence was correctly stated on the summons.
I presented substantial, certified evidence that cannot be characterized as patently incredible in support of my defenses. (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
Parking ticket appeal decision
The appeals panel reversed the decision of the original judge.
Ticket dismissed!
Commentary
It is challenging to win a parking ticket appeal in Parking Ticket Land. Only about 21% of appeals are reversed. Yikes! But, when you’re right, you gotta fight!
Here are some tips that will help you win an appeal:
- Be sure the defense(s) you offer are winning defenses based on a correct statement of the law and facts
- Certify your defense statement
- Certify your exhibits
- Prepare a caption for each exhibit
- Keep in mind the burden of proof on appeal is to identify mistakes of law or fact made by the original judge. It’s not to repeat your original arguments
- Read the original judge’s decision and order. Therein lies the basis for your winning parking ticket appeal
In Joe’s case, the judge only stated one, insignificant reason for denying our defense. We didn’t adequately show where Joe was located when the ticket was issued. Ridiculous. There was no dispute about Joe’s location. The Parking Ticket Warrior entered the correct place of occurrence on the ticket and testified that Joe was standing in a bus stop zone.
That was correct. However, Joe was seated behind the wheel when the ticket was issued. The law was clear, the Warrior was required to enter Joe’s name on the parking ticket. His Honor didn’t even dispute that Joe was seated behind the wheel. Ergo, the judge made a mistake of law and fact.
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