Did You Ever Lose a Parking Ticket Dispute and Give Up?

Last Updated on February 24, 2018 by Lawrence Berezin

You may not win the first round of your parking ticket dispute

When you’re right, fight! And, if you lose the first round of your parking ticket dispute, appeal. Most parking ticket judges do the right thing. They will dismiss an unjust parking ticket if you figure out a winning defense and present the proof properly.

However, there are some rogue judges in Parking Ticket Land who make up phony excuses to find you guilty. Arrgh!

Here’s a story of one rogue judge who didn’t do the right thing. We are appealing his bad decision.

How to appeal an unjust parking ticket decision

Our 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 at the original hearing. We are not permitted to offer new evidence on appeal.

The first step is to make sure you submit the proper proof to prove your defense(s) to the original judge. Here’s the evidence I submitted to prove that Sue did not stand her chariot in a no standing zone.

-Defense Certification

-We lost the original dispute

-Read the judge’s decision very carefully

-Focus on mistakes

-Did the judge consider all our evidence?

The rogue judge ignored most of our exhibits. He considered the Google images and rejected them because they weren’t certified by Google as an accurate portrayal of the location when the parking ticket was issued. This reasoning was ridiculous. My 5-year-old granddaughter knows that Google images are not current.  We didn’t offer the Google exhibits to prove how the location looked today. Instead, we offered live photographs and the NYC DOT Parking Regulations Map images to prove which parking rules regulated the location (place of occurrence), and the absence of a no standing rule.

The rogue judge did not debunk each of our defenses.

The rogue judge assigned more weight to the warrior’s testimony even though his testimony conflicted with the official NYC records.

-Did the judge explain why our proof was not persuasive?

Weak attempt. The judge’s reasoning was debunkable because he based his decision solely on the Google images for the wrong reason. If a judge fails to base his opinion on credible facts and a proper understanding of the law, simply says guilty, and parrots the dubious “not persuasive” line without offering a reasonable rationale, he’s stated a net opinion.  Net opinions can be reversed! Judge’s decisions should include the whys and wherefores.

-Did the judge justify why he assigned more weight to the warrior’s observations?

Weak attempt. The judge ignored most of our defenses, failed to read and comment on most of our exhibits, and relied solely on the warrior’s personal observations that conflicted with the official records. The rogue judge did not explain why his honor ignored the official, up-to-date, parking records for the place of occurrence. Bad judge!

Appeal (Here’s a link to the application to appeal)

Yessiree Bobby!

Here’s my argument on appeal…

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 hereby certify as follows:

I plead not guilty to this parking violation because:

-The TEA misdescribed the place of occurrence

-I did not park my car on any side of the property known as 3119 Godwin Terrace in the Bronx (the place of occurrence)

-A no standing rule did not regulate any of the 4-sides of the property known as 3119 Godwin Terrace in the Bronx (the place of occurrence)

-A no standing anytime rule did not regulate the place of occurrence.

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

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 image of the parking ticket contained in the exhibits is a true and accurate reproduction of the original parking ticket

-I certify that the images and photographs contained in my exhibits were true and accurate reproductions of the originals as they existed on the date and time this no standing ticket was issued

Respectfully submitted,

Cintya Castillo”

The original judge found me guilty because:

“The respondent has been charged with violating Traffic Rule 4-08(c) by standing or parking a vehicle where standing a vehicle is Respondent submitted a statement that, in effect, the vehicle was not at the location and there is no restriction in place as indicated on the summons. Respondent submitted google map information in support of the statement.

Respondent’s testimony and evidence are not persuasive to give a valid defense to the violation.

The google maps and google photos are not certified by Google that this is the accurate portrayal of the location at the time and date the summons was issued based upon the observations of the agent. Summons sustained.

Guilty.”

Argument

The original judge exhibited a bias in favor of the respondent by his failure to engage in a thoughtful, fair-minded weighing of all the credible, certified evidence.

I presented certified testimony that I did not park in front of the place of occurrence, nor was the place of occurrence regulated by a no standing rule.

I offered a series of twelve certified exhibits consisting of:

-Photographs I took shortly after the ticket was issued showing that there wasn’t a no standing rule regulating the place of occurrence

-Images grabbed from the DOT Parking Regulation Map showing the place of occurrence wasn’t regulated by a no standing rule

-An image grabbed from the DOF Tax Map showing the location and configuration of the property at the place of occurrence (only two sides of the building abutted the roadway)

-Images grabbed from Google Maps showing the location and the configuration of the property at the place of occurrence (only two sides of the building abutted the roadway)

Yet, the judge ignored all of my exhibits except the Google Map images, assigned little, if any, weight to my certified testimony while comparing only the Google Map images to the TEA’s observations and found me guilty.

Further, the judge did not explain why he disregarded the bulk of my certified exhibits, many of which were official NYC records. He simply ignored these exhibits that showed the absence of a no standing rule regulating the place of occurrence.

I presented substantial, certified evidence that cannot be characterized as patently incredible in support of my defenses, including my testimony, my Maryland registration, and photographs of my rear plate taken shortly after this ticket was issued. (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,

Commentary

Here are some valuable tips to follow when you prepare your original parking ticket dispute and appeal

• Make sure you figure out a winning defense instead of venting about a corrupt system. You won’t win with vitriol. For example, a winning defense to a no standing violation is that you stopped temporarily to expeditiously drop off your Aunt Tilly to the curb and left immediately. If you testify that your Aunt Tilly is 100 years old and you left the car unattended to walk your Aunt to her apartment, you’ll lose. Or, if you claim without proof that you are sure you parked more than 15 feet from a fire hydrant, you’ll lose

[Don’t forget a witness statement can be very helpful when possible, especially if your defense is that you dropped off a friend to the curb]

• If you argue that you didn’t park at the place of occurrence entered on the parking ticket because the warrior got it wrong, you’ll lose. It is almost impossible to persuade a judge that the warrior got it wrong without independent proof. For example, I prefer to see if the rule you were charged with violating did, in fact, regulate the place of occurrence. instead of trying to win a “he said-she said” argument with a judge. If the rule was wrong, use the NYC DOT Parking Regulations Map to prove that the rule was misdescribed
• On appeal, don’t simply regurgitate your losing argument. You gotta persuade the appeals panel that the original judge made a mistake. For example, in this case, the judge relied on the Google images for the wrong reason to find us guilty. Except his rogue honor ignored most of the exhibits we submitted to prove that there weren’t any no standing signs anywhere near the place of occurrence. The original judge’s failure to consider all the evidence and base his decision on real facts shows his bias against you. You are entitled to a fair-minded, objective consideration of your certified testimony and exhibits

Here’s what the Evil Empire tells us about the appeal process

Please, double please, don’t give up…Appeal.