Last Updated on April 29, 2015 by Lawrence Berezin
A parking ticket case to remember
I represented Natalie, a wonderful member of the driving public, in her parking ticket case against the Evil Empire. Natalie was charged with a No Parking violation. The parking ticket warrior described the place of occurrence as:
“E/S of 163rd Street 70 feet N of Jamaica Avenue”
However, I discovered during my investigation that the place of the occurrence described a parking space regulated by a No Standing rule, not a No Parking rule. I prepared a defense certification for Natalie’s review and approval and a series of 11 exhibits.
I fought the evil parking ticket online. 12 days later we received the judge’s decision
“Guilty”
Yikes!
Why did the judge find Natalie guilty?
Here’s a copy of the judge’s decision…
The judge reasoned that a portion of Natalie’s car must have extended into the adjacent No Parking zone.
Was there any evidence to support the judge’s decision that a portion of Natalie’s car extended into the No Parking zone?
Here’s a link to the first blog post that contains all 11 exhibits.
Larry appeals the parking ticket judge’s decision
Commentary
Why did the judge find Natalie guilty? The parking ticket judge conjured up facts that were not in evidence. The judge made a leap of faith that:
- The warrior measured the distance from Jamaica Avenue to the rear and not the front of Natalie’s car
- A car is approximately 15 feet long
- Therefore, a portion of the front of Natalie’s car must have extended into the adjacent No Parking zone which commenced 80 feet from Jamaica Avenue
The judge’s reasoning may have merit if it was based on facts in evidence. However, none of these facts were entered on the parking ticket. All the warrior had to do was to write:
- The measurement was to the rear of Natalie’s car. Or,
- The warrior could have described the place of occurrence as 80 feet from Jamaica Avenue
- Stated that the front of Natalie’s vehicle extended into the No Parking zone
He didn’t. And, the judge manufactured the facts and based his opinion upon the manufactured facts. Nice, huh?
The original judge’s decision should be reversed by the parking ticket appeals panel inside the PVB. Will it be?
I’ll let you known.
What do you think? Please share your opinion.
Hi, I received a ticket for an expired inspection. My question is, my sticker says 2/28/15, but in reality on that day the inspection is still valid. My inspection expires on 3/1/2015, so if the agent wrote 2/28/2015 can this be dismissed?
Thank you.
Joe,
Good afternoon.
Very interesting idea.
As a general rule, the date that appears on your inspection sticker is the expiration date.
However, it really is an interesting argument. Does the sticker expire at 12 midnight. Is 12 midnight considered
to fall on 2-28 or 3-1.
Why not give it a shot?
Good luck.
Best,
Larry
The registration/inspection expires at the end of the day stated. See Section 701(5)(a) of the State V & T law. You were legal until midnight.
Robert,
Good afternoon.
Thanks so much for sharing this valuable piece of information.
Much appreciated.
Best,
Larry
I received a ticket for not displaying the parking ticket. However I submitted evidence that I had the parking ticket but it was upside down.
The case was adjourned and to realize I can’t find the ticket of the exact time and date for that violation day. What can I do to fight this??
I received an improper use of cellphone and I have to go to Brooklyn Atlantic ave mall court. Does anyone have any idea how it is over there?? I ask this is because I got a speeding ticket in Nassau county and I went there but the good thing before u see a judge the people on the front desk give u an option to reduce the point and fine so u just pay and go.
Is this going to be similar in Brooklyn court Atlantic ave mall??
Sadly I believe the deck is stacked against us. Seems many summons we get and dispute are upheld, despite photos and other seemingly overwhelming evidence. The judge often says that the car could have been moved to a legal spot before the picture was taken. Personally, this has happened to me several times-and the results are very frustrating. You KNOW you were parked legally, a warrior lies, and you have no way of convincing the judge.
On a similar note, my son just lost his case on a moving violation. He was turning left in a designated lane at an intersection that had several ‘No U-turn’ signs. As he made his legal turn, a police officer stopped him and gave him a ticket for making a U turn. His word against the officer. Guess who the judge believed?
Dear Lee,
Well said.
And I agree, but…I’ve learned by fighting a bazillion parking tickets that there are different ways to approach the situation you describe. You’re going to lose “he said-she said” arguments with warriors, so I don’t take that approach.
I impeach a warrior’s credibility by using comments against him and other tactics I’ve learned. For example, oftentimes when a warrior issues a no standing ticket they insert “SITTER” in the comment section.
When that happens, I raise lack of personal service because warriors rarely if ever ask for your ID and insert your name, even if you’re sitting behind the wheel. But by entering “SITTER” the warrior acknowledges that the driver is sitting behind the wheel. Case dismissed.
Home Depot is great for many “do-it-yourselfers,” but sometimes it pays to hire an electrician. In the long run (or not so long run) it will be cost less than screwing up the job.
Regards,
Larry
Very helpful information, thank you. I have a situation in which i was given a ticket for “failure to display muni recpt” when the receipt was clearly displayed. The time was expired (by only 7 minutes granted), but isn’t this a different, less expensive offense. I tried to submit evidence of both the photo of the ticket on my dash, and a close-up of the ticket where it could be read. Is the “failure to display muni recpt” equivalent to time expired? If so it makes no sense. I At least paid 5+ dollars to park, and should be considered less of of an offense than not paying at all.
Dear Peter,
Good morning.
Great questions.
Man-o-live, a couple of heartbeats past the 5-minute grace period.
Failure to display and expired meter are two separate offenses.
All failure to display means is that the MM receipt was not visible on the dashboard.
It may have been placed face down by mistake, or a strong gust of wind blew it off the dash.
A relatively new law requires a judge to dismiss a failure to display ticket by submitting
a muni meter receipt covering the time the ticket was issued.
Expired meter means the time ended before a driver moved his car (plus 5-minute grace period).
You present an interesting challenge. You can present a MM receipt, but it will be expired. If you’re looking for a fight (like me), I would submit the MM receipt in defense of the failure to display. A judge may reply by finding you guilty because the receipt was expired. Interesting.
Good luck.
Best,
Larry