- Oct 28, 2001
- 4,704
- 0
I just got back from court after contesting 3 different parking violations - all for parking in front of a fire hydrant. The fine for each ticket was $30, plus a $20 late penalty, so I was looking at a total of $150 in fines.
I have been parking along this street at a customer site for the past 3 years. I can't park in their lot because I drive a foreign car. There is a fire hydrant near where I park in front of the building.
I never received a parking ticket until suddenly I received 3 within a 5 week period last winter. The odd thing was that I never got a ticket on my windshield, just a notice in the mail several weeks later, with the $20 late fee tacked on. Knowing that I wasn't very close to the hydrant, and thinking it odd that I never received a ticket on my windshield, I fought each of the 3 tickets.
Well today I went down to plead my case. Fortunately I got there after everyone else had already signed in, and was able to sit through and listen to about 10 other parking violation cases in front of mine. This guy was not sympathetic to anyone's excuses or reasons. One guy dropped his car off to get fixed, and the mechanic racked up a bunch of tickets driving this guys car around downtown. The mechanic destroyed all the tickets, and the owner of the car knew nothing of it until he got several late notices in the mail. The magistrate upheld the violation and fines, and told the guy to take it up the mechanic if he wanted.
By the time I got up there, my only hope was that he would waive the $60 in late fees since I never received a ticket on my windshield. After pleading my case, the magistrate realizes that all my citations were issued by the same officer, and that the officer was currently under investigation for issuing fraudulent tickets!
Based on that, he dismissed all 3 tickets on the spot. I filled out a citizen's complaint against the officer, and I was on my way!
The parking officer being investigated was writing bogus tickets so that he could goof off all day. The thing is, he was too lazy to get out of his car to actually put the ticket on the windshield!
I have been parking along this street at a customer site for the past 3 years. I can't park in their lot because I drive a foreign car. There is a fire hydrant near where I park in front of the building.
I never received a parking ticket until suddenly I received 3 within a 5 week period last winter. The odd thing was that I never got a ticket on my windshield, just a notice in the mail several weeks later, with the $20 late fee tacked on. Knowing that I wasn't very close to the hydrant, and thinking it odd that I never received a ticket on my windshield, I fought each of the 3 tickets.
Well today I went down to plead my case. Fortunately I got there after everyone else had already signed in, and was able to sit through and listen to about 10 other parking violation cases in front of mine. This guy was not sympathetic to anyone's excuses or reasons. One guy dropped his car off to get fixed, and the mechanic racked up a bunch of tickets driving this guys car around downtown. The mechanic destroyed all the tickets, and the owner of the car knew nothing of it until he got several late notices in the mail. The magistrate upheld the violation and fines, and told the guy to take it up the mechanic if he wanted.
By the time I got up there, my only hope was that he would waive the $60 in late fees since I never received a ticket on my windshield. After pleading my case, the magistrate realizes that all my citations were issued by the same officer, and that the officer was currently under investigation for issuing fraudulent tickets!
Based on that, he dismissed all 3 tickets on the spot. I filled out a citizen's complaint against the officer, and I was on my way!
The parking officer being investigated was writing bogus tickets so that he could goof off all day. The thing is, he was too lazy to get out of his car to actually put the ticket on the windshield!