A reader writes:

hey defense letters,
i have this great trick that’s worked for me when i needed it. i keep a bunch of bumper stickers in the back of my trunk and if i get a ticket i slap one of them on the sign near my car and take a picture. if the sign’s obstructed, i can’t know what the parking rules are! it’s worked for me about 95% of the time.

While we at DefenseLetters.com don’t encourage you to break the law, this is certainly an interesting idea. I wonder if that’s what accounts for all of those stickers I see over parking signs in New York City, and I wonder if there’s anything the parking authorities can do about it.

Other signage obstructions, such as excessive foliage, have been effective defenses to other cases.

And, I can’t help but think that this tactic has gotten someone out of a speeding ticket once.

Drive safe.

In response to the parking ticket defense letter, the New York City Department of Finance: Adjudication Division sent me a letter offering $25-off my fine if I plead guilty…

…which seems that if one says anything at all, you get a $25 discount so that the Adjudication Division doesn’t have to bother ruling on it.

If I do nothing, an Administrative Law Judge will review my case and issue a ruling, guilty or not guilty.

Right.

My plan of action: In response, I’m going to write a letter: 

You are willing to spend $25 to get rid of me, so I will spend $25 to get rid of you. I will plea-bargain a $25 fine. This figure is non-negotiable. If you do not accept these terms, I will summon the parking officer to court to defend his perjurious statements, implicit on the ticket. The case will be an egregious use of taxpayer dollars, and frankly, would be a waste of time.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Police officer hip-checks cyclist, reports him for “resisting arrest”. Video evidence says otherwise.

The AP has the scoop: Amateur videos capture controversial NYPD actions.

Fun fact: the small army of 2,800 NYC traffic enforcement agents undergo 12 weeks of training before they’re assigned a “beat”

Read the full story at MSNBC (from AP).

Geoff turned to the Connecticut State Traffic Commission Regulations and discovered Sec. 14-298-514: that parking signs must have a clearance of at least 7 feet above the ground and unobstructed from view.

Geoff’s currently appealing the ticket and is awaiting a verdict, but his photos seem to indicate he’ll win.

Read the complete story on Geoff’s blog.

I do hope you find this electronic letter arrives in good fashion. The Post Office has, on occasion, misplaced official correspondence to the US Government, so I chose electronic delivery over more traditional methods to ensure this message’s receipt.

This morning, I parked my father’s car on 35th street, on the south side of the street, directly east of Park Avenue. I deposited the requisite coinage ($2.00) for in Machine #6358 in area 144 at precisely 08:54 AM and then placed the parking receipt on the Driver’s Side Dashboard, as instructed.

The car remained there for 58 minutes while I loaded some artwork and varies sundries into the truck and back seat. Nearing the end of my time, I saw one of your officers approaching my father’s car with a determined look with an electronic parking ticket machine in hand. So, I said hello to the officer. His name, according to my ticket and his badge, is Officer E. Valdivia, and he had a very neatly-trimmed black mustache.

I inquired why he was writing a ticket as I still had a few minutes remaining of paid parking time. He points to the sign and says I am violating the parking rules, confidently noting that the car was “not a commercial vehicle.”

I asked for clarification as to the sign’s language which, for posterity, reads:

NO STANDING
EXCEPT
[C]OMMERCIAL VEHICLES*
METERED PARKING
3 HR LIMIT
7AM-7PM
EXCEPT SUNDAY

*note: I can only assume this word begins with a ‘C’. The sign, as attached to the post, covers the beginning of the word.

This confused me, so I asked for clarification. You see, I used to live on that block and I had asked another parking officer not one month ago if I was allowed to park at that exact location during the day. She, a lovely officer whose name escapes me at the moment, reassured me it was no problem, as the sign is be interpreted as, “No standing expect commercial vehicles OR metered parking.” Meaning, it is a legal parking spot for commercial vehicles or anyone with who paid the meter, commercial or otherwise.

Unfortunately, as Officer Valdivia understood it, the signage should be interpreted with a different reading: parking is valid for commercial vehicles WITH metered parking.

The signage is clearly ambiguous, evidenced by two officers — both responsible for enforcing said signage — who have differing interpretations. If your enforcing officers have no consensus on this signage, how is a reasonable person expected to follow the posted rules? (Particularly a reasonable person who, when unsure, asked an enforcing officer for clarification.)

Speaking directly to my case, I feel I have acted reasonably. I am still unsure what the official ruling is or actual intent of the signage is; but, I feel the point is moot: the signage is ambiguous. As such, I plead not guilty, as it is not clear, even from your enforcing officers, what the rules are.

Additionally, under the “Complainant’s Comments” section of my Notice, it reads, “veh pkg on unattended”. Even the comments section regarding the violation are unclear. Even when expanding the abbreviations (assuming “veh” means “vehicle”, and “pkg” means “parking”), the comment is both grammatically and factually incorrect. If the vehicle were unattended, how would I remember the conversation we had, much less his neatly-trimmed black mustache?

Under the “Signature of Complainant” section, it notes that “If the operator was present I indicated the operator’s name … and personally served this Notice upon him/her.” My name is nowhere to be found on this Notice of Parking Violation, and I was clearly standing there as the ticket was being issued.

I do not mean to get Officer Valdivia in any trouble — he was a very polite and respectful officer — but, just like me, he needs to follow the rules… whatever those rules happen to be. As the rules, in this case, are posted ambiguous, and that the enforcing officer noted my vehicle unattended when it clearly was attended, compels me to plead Not Guilty.

Best regards, and have a happy summer!

Michael E. Gruen

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Used with Permission | Originally posted here: 
http://blog.michaelgruen.com/2008/06/30/submitted-parking-ticket-defense/