what about the simple argument that it was your parking space and the mini was parked illegally in two spaces? Glad it worked out for ya!
Good question; as I said the judge dismissed based on two grounds including: "a straight non-violation of the ordinance he cited me for." I should have been clearer. He should have only cited the mini, but he claimed to have seen me "10 minutes" before on another street (which was true) and thus he assumed I came second. He testified incorrectly that the Mini was fully in the spot (total lie), but admitted I was fully in the spot.
The parking ticket is $25. Getting a lawyer to go to court for you is about $750. Do the math............
Godfather, who said you have to hire a lawyer? This wasn't about the $25, it was principle; we shouldn't be cited for something that is legal. These hearings aren't complex litigation.
Nothing personal, Counselor, but the AVERAGE citizen (who is not a criminal defense attorney) wouldn't have a clue how to proceed. You neglected a few facts in your personal account. Those being, who fed the meter, you or the Mini? Who was there first, you or the Mini? Was it an Officer, or a Meter Maid? (You didn't differentiate) And you know darn sure that a parking meter is for one vehicle (not car, not motorcycle, VEHICLE) per space. You beat the system, pure and simple. Aren't you proud? Years of experience and law school to beat up on a Meter Maid (Officer?) and beat a $25 ticket. Hope you are proud......... oops, obviously you are, tooting your own horn. Big surprise there.
Godfather - please remove yourself from your soapbox. It sure seems like you're making this personal.
If you're ticketed for speeding but your car is parked in the garage at the time, you were cited for the wrong thing.
Quote:
I asked him where in that ordinance it stated you cannot share a space, he said it didn't say that but that "they are limited to what the ordinances say." Stunned, I asked him why he would issue citations for actions OTHER than what is listed in the ordinance; he had no good reply. It seems he was merely trying to punish me for sharing a spot, but without the legal authority to do so.
It appears there are no ordinances in Denver to prohibit 2 cars parking in one space. A car can't be outside the marked space according to the cited ordinance but the Smart was in the space and not cited for "overflowing" the space.
Too many "average citizens" consider something as simple as a traffic citation to be too complicated to address in court. It's really not that hard. Most states have the ordinances available online. I've gone through Oregon (my home state) in the past and recently to Wyoming's statutes to better understand the situation around a speeding ticket. A little more online research followed by a quick phone call and my far-from-court situation was reduced to where I was content.
So, we should just allow BS like that to happen? Happily pay the fine when he did nothing wrong?
He was absolutely right to fight the ticket.
And again, motorcycles get a break here. Bikes get 2 hours for a quarter VS cars getting 5 minutes for a quarter in the downtown area (thank you S.F.!).
In the garages it's a flat rate of 2-3 bucks to park a bike for 24 hours... 24 hours in a car will run you close to $30.
If a bike parks in a spot designed for a car and feeds the meter that spot will fill up with other bikes. As long as that meter is fed no gets a ticket. It's all common sense.
I'm not sure why motorcycles and scooters don't get a break in Ohio but they damn well should. Maybe that's something you might want to look into?
I'm happy to report that 2 Smart Cars fit very well into one spot here.
Thankfully Miami beach, Fl doesn't have a problem parking your scooter or Motorbike between cars on the line itself, but if the car getting out can't get out due to the scooter or motorbike, the police will tow it in an instant!, other than that scooters and motorbike's exists just fine. if the scooter or motorbike is in the actual space then it has to pay the meter. I've seen up to 5 speedbikes parked in one car space and only pay the one meter. In different parts of South Florida metered spaces are of different lengths! I guess the laws are different everywhere and Officers and Meter maids also think differently. My GF was in Alexandria, VA after the Cherry Blossom festival with the folks from the Germantown Dealership and a Parking attendant just charged one car price for two cars in the same spot. Gotta love that!
PS. ALWAYS take your citation to court. At least in South Florida.. ALWAYS!! The odds are in your favor.. Way too many more important things happening than to have an officer show up in court for a small traffic infraction.
Ozzie
Yes! Please do take it to court. As the wife of a police officer, I love it when he gets called to court on his day off. It interrupts family life, costs the taxpayers four hours of overtime, and annoys the crap out officers who write you a ticket when you are out of line. I don't have a problem with you taking it to court if you have somehow been wrongfully accused, but don't just clog the system and waste my tax money.
There are two types of traffic court I'm aware of: 1) you address your ticket in court on the appointed day where the officer is scheduled to show declaring your plea and - if necessary - trying your case in that court on that day and 2) you only enter your plea; if you plead not-guilty, another court date is scheduled for the hearing.
I would imagine the "" comment is for the latter.
I preferred being able to "face my accuser" before giving in to the problems that moving violations inflict upon one's insurance premiums but not so much when it means at least two days of missed work.
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As the wife of a police officer, I love it when he gets called to court on his day off. It interrupts family life, costs the taxpayers four hours of overtime, and annoys the crap out officers who write you a ticket when you are out of line. I don't have a problem with you taking it to court if you have somehow been wrongfully accused, but don't just clog the system and waste my tax money.
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