Me and my buddies went night surfing last night at good old swamis. The only problem was that when we got out of the water our car had a rain soaked parking ticket for forty dollars on the windsheild. Is there a way we can appeal the ticket since there are no visible signs at the public parking lot that say you cant park? If any of you know any ticket loopholes that would be greatly appreciated. The good news was that the surf was so fun that even if we did have to pay to surf it was worth it. thanks for your help. Darren
Your only option is to go to court and ask the judge to dismiss the charges,(not innocent or guilty)due to the lack of properly posted parking rules in said parking area.Oh yeh,take pictures/photos.Herb
Do a Google search on ‘Fighting Parking Tickets’ or something like that…
A couple years ago I got a radar speeding ticket at 4:30 in the morning heading to the beach…Speed trap…I went online and researched how to stay within the system, and beat the ticket…Long story short-it worked…
A couple days ago I was in some dink town and Barney Fife had his radar gun out…Speed trap…I’m going to preserve my rights and make sure they have a preponderence of accurate evidence that I was in the wrong…I’m glad I saved the file from a few years ago…
The other thing to ask yourself is, “How much is my time worth?” Sitting around waiting for a damn judge to dismiss your ticket when you could be out surfing or forty bucks. Mike
Everyone used to gather tickets and then fight them all at once. The meter maid had to appear or you win by default. Years ago they changed the rules so now you have to post the $40 before they will give you a court date. If you win, you get it back, if you lose they keep it. This was extremely effective in getting people to just pay. Very few parking tickets are ever contested. It’s a hassle to set them for trial, it’s time consuming as you have two appearances, and it is seldom done. Just pay it.
Thanks for all the help guys. I knew i was talking to the right crowd. Thanks Darren
ONE,The clerks cannot make you pay in advance,that would fall under the due process laws.Another words it’s illegal to do so.
TWO,You only need one appearance,that’s why you ask for a dismissal.You are neither innocent or guilty due to legal technicalities = area not clearly posted.Herb
Don’t want to get into this, the reality is what they make you do to set a parking ticket for trial. The City of San Diego has required payment in advance for over 5 years, maybe 10. It’s not a violation of due process which guaratees you notice of what you did wrong, and an opportunity to be heard to contest. This is a form of bail which does not impact your ability to get your day in court. The two appearances are to set the trial date, and then to appear. They want to make sure you are going to show up. There was a big change in parking laws years ago where the DMV also won’t let your register cars with outstanding tickets until paid. In the old days I handled a case with $1,200 in outstanding tickets at Trestle, $600 in San Diego. We used to just negotiate the amount way down to resolve it . Those days are long gone. Maybe its different in outher counties, but in San Diego you post the fine (not pay) before you can get a court date set. Stops no shows. You are not guilty in advance, it is refunded if you win.
It’s a hassle, but if you know you’re in the right it’s absolutely worth it to pursue it and fight it to the end. A few years ago my wife and I got a ticket for speeding in a school zone, long story short officer was on the other side of the zone from us and the light on our end wasn’t flashing and the one on his was because the person in charge of the lights was midway between turning them off. I KNEW our light wasn’t flashing, and all we had to do was create reasonable doubt by proving that the lights were manually controlled vs. the time the ticket was issued, which was right at the end of the school zone hours. If you can prove that there were no signs saying you couldn’t park there, that’s probably enough for reasonable doubt. Our trial was funny, the attorney for the city questioned the officer for about 20 minutes about radar gun procedures, training, etc. and when he was done examining the cop the judge just said, “So is it possible for one light to be on and the other off?” The cop had to concede that it was, the judge just said “Reasonable doubt, case dismissed.” The look on the cop’s face was worth the trial alone. $40 isn’t a huge some of money, but IMO the principle of the thing makes fighting it more than worth it. Good Luck!