I just got a summons in the mail to appear (or pay) for a parking violation from last March.  The total cost of the ticket is now $106 since I apparently didn't pay the fine from the original citation.

Problem is that at the date and time of the citation, I'm 100% sure I wasn't parked at the location provided (shopping district of a small local arts & craftsy small town). Unfortunately I have no way of proving that I wasn't there or that my truck wasn't there.

I presume I'm screwed on this deal. Anyone know if there's a way out other than paying a ticket I never received?

I am betting the city DOES have proof of you parking there at that date.

Go to court and find out.

Quoted: I am betting the city DOES have proof of you parking there at that date. Go to court and find out.

Psychic hotline?

This town makes a large percentage of it's revenue on parking tickets; they have a half-dozen women who walk around with chalk sticks and citation books.  I've seen them writing tickets; the only proof they have is whatever the meter maid wrote down before she moved on. And I don't park in unlawful places; not worth getting towed.

In the off-season, the small PD's primary job is running speed traps at either end of twon where there is a short section of road that is marked at 35 MPH (town is 25) before the road turns back to the 45 MPH it is everywhere else.  

If you get caught going 45, they give you a song and dance about how they don't want to see your insurance rates go up, so they will just write the ticket as an equipment violation, so it doesn't get reported to the insurance company (and they don't have to give the state their share of the revenue from a speeding ticket).

Going to court (at the county seat) will cost me as much as just paying the ticket  in terms of gas, parking, and time spent.  I'm sure that's the idea.

Quoted: Quoted: I am betting the city DOES have proof of you parking there at that date. Go to court and find out. Psychic hotline? This town makes a large percentage of it's revenue on parking tickets; they have a half-dozen women who walk around with chalk sticks and citation books.  I've seen them writing tickets; the only proof they have is whatever the meter maid wrote down before she moved on. And I don't park in unlawful places; not worth getting towed. In the off-season, the small PD's primary job is running speed traps at either end of twon where there is a short section of road that is marked at 35 MPH (town is 25) before the road turns back to the 45 MPH it is everywhere else.   If you get caught going 45, they give you a song and dance about how they don't want to see your insurance rates go up, so they will just write the ticket as an equipment violation, so it doesn't get reported to the insurance company (and they don't have to give the state their share of the revenue from a speeding ticket). Going to court (at the county seat) will cost me as much as just paying the ticket  in terms of gas, parking, and time spent.  I'm sure that's the idea.

David,

I got a ticket for parking in downtown Coral Gables (miami) a full 3 months before I moved there.  I found out about it when I went to renew my tags.  Cost me over $180 to get resolved.  Then a few years later, I got at parking ticket for the city of miami for parking at a key biscayne public boat ramp.  Ticket was time stamped at 3am (or so that I remember).  What is odd about this is that I had moved from Miami to Daytona Beach the year before and hadn't been back since. Ticket...$217.

My advice, pay it.  The legal fees will be much more that the cost of just paying it.  Apparently, many municipalities pull this scam.  They generate random tickets and send them out.  The burden of proof is on you that you didn't commit the infraction.  Some people fight it, most just pay it to be done with it.

Quoted: I just got a summons in the mail to appear (or pay) for a parking violation from last March.  The total cost of the ticket is now $106 since I apparently didn't pay the fine from the original citation. Problem is that at the date and time of the citation, I'm 100% sure I wasn't parked at the location provided (shopping district of a small local arts & craftsy small town). Unfortunately I have no way of proving that I wasn't there or that my truck wasn't there. I presume I'm screwed on this deal. Anyone know if there's a way out other than paying a ticket I never received?

I don't know if this is valid for parking tickets, but call the clerk of the court and tell him you would like too see the evidence they have against you as part of the discovery process.  Who knows, it might work. More than likely the court considers the issuing officer as a credible witness to the violation, and therefore their ticket is prima facie evidence.

Well I guess they just got all your info and mailing address by mistake huh?

Quoted: Well I guess they just got all your info and mailing address by mistake huh?

Gee I would think that they just got it when they typed the license number into the system, just like they do for every parking ticket. And of course they would never just generate a ticket for someone parked legally at a different time, because that would be wrong.

Plus no one would ever make a mistake with a license number made up mainly of multiple iterations the letter E and number 3.  And no, it's not a vanity tag; it's what the state issued when I bought the truck.

And with a little additional research I'm wondering why I have a citation for an expired meter written 2 hours and 17 minutes after the time when you have to put money in the meter.  So it looks like I can fight this ticket and win; it'll just cost me as much as paying the ticket to do so, plus waste a day driving back and forth from the county seat.

That couldn't possibly be the idea, would it?

Quoted: That couldn't possibly be the idea, would it?

So you are saying "the man" did this on purpose just to piss you off?

This is how the courts work: when you get accused of a crime you have a right to a day in court to prove your innoicence, that is what I suggested you do.

No where does it say you have a right to not have it cost you time & money.

Quoted: Quoted: That couldn't possibly be the idea, would it? So you are saying "the man" did this on purpose just to piss you off? This is how the courts work: when you get accused of a crime you have a right to a day in court to prove your innoicence, that is what I suggested you do. No where does it say you have a right to not have it cost you time & money.

Ya know. I've never used this icon before....

Quoted: Ya know. I've never used this icon before....

I guees that means you ran out of arguement for this debate?

Quoted: Quoted: Ya know. I've never used this icon before.... I guees that means you ran out of arguement for this debate?

You can't argue with the oblivious.

<jrzy> Go measure the parking signs to make sure they're installed at the right height. </jrzy>

I sure do love it when the apologists for the government assholes come out of the woodwork defending every fucking sneaky underhanded dirty backdoor tax collection method.

Quoted: Quoted: That couldn't possibly be the idea, would it? So you are saying "the man" did this on purpose just to piss you off? This is how the courts work: when you get accused of a crime you have a right to a day in court to prove your innoicence, that is what I suggested you do. No where does it say you have a right to not have it cost you time & money.

I’ll “debate” it.

He’s not saying “the man” did it to piss him off, he’s saying that it must either be a clerical error OR a revenue enhancement scam. Since errors happen and so do revenue enhancement scams, this might be what is happening here.

People aren’t supposed to ever have to prove their innocence. The state is supposed to prove guilt. If the state had a video tape of the car illegally parked and of DavidC actually finding the ticket then that would be proof. If they had a photo of the car illegally parked and sent the ticket through registered mail that would also be proof.

But if there is no description of the car on the ticket, no photographs, and no evidence DavidC ever even received the ticket then he shouldn’t be expected to pay anything.

Perhaps you missed the part in the Constitution about not being deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. If a government accuses someone of a crime and fines them and then makes them pay for the “right” to defend themselves then the right to a fair trial isn’t much of a right, is it?