June 15, 2007
How Far Would You Go to Beat a Parking Ticket?
No one likes getting a parking ticket, but it's those instances when tickets are handed down unfairly that really make people crazy and determined to beat them. Sanford Young, a lawyer, spent two years and an estimated $10,000 to beat a $65 ticket in Manhattan Supreme Court. From The Post:
Young got the ticket on Nov. 29, 2005, after he parked on First Avenue near East 70th Street to have dinner with a friend. He returned from his $60 dinner to find a $65 ticket.While the city offered to reduce the fine to $43, Young refused and took it to court, was found guilty, appealed, lost the appeal, and then took it to the Supreme Court, where a judge ordered that the city had to pay him back his $65. The $10,000 calculation comes from Young estimating the time he spent and what he bills actual clients.The summons charged him with violating the weekday no-parking rule between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., and "noted the time of the offense as 6:59 p.m.," the judge's decision says.
The summons especially ticketed Young off because he made sure he didn't park until after 7.
He entered a plea of not guilty on the Parking Violation Bureau's Web site. He called the ticket "absurd and wrong," and said that as "lifelong New Yorker and lawyer," he knew when he could park.
Various parking ticket trivia we've accumulated: The Independent Budget Office says you have a better chance of beating your parking ticket in person. One person used Google Maps to have his parking ticket thrown out. If you go in person, parking judge Barry Popik recommends that you tell the honest truth and don't play games with the judge. And another commenter suggested you write to a local city official: "if you feel aggrieved, then write to the mayor, your city councilman or any other public official about it. You'd be surprised at how sensitive the city is about negative press. You might get an apology letter and a refund!"
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$10K what's he billing his clients for parking offenses? $400 an hour?
oh come on, retard.
where does it say that he serves clients who have parking offenses?
upon googling his name, you'll see that he represents clients with "complex civil litigation, appellate matter, or for mediation" - hardly trafic court matters.
although the guy is sorta nuts, i respect his principles.
Ed, I guess he goes the extra mile...
;)
Remember, if *anything* is inaccurate about the ticket (your location, car information, etc.) it is invalid. Though these days the agents seem to have some kind of PDA that cuts down on errors.
I love fighting my parking tickets, and have had alot of them dismissed, for exactly what bklynd said, errors on the ticket. Even with those PDA things the traffic cops have, errors do appear, so scrutinize and fight!
Even if you're clearly guilty, fight it, as the DOT will knock down the charge from $65 to something less, so you never should flat out pay your ticket. You don't have to do it in person, just send in your not guilty plea, and they'll usually knock it down in their next reply to you.
I think he's screwing around with the $10K figure. But having said that, good for him!
What the don't tell you is if you plead not guilty and are found guilty, you can appeal, but you have to pay the fine first! I found this out when I found myself in a spot similar to Counselor Young's. I paid the fine and appealed, then won the appeal, then had to go through a new set of hoops to get the refund. But I got it, goddamnit! It would seem that this process is made particularly horrendous so that folks will give up.
Parking tickets are like free money for the city, as so few folks will see the fight as being worth it.
And, you know, also free money for the city because so many folks park illegally.
I hate meter maids...I'm sure some are honest and do their job, but there are too many who are sneaky (e.g. waiting for a meter to expire).
#9 - How is waiting for a meter to expire sneaky? The meter expires, you're in violation. Seems pretty straightforward to me...
What is it with lawyers who calculate every non-work thing they do based on their hourly rate? Ok, I'm a secretary making $21.63 per hour. If I were to spend 10 hours fighting a parking ticket, does that mean it "cost" me $210.30 to fight it? No more than it "costs" this lawyer $400 to watch American Idol one week.
The unfortunate thing is that it sometimes comes down to what is worth more to you: your principles or your valuable time?
My sister got a parking ticket on a Stanton Street on a block that had no parking signage whatsoever -- I took pictures to prove it while her car was still parked there, which she mailed in (from VA) with her appeal. That process took a lot of time, phone calls, etc. on her end...but the appeal was denied despite the very obvious photographic evidence, so I went in person to dispute it.
I sat there for several hours before being ushered in to three hobbits. Before letting me even say anything, they dismissed all the charges saying the ticket had been improperly filled out. DUH!
i think this guy is awesome.
if you want to win a case, pick him because he will fight the smallest detail to the death - per hour.
What's the old adage? A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. This guy proves that, and so does the ass in D.C. suing a mom and pop dry cleaner for $65M for a pair of lost pants.
retard? wow... thanks, loser.
It’s about principle. For those of you who can’t see that I suggest you reevaluate your life.
For the people who are sitting at their computer just to call him a “retard” and make fun of him… he actually went out and did something with his life and achieved more than you ever will.
He is a great man! I respect his principles!
I agree with #[17]. Sometimes you have to put a fight to get things sorted out the right way . Posted by; Still not Amused
Hi group,
I recently went on the NYC.GOV website and ran a check on my license plate and I found a ticket issued to me back in 2005. The thing that upsets me most is that I have NEVER, EVER been to that area!! The ticket has been issued for more than 2 years and going by the website, I am not going to get a hearing.
What should I do with this ticket? Even if I get a hearing, I never had an actual ticket to bring it to court because as I stated earlier, I was NEVER THERE to begin with. On the scanned ticket I found on the website, some information about my car was missing, such as the color and the model year, etc. Do you think I can fight this ticket?
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.