Contesting a Parking Ticket

Many people often wonder if contesting their parking ticket is a suitable option for them. This is a slightly complex legal procedure, but if you are absolutely certain that you are right, you do have the privilege of doing so. Most people would not bother to take up this option, as they feel it is an unnecessary burden and takes considerable time and money. Moreover, the parking ticket fines are not so large so as to go through all the trouble for.

Ultimately, it is in your hands to decide whether this is a feasible option for you or not. If you are willing to take the trouble because you are certain that you have done nothing wrong, you can go ahead and fight a parking ticket in order to gain justice.

Contesting Parking Tickets
You have the option of contesting the ticket either through the mail, or by attending a walk-in hearing within 60 days of the date of issue of the parking ticket. You must also know that you have to respond to a parking ticket, in the form of paying the fine or contesting it, within 30 days of the issue of the parking ticket. If you do not adhere to this time limit, you will have to pay a penalty equal to the parking ticket fine, and you will also run the risk of having your driver's license rescinded which will stop you from driving.

Here are the 3 options you have at your disposal when you receive a parking ticket. You are free to choose any of these options.

• You can admit the violation and pay the fine.
• You can admit the violation and pay the fine, but also submit a written application about the possible reason for your violation.
• You can deny the violation and submit your version of it in writing. And then you can subsequently attend a hearing to determine whether your contesting is successful or unsuccessful.

You must weight your options carefully, and then make a decision about whether contesting a parking ticket is the right option for you or not.

How to Appeal a Parking Ticket
If you choose to deny the violation, then you must submit only one of any of these possible defenses.

• The vehicle did not belong to you, and was not in your name, on the date of issue of the parking ticket.
• The parking meter was broken through no fault of your own.
• The vehicle experienced mechanical failure.
• The number plates of your vehicle were stolen on or before the date on which the parking ticket was issued.
• The relevant sign was either obstructed by something, or it was missing.
• A passenger in the vehicle required immediate medical assistance.
• The facts on the ticket are wrong, and do not support the violation you committed.

You cannot base your defense of contesting parking tickets on more than one of these possible causes.

Contesting Via Mail
This is one of the ways of contesting parking citation. As mentioned before, the appeal should reach the District Law office within 60 days of the date of issue of the parking ticket. Delays in the postal system can cause the letter to reach at a later date, but it is mandatory that the request is received within these 60 days. Your formal request must be dispatched before 30 days have passed since the issue of the parking ticket.

You need to complete the parking ticket, and on the back of the ticket you need to mark the option 'Deny'. You need to then complete the 'Mail Adjudication Form' and send it in along with any necessary evidence you feel may help your case. Within 6 months, you will hear the decision of the examining committee.

Contesting Via a Walk-In
Contesting a parking ticket can also be carried out through a walk-in. The same conditions apply here as well, and you will have to carry all the necessary items as proof, which you feel will help your case. Note that you can only carry out this procedure if you are the registered owner of the vehicle, or you have the Power of Attorney authorized by the registered owner, giving you the permission to act on his/her behalf. Locate the Adjudication Services in your city, and walk in for a hearing there, within 30 days of the date of issue of your parking ticket.

Contesting parking tickets is something that requires conviction and persistence from your side. This is not an easy procedure, and can take its toll on you. But, if you are right, and handle the task in the right manner, you will most certainly be able to successfully carry it out. The next time you think about contesting an unfair ticket, remember this brief explanation about the procedure. Good luck in your pursuit of justice.