Any chance of winning this police parking ticket contest?

Submitted by boreneisnotdead t3_yd5srp in pittsburgh

Hello everyone. I am currently on vacation and have been parked out of my building since the weekend as I have not left my house much. I woke up this morning and was told by my GF that my car was about to be towed! I have now moved the car but not before I got a $150 ticket. Apparently there were signs were put up in the morning yesterday saying not to park there this morning but I didn't see them as I have been indoors the entire day.

I'm thinking of contesting this ticket at court but wanted to know what my chances were?

Also, how long after you plead "not guilty" online do you get a court date? I have to leave the city for a while this weekend?

Thanks. Would appreciate any help I could get.

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Tweed_Kills t1_itq5x65 wrote

Contest it. Always. If the cop doesn't show up and you're not an asshole, it'll essentially always get at least reduced. Even if you were actually in the wrong, like you were here, albeit by accident. Honestly, it's not that bad, and it can be worth a lot of money.

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boreneisnotdead OP t1_itq95w0 wrote

Do you think I would have better luck contesting online vs contesting in person?

Have you ever contested before? If in-person, do you know how long before I have before I have to make an appearance? I'm leaving town for a while this weekend.

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westinghousesghost t1_itq9jd0 wrote

Contest in person. Making the effort to dress decently and show up in court shows you care and are respectful of the judiciary, which goes a long way.

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Tweed_Kills t1_itqase4 wrote

I have contested before, twice, and won both times. Both were in person, the first one was reduced by half, the second was vacated.

As a note, I am a white, fairly femme, blonde woman. I didn't dress differently, or like, flirt or anything, but studies have shown multiple times that my demographic gets more in tips than other demographics, and also political donations, when the givers were also white, and both of my judges were There is a societal incentive, especially among white people to be "nice" to people who look like me, so results may vary.

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boreneisnotdead OP t1_itqbdbi wrote

Welp. I am not white so I'm gonna keep that in mind and be extra penitent.

How long did it take after you submitted the not guilty appeal for you to appear in court? A few days?

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Tweed_Kills t1_itqdiz9 wrote

My last comment, and then I'll stop spamming you, I promise, the system is rigged in favor of those who have the means to show up. I have the means (barely, but I do) to schedule around court dates, and to get myself to court. Your outcome is 100% more likely to be positive if you show up and can be physically there, which is disadvantageous to people who are poor, or who don't have enough knowledge of the system to feel able to contest it.

That $150 is more valuable to you than it is to them. Show up if you can and present your case. Do what you can to keep your money.

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boreneisnotdead OP t1_itqe3wj wrote

No you're not spamming, I promise. I absolutely appreciate your replies. Thanks!

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Tweed_Kills t1_itqcggf wrote

You just call the parking authority, tell them you're contesting, then they give you a date. It's pretty simple. You just show up at one of the parking courts, they give you the one that's closest to you for the most part. Show up early, absolutely do not be late, read a book or something, try not to be on your phone, they don't like that, until it's your turn and state your case. Try to bring evidence, like that you were on vacation and hadn't seen the signs (just say that, not that you haven't left the house). Bring pay stubs or like... A PTO slip or something. They most likely won't bother to look at them, but you need to have them on hand if they ask. Try not to cry or anything, I'm an easy crier, but I did good and didn't cry either time, and keep your answers short and polite. Rehearse with your girlfriend if you're nervous. Treat it a bit like a job interview.

You can do this. It's not that bad. I mean, it's a pain in the ass, but it'll probably be worth it.

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Tweed_Kills t1_itqd2cg wrote

Remember: if the cop doesn't show up (and they probably won't) it almost always gets automatically vacated. If you're there on time, ready to go and the cop isn't, you're almost always sitting pretty.

Edit: this only applies to cop issued tickets, which this post is about, not standard parking enforcement tickets.

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timesuck t1_itq86a5 wrote

You can contest the ticket, but you will not win; however, the court will normally reduce the fine by a lot if you just say you’re sorry and had extenuating circumstances and that you’ll pay more attention in the future.

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boreneisnotdead OP t1_itq9asv wrote

Thank you for the advice. I plan to be very penitent haha. Do you think I would have better luck contesting online vs contesting in person?

Have you ever contested before? If in-person, do you know how long before I have before I have to make an appearance? I'm leaving town for a while this weekend.

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timesuck t1_itq9ud7 wrote

I’ve only ever done it pre-covid. I don’t know what the timeline looks like now, but hopefully someone else here can give you more info.

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da_london_09 t1_itqpik1 wrote

You can contest it online, just write a simple explanation in the online form, they usually reduce it by at least half,

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LovedAJackass t1_itqbcd6 wrote

Contest it, politely, in person. If you have a clean parking record, reference that.

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boreneisnotdead OP t1_itqbpln wrote

I do have a clean parking record so hopefully that helps!

If you have contested before, how long did it take after you submitted the not guilty appeal for you to appear in court? A few days? Or more?

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LovedAJackass t1_itqelqi wrote

It was so long ago, I don't recall. I'm sure others will have a better answer. But good luck!

I've only ever lost once when I appeared in court and that was in Mt. Lebanon, where they treated me like a serial killer for driving over 20 mph in a school zone at 8:57 am, when there were no kids in sight.

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[deleted] t1_itrjt4o wrote

Were you driving 20 in a 15mph school zone or 35 in a 15 mph school zone?

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lying-therapy-dog t1_ittkwzl wrote

Considering local PD doesn't have radar, it was 25 or more.

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[deleted] t1_ittlm03 wrote

School zones usually have accutrak lines. Radar isn’t needed, just a stop watch. I’m honestly curious.

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lying-therapy-dog t1_ituioou wrote

Oh yeah I forgot that. However I believe pa issues tickets for failure to obey posted traffic signs if it is 5mph over or less. There's no speeding ticket for 20 in a 15.

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dementedturnip26 t1_itqekqw wrote

I think that there should probably be strict rules about posting of temporary restrictions…and it should be more like a week out than a day

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chuckie512 t1_itqq6u9 wrote

Technically they're allowed to tow you after meer hours. It's BS.

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The001Keymaster t1_itqozyx wrote

You can fight it. Parking tickets can be won.

I'd say that you work from home and haven't used your car in a week or whatever so you never noticed the newly added signs. Don't ask to have the ticket wiped out. Admit that it was your fault for not checking, but 150 will really hurt your tight budget. Ask if the fine can possibly be reduced. I find that admitting fault and asking only for a reduction a lot of times they just wipe it all because the judge thinks you are taking responsibility. If you go on a rant blah blah blah then the judge is mostly fuck this loud mouth and makes you pay the full amount.

Edit: saw you ask about in person or online. I'd say in person is the better chance to win. Judge sees you took the time to come and ask for the reduction. You're more invested than the 5 minutes to contest online.

Stay calm and a nice tone. Raising your voice or turning your questions or requests into a rant will almost always get you nothing in the way of leniency.

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Bandit_the_Kitty t1_itrq0qa wrote

When did the signs go up? They have to be up 48 hours before the start of the "no parking" period.

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chuckie512 t1_itqq3cy wrote

I've contested a similar situation and won. Just talk to the judge honestly.

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IrrumaboMalum t1_itt2j8s wrote

You might get it reduced, I doubt you will get it vacated.

I got a parking ticket because I didn't move my car for street cleaning day. I was literally in the hospital on prescribed narcotics because of a major issue with my stomach. I contested the ticket, provided proof that I was in the hospital and was unable to move my car for street cleaning day.

I was told I should've given my keys to someone and had them move it, then they reduced the fine - but I still had to pay a fine because of the ticket I got while I was in the hospital.

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AutoModerator t1_itq3e5v wrote

This looks familiar. We've may have some similar questions to this in the past. You might find some good info here : [parking ticket search](/r/pittsburgh/search?q=parking ticket&restrict_sr=on). I don't always get it right though, cuz I'm just a simple bot.

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Numerous_Ad_3526 t1_iu00qgk wrote

Not gonna lie when I read the headline I thought this was a contest to see who could get the most parking tickets, with a prize given by the police to the winner...

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