5 ms·

We need this in SF. SFMTA ticketed my car for no reason before; I tried their "appeal" process, only to get a response that sounded like they didn't even read w

by fsaneq2 10y ago

We need this in SF. SFMTA ticketed my car for no reason before; I tried their "appeal" process, only to get a response that sounded like they didn't even read what I said.

twinkletwinkle 10y ago
I once received a parking ticket timestamped 2 in the afternoon. Funny thing is, that day I drove across the GG Bridge and went hiking - I had photographic evidence of crossing the bridge in the morning and the toll to prove I returned in the evening. Therefore I and my car were not in the city at 2 pm and could not have parked illegally. Appeal denied.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  Its quite easy to leave SF via the GGB in the morning, reenter SF via any of a variety of different routes and get a ticket at 2pm, leave SF again, and reenter via the GGB in the evening. Now, if you had described evidence of the specific location your car was at the time of the ticket, and the appeal was still denied, that might be a different story.
  - fsaneq2 10y ago
    Heh, please, don't defend these POS. They're cheating and they know it. I got a ticket for the car being "double parked"; I sent a picture of how it was parked (right next to the curb in a legal spot). It was a rainy day, so you could even see that the car must've been in that spot for a while -- it's not like I moved it there to take a picture. Later, I got a prewritten appeal denied notice -- it wasn't even specific to double parking, and mentioned none of the evidence I sent. I also have several friends with similar experiences. So, please, let's fire them, instead of making improbable excuses.
    - breakingcups 10y ago
      Here in the Netherlands, if a response to your appeal contains evidence that the handling officer hasn't read your appeal properly or does not give an appropriate answer to each of your objections, it is grounds to get the ticket thrown out in court EVEN if it was a legitimate ticket. An example: If you object to the calibration of the SPECS camera (e.g camera's that track you over a longer piece of road to determine your average speed) and the officer responds saying that the radar equipment was properly calibrated, you can have the ticket thrown out as it was not radar equipment that ticketed you and thus proper care wasn't shown during the handling of your appeal.
- mynameisnoone 10y ago
  Drivers should consider adding a GPS+time logging system, in addition to front/back video DVRs.
refurb 10y ago
Huh. I appealed a parking ticket in SF one time and it was dismissed. I got a street cleaning ticket that said I parked on a Tuesday but the address on the ticket was on the Thursday street cleaning side. Just pointed that out in a letter and everything was dropped. However, my scenario is pretty straightforward. I'm guessing anything more complex is going to get denied. You can always appear in front of a judge.
- esbranson 10y ago
  No you can almost never appear in front of a judge. Random people from around town (who may not even be lawyers) that adjudicate administrative (extrajudicial) trials are not judges. That makes more sense when you realize that final appeals from these adjudicators' decisions go to the director of the agency.
  - areyousure 10y ago
    I don't know how it works in SF, but after my final administrative hearing was denied in Oakland in exactly the way you describe, I filed an appeal in the county court, appeared before a real judge, and won: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10381103 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10381103
    - esbranson 10y ago
      No, you likely appeared before a superior court commissioner, not a judge. 1. The agency reviews it. 2. An "independent" ALJ reviews it. 2a. Sometimes the head of the agency can and will review it. 3. * A superior court commissioner (traffic commissioner) reviews it. * 4. A superior court judge (a "real judge") reviews it. #. Courts of appeals do NOT review these cases. #. Supreme Court does NOT review the cases. You got to 3 but you likely never actually saw a judge. A hearing by a "real judge" costs a hell of a lot more than $25 in California.
      - areyousure 10y ago
        I appreciate your skepticism, but I did appear before a superior court judge. Specifically, my court documents say "dismissed by court without prejudice" with the presiding judge: Ursula Jones Dickson, Alameda Superior Court Judge. It is not just an issue of her name appearing on the paperwork. My testimony, as well as the parking department's, was made directly to her, and I presented my evidence to her as well. You can check for yourself that it costs $25 to appeal a ticket in Alameda County Superior Court: http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/Pages.aspx/How-to-appeal-your-parking-ticket http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/Pages.aspx/How-to-appeal-yo... Edit: I am willing to believe that you don't necessarily see a Judge if you file an appeal, but I definitely did myself.

by fsaneq2 10y ago

We need this in SF. SFMTA ticketed my car for no reason before; I tried their "appeal" process, only to get a response that sounded like they didn't even read what I said.

twinkletwinkle 10y ago

I once received a parking ticket timestamped 2 in the afternoon. Funny thing is, that day I drove across the GG Bridge and went hiking - I had photographic evidence of crossing the bridge in the morning and the toll to prove I returned in the evening. Therefore I and my car were not in the city at 2 pm and could not have parked illegally. Appeal denied.

dragonwriter 10y ago
Its quite easy to leave SF via the GGB in the morning, reenter SF via any of a variety of different routes and get a ticket at 2pm, leave SF again, and reenter via the GGB in the evening. Now, if you had described evidence of the specific location your car was at the time of the ticket, and the appeal was still denied, that might be a different story.
- fsaneq2 10y ago
  Heh, please, don't defend these POS. They're cheating and they know it. I got a ticket for the car being "double parked"; I sent a picture of how it was parked (right next to the curb in a legal spot). It was a rainy day, so you could even see that the car must've been in that spot for a while -- it's not like I moved it there to take a picture. Later, I got a prewritten appeal denied notice -- it wasn't even specific to double parking, and mentioned none of the evidence I sent. I also have several friends with similar experiences. So, please, let's fire them, instead of making improbable excuses.
  - breakingcups 10y ago
    Here in the Netherlands, if a response to your appeal contains evidence that the handling officer hasn't read your appeal properly or does not give an appropriate answer to each of your objections, it is grounds to get the ticket thrown out in court EVEN if it was a legitimate ticket. An example: If you object to the calibration of the SPECS camera (e.g camera's that track you over a longer piece of road to determine your average speed) and the officer responds saying that the radar equipment was properly calibrated, you can have the ticket thrown out as it was not radar equipment that ticketed you and thus proper care wasn't shown during the handling of your appeal.
mynameisnoone 10y ago
Drivers should consider adding a GPS+time logging system, in addition to front/back video DVRs.

refurb 10y ago

Huh. I appealed a parking ticket in SF one time and it was dismissed. I got a street cleaning ticket that said I parked on a Tuesday but the address on the ticket was on the Thursday street cleaning side. Just pointed that out in a letter and everything was dropped. However, my scenario is pretty straightforward. I'm guessing anything more complex is going to get denied. You can always appear in front of a judge.

esbranson 10y ago
No you can almost never appear in front of a judge. Random people from around town (who may not even be lawyers) that adjudicate administrative (extrajudicial) trials are not judges. That makes more sense when you realize that final appeals from these adjudicators' decisions go to the director of the agency.
- areyousure 10y ago
  I don't know how it works in SF, but after my final administrative hearing was denied in Oakland in exactly the way you describe, I filed an appeal in the county court, appeared before a real judge, and won: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10381103 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10381103
  - esbranson 10y ago
    No, you likely appeared before a superior court commissioner, not a judge. 1. The agency reviews it. 2. An "independent" ALJ reviews it. 2a. Sometimes the head of the agency can and will review it. 3. * A superior court commissioner (traffic commissioner) reviews it. * 4. A superior court judge (a "real judge") reviews it. #. Courts of appeals do NOT review these cases. #. Supreme Court does NOT review the cases. You got to 3 but you likely never actually saw a judge. A hearing by a "real judge" costs a hell of a lot more than $25 in California.
    - areyousure 10y ago
      I appreciate your skepticism, but I did appear before a superior court judge. Specifically, my court documents say "dismissed by court without prejudice" with the presiding judge: Ursula Jones Dickson, Alameda Superior Court Judge. It is not just an issue of her name appearing on the paperwork. My testimony, as well as the parking department's, was made directly to her, and I presented my evidence to her as well. You can check for yourself that it costs $25 to appeal a ticket in Alameda County Superior Court: http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/Pages.aspx/How-to-appeal-your-parking-ticket http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/Pages.aspx/How-to-appeal-yo... Edit: I am willing to believe that you don't necessarily see a Judge if you file an appeal, but I definitely did myself.