Denver, CO parking ticket - Statute 54-62 - HELP!

[05shagginwagon]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CO

I got a parking ticket in Denver, CO. My car is registered in NJ. Here are the major points:

-The ticket reflected a violation of statute 54-62, which applies to Colorado license plate laws.

-The ticket showed "violation desc: expired; 06-2010". The NJ inspection sticker on my windshield expired in 06-2010, so I assume this was the violation

-I only had a rear license plate on, which further confuses me as to what I got the violation for, exactly

I put the front plate back on and removed the expired inspection sticker. Do I have any reason/right to fight the ticket? I got the ticket @ 3:30AM, so I figured it was a minimum-wage-making-non-high-school-graduate meter maid who gave it out.

 

[FlyingRon]

Are you now living in Colorado?
Actually, they can only cite you for not having plates as required by NJ. The inspection sticker is off limits (the Denver ordinance refers to the state revised statutes and the state revised statutes say nothing about inspection stickers, only plates).

 

[HighwayMan]

Sec. 54-62. - License plates.

(a)

License plate required. It shall be unlawful for any person to drive, stop, park or for the owner or person in charge of any vehicle to cause or knowingly permit to be driven, stopped or parked on any street or highway within the city or any property that is owned by the city, any vehicle that has been assigned a license plate or plates, pursuant to Colorado law, unless the license plate or plates assigned to the vehicle for the current registration year is properly attached to and displayed on the vehicle, in accordance with the laws of the state.

(b)

"License plate" construed: For purposes of this section, the term "license plate" shall include license plates, number plates, personalized license plates, special license plates and other plates, both permanent and temporary, issued pursuant to Colorado law.




Firstly, if you live in Colorado now you should have your car registered there.

This statute is part of the Denver Revised Municipal Code. It doesn't seem to apply to your vehicle since it has an out of state registration. Do you still have a registration sticker on your rear plate? Maybe the officer/agent thought your registration was expired.

 

[FlyingRon]

Yes and if you dig through the CRS license plate section, you will find that non-residents are given an exemption if they properly display the "plate/plates" issued by their state. The implication is that if you had both plates as issued by NJ (and you were a resident of NJ) you'd be OK. Noting in the Denver statute or the CRS it implies says anything about out of state inspection stickers.

If they allege you were missing a plate you are screwed.
If they allege you are resident of Colorado, you are screwed.
If they allege your NJ sticker was expired, then that is *NOT* supported by the statute you were cited for.

 

[05shagginwagon]

I am now living in Denver, but have not registered my car here yet. I got the ticket on the street at my new apartment, so I feel like I could prove that I just moved here, and I'm holding off on registering it here in CO because the cost is so ridiculously high.

I don't have any registration stickers, I don't believe they're required under NJ law as I've never needed them. My registration is up to date in NJ and always has been.

I did NOT have a front plate on at the time, but the fact that the note "expired; 06-2010" was on the ticket makes me think that not having a front plate wasn't the reason they issued the ticket.

Do Denver parking officials take pictures of every violation they issue?

 

[HighwayMan]

I am now living in Denver, but have not registered my car here yet. I got the ticket on the street at my new apartment, so I feel like I could prove that I just moved here, and I'm holding off on registering it here in CO because the cost is so ridiculously high.

That's not an excuse. Your vehicle can be considered unregistered now. You are not a NJ resident and have no right to have your vehicle registered in that state, or any state except Colorado. A court will definitely not accept that.

I don't have any registration stickers, I don't believe they're required under NJ law as I've never needed them.

Well then you didn't live in NJ for very long. Up until just a couple of years ago NJ required plate mounted registration stickers. I still see alot of NJ cars with them now (here in NY) - of course all the stickers are expired.

I did NOT have a front plate on at the time, but the fact that the note "expired; 06-2010" was on the ticket makes me think that not having a front plate wasn't the reason they issued the ticket.

Highly doubtful that any LEO in Colorado would even know that NJ requires two plates anyway. It sounds like someone thought your inspection sticker was actually a registration sticker.

Do Denver parking officials take pictures of every violation they issue?

Highly doubtful.

Get your vehicle registered properly or you can expect more problems, especially if you get stopped for a moving violation. You could end up having your vehicle impounded and having to spend even more money. If Colorado is too expensive for you to legally own a vehicle then maybe you should consider moving somewhere else or getting rid of the vehicle.

 

[05shagginwagon]

Highway Man, thank you for your help, But why are you so judgemental? I did not ask about whether or not I should register my car in CO, I understand that it needs to be registered here if I am living here, but my move may be temporary and I don't see the sense in paying over $500 to have my car registered here if I might be back in NJ by next April. Colorado makes newly registered vehicles pay a percentage of what the car was purchased for. Say what you will, but I'm not made of money.

Also, what if I was to say I am going to school here? I lived in CT for almost 4 years during the school year in college, should I have registered and un-registered my car every time I moved? I think not.

I grew up in NJ, I'm 24 and have lived there since I was born, except in college, and up until moving to Denver.

I don't think a parking officer would know that NJ requires 2 plates either, which is why I didn't have a front plate on in the first place.

Your suggestion to "move elsewhere" or "get rid of the car" is ridiculous (and you know it!). I realize this is a forum, and people are able to say what they want, but I'm really only looking for some solid evidence as to whether or not I should fight the ticket.

 

[HighwayMan]

You can obviously believe what you want, but once you establish residency in a state you must register your vehicle there and be licensed there. And yes, if you go to college for 4 years the same applies to whatever state your college is in.

The residency thing varies from state to state, but it's usually between 30 and 90 days. If you move back to NJ (which is an unknown at this point) then yes, you have to switch everything back to NJ. You do what you want, and hopefully for you there won't be any further consequences, like losing your car.

Anyway, only you can determine whether to fight the ticket or not. You live there, so you should know how they get adjudicated (by mail, in person, either?). If you can take the time to deal with it then by all means fight it. On the face of the situation it seems as though there is no case against you.

I would take a picture of the inspection sticker to show a judge that it's just that - an inspection and not a registration. You can also produce a copy of your registration receipt which shows that it was not expired.

That's assuming that the ticket was written for expired registration/tags. Considering the notation on the violation that seems likely.

 

[05shagginwagon]

I understand your concerns and realize I am taking a risk by not having my car registered in CO yet, I figure if I'm pulled over I can tell an officer that I just moved here, so that takes care of that for about a month.

In terms of the inspection, if I do make that my defense, will they be able to issue me a ticket for having expired inspection? I don't want to dig myself a deeper hole...

 

[FlyingRon]

This isn't the "how do I break the law forum". We can help you with your past citations, but we're not going to tell you how to break the law further.
The truth is that you've already got a ticket. If you take it to court, the issue of just where you are living now may very well come up and that same ordinance covers people who aren't residents who don't have Colorado plates.

Or are you going to add perjury to your list of illicit activities.

 

[HighwayMan]

In terms of the inspection, if I do make that my defense, will they be able to issue me a ticket for having expired inspection? I don't want to dig myself a deeper hole...

The inspection should not be enforceable at all outside of New Jersey, but it may show that you have been away from New Jersey long enough to establish Colorado residency. It may be hard to avoid the residency thing.

 

[FlyingRon]

The inspection should not be enforceable at all outside of New Jersey, but it may show that you have been away from New Jersey long enough to establish Colorado residency. It may be hard to avoid the residency thing.

Actually it is enforceable outside NJ, but just not in Colorado (at least not under the statute he is charged under).

 

[HighwayMan]

His concern is getting hit for that (the inspection) later on if he fights the ticket.

I can't see how that is enforceable Ron. Can you explain your reasoning?

In New York we do not write out of state vehicles for inspections - each state has differing inspection requirements and some states don't require inspections. Additionally, some states have eliminated inspections yet vehicles sometimes continue to display expired stickers. It just doesn't seem to make sense to me.

As I said I would be more concerned with the expired sticker being proof of being outside of NJ for too long (i.e. in CO long enough to establish residency).

 

[SuperLitigator]

I understand your concerns and realize I am taking a risk by not having my car registered in CO yet, I figure if I'm pulled over I can tell an officer that I just moved here, so that takes care of that for about a month.

In terms of the inspection, if I do make that my defense, will they be able to issue me a ticket for having expired inspection? I don't want to dig myself a deeper hole...

If you get pulled over dont answer any of the cops questions, how about that? They dont know where your residence state is. Answering questions is giving them evidence against you. You dont say this but do you have a CO drivers license? What's a cop going to do if you don't answer questions, at the worst? Give you a ticket, thats all. What will happen to you if you answer his questions? Give you a ticket & also have evidence of the violation which you gave them on a silver platter. I would not switch plates & have not done so until about 1 mo. until my old plates expired (my DL at same time); thats all about money of course. If Senator Kerry can move his boat to RI to avoid MA taxes then whats good enough for him is good enough for me.

 

[The Occultist]

If you get pulled over dont answer any of the cops questions, how about that? They dont know where your residence state is. Answering questions is giving them evidence against you. You dont say this but do you have a CO drivers license? What's a cop going to do if you don't answer questions, at the worst? Give you a ticket, thats all.

shagginwagon, I would be careful taking this advice here. If you are not cooperative with an officer, it may be possible to find yourself being taken to the station. Even if it turns out to be a bad arrest, it is still time out of your day wasted instead of answering a couple questions.

Super, I do wish to politely point out that I do not believe you fully read the OP. The OP has already received his ticket, so your advice, whether or not I agree with it, is a tad late. Also, as it was a parking ticket, the OP was not actually pulled over. Heh, perhaps you can travel back in time to help the OP?