Take a reduced fee or Admin Law Judge? Expired inspection and valid inspection ticket

[Kira53]

What is the name of your state? NY

I had an expired inspection sticker and current inspection sticker on the windshield. I didn't know how to get the old sticker off so I had just put the new one on the windshield. I received at ticket for the expired inspection even though the current sticker was prominent. I sent a photo showing the current(valid) and expired sticker. I argued that the spirit of the law was not to punish for the failure to remove the old sticker. The spirit of the law is to make sure the cars are current with their inspection and my current sticker was proof my car had a current inspection.

I pled not guilty and I received an offer to pay a reduced fee from $65 to $43. If I don't accept the reduction offer an Administrative Judge will review my case. I will either be found guilty and have to pay the full fee or dismissed and I will not have to pay anything.

Should I go for the Administrative Judge? Since they offered me a reduction do I have a good change of having this dismissed?

[PrinceCharming]

Take the reduced offer because you will lose the case. Even though you are making a valid point, the administrative law judges are required by law to follow the letter of the law. (unlike other judges that do not have to follow the law by the letter)

I drove around for a year with my inspection ticket in the wrong spot ... never got a ticket, but I knew that if I got one, I would have to pay. I was just curious if any officer would notice. I even got 7 tickets during this period and it seems that the officers do nto know it all.

[patstew]

Originally Posted by PrinceCharming

Take the reduced offer because you will lose the case. Even though you are making a valid point, the administrative law judges are required by law to follow the letter of the law. (unlike other judges that do not have to follow the law by the letter)

Say what? If I read the OP correctly, the valid sticker was displayed in ADDITION to the expired one. What part of that was illegal?

[PrinceCharming]

These are NYC laws

(3) Vehicles must display valid registration sticker. No person shall stand or park a vehicle bearing a New York plate or plates unless it properly displays a current registration sticker.
(4) Improper stickers prohibited. No person shall stand or park a vehicle bearing a New York plate or plates displaying an expired, mutilated, void, imitation, counterfeit or inappropriate New York registration sticker.
(5) Registration plates, stickers, and tags must match. No person shall stand or park a vehicle bearing registration plates, stickers, and tags that do not match as to information contained thereon.

[JMullane]

I have an issue along these lines.

I recently re-registered my car in Connecticut and they switched from plate stickers to windshield stickers. The instructions for displaying the sticker say, "The state recommends that you remove the old sticker or black it out with a black market, but you are under no obligation to do so. Displaying the windshield sticker is sufficient for proof of registration." I tried to remove the sticker, but I couldn't get it without tearing it so I left it on, in addition to the up-to-date windshield sticker being displayed.

Furthermore, the information says that police will know to check the windshield, and that driving out-of-state should not be a problem because many states are switching to windshield stickers.

Sure enough, I just got three tickets for $100 each in the District of Colombia that are for "FAIL TO DISPLAY VALID TAGS".

I know DC will ticket cars that are registered in DC that leave their expired stickers displayed in addition to the valid ones, but can they ticket an out-of-state vehicle for the same thing? It seems to me that only the rules for the car's state of registration should apply.

Can anyone confirm that?

[FlyingRon]

Don't tack on to other's threads.

You can probably fight DC's inappropriate citations. The hearing office is a real debacle and you only had 10 days I think.

I would have on the first one, done what your home state recommended and removed the confusing expired stickers.