• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Ticket for Car Alarm Going off at 10:00 am

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

Reta2011

Junior Member
Jersey City, NJ

I park my car on the mall parking area, walked to chase bank made a deposit and came out in 15 minutes, to find Jersey City Police officer standing in front of my car waiting for me while the car alarm was going off. He asked me for the registeration and wrote me a ticket for (Car Alarm keeps going off, Car alarm not re-setting) these were his exact words.

That cop he always patrol the Mall parking on foot, i saw him on the other side of the mall parking while coming in.

Went to court where the judge asked me if i wanna plea guilty of not, i said not guilty and she was surprized i said not guilty, she said if i go to trial and lose my fine can be $1200 . I am so scared.....

Now here is few things to consider,

The ticket says it is a Housing code ticket , i was on a mall parking lot at 10 am, does housing codes still apply ?

That day we had 2 inches of snow, i went to the electerician and he found a fulty trigger swich and replaced it , i have the old switch and the paper work to prove it

the ticekt was written on my name while i was not even present while the incident happened, but i am the owner :eek:( , the ticket has no info about the car whatsoever, no plates, no make nor model

when i got the notification letter from the court, my Last name was spelled with 2 M when it should be just one M, My birthday was also wrong , it was suppose to be 01/20/1983 and on the ticket the officer wrote it 01/29/1983 while on the court paper it is 01/29/1985. However he wrote my SS# on the ticket

The cop while giving me the ticket said (He actually does not give a **** if the alarm is going off it is just people were looking at him like you are a cop, you should do somting) these were his exact words

Anyone knows how serious is this ? will i have to pay that much of a fine $1200 !!! will then give me lethal injection :) but i am seriously scaredWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


Jersey City, NJ

I park my car on the mall parking area, walked to chase bank made a deposit and came out in 15 minutes, to find Jersey City Police officer standing in front of my car waiting for me while the car alarm was going off. He asked me for the registeration and wrote me a ticket for (Car Alarm keeps going off, Car alarm not re-setting) these were his exact words.

That cop he always patrol the Mall parking on foot, i saw him on the other side of the mall parking while coming in.

Went to court where the judge asked me if i wanna plea guilty of not, i said not guilty and she was surprized i said not guilty, she said if i go to trial and lose my fine can be $1200 . I am so scared.....

Now here is few things to consider,

The ticket says it is a Housing code ticket , i was on a mall parking lot at 10 am, does housing codes still apply ?

That day we had 2 inches of snow, i went to the electerician and he found a fulty trigger swich and replaced it , i have the old switch and the paper work to prove it

the ticekt was written on my name while i was not even present while the incident happened, but i am the owner :eek:( , the ticket has no info about the car whatsoever, no plates, no make nor model

What is the exact Housing code written on the ticket? Just because you parked in the Mall, residents in nearby homes can still hear the car alarm go off.

This website shows that NJ is serious about cracking down on noise
NJDEP-Compliance&Enforcement - What's All the Noise About?
 

justalayman

Senior Member
so, if the charge is valid, and I suspect it is, what is your argument to not being guilty? A bad switch and a statement that that was the problem is evidence of your guilt.

so far, it sounds like you simply thought you were going to get off if you plead not guilty. I guess the judge called your bluff. Now you get to prove your innocence.
 

GoIllini

Member
Hmmm, so apparently NJ is going after people parked at the mall rather than parked outside my apartment building. Way to go, guys- can't ticket a guy whose car alarm goes off 8x/day but has a PBA sticker on his car, but can hit up some poor sap at the mall parking garage. Typical Jersey City police- too busy ticketing homeowners and residents to go out there and do something about the rampant thievery.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Reta2011

Junior Member
Ticket for car alarm going off at Jersey city 10:00 am

Well my argument will be focused on 3 points

1. The officer was not near the car before the alarm started to go off since I saw him standing on the other side of the mall while I was getting in. Some one had bumped into my car from the back which left marks on my car.
2. Faulty switch which I had changed
3. The ticket does not mention the code nor the ordinance :DI allegedly violated. It was left blank. The officer just wrote (car alarm going off, car alarm not resetting).

I guess they will give me death penalty for it o:)

my court date is coming up soon
 

BlunterII

Junior Member
Well my argument will be focused on 3 points

1. The officer was not near the car before the alarm started to go off since I saw him standing on the other side of the mall while I was getting in. Some one had bumped into my car from the back which left marks on my car.
Or the above-mentioned peace officer did indeed witness the collision which resulted in your vehicle's alarm malfunctioning. Did he document it? Did you document it? (photos of your vehicle's rear bumper, perhaps)

2. Faulty switch which I had changed
Ask your electrician if the switch could have malfunctioned due to an impact from the collision. Maybe, get a statement from them.

3. The ticket does not mention the code nor the ordinance :DI allegedly violated. It was left blank. The officer just wrote (car alarm going off, car alarm not resetting).
That might be the most crucial part. The charge must be dismissed if it fails to state an offense!

________________________________________

The primary source - 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states:

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence"

Other sources (most frequently cited U.S. Supreme Court cases):
________________________________________
United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542 (1875)

"Accused persons, as matter of common justice, ought to have the charge against them set forth in such terms that they may readily understand the nature and character of the accusation in order that they, when arraigned, may know what answer to make to it, and that they may not be embarrassed in conducting their defence..."

________________________________________
United States v. Carll, 105 U.S. 611 (1881)

"In an indictment upon a statute, it is not sufficient to set forth the offense in the words of the statute unless those words of themselves fully, directly, and expressly, without any uncertainty or ambiguity, set forth all the elements necessary to constitute the offense intended to be punished..."
________________________________________
United States v. Resendiz-Ponce - 05-998 (2007)

"An indictment has two constitutional requirements: first, it must contain the elements of the offense charged and fairly inform a defendant of the charge against which he must defend, and, second, it must enable him to plead an acquittal or conviction in bar of future prosecutions
for the same offense. (Hamling v. United States, 418 U.S. 87 (1974))"
________________________________________

car alarm going off, car alarm not resetting
That is not a specific statute, nor is it a violation of any specific provision, but simply a statement about a device that is malfunctioning due to a collision (that the peace officer must have witnessed and you will testify to, along with damaged bumper photos and, hopefully, some other evidence).
________________________________________


I guess they will give me death penalty for it o:)
my court date is coming up soon
You could ask the Court to dismiss the citation as the charge fails to state a specific offense (unless the Court documents you received did indeed state it).
________________________________________

Good luck!

BlunterII
 
Last edited:

justalayman

Senior Member
BlunterII;2798948]Or the above-mentioned peace officer did indeed witness the collision which resulted in your vehicle's alarm malfunctioning. Did he document it? Did you document it? (photos of your vehicle's rear bumper, perhaps)
that is irrelevant. The officer observed the alarm going off continually and that is the cause of the violation.

Ask your electrician if the switch could have malfunctioned due to an impact from the collision. Maybe, get a statement from them.
, that person, unless they are a qualified engineer, is not qualified to make a determination. At best they can speculate. Additionally, unless the qualified engineer saw the impact, even they could not determine if this latest incident caused the switch to be damaged. They have no way to determine the force exerted in this impact.


That might be the most crucial part. The charge must be dismissed if it fails to state an offense!
if that is a requirement, that would appear to be the only valid argument. Can you provide the OP with a citation that would support that claim. That would be needed in order to argue that particular claim.

and also I cannot find anywhere where the OP stated the violation was not on the citation.
 
Last edited:

BlunterII

Junior Member
that is irrelevant. The officer observed the alarm going off continually and that is the cause of the violation.
What violation? We don't even know the specific law
they allegedly violated, as the OP states:
Reta2011 said:
3. The ticket does not mention the code nor the ordinance I allegedly violated. It was left blank. The officer just
wrote (car alarm going off, car alarm not resetting).
The charges must contain the elements of the offense (Hamling v. United States, 418 U.S. 87 (1974))"
It would certainly be helpful to know what the OP was specifically
charged with (if there was a charge)
justalayman said:
, that person, unless they are a qualified engineer, is not qualified to make a determination. At best they can speculate. Additionally, unless the qualified engineer saw the impact, even they could not determine if this latest incident caused the switch to be damaged. They have no way to determine the force exerted in this impact.
One doen't need to be an expert witness to record their observations,
that the electrical device or the wires appear to be cracked, dislodged
or otherwise damaged and how recent that damage appears to be.
The necessary inferences can be drawn later based on those observations

In case the alarm had functioned properly before the incident
(possible OP's testimony) and the bumper of the vehicle had been
intact before the incident (possible OP's testimony and/or a very recent photo),
the fact that there is an alarm malfunction ( issued citation ),
the damaged bumper (photo) and the statement from the repair
facility (if available and favorable to the OP) - could all make a
convincing case of the vehicle alarm malfunctioning due to a
collision with another vehicle, especially if the code they violated
contains an element of "willful", "intentional", etc.

Whether it is useful or not to procede in that direction
is for the OP to decide, of course.


justalayman said:
if that is a requirement, that would appear to be the only valid argument.
There are all kinds of "valid" sounding arguments that can be made, justalayman.
I am not qualified to determine what would be the
"only valid argument" though

justalayman said:
Can you provide the OP with a citation that would support that claim. That would be needed in order to argue
that particular claim.
I am not sure if we both are participating in the same thread but
the 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the three
Supreme Court cases quotes I provided are there in plain sight.
Those decisions are not "claims", they comprise
the Case Law, and are cited as precedents which are binding
to all lower courts.

justalayman said:
and also I cannot find anywhere where the OP stated the violation was not on the citation.
Reta2011 said:
3. The ticket does not mention the code nor the ordinance I allegedly violated. It was left blank.
It is still unclear what the OP was charged with violating.
Whether it has anything to do with Public Nuisance or
Disturbance of the peace related violatons, one can only guess.

But in case the charge was absent or vague you (Reta2011)
could look into trying to dismiss the case.

Your source could be:
<< RULES GOVERNING THE COURTS OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY >>

New Jersey Courts
RULE 3:10. Pleadings And Motions Before Trial
DEFENSES AND OBJECTIONS
3:10-1. Pleadings and Motions
"(d) Defenses and Objections Which May Only Be Raised Before or After Trial. The defense that the indictment or accusation fails to charge an offense and the defense that the charge is based on a statute or regulation promulgated pursuant to statute which is unconstitutional or invalid in whole or in part may only be raised by motion either before trial or within 10 days after a verdict of guilty or within such further time as the court may fix during such 10-day period, or on appeal. Such defenses shall not be considered during trial."

...along with the Supreme Court Cases I cited in a previous post
_________________

Good luck!

BlunterII
 

justalayman

Senior Member
BlunterII;2799491]


The charges must contain the elements of the offense (Hamling v. United States, 418 U.S. 87 (1974))"
It would certainly be helpful to know what the OP was specifically
charged with (if there was a charge)
right, the charges, not the charging instrument. All it has to do is reference a law. The law contains the elements of the offense.

One doen't need to be an expert witness to record their observations,
that the electrical device or the wires appear to be cracked, dislodged
or otherwise damaged and how recent that damage appears to be.
The necessary inferences can be drawn later based on those observations
really? and that means what? based on your education about metallurgy and other materials where?


In case the alarm had functioned properly before the incident
(possible OP's testimony) and the bumper of the vehicle had been
intact before the incident (possible OP's testimony and/or a very recent photo),
since nobody saw any impact, nobody can even suggest the unseen accident caused a problem with the switch.

the fact that there is an alarm malfunction ( issued citation ),
the damaged bumper (photo) and the statement from the repair
facility (if available and favorable to the OP) - could all make a
convincing case of the vehicle alarm malfunctioning due to a
collision with another vehicle, especially if the code they violated
contains an element of "willful", "intentional", etc.
and what proof is there that this unseen accident caused the bumper damage and the alarm problem. Maybe it was a kid on a bicycle that jiggled the car that set off the alarm/





There are all kinds of "valid" sounding arguments that can be made, justalayman.
I am not qualified to determine what would be the
"only valid argument" though
of what you presented, it was the only thing close to being a valid argument


I am not sure if we both are participating in the same thread but
the 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the three
Supreme Court cases quotes I provided are there in plain sight.
Those decisions are not "claims", they comprise
the Case Law, and are cited as precedents which are binding
to all lower courts.
yet there is no claim there was not an offense listed.

and still, the ticket is irrelevant to the offense being stated. That is what arraignment in court is for.
 

helpfulhank

Junior Member
i think id be contacting the media let them embarass the jersey city police force on the air and show the taxpayers what there money is being spent on
christ no wonder the united states is in such poor shape just another waste of money
 

BlunterII

Junior Member
justalayman said:
right, the charges, not the charging instrument. All it has to do is reference a law. The law contains the elements of the offense.

really? and that means what? based on your education about metallurgy and other materials where?
[SNIP] ...
Yes. That is very interesting indeed, justalayman.
_________________________________________________


To the OP:

Reta2011 said:
I park my car on the mall parking area, walked to chase bank made a deposit and came out in 15 minutes, to find Jersey City Police officer standing in front of my car waiting for me while the car alarm was going off. He asked me for the registeration and wrote me a ticket for (Car Alarm keeps going off, Car alarm not re-setting) these were his exact words.

Based on the facts you provided, I assume that the charges against you (if any) are most likely to be one of the Noise Restrictions Ordinances from Jersey City Code. Possibly this one >>


New Jersey, Code of Jersey City
Chapter 222 – Noise
Article I – Noise Restrictions
§ 222-4. - Audible burglar alarms. [Added 6-10-1992 by Ord. No. 92-051; amended 12-22-1992 by Ord. No. 92-192; 3-22-1995 by Ord. No. 95-020]
A.
No owner of a motor vehicle shall have in operation an audible burglar alarm thereon unless such burglar alarm shall be capable of and shall automatically terminate its operation within five (5) minutes of its being activated in the case of a motor vehicle. No audible burglar alarm on a motor vehicle shall be capable of being activated unless there is direct physical contact with that motor vehicle. Notwithstanding this provision, any member of the Police Department shall have the right to take such steps as may be necessary to disconnect any such alarm installed on a motor vehicle at any time during the period of its activation.


_____________________


If that is the case than - the element in bold is something you could try to present as inapplicable.

(Why? Because as an essential part of the Due Proccess right to a fair trial is the requirement that the prosecution must prove the defendant guilty of every one of the elements of the charge (Taylor v. Kentucky, 436 U.S. 478(1978)). If one of the elements is disproved or shown to be inapplicable >> you are Not Guilty)


You might want to:
- Omit the faulty switch argument – that is an admittance of guilt as you are the one responsible for the alarm “to automatically terminate its operation within 5 minutes”,
- Exclude the officer’s inappropriate comment. He will deny it making you look like a fool and antagonizing him and, possibly, the judge.

All you need to do is show that it was less than 5
minutes from the moment the alarm was activated
to the moment you deactivated it.


The time stamp on the receipt from the bank, your testimony, and the time on the citation you received (minus the time it took the officer to write it).


D went to the bank
D heard the alarm (time starts ticking)
D came out of the bank, not right away, correct? (tick, tuck...)
D deactivated the alarm (should be under 5 min.)


If the officer testifies it was longer than 5 minutes – point out all the numerous errors in your court documents that stemmed from his input – respectfully suggest that he might have been too distracted at the moment to remember the exact duration of the noise and insist that it was under 5 minutes.

The reason for the alarm activation (if brought up at all) was the “physical contact” with another vehicle that left a mark on your vehicle’s bumper. You might take a picture of that bumper if necessary. If you mentioned it to the officer then - they might recall that.

Organize it in your mind and decide on the best way to approach it.
After all your incentive is not to pay an exorbitant fine:


New Jersey, Code of Jersey City
Chapter 1, General Provisions
Article III – Enforcement; Penalties
§ 1-25. - General penalty. [Amended 3-27-02 by Ord. No. 02-035]
A.
Notwithstanding any other section of this Code or any other ordinance, the maximum penalty for violating any provision of this Code shall be, in the discretion of the Court, a fine of up to $1,250.00 and/or imprisonment for a period of up to ninety (90) days and/or a period of community service not exceeding ninety (90) days.



___________

Good luck!

BlunterII
 

Reta2011

Junior Member
My court appointment is in 7 hrs from now

Well, I prepared a hell of a defense, I just hope the court will allow enough time for it, I will try to show that there is a lack or accuracy srrounding the ticket,

Location of the officer before the incident
The non-stated ordinance or code in the ticket
my name written wrong
my birth date is also wrong
picture of the marks on my rear bumper from a physical contact
Snow on the ground that day, I have the weather report

I am worried knowing how hard cities need the money these days and I am looking at $1200 fine

will let you all know how things turned out to be with me

thanks for all replies and effort guys
 

justalayman

Senior Member
while I do not see your defense as valid, or in Charlie Sheen speak, "winning", I have to admit, if I was faced with a $1200 fine for my horn honking I would try anything to get out of it. I believe that is such an exorbitant penalty that that alone should be justification for dismissing the ticket. That is absurd.

good luck.
 

Reta2011

Junior Member
Case dismissed

Case dismissed due to the police officer faluire to state the law/ordinance I violated on my copy of the ticket. However they had it listed in the other copies which means it was added after I got served with the ticket.

WOW it feels good guys, thanks for everyone who replied to my case

A big thank you for BlunterII
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top