Ticket in No Standing Zone

[JZimmerman]

District of Columbia.

I received a parking ticket yesterday for parking in a no standing zone during rush hours. There were multiple signs together on the same post, one of which, in green, said 1 hour parking after 6:30. The sign below it, which I did not notice when parking there after dark, said No Standing or Parking 4:00-6:30. I arrived at 6:25 to make it to a 6:30 appointment, though my ticket was issues at 6:15. I admit I didn't notice the last sign, as my eyes stopped reading after I saw the 1 hour permitted parking.

I've just moved to the District and cannot afford this $100 fine. Is there anyway I can contest this? Do I have any grounds? The only technicality I could come up with on the ticket itself is that he didn't write the entire street address, just an abbreviation of the avenue. Does that get me anywhere?

Final question. Given the situation, do I stand a chance to contest this and have the charges dropped or the fine reduced?

Originally Posted by JZimmerman

District of Columbia.

I received a parking ticket yesterday for parking in a no standing zone during rush hours. There were multiple signs together on the same post, one of which, in green, said 1 hour parking after 6:30. The sign below it, which I did not notice when parking there after dark, said No Standing or Parking 4:00-6:30. I arrived at 6:25 to make it to a 6:30 appointment, though my ticket was issues at 6:15. I admit I didn't notice the last sign, as my eyes stopped reading after I saw the 1 hour permitted parking.

I've just moved to the District and cannot afford this $100 fine. Is there anyway I can contest this? Do I have any grounds? The only technicality I could come up with on the ticket itself is that he didn't write the entire street address, just an abbreviation of the avenue. Does that get me anywhere?

Final question. Given the situation, do I stand a chance to contest this and have the charges dropped or the fine reduced?

Take a photograph of the sign post with the confusing signs, plead not guilty, and try. Don't expect much though. Sorry.

Those signs irritate me too.

[You Are Guilty]

As noted, you're up crap creek without a paddle. Unlike some cities, DC is pretty strict with parking tickets. The only available defenses are:

* You were not the owner or lessee of the vehicle on the date that the ticket was issued.
* The vehicle or license plates were stolen on or before the date the ticket was issued.
* The relevant meter was broken through no fault of your own
* The relevant sign was missing or obscured
* The stipulated facts on the ticket are inconsistent or do not support the violation.

[JZimmerman]

DC.

Ok. That really helps. But I'm not ready to give up just yet. I went back to the scene today and gathered a few more details: In front of this post with four confusing signs, there are 2 spaces without meters. In between them is a pole which appears to be the remnants of an old meter. Could it be that on top of 1) the confusion of the signs and 2) the discrepancy with the time the ticket was issued, that the apparent meter poll (though absent any sign of a meter) with two full spaces could lead one to conclude that the "relevant meter was broken at no fault of my own"?

How does this help me??