No fine parking ticket w/ high court cost

What is the name of your state?NC

I'll try to keep this brief but details may be helpful to advisor(s): My family and I were on vacation a few weeks ago in Corolla, a small beach town in NC. There is only one grocery store in town which is packed with incoming tourists on weekends. On Sunday afternoon we discovered we had forgotten an item when grocery shopping the day before, so my sister and I drove to the grocery store only to find the parking lot packed full. As I, and so many others often do when needing one item, I pulled over in the fire lane while she ran in for the item. As it was with two or three other cars already in the fire lane, and the parking lot so full, rather than circling the lot until she came out, I simply kept my car in drive with my foot on the brake. Never imagining that was considered "parked", I was shocked when the"friendly" deputy knocked on my window asking for my license and informing me he was giving me a ticket for parking in the fire lane. Not only was I in disbelief that he considered that "parked", but I was surprised that the violation in question would merit a ticket rather than a warning. After all, as a tourist from the same state, I was not expecting to be issued a ticket for an action I, and countless others across our state, make so often without any consequence or warning whatsoever. Yes, I now know that a vehicle is considered "parked" if it is stopped without prompting from a traffic device or sign-???? Fianally, to add to my surprise, I noticed there was no fine to pay for the violation itself, just $100 court cost! It was confirmed by the Sherriff's Dept. the next day that I would have to pay the court cost whether I came to court or not. Why would I drive back 400 miles in July to dispute a ticket with no fine with court cost to pay regardless? Sounds like a sure fire way for Currituck county to get even more money from tourists, assuming the locals are already aware of this officer's strict, no warning enforcement of fire lane "parking". (He issued 16 tickets that afternoon for the same thing. $1600 for Currituck county is not bad for one deputy's day's work!)
Finally, my two questions: Without any need for the services of the court, such as disputing the ticket or hearing my complaint, would I really be required to pay the court cost, and if so, for what services would I be paying? Also, is the $100 court cost the norm for a parking violation of this type? **If I had a dime for all the times I've seen "parking" in fire lanes since getting this ticket, I could easily pay the court cost with that!

Thanks in advance to those who have been patient in reading this and will give helpful advice.

momx3teaches said:

What is the name of your state?NC

I'll try to keep this brief but details may be helpful to advisor(s): My family and I were on vacation a few weeks ago in Corolla, a small beach town in NC. There is only one grocery store in town which is packed with incoming tourists on weekends. On Sunday afternoon we discovered we had forgotten an item when grocery shopping the day before, so my sister and I drove to the grocery store only to find the parking lot packed full. As I, and so many others often do when needing one item, I pulled over in the fire lane while she ran in for the item. As it was with two or three other cars already in the fire lane, and the parking lot so full, rather than circling the lot until she came out, I simply kept my car in drive with my foot on the brake. Never imagining that was considered "parked", I was shocked when the"friendly" deputy knocked on my window asking for my license and informing me he was giving me a ticket for parking in the fire lane. Not only was I in disbelief that he considered that "parked", but I was surprised that the violation in question would merit a ticket rather than a warning. After all, as a tourist from the same state, I was not expecting to be issued a ticket for an action I, and countless others across our state, make so often without any consequence or warning whatsoever. Yes, I now know that a vehicle is considered "parked" if it is stopped without prompting from a traffic device or sign-???? Fianally, to add to my surprise, I noticed there was no fine to pay for the violation itself, just $100 court cost! It was confirmed by the Sherriff's Dept. the next day that I would have to pay the court cost whether I came to court or not. Why would I drive back 400 miles in July to dispute a ticket with no fine with court cost to pay regardless? Sounds like a sure fire way for Currituck county to get even more money from tourists, assuming the locals are already aware of this officer's strict, no warning enforcement of fire lane "parking". (He issued 16 tickets that afternoon for the same thing. $1600 for Currituck county is not bad for one deputy's day's work!)
Finally, my two questions: Without any need for the services of the court, such as disputing the ticket or hearing my complaint, would I really be required to pay the court cost, and if so, for what services would I be paying? Also, is the $100 court cost the norm for a parking violation of this type? **If I had a dime for all the times I've seen "parking" in fire lanes since getting this ticket, I could easily pay the court cost with that!

Thanks in advance to those who have been patient in reading this and will give helpful advice.

Click to expand...

**A: you are guilty so pay up.

Thanks but no thanks, HomeGuru

HomeGuru,
I'm quite certain that those of us with a legal concern seeking HELPFUL advice and ANSWERS to our questions posted, are not interested in your simple opinion of whether YOU think we are indeed guilty or not. If you had read my lenghty posting thoroughly, you would have noticed that not once did I ask for opinions on whether I was guilty of the violation. My questions were concerning court cost and the services to which the court fee applies. I also thanked those advisors who would offer me HELPFUL advice. Here's my unsolicited, "helpful" advice for you- If that's the only legal advice you can muster up, I can certainly understand your personal profile, listing your state as "Catatonic". You wrote it!!
**Your reply did help me to realize one thing...you're the reason for the IGNORE LIST option!!

It sounds like the court cost is a flat fee charged to the violator for processessing the ticket. We have a similiar policy for DUI's, the violator is charged $175.00 for the cost of processessing the DUI. This is in addition to any fine etc.

And yes the ticket will still have to be processed rather you contest it or not; show up at court or not.

BTW I dont give warnings for fire lane violations either. The red curbing with big white letters that say, "NO PARKING FIRE LANE" is enough of a warning in my opinion.

My response:

Doesn't the following paragraph sound like "Thurston J. Howell III" of Gilligan's Island is talking?

"I simply kept my car in drive with my foot on the brake. Never imagining that was considered "parked", I was shocked when the"friendly" deputy knocked on my window asking for my license and informing me he was giving me a ticket for parking in the fire lane. Not only was I in disbelief that he considered that "parked", but I was surprised that the violation in question would merit a ticket rather than a warning."

Oh really, Lovey. I just can't believe it.

I don't know. It just struck me as being "stuffy".

IAAL

Yes, Ginger, the Professor and I will have another coconut Mai Tai.

Honestly Hillary, she I didn't know just 'parking' there was considered sex.

Goodbye Lovey!

OK IAAL...I've only been a member of this forum for two days- (two days too long) and see what a total joke it is to you "attorneys". This isn't a legal advice forum - it's a power trip, comic relief for some "good old boys" "attorneys" who get their jollies responding to legal questions by making references to 60's TV shows. What a sad existence! Please say you DO lead a more exciting life than you seem to have. 21,273 posts?? Oh, you must not! I would agree with others on this forum and beg you not to quit your day job, but evidently you don't have one-- or I pray you're not actually getting paid to give people advice of any kind!

Now, as I mentioned in my reply to your"buddy" HomeGuru, the IGNORE LIST must have been created with you all in mind- and is definitely the only good thing about this "Legal Forum".

Glad my ship's come in, Lovey! Not coming back to this "God Forsaken" island again!
Bon Voyage!!!!!!!!

And when it is all said and done and Lovey arrives back to NC, the $100 is still due and owing. That's right Skipper.

signed,

Gilligan

My response:

You really didn't need legal advice. All you needed was for someone, anyone, to agree with you. Well, don't blame me or anyone else for not having done so.

Pay your ticket, Thurston, so your license doesn't get suspended.

IAAL

Re: Goodbye Lovey!

momx3teaches said:

OK IAAL...I've only been a member of this forum for two days- (two days too long)

======================================

My response:

Much like the "Three-Hour tour" . . .

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
a tale of a fateful trip.
That started from this tropic port,
aboard this tiny ship.
The mate was a mighty sailin' man,
the skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day,
for a three hour tour, a three hour tour………
The weather started getting rough,
the tiny ship was tossed.
If not for the courage of the fearless crew,
the Minnow would be lost; the Minnow would be lost.
The ship took ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle,
with Gilligan, the Skipper too,
the Millionaire, and his Wife,
the Movie Star, the Professor and Mary Ann,
here on Gilligan's Isle.

IAAL

Click to expand...

Ah yes, the SS Minnow on that fateful trip.

Senior Members?

you guys are senior members???

and you make a farce out of someones request for help?

don't you think it would be the intention of the people who created this forum for other people to actually help someone understand their problem rather than insulting them?

Her problem is that she doesn't know that a Fire Lane is a no parking or stopping area. it's a written law and igorance of this is no excuse. If you had just told her that, she would understand, say thanks and go away happy, now she's out there still thinking she was wrongfully issued the ticket except now she also thinks freeadvice.com is a big joke. I wonder what the people who initiated this forum would think of you two?

Are you actual lawyers or just pretend? if you are, then maybe you should remember that not everyone knows everything about the law, THAT'S WHY THEY COME TO PLACES LIKE THIS.

Take care .

mRoc

My response:

Mroc, apparently you didn't read our writer's words close enough, when you stated - -

"Her problem is that she doesn't know that a Fire Lane is a no parking or stopping area."

Oh, no. She knew it alright. She even said - -

"I was shocked when the"friendly" deputy knocked on my window asking for my license and informing me he was giving me a ticket for parking in the fire lane."

What she refuses to understand is that she believes if your car is stopped, and you're sitting behind the wheel, that you're not really "parked." What she fails to understand is that sitting in your car while stopped, is STILL considered being "parked."

And then, to make matters worse for herself, she tried using the old, "If it's okay for them, then it's okay for me" excuse, when she said - -

"I was not expecting to be issued a ticket for an action I, and countless others across our state, make so often without any consequence or warning whatsoever."

Well, guess what? She was caught.

It was her pretzel logic that we were making fun of. She knows she's wrong - - but she wanted to see if there was somebody who would agree to her theory - - to get her off the hook.

Sorry. Violations of the law don't work that way.

IAAL

Parking is when you leave your car unattended, if you're in the car and the car is on, then you're not parked. This was explained to me by a parking enforcement agent who was nice enough to give me a warning and ask me to move from the fire lane before he wrote me a ticket. Until then, I shared the same idea that this woman did. The difference is that by Law, a fire lane is a no parking and no stopping zone and there's no need to post anything except for the fact that it's a fire lane.

The thing that bothers me, as a owner of a business based on good services, is how easily you two turned this into a joke between you and blew her off. Yes, she's trying to find someone who will agree with her and make her feel better, but we don't have to lower ourselves to a highschool attitude and make fun of her. Just basically inform her she's wrong and go on with it.

Anyway, it's not like I expect you guys to care what I think or to change on my account. You do what you want.

once again, take care ...


mRoc