Bogus parking ticket!

[roqi]

My brother got a letter in the mail for failing to appear in court for a parking ticket. The ticket was written by a cop (according to the court) and it was for parking in a prohibited area at 5am. The problem is that my brother had gone on vacation 2 days before and the car was park in the garage and the ticket was in a really shady area where no one from my family would ever dare to go. My question is how do you fight this? Can he call the department and ask them for more info on the ticket, and could this ticket belong to someone whose out of state but happen to have the same license plate or did the cop just put the wrong license plate number?

[e-man]

Have your brother plead not guilty and take a hearing.
At the hearing if he is going to bring up the 'fact' that he was out of town, then he better bring proof, credit card receipts that show he ate somewhere at a certain time in another city, hotel-notel receipts etc.

If he can prove it then there is a chance the tix will be dismissed. If someone else had the keys {AHEM!!!!} and took it to the shady part of town to find some shady types at night, then that person can get the brother truly screeewd if the ticket wasn't mailed in timely etc.

[roqi]

Get a copy of the ticket and go from there. Is there a possibility that a family member took the car without telling anyone? Don't be so quick to answer "no".

Trust me I know NOBODY in my family would ever take the car without his permission. Also the place where the ticket got issued is a dump, some guy I knew in my childhood was murdered there, if someone would have taken the car they would never EVER go there. Plus I live in the same house as he does if someone would have taken the car I would have noticed.

[LT Dangle]

Ignore it. They are like savings bonds, they increase in value.

[PhilipCal]

Your brother goes to court. Pleads not guilty, shows his reciepts etc from being out of town. The Judge is certain to ask how the car got to the location where it was ticketed. The answer could be interesting.

[stormz5192]

It's possible that the officer inverted a letter or number and your brother wound up with a tix. Parking Enforcement officers in big cities are notorious for that.

[DAL]

Each locality has its own procedures for contesting parking tickets.

If the wrong license plate was put down, then the description will not match your car. The officer issuing the parking ticket could have made a mistake, or the clerk entering the information into the computer system could have made a mistake.

[nonickname69]

Assuming your being 100% honest (don't take it personal some people like to come on this site and play games) I think it might have been a typo or clerical error. Try to get a copy of the ticket and prove that the owner was out of town and not driving.

[Fuzz]

Each locality has its own procedures for contesting parking tickets.

If the wrong license plate was put down, then the description will not match your car. The officer issuing the parking ticket could have made a mistake, or the clerk entering the information into the computer system could have made a mistake.

X2

Highely unlikely that an officer or clerk would use the wrong plate number (typo) but have the same description such as make, model, color of the vehicle. Odds are pretty low of that happening. There should be information on the citation on how to contest the cite...... each area is different. Contact the issuing agency.

[Fuzz]

Trust me I know NOBODY in my family would ever take the car without his permission. Also the place where the ticket got issued is a dump, some guy I knew in my childhood was murdered there, if someone would have taken the car they would never EVER go there. Plus I live in the same house as he does if someone would have taken the car I would have noticed.

Not trying to be rude, but sometimes things happen that you think never could or would. I have stopped many teenagers in their parents cars and when I call the parents they argue with me that its not their kids or their car because theirs is parked in the garage.....when they finally go look and find the car is gone they cant believe they didnt know. I have also stopped unreported stolens where the owner is contacted and swears their car is not stolen because its in the driveway or garage....once again when they finally look and find it missing they are astonished.

If as mentioned in the other posts the description make, model and color on the cite matches and the plate is the same you may take a second look at it. If all of that doesnt match then request a dismissal.

[roqi]

Well I went with my brother to court (since he speaks little english) and guess what, the ticket was for another car! When we talked to the prosecutor I told him to check what type of color the car was and if it had out of state plates. The car was not the same color as my brothers car, and it was a coupe not a sedan. The prosecutor just said "go home" and that was it. Thanks for the tips everyone!

[roqi]

HELP!!!! Another failure to appear notice came in the mail today for a city right next to the city from which the first parking ticket was issued. The first one was issued in East Orange, NJ and after my brother went to court it was dismissed because the car was entirely different from my brothers. The new one was issued in Newark, NJ. Someone must have fake license plates with the same number as my brother. Anyone from Newark PD please PM on who is best to call for this matter!!!!!!!!!!!

[Taylor1430]

I can't help with the contact with NJ, but its probably time for your brother to go to the MVA and order a new set of tags.

[pulicords]

Go to the agency that issued the citation immediately with your brother. There is a possibility that someone is driving a stolen car with counterfeit license plates. If this is the case, your brother might want to get a new set of plates and report the incident to New Jersey's department of motor vehicles. A stop should be placed on this other car and I'm sure that one agency or the other would be willing to do so, provided your brother's plates are surrendered and new ones are issued.