Parking ticket at 7:49 AM in an 8 AM to 9 PM metered zone? (Chicago: insurance, lawyer)

[ChiNaan]

The subject line says it all. The street in front of my building is a standard Chicago 8 AM to 9 PM metered zone. I usually leave for work in the morning a few minutes before 8, so on evenings when I get home after 9 PM I will park on the street overnight.

This morning I got an "Expired Meter" ticket on my car with a time of 7:49 AM.

It seems to be that the ticket should be immediately thrown out based on the time on the ticket and the time on the sign, but since this is Chicago, I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing here.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[ChiNaan]

Oh, I should add that in the description it says, "No receipt displayed; no motorist walking to, fro" and is cut off. I assume the rest of that is supposed to say "m automobile" or something. Would the cop try to make the argument that because I wasn't walking to my car already with 11 minutes left, that I wasn't going to make it by 8?

[rparz]

The ticket doesnt go on your record against your insurance, so the deck is stacked far against you.
Is it worth taking off work and getting a lawyer vs just paying it?

That's the real game, right or wrong is secondary to making the hassle to fight a ticket far exceed just paying it.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by rparz

The ticket doesnt go on your record against your insurance, so the deck is stacked far against you.
Is it worth taking off work and getting a lawyer vs just paying it?

That's the real game, right or wrong is secondary to making the hassle to fight a ticket far exceed just paying it.

My work schedule would allow me to make an appearance. I certainly wouldn't hire a lawyer over a $50 ticket, but I wouldn't think I'd need to when the time stamp on the ticket itself indicates that I didn't commit a crime.

If I thought this would be a one-time thing, I'd pay the $50 and move on, but I park in that place often, so if it's going to be recurring I need to find out what the "real" rules are (i.e. when they start ticketing, if not at the time on the sign). And if the real rules are the ones on the sign, and I'm in the right, I want my $50 back.

[emathias]

You can contest by mail. I don't know the process, but in such a straight-forward case, I think you'd have good results.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by emathias

You can contest by mail. I don't know the process, but in such a straight-forward case, I think you'd have good results.

Cool, thanks. I suppose I will since I have nothing to lose. I found this on the city's website:

City of Chicago :: Contesting Parking and Red-light Tickets by Mail

What defenses must be raised during a challenge?
The following defenses are allowed by the Municipal Code of Chicago for most parking and compliance tickets. They are:

(snip)

6. The illegal vehicle condition did not exist at the time of the compliance violation;

It certainly appears to be pretty straightforward to me. We'll see.

[DoneWithDallas]

Contesting it will drag it out but it will eventually get dropped. The same thing happened to me except the meter maid wrote me four tickets in the matter of 30 minutes. I contested and it got dropped. The city (at least in Dallas) doesn't want to do the work to fight back.

[long101]

what time is listed on the ticket?

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by long101

what time is listed on the ticket?

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

The subject line says it all.

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

This morning I got an "Expired Meter" ticket on my car with a time of 7:49 AM.

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

with 11 minutes left

.

[kafka_on_the_shore]

Just contest the ticket, the company (LAZ Parking) that hands you those tickets aren't cops nor hired officials. The ticket itself and the designated hours should serve as your evidence, unless they somehow decide to remove it, otherwise simply take a picture of it. Those workers handing out the tickets are as competent as the USPS workers at the Cottage Grove Post Office.