Editor's Notebook: Contesting a Parking Ticket

I was hesitant to post about this, for fear of coming off like another ranting blogger, but I think my recent experience in municipal court could be of interest to someone out there. So here I go.

I went to court on a Tuesday earlier this month to contest a ticket I got while parked in the Sloan Street lot on May 20. Maybe I was a little cocky, but I liked my chances. I had fed a dollar into the machine just before 10:30 a.m., and no paper slip came out. Then I fed a second dollar in, and a slip came out saying "$1.00 refund"—not the usual writing that indicates when your time is up—but no money came out. I was in a hurry to meet my boss and a TV reporter (to film this), so I called the Parking Authority to ask whether they were enforcing in the lot. I was told that they weren't enforcing at that time, so off I went.

I knew I was taking a chance, and when I came back shortly after 2 p.m., sure enough—I had a ticket for $35.

Still, I liked my chances. I had successfully contested a ticket in Jersey City traffic court a few weeks earlier, when I produced a photo showing that the bus stop I had parked in had misleading signage. (The judge mocked me for having shaking hands when I showed the camera and said it was like watching an earthquake; you'd think I'm an old pro at contesting tickets, but no. And there's something slightly terrifying about being in a courtroom and pleading "Not guilty.") The court session was mostly for parking violations, and every last person I saw go before the judge had their ticket either reduced or written off. So, I went to my next court appearance with that expectation.

In South Orange, people with scheduled court appearances were instructed to line up and wait to speak with the prosecutor, Nancy Gennaro (who was filling in for Drew Bauman) for advice on how to plead. When I explained why I was there, she looked somewhat flabbergasted and said she had never heard of someone coming to court to contest a $20 ticket. (For the record, it was $35.) She then said she couldn't drop the ticket, and maybe if I had provided some proof of the conversation with the Parking Authority, it would be a different case. I could go ahead and make my case to the judge, but I'd most likely have to pay the court fee ($39, I later learned from a clerk) too. So, with all that said, I went to the violations bureau window, paid the ticket and got furious with myself for wasting precious hours of a vacation day over 35 bucks.

But, reflecting on this, it does raise the question: is it so unusual to contest parking tickets in South Orange? I guess it's unusual for adults with jobs to leave work early to haggle over $35. But I thought it was strange that I was made to feel like an eccentric for bothering about it.