Edhat Staff
By edhat staff
On Monday a federal appeals court ruled that “chalking” tires for parking enforcement violate the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, reports NPR.
After receiving her 15th parking citation in a few years Alison Taylor from Saginaw, Michigan, who the court described as “frequent recipient of parking tickets,” sued the city and parking enforcement officer Tabitha Hoskins. Taylor alleged that Hoskins, who issued all of Taylor’s citations, was a “prolific” chalker. The lawsuit stated that Hoskins marked a tire with chalk then circled back to see if Taylor’s car had moved. Taylor stated that chalking was unconstitutional, reports NPR.
“Trespassing upon a privately-owned vehicle parked on a public street to place a chalk mark to begin gathering information to ultimately impose a government sanction is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment,” Taylor’s lawyer, Philip Ellison, wrote in a court filing.
All three judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit agreed stating chalking tires is a kind of trespass and it requires a warrant. Chalking is deemed a “search” for purposes of the Fourth Amendment as government officials physically trespass upon a constitutionally protected area to obtain information.
The Fourth Amendment states, “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Law scholars have replied to the case on social media platforms stating parking enforcement officers could take a photo of the car instead of chalk to get around the trespass violation.
Could this affect the way parking enforcement officers issue tickets in Santa Barbara County and beyond? Weigh in below in the comment section.
And yet they still allow unwarranted searches of ones person, phone, auto, computer, email and the most personal and private of all, your body… Give it a few weeks, our corrupt politicians will find a way to re-engage their revenue streams. They need to ticket us in order to pay for their own parking.
It seems like if you have enough money, you can sue and get the courts to agree to almost anything. If you don’t have any money, you have to pay the fine. A chalk mark on your tire is an unreasonable search and seizure? Really? I wonder how the nutty 5-4 majority Supreme Court will rule on this issue?
Soon to be a nutty 6-3 Supreme Court . lol
Nice to read silly stories once in a while!
Whatever happened locally to car boots? Ten or 15 years ago, the bright yellow “boots” were unveiled by the PD with a great deal of hoopla. These heavy metal devices were clamped onto the front wheels of cars that had accrued many unpaid parking tickets, preventing the vehicles from being driven. You’d see them on cars all over downtown. Then one day they just disappeared, never to be seen here again. Does anyone know why? They seemed to be a good idea.
Park longer than you’re supposed to, pay the fine. I am appalled at this ruling. Alison Taylor get a watch or an iPod Touch or a smart phone so you can tell the time.
Did your read the article? Has nothing to do with the fine, but the (illegal) methods used to collect evidence.
Geez. Remember the good old days when there was plenty of parking? My street is one of the last near downtown to join in the neighbor vs. neighbor parking antagonisms. Now one of our neighbors is hogging two spots every day. He deliberately parks taking up two spaces in such a way that no other vehicle can squeeze in. This neighbor is so self-important and contemptible, he has taken to placing an obstacle in the way, too, when his vehicle is absent. This is so that if someone should try to park in “his” two spaces, that person would have to move the obstacle and then likely end up facing off with him about his selfish, immature behavior. Several neighbors have mentioned this self-serving, inconsiderate behavior to me. No-one wants to confront this dipstick and tell him to cut it out. What a world we live in now.