Comments on: Parking Meters 101 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq breathless punditry and one-breath poetry with David Giacalone Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:58:52 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: David Giacalone http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/parking-meters-101/comment-page-1/#comment-218630 David Giacalone Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:14:28 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/parking-meters-101/#comment-218630 Sorry about your fate, Steve. It's "unfair," but not outrageous; it is hard to imagine what else we'd make a city do before allowing it to enforce the new parking rule. Perhaps you should write a letter to the editor and the mayor, saying that a grace period would have been a nice gesture (as opposed to the gesture you'd like to make). But, your currency theory won't float, I'm afraid. Since I just closed down this weblog yesterday, I'm not going to try to give you a fancy legal explanation. Sorry about your fate, Steve. It’s “unfair,” but not outrageous; it is hard to imagine what else we’d make a city do before allowing it to enforce the new parking rule. Perhaps you should write a letter to the editor and the mayor, saying that a grace period would have been a nice gesture (as opposed to the gesture you’d like to make).

But, your currency theory won’t float, I’m afraid. Since I just closed down this weblog yesterday, I’m not going to try to give you a fancy legal explanation.

]]> By: Steve B http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/parking-meters-101/comment-page-1/#comment-218567 Steve B Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:09:10 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/parking-meters-101/#comment-218567 So I received a ticket the other day at my usual spot near Texas A&M University. I have been parking there for nearly two years and it has always been .25/hour with a two hour time limit and free after 5P.M. with no time limit. Well over the semester break they decided to change it to NO free parking after 5P.M. and I was ticketed. I went to the court house and they said I was liable because they had changed the sign inside the meter two weeks prior(they had indeed but I never checked) and that they ran an ad in the paper for two weeks. Well, for 1.) I don't receive nor read the local paper 2.) I don't read the little meter tag every time I park at the same spot for two years. They forced me to pay it but I feel that it was wrong. I also had an interesting thought the other day as I was struggling to furnish the proper change to pay the meter. If you read the front of any dollar amount US bill, it says "legal tender for ALL debts public and private". So since I didn't have the correct change, but did have the proper dollar amount, could I conceivably have a way out of paying with change? Theoretically I could leave the dollar amount and a signed time stamp in an envelope on my vehicle for the parking enforcement to receive. Since they do not provide a means to 'Pay my debt" even though I have legal tender, could a parking meter be considered unlawful? I believ if they are going to force you to pay to park they should provide a means to pay with any form of legal US currency. Thanks Steve B So I received a ticket the other day at my usual spot near Texas A&M University. I have been parking there for nearly two years and it has always been .25/hour with a two hour time limit and free after 5P.M. with no time limit. Well over the semester break they decided to change it to NO free parking after 5P.M. and I was ticketed. I went to the court house and they said I was liable because they had changed the sign inside the meter two weeks prior(they had indeed but I never checked) and that they ran an ad in the paper for two weeks.

Well, for 1.) I don’t receive nor read the local paper 2.) I don’t read the little meter tag every time I park at the same spot for two years. They forced me to pay it but I feel that it was wrong.

I also had an interesting thought the other day as I was struggling to furnish the proper change to pay the meter. If you read the front of any dollar amount US bill, it says “legal tender for ALL debts public and private”. So since I didn’t have the correct change, but did have the proper dollar amount, could I conceivably have a way out of paying with change? Theoretically I could leave the dollar amount and a signed time stamp in an envelope on my vehicle for the parking enforcement to receive.

Since they do not provide a means to ‘Pay my debt” even though I have legal tender, could a parking meter be considered unlawful? I believ if they are going to force you to pay to park they should provide a means to pay with any form of legal US currency.

Thanks
Steve B

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