Woman wins appeal over 14 parking tickets after arguing that tire chalking violated her Fourth Amendment rights: Decision could see ALL city's tickets since 2014 refunded
A woman who was issued 14 tickets has won her second appeal to the Sixth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals in a dispute over whether a Michigan city violated the U.S. Constitution by chalking her car tires without a search warrant.
And the decision could see all similar tickets in the city since 2014 refunded, if officials do not launch another appeal.
Allison Taylor, 40, has already paid the price for her 14 parking tickets, but she's been challenging the legality of the practice of chalking since 2017.
She had been parking in a time-limited lot near her work in Saginaw when she received tickets from the same officer, Tabitha Hoskins.
Parking attendants in states throughout the U.S. have chalked tires with large white lines for decades in zones without meters to enforce time limits and issue tickets.
In a lawsuit that began in 2017, Taylor argued that marking tires with chalk constituted an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.
The Fourth Amendment's ban against unreasonable searches was triggered when a Saginaw parking enforcer applied chalk marks and returned two hours later to see if the car was still there.
Allison Taylor, 40, of Saginaw, Michigan, won her second appeal against the City of Saginaw in the Sixth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. If the city does appeal, her class action suit will refund ticketed drivers from April 2014 to present
The practice of chalking has been going on for decades to mark cars being walked by police for overstaying the time limit
Her lawyers, Phillip Ellison and Matthew Gronda have been fighting the case for five years. They are arguing that chalking cars goes against the Fourth Amendment by illegally searching a car without a warrant
Taylor and her two lawyers - Phillip Ellison and Matthew Gronda - are fighting to reverse the city's appeal. In a decision made on August 25, the Sixth Circuit agreed for the second time that it violated the Fourth Amendment.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a ruling in favor of Saginaw and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington for the next steps. It was Taylor's second trip to the appeals court.
As long as the City of Saginaw doesn't appeal again, Taylor's class-action case will allow all those affected within the three-year statute of limitations
Taylor is suing the City of Saginaw, as well as Saginaw police officer Tabitha Hoskins. Daily Mail approached the police department for a comment
The statute of limitation in the state of Michigan is three years from the start of the proceedings - meaning all ticketed drivers from April 5, 2014 to present day would receive a refund.
'This would affect thousands of people,' Ellison said.
'It's not the end of the road, yet. We're close, we're getting closer to the end.'
Judge Richard Griffin, who presided over the case, said in a 3-0 opinion on Wednesday: 'For nearly as long as automobiles have parked along city streets, municipalities have found ways to enforce parking regulations without implicating the Fourth Amendment,'
Taylor parked her car in a timed lot near her job in Saginaw while she acquired the 14 tickets. She received the tickets from the same officer Tabitha Hoskins
'Thus, tire chalking is not necessary to meet the ordinary needs of law enforcement, let alone the extraordinary,' he said.
The defendant, alongside the City of Saginaw, Tabitha Hoskins would take notes and sometimes chalk tires in areas where there was a time limit but no meters. The city said chalking was a signal to motorists that vehicles were being watched.
'The city has significant interests that are furthered by enforcing its parking ordinances through the use of chalk, and these interests greatly outweigh the minimal intrusion that a chalk mark creates,' Saginaw said in a court filing.
If Taylor wins her case, it will only affect the City of Saginaw, but Ellison said 'others are waiting' for this case to close.
Decisions by the 6th Circuit set legal precedent in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Despite the weighty constitutional question, there were light moments when the court heard arguments on July 29.
'I haven't gotten many parking tickets,' said Judge Joan Larsen, a former Michigan Supreme Court justice. 'Only because I have a reserved parking spot.'
Daily Mail approached the Saginaw Police for a comment.
What is tire chalking and how it affects drivers
Police use chalk to mark cars in timed parking spaces so they can later write drivers tickets for overstaying
Tire chalking is a common practice in areas with timed parking and no meters.
Police officers monitoring the area will mark drivers' car tires with chalk, indicating that it's being watched.
Drivers in these spots know when they see a chalk line on their tire that they need to move their car before they get a ticket.
Talks about whether or not chalking is legal have been going on forever.
Some argue that it violates the Fourth Amendment to an unreasonable search and seizure because it's an intrusion to personal property to gain information.
The legality issue derives from the mark being made while the car still legally parked in the spot with time left to spend. It's highlighting an act a driver might commit, but hasn't at the moment.
Police officers chalk cars to generate revenue in terms of $15-$20 tickets, in most places, to drivers who stay too long and to enforce the rule.
Other cities, such as New York City, can charge up to $65 for parking violations.
Why do police chalk? Essentially: they're the meter.
Cities generate up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue yearly from parking violations. Saginaw generated up to $200,000 a year by ticketing drivers for overstaying the time limit.
Source: Forbes, The New York Times