Lawsuits could end parking ticket tire chalking in San Francisco
San Francisco CA Sept 16 2021 Marking car tires with chalk to issue parking tickets could be ruled unconstitutional in parts of the Bay Area, if two new lawsuits are successful.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, plaintiff Maria Infante recently filed a $50 million lawsuit after receiving a $95 ticket from an S.F. parking enforcement officer who chalked her tires.
On the same day in San Leandro, plaintiff Akeel Nasser filed a $5 million lawsuit after receiving four parking tickets from the city, totaling $180.
These lawsuits, both filed by San Francisco attorney Eduardo Roy, allege that chalking violates the Fourth Amendment, which assures the right to be protected against unreasonable search and seizure.
But these suits didn’t come out of nowhere.
In 2019, a federal appeals court ruled that chalking violates the Fourth Amendment after a Michigan woman with a number of parking tickets took her frustration out in a lawsuit.
This decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit affects Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.
“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,” wrote the woman’s lawyer, Philip Ellison, in a court filing.
After this ruling, a similar lawsuit was filed in San Diego in 2019 — although that decision ruled that chalking was not unconstitutional.
As the lawsuits keep coming, it could mean the end of chalking, once and for all. But the practice is likely to be replaced by new technology, such as GPS-enabled license plate scanners — an alternative that is potentially even more invasive for drivers.
