In 2011, I was given an improper parking ticket on South Beach, which naturally I brought to court. However, Hearing Officer Carmen Dominguez was not interested in, well, hearing, and repeatedly made me discontinue relevant lines of cross-examination of the meter wench who cited me. Despite that, I got said meter wench to admit that she did not know the definition of “parking” in Florida, and despite that, Carmen found me guilty. So I appealed, complete with $301 filing fee for an $18 citation, and won.
The circiut court, finding that the meter wench had “a misconception of the statutory definition of park or parking,” shortly thereafter awarded full costs to me. Six months later, I finally have the last of the money due. Success. 😀
Professional Troublemaker ® 
Classic example how the City of Miami-Dade routinely violates the law for revenue. They make hundreds of thousands in parking fines by stone-walling innocent people.
Below, my opinion:
Your passion for justice and courage for standing up to the government are admirable, but references like “meter wench” work against your cause. If the term is for entertainment/comic purposes, I think it comes at the cost of partially invalidating the substantive content found on the rest of this blog.
The “meter wench” may have been incompetent and the court so entrenched in its ways of siding with government workers that your appeal victory vindicates the masses (of unjustified parking ticket plaintiffs). However, this is something to be said for the victor showing respect to the opposition; your attitude towards the meter employee makes me wonder if you somehow instigated the citation.
I don’t expect you to change, I just ask that you see how your language appears to someone looking in on your ordeal. Perhaps an apology, not for the court case, but the for your language, is in order?
In any event, congratulations on getting justice, and kudos to you for your efforts and the appeal judge who looked at the facts and made the right call.
Meter wench is tame… I actually prefer “quarter slut” but don’t want to be insulting to sexually adventurous people. 😉
But seriously, the woman was entirely rude and disrespectful both while citing my car and in the courtroom, and she receives an equal level of respect from me. Perhaps I left that out of the story, since it wasn’t particularly relevant to the legal side. I also do understand that in her job, she deals with assholes complaining to her all day long, and therefore she’s probably in “bitch mode” all day because she has to be, but I still deserved neither her attitude nor the citation.
I do appreciate your support in spite of my occasional crude remarks.
Kudos Jon! We learn again that justice is not something to take for granted, sometimes (or too many times) you need to fight for it. And to think how many people don’t have your passion and energy and just pay and shut up 😦
Crossing fingers and waiting anxiously (I and many others) for the bigger fish – the TSA.
so you spent $319 to get a check for $281 ?
you ever seen that parking wars show?
makes my blood boil watching it.
theres no reason to stress out everyone over parking.
i’m surprised more meter maids arent assaulted.
They ended up sending 3 different checks totaling all the money I was due.
Applause Jon, well done.