I fought the law and...... I won!

One of the major differences between my wife and I is our taste in cities. I went to school in Cedar City, population 28,000 (at the time) and she went to a University that had that many people enrolled! While I would be perfectly content living in small town American, she likes the big city. We have compromised and have settled in the suburbs.

My distaste for big cities goes beyond not liking them. I really don't care for big cities at all. I don't like all the people and the difficulty of getting from point A to point B.

So I went downtown about a month ago to see a basketball game. Not just any game, but the Lakers V Jazz. Great game and the Jazz won! However when I got to my car to drive home, there was a parking ticket on my windshield. I HATE DOWNTOWN! As a side-note about a year ago I went to a Jazz V Laker game, got a parking ticket, and in my anger got a speeding ticket 5 minutes later!

This time I'd had enough and it's time to stand up for myself say, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"

I decided to take on City Hall! My infraction was parking to close to a fire hydrant. "Too close" is defined as 5 feet on either side of a line drawn from the fire hydrant to the curb.

Clearly the reason why parking isn't allowed is for the safety of the citizens. Emergency vehicles may need to access the hydrant and need that space for hoses.

It occurred to me that throughout the city, there are tons of legal parking spots in violation of this city code. "Wait, how is this so?", your asking yourself. Well, the way it works is if you PAY a PARKING MEETER then it's perfectly legal to violate the city parking code.


Hypocrisy, Double Standard, Greed. These are just a few of the words that describe this practice. I took my case to Salt Lake Cities hearing officer and she got so angry with my position we took a field trip outside the courtroom to see first hand a parking meeter within 2 feet of a hydrant! She got even more angry and told me I was guilty and would need to pay an additional $75 (nuisance fee) if I wanted to see a judge to present my case.

Let it be known that my youngest child gets his stubborn streak from his father. I would rather pay the extortion money and see a judge to state my case, than concede to the hearing officer (cashier).

Today was my day in court. I took my case to the city of Salt Lake City, and won! Clearly I need to take my fancy lawyering skills to the next level. I wonder if California needs help defending prop 8?

It was music to my ears to hear those beautiful words.... "Case Dismissed!"