Sorry, the Law Is the Law

I am personally very sympathetic to Ms. Ginn’s medical condition. I suffer from chronic pain resulting from an accident and I understand all too well how difficult life can be with pain as your constant companion. But regardless of the pain, I must obey the law and be responsible for the operation of my vehicle.

Here is what actually happened to Ms. Ginn. Between June 1995 and January 1996, Ms. Ginn’s car was issued 14 parking citations at nine different street locations. Six of the violations were for being parked in rush-hour traffic lanes and eight were for being parked in street cleaning zones. California State Law does not permit anyone to legally park in either of these restricted areas by displaying a disabled person parking placard.

In addition to the actual citations, Ms. Ginn was mailed at least two collection notices for each citation. Each citation and notice warned her that failure to clear the citations could result in the city seizing her vehicle. The warnings were all in accordance with the provisions of the California vehicle code.

Because Ms. Ginn did not take action to clear the 14 citations in a timely manner, her car was impounded on January 14, 1996. In the City of Los Angeles, vehicles are impounded by private businesses that are regulated by the Police Department. When a private garage impounds a vehicle, they are entitled by state law to have a lien on the vehicle.

After the car was impounded, Ms. Ginn still did not pay the citations and the garage’s towing and storage charges. Therefore, the garage sold her car in accordance with the lien on the vehicle. The City of Los Angeles did not receive any money when Ms. Ginn’s car was sold.

A time payment plan was offered to help her pay the $1,316 she owed for the citations. [As of the end of May], no payments had been received.

It is very sad that Ms. Ginn lost her car and continues to owe the city a substantial sum of money. However, she violated the law on numerous occasions, was repeatedly warned of the possible consequences and chose to follow a course of action that eventually resulted in her car being impounded.

JAY CARSMAN

Adjudication program manger, Los Angeles Department of Transportation