By Diane Jonas

On Monday, April 22, 2019, a Federal Court of Appeals heard a case involving parking enforcement violations and the legality of citations issued.  The court determined that when officers mark a car tire with chalk for the specific purpose of gathering information to ascertain whether a time limit has been exceeded, it is a violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

              The complainant’s lawyer argued that, “trespassing upon a privately-owned vehicle parked on a public street to place a chalk to begin gathering information to ultimately impose a government sanction is unconstitutional.”

              In 2012 the Supreme Court found that it was unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable search and seizure, for law enforcement to place a GPS tracker on a car. Similarly, the Court of Appeals found that it is also unconstitutional and an unreasonable search and seizure to mark a vehicle’s tire with chalk.

              The decision affects the 6^th Circuit Federal Court, which includes Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.  Oftentimes, other courts follow suit.  We will keep you posted with further developments in the Pennsylvania Courts.