ticket for being in a park after hours

[stephaniee]

i live in new jersey and recently i had been driving with my boyfriend and i made the wrong turn so i needed to turn around. i decided to turn around in a public park that i didnt know closed at 11pm. it was around 12:30 if I'm not mistaken, and as i pulled in i saw a white truck follow me. i decided to park because i knew it was a police officer and he would probably pull me over anyway. he pulled me over and came to talk to me and i explained i was just turning around and then he gave both my boyfriend and myself tickets in which we have to go to court. i have never been to court so i am freaking out and i called the court because the police officer had told me to and then they said because I'm pleading not guilty my court date is being rescheduled so i can speak to a prosecutor and i am so confused. what should i be expecting ? and is this something that is really going to affect me?

 

[army judge]

I suggest you meet with the prosecutor, after you've plead not guilty.
That's where you can negotiate a deal.
The ticket might be dismissed, or reduced to a lesser charge.
Ths isn't a big deal.
You've probably been cited for the equivalent of a very low level ordinance infraction.
It's not a big deal, just don't break their laws.
They get upset when anyone breaks their laws.

 

[adjusterjack]

is this something that is really going to affect me?

Post the city and the ordinance number from the citations and we'll see if we can come up with some information for you.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

i live in new jersey and recently i had been driving with my boyfriend and i made the wrong turn so i needed to turn around. i decided to turn around in a public park that i didnt know closed at 11pm. it was around 12:30 if I'm not mistaken, and as i pulled in i saw a white truck follow me. i decided to park because i knew it was a police officer and he would probably pull me over anyway. he pulled me over and came to talk to me and i explained i was just turning around and then he gave both my boyfriend and myself tickets in which we have to go to court. i have never been to court so i am freaking out and i called the court because the police officer had told me to and then they said because I'm pleading not guilty my court date is being rescheduled so i can speak to a prosecutor and i am so confused. what should i be expecting ? and is this something that is really going to affect me?

Don't freak out. Typically this is nothing more than a fine. If you want to fight it you'll probably need to go to the entrance you were able to enter and take some photos and show why it was reasonable not to see the sign (which I'm sure is there somewhere). As mentioned, you'll probably want to share the ordinance so we can look at it to give you more assistance. But the best way to fight it (and also make points with a judge) is to do the research. Otherwise you're at the mercy of a police officer who will likely testify that there is a sign, you should have seen it, you were seen going in and disregarding the sign.