A federal court of appeals ruled, yesterday, that chalking the tires of your parked car was a violation of the fourth amendement. For those of you who don't have an idetic memory of the constitution and all its amendements, the fourth is the one that protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures (among other things).
Now while you and I may not consider someone chalking our tires an illegal search... Alison Clark, of Michigan... who'd been the unwilling recipient of many chalkings of her car took umbridge, and filed a lawsuit. And believe it, or don't... (as my eastern-european grandmother used to say)... she won! the court determinied that the chalking of the tire... when the car was legally parked... gave them no right to "trespass" and mark the tire.
So, my guess is that lovely Rita meter-maid will be putting away her chalk, and replacing it with a digital chalking method to determine just how long your car has been taking up that space.
Vindication!? Nah... prolly not. But, hey!... I'll take what I can get.
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