Defective Citation – Missing Statutory Elements
Utah Code §41-6a-218 and §77-7-19 require a parking citation/notice (whether issued by police or a parking enforcement officer) to identify the vehicle, the location, the date and time, the specific section of the ordinance or statute violated, and the issuing officer. Salt Lake City Code §12.96.060 mirrors this. A citation that omits any one of these elements (commonly the ordinance section or a legible officer ID) cannot serve as a valid charging document and must be dismissed if challenged at the administrative hearing.
Legal basis
Utah Code §41-6a-218; §77-7-19; SLC Code §12.96.060; State v. Smith, 2010 UT App 158 (charging instrument adequacy)
Sample appeal wording
[CITY] Parking Hearing Officer RE: Citation #[CITATION_NUMBER] – Vehicle Plate [PLATE] I respectfully request dismissal of the above citation under Utah Code §41-6a-218 and §77-7-19 because the notice fails to satisfy the minimum statutory requirements for a charging document. Specifically, the citation issued on [DATE] at [LOCATION] [omits / illegibly states] the following required element(s): [LIST: ordinance section / officer ID / time / location / vehicle ID]. Without these elements, I cannot prepare a defense and the citation is facially defective. Utah courts (see State v. Smith, 2010 UT App 158) require charging documents to give the defendant fair notice of the offense charged. The deficiency here deprives me of that notice. I have attached photographs of the citation and the location. I respectfully request the citation be dismissed in full. Sincerely, [NAME] [ADDRESS] [DATE]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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