Due Process — Vague or Contradictory Signage
The 14th Amendment and Article I §9 of the Florida Constitution require that regulatory restrictions provide fair notice. When parking signs are missing, contradict each other (e.g., 'No Parking 8a-6p' next to '2-Hour Parking 9a-5p'), or are so faded as to be illegible, due process requires dismissal. Recent suits against six South Florida municipalities (Boca Raton, Delray Beach, etc.) by retired attorney Kerry Lutz have raised this defense in 2024-2025.
Legal basis
U.S. Const. amend. XIV; Fla. Const. art. I §9; State v. Beasley, 580 So. 2d 139 (Fla. 1991)
Sample appeal wording
TO: [HEARING OFFICER] RE: Citation # [#] I request dismissal on due-process grounds under U.S. Const. amend. XIV and Fla. Const. art. I §9. The signage at [LOCATION] failed to give a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice of the restriction allegedly violated. Specifically (Exhibits A–E): [ ] Sign #1 reads [TEXT] while sign #2 within 30 feet reads [DIFFERENT TEXT]; [ ] No restriction sign was visible from the parking position (photos taken at driver's eye level); [ ] The sign was faded/illegible at the time of citation; [ ] The sign was rotated/blocked by [TREE/POLE/CONSTRUCTION]. Where a regulatory restriction is so vague that ordinary people must guess at its meaning, enforcement violates due process. State v. Beasley, 580 So. 2d 139 (Fla. 1991). Dismissal is required. [NAME] / [DATE]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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- Florida Constitution Article I §9
- State v. Beasley, 580 So. 2d 139 (Fla. 1991)
- WPTV — Lutz v. Boca Raton et al. (2024-2025)