Chalk it up: Michigan parking dispute could cover thousands

By ED WHITE
Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Lawyers who argued that a Michigan city violated the U.S. Constitution by chalking tires have successfully turned the case into a class-action lawsuit. It could affect thousands of parking tickets written in Saginaw. A judge twice dismissed the unusual lawsuit against Saginaw but was overturned both times by an appeals court. The case began in 2017 when Alison Taylor sued to protest her tickets. Her lawyers argued that Saginaw was violating the Fourth Amendment by marking tires with chalk without a search warrant and then returning to write a ticket if a vehicle was parked too long. Saginaw will get another opportunity to argue that tire chalking was legal, though the judge says the city’s position after two losses doesn’t seem “immediately compelling.”