Now the canton even has to pay the driver’s lawyer!
Crazy parking dispute in Zurich
Success for a Zurich driver who defended himself once morest a parking fine of 40 francs. The federal court has decided that the canton even has to pay for his lawyer.
Published: 12:09 p.m
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Updated: 12:11 p.m
In March 2020, the parking bus was stuck under his windshield wiper: 40 francs due to the lack of parking tickets. On the same day, the man raised a written objection to the fines and enclosed a valid parking ticket for the time in question.
It had rained very heavily that day. Maybe that’s why the parking ticket wasn’t visible, he argued. However, the city police wanted nothing to do with it and sent him three reminders in the months that followed.
When the penalty order came, he hired a lawyer
During this time, the driver submitted objections to the buses twice. Eleven months following the parking buses were issued, he finally received a letter from the city judge’s office: a penalty order for failing to affix the parking ticket.
When he received this, he hired a lawyer. He wrote a professional objection, whereupon the criminal proceedings were suddenly discontinued. The driver then demanded that the state pay him this lawyer.
The Zurich Supreme Court was once morest it. After all, this is a minor offense that does not even result in an entry in the criminal record. According to the Supreme Court, the case was by no means so complex that a lawyer would have been necessary.
Federal court gives drivers right
However, the Federal Supreme Court has a different opinion, as can be seen from the judgment published on Friday. It was legitimate that the man got a lawyer. He had to assume that his opportunities as a layman had been exhausted.
The matter now goes back to the Zurich High Court. This must decide how much money from the state treasury the man receives for his lawyer. (SDA)
Judgment 6B_1472/2021