Legal Question in Traffic Law in New Jersey

Re: Private property reckless driving ticket

I did some research on your question, but was unable to quickly find a source of law to definitively answer your question. Unfortunately, however, my hunch is that the police are entitled to write tickets on the parking lot as it sounds like a parking lot that is open to the public, not a "private" road. Similarly, if you found out the person who hit you was drunk, the police would not have to tell you "too bad, its private property" and not arrest that person. If you are interested in hiring an attorney to represent you, however, I would FULLY research and pursue this if it looks promising to beat the ticket.

Two important points to keep in mind however: 1. regardless of how the private/public property argument goes, it is likely you could plea to a lesser charge, or based on the facts, that the charges could be dismissed. (I've never heard of such reasoning for a ticket as you've stated in your question). 2. Insurance companies rarely consider whether or not tickets were issued when determining fault from the insurance perspective and a ticket in this matter might affect your overall record/points, but will probably not directly affect the insurance company's handling of this matter.

Hopefully, this answer was helpful although not probably the answer you wanted to hear. If you are considering an attorney to represent you, I offer free consultations and would be happy to speak with you.

Thanks,

Daniel B. Kelley