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Tire Chalking Is Legal, at Least Here

Chalking tires to know when a vehicle has overstayed its allotted time in a parking spot is a legal and ongoing method of local law enforcement, East Hampton Village Chief of Police Michael Tracey said last Thursday. 

Confusion about whether municipalities can lawfully mark tires has been widespread since April, when a federal appeals court ruled that Alison Taylor of Saginaw, Mich., who had received 15 parking tickets there after having had her tires chalked‚ could sue the city for violating her Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches.