The low-tech method of determining whether someone is parked beyond the posted time limit has been a staple of parking enforcement for decades as well as a stable source of revenue.

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The decision took municipal officials by surprise.

In the immediate aftermath, cities as large as Columbus, Ohio, and as small as Athens, Tenn., put away the familiar chalk on a stick for fear of lawsuits. The 6th Circuit covers the states of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.

The reaction of the cities appeared to take the court by surprise, too. Without explanation, it issued an “amended” decision three days later stressing that perhaps Saginaw could come up with a new argument that would convince the district court that warrantless chalking was acceptable.

Saginaw chose not to wait, asking either for the panel to reconsider or for the full 6th Circuit to hear the case.

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Not only was the ruling wrong, the city argued, it was “of exceptional importance” because “cities across the United States have ceased parking enforcement.”

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Appeals courts often consider panel decisions “en banc,” with all the judges getting involved, particularly if one of the panel judges dissented. This case did not provoke a dissent.

Alison Taylor, who works in downtown Saginaw, brought the suit after getting her 15th ticket in a two-year span. She appealed after the lower court said there was nothing unreasonable about marking a tire with chalk.

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Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said police trespassed on the vehicle in question when they attached the device, transforming the technique into a search. He did not say whether it was an unreasonable or reasonable search, however.

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The 6th Circuit panel went a step further, saying the chalking search was indeed unreasonable. “The city does not demonstrate, in law or logic, that the need to deter drivers from exceeding the time permitted for parking — before they have even done so — is sufficient to justify” a warrantless search “of a lawfully parked vehicle.”

While the ruling scared off authorities in some communities, it is also prompting consideration of more modern approaches to the overtime parking problem in areas without meters.