City of Madison v. McManus

McManus parked his car in a non-parking zone in the basement garage of the City-County Building in the city of Madison, Wisconsin, in a parking stall which was reserved for the Dane county purchasing department. This violation was his first such offense. There were signs in the garage indicating “No Parking,” “Authorized Vehicle Only,” and “Parking by Permit Only.” It was stipulated McManus had no permit to park in the parking stall.

The primary challenge is that the city ordinance is invalid because its penalty provision exceeds the provision of the equivalent state statute contrary to sec.…