A Ticket On a Taurus Grows Into Much More

It worked. Eberth was found guilty, opening his path to the Court of Appeals. His first petition was denied, but on his second try, the court agreed to hear his case. Eberth finally got his day in court in September.

The decision Dec. 5 by the Court of Appeals invalidated both county codes, drawing distinctions between "operating" a vehicle and "parking" one and distinguishing residential "lots" from "units."

To Eberth, it was anticlimactic. "I've been fighting this for so long," he said. "There's a sense of vindication, but I didn't do a dance or pop open the champagne."

Eberth was still thinking big, and the court didn't engage his constitutional argument, as he'd hoped. "I want to take it to the next step. I intend to pursue this as a violation of the Constitution," he said.

For Prince William, Eberth's quest raised the question of how an illegally enacted code could persist for so long.

"I'm sure people over the years have challenged it," said Ebert, the commonwealth's attorney. "But no one's gone to the trouble of appealing it to the Court of Appeals."

Corey A. Stewart (R-Occoquan), chairman of the Board of County Supervisors, said: "We thank him for pointing out this error. I've got to hand it to him -- he's got determination. I hope he'll get on with his life now."

As for the Taurus, it hasn't been moved in six years. Turned out, his son didn't want it.

"He wanted something that was more the 'in' thing with the crowd at the high school," he said. "He has an SUV."