Court Decisions FL Court: Red light camera tickets fall to challenge
(Thanks to www.stpetecameras.org for the link!)
http://www.newschief.com/article/20111201/NEWS/112015033/1021/news01?p=1&tc=pg
Red light camera tickets fall to challenge
By MARY HURST
News Chief staff
Published: Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 7:16 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 7:16 a.m.
HAINES CITY - A County Court judge has already thrown out nine tickets issued because of the city's red light cameras. On Jan. 20, Judge Timothy Coon may throw out another 12.
The cases stem from a challenge to the city's red-light camera program by The Ticket Clinic of Orlando, which has mounted a campaign in a number of Florida jurisdictions against photo enforcement.
Haines City's 10 cameras, installed at six intersections along U.S. 27 and at U.S. 17/92 at the Publix shopping center, became active in January after city officials signed a contract with American Traffic Systems of Arizona in June 2010.
Public outcry resulted in the City Commission's voting in April not to ticket those with right-turn-on-red violations but the city still receives considerable revenue from the fees generated by drivers who run red lights.
Lakeland is the only other jurisdiction in Polk County that uses the cameras. The city introduced the cameras in 2009.
Statewide, the use of the cameras has grown and provoked strong opposition. Opponents have been seeking to have the state Legislature repeal the law it passed last year allowing the camera systems.
Haines City Police Chief Rick Sloan said Wednesday that Circuit Court judges in other jurisdictions have ruled that the state law is legal.
He said the city has no plans to abandon its red-light camera program. The city began the program in January, issuing tickets after one month of warnings. "The judges in other circuits asked for what Judge Coon is asking for, but on appeal, everywhere else I've heard about, the state law has been upheld," Sloan said Wednesday.
But Orlando lawyer Joel Mumford, with the Ticket Clinic, said Wednesday he's not aware of any binding Circuit Court ruling in Polk County.
However, the Miami-based Third District Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld the right of cities to use cameras to catch and fine motorists who run red lights.
Coon has already ruled against how the tickets are issued when he threw out the nine tickets on Oct. 12.
He said the evidence of red-light violations used by the city and ATS did not follow the rules of evidence. That evidence included photo, video and registration information.
A Haines City police officer testified in October that ATS outsources the duties of looking up registration information to another company.
Coon ruled that information was not properly certified as a "self-authenticating" document.
"As a result, any information on the citation relating to the vehicle's registration information is hearsay as it is an out-of-court statement offered for the truth of the matter asserted, which is that the person listed on the ticket is the owner of the vehicle," Coon wrote in his order.
Another issue is the use of the photographic and video evidence taken by the cameras at the city's intersections, which Coon's order said was not properly authenticated.
"The (Haines City) officer admits he was not at the scene when they were taken and as a result cannot testify as to whether they fairly and accurately portray the scene on the date and time in question," Coon wrote.
As the process currently stands, Mumford said in October, "It's not fair. Basically you're having video testify. And I can't cross-examine video."
But if the problems with evidence are not corrected, Mumford said in October, the same arguments made in his case could apply to all of Haines City's citations and possibly those in other cities, depending on how the evidence is gathered and presented.
The red light cameras had been used before 2010, when the state Legislature pass ed a law regulating there use and mandating that part of the fine go to the state treasury.
Under the bill, registered owners of vehicles caught on camera running a red light could charged with a $158 fine, with $75 going to local governments. The remaining $83 goes to the state Department of Revenue. The law took effect July 1, 2010.
The city funds part of its operating costs with the projected $1.87 million generated from the tickets this fiscal year.
Lakeland has had its own legal problems because of the cameras. In October, that City Commission voted unanimously Monday to pay $667,965 to settle a class action lawsuit over the city's cameras.
Filed in 2009, the lawsuit covers people who received red-light camera tickets in Lakeland before July 1, 2010. City officials said they've counted 32,092 tickets total, each one running between $125 and $250.
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