Fighting A Red Light Camera Ticket
A new
twist in defending against red light tickets has occurred in recent
years, with
the introduction of photographic automated enforcement systems, also
known as
red light cameras. These devices work by triggering a camera as a
vehicle
passes over a sensor in the intersection when the light is red. The
camera
takes pictures of the vehicle’s front license plate and driver. A
citation is then mailed to the vehicle’s registered owner, supposedly
after a police officer checks the photo of the driver against the
driver’s
license photo of the registered owner.
The Driver Is Usually Liable, Not the Owner
In most of the states that allow photo enforcement of
red lights, the law states that the driver, not the vehicle’s owner, is liable
for the ticket. (New York treats red light camera violations like parking
citations, making registered owners responsible without regard to who was
driving when the camera snapped the photo.) In states where the driver—not
necessarily the owner—is responsible for the ticket, and the owner was not
driving at the time of the violation, the owner can fill out an affidavit,
swearing that he or she wasn’t driving when the violations occurred.
Get the Photos
The first step to take in fighting a ticket issued by a
red light camera device is to get the photographs. In some states, those photos
will be mailed to you along with the citation. In other states you will have to make a
"discovery” request to get them. When you get the pictures, examine them to see if the picture of the driver bears any
likeness to you, and whether the license plate number can be read
clearly. For example, Maryland Sen. Alex Mooney successfully fought a ticket
for running a red light in 2003 despite a red light camera showing his car
speeding through an intersection. Why? Because Mooney was able to prove to a
judge that a car thief was behind the wheel of his car.
Was the Device Working Properly?
At a trial, the government (whether represented by the
police officer or a prosecutor) must present evidence on how the device works
and that it was working properly on the day the citation was issued. The
prosecution must also present the camera’s photos showing the vehicle’s license
plate and the driver, along with the driver’s
license photo of the vehicle’s registered owner.
Possible Defenses
If the images are clear, you can consider mounting the
following defense: If no employee from the company that maintains the red light
camera device shows up to testify, you
should object to the photos being admitted into evidence, saying, "Your
Honor, since no one has appeared to authenticate the photographic evidence, I
object to such evidence for lack of foundation.” If the photographs
are excluded, there is no evidence to convict you. (On the other hand, if the
judge allows the photos in evidence over this proper objection, you may later
have a basis for an appeal if found guilty.)
If the photos are allowed into evidence but the images
are not clear, you can consider challenging the photo’s clarity, arguing that
the evidence is not convincing enough to convict you. You should not agree to
testify unless you can truthfully say that you were not driving the vehicle at
the time the picture was taken.
If you ran the light to avoid a serious accident or harm
to others, you should make that argument, and it’s possible that the judge may
find that you acted out of "necessity,” which
may be reason enough to find you not guilty.
In some states, another possible defense to a red light
ticket is that of missing or non-visible posted signs that are supposed to warn
of photo enforcement. First read the law carefully to find if your state has
laws about such warning signs. If you
got the ticket in a state that does have specific rules about where and how
such warning signs must be posted, go back to the intersection to investigate
whether the signs there comply with the law. If they don’t, and you prove that
to the court with photos and diagrams, you have a good chance of beating the
ticket.
Source: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/beat-ticket-book/chapter7-3.html
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