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Posted on 03/02/2010 2:06:38 PM PST by Huntress
Link only: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100302/BREAKING01/100302022/1007/NEWS01/Supreme+Court+tosses+red-light+camera+violation++says+city+ordinance+violates+state+law
/mark
Good for them.
This is just another scam which screws the general public by not really inicreasing motor vehicle safety, yet making the companies who produce these damn cameras rich on the take of their portion of the ticket prceeds.
Makes you wonder who the camera company executives are related to in the first place.
Too late to dump that stock............Ha-Ha!
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
L
So what was stopping appeals of these “administrative” processes to the “traditional criminal court system”?
On second thought, you’re right. Thanks.
Sucks to be that city...
Hope the City Council hasn’t spent the money already.....
I loved the story from last year about the thieves who found out that the traffic cams were high end Nikon digital cameras inside the housing...so they got themselves a truck with a cherry picker and made off with a whole bunch. Then sold them on eBay to the tune of over $30,000. Very enterprising.
ping
That would be far too obvious. Think of the 'consulting firms'. It's the Chicago way.
Sounds like a slam dunk case to me. It’s amazing how politicians won’t even consider the Constitutionality of any legislation they consider, and or pass. They just do as they wish, because they know the courts are likely to rule on the side of big government. It has almost become unusual for courts to rule on the side of the individual/liberty.
Damn, one of the best revenue scams ever. Gosh, it wasn’t about traffic safety after all. Does this really need a /sarc/ tag?
Cheers, from Springfield! Glad to see these down. First, they didn’t have all of the yellow light timing synced to the same speed, and now this. I’m hoping my city council rep (Ibarra) does the right thing, and pushes for these cameras to take a permanent hike.
As to the Missouri case, the MO Supreme Court decided on statutory grounds. The City of Springfield has municipal courts only because the statutes of the State create and empower those Courts. Springfield tried to do an “end run” around giving people charged with red light camera violations their day in front of a municipal judge with all of the rights a defendant in those courts would have. The Mo Supremes said (all seven of them); whoa - you can't pull that stuff ‘round here.
This case has been watched by other cities since it was filed and this case will kill the movement to red light cameras in many of those cities. I can't say it happened soon enough for me.
A close friend of mine was recently given a tour of the St Louis traffic control center. he says that center monitors ALL traffic cameras and sensors south of I-70, and is authorized by the MoDOT.
His description of the center, in his words, was Orwellian. The capabilities of the center to track, time, and survey motor vehicles in Missouri. The center monitors hundreds of traffic cameras aimed at specific intersections and has sensors that monitor speed, density etc. They can lock on to any vehicle, or GPS device and follow that vehicle across the state. They select random vehicles in intervals and follow them as a gauge of traffic speeds and density.
Red light cameras are a municipal item. But traffic cameras are monitored by the state, including homeland security.
There are hundreds of monitors at that St Louis center including cameras at airports, railroad bridges, highway intersection, river bridges, and many other locations.
When you drive in Missouri, smile. You may be on candid camera.
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