What’s unconstitutional is how high the ticket price is. I thought we were to be protected against “unusual” punishment.
As to the difference between the patrolman issued and the camera issued ticket, I’m a bit more agnostic. After all, the patrolman-issued ticket has that handcrafted personal touch.
I received a ticket for talking on the cell phone here in upstate NY (Syracuse) last November...the fine was $50, but the administrative and processing fees were $90...so they can argue the fines are not punitive, but you have no recourse in arguing the fees...
And I was fortunate, as of 1 Jan 2011, it’s $100 plus 2 points, they don’t say what the fees are as that probably varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction...