Red-Light Camera: I've Been Ticketed (Legal Help Needed)

January 2, 2002 | Christopher Knight AKA Freeper "Darth Sidious"

[BradyLS]

I think Howlin's idea is best. Explain the situation to the judge as you did here and bring whatever facts support your argument. IMO, put on a businesslike demeanor, as if you were correcting an error on a bill. But...be aware that the judge may rule in your favor. Still, a relative had a speeding ticket thrown out of court recently after the judge reviewed their otherwise exemplary driving record. So there's hope for a favorable outcome if you're forthright and no other foul was committed.

[ikka]

New around here, huh?

[Bogey78O]

He wouldn't need to float the story because the cop would have heard the tires squeal from the guy skidding and seen the incident go down.

[BradyLS]

Criminy, no wonder I'm not a writer... "Be aware the judge may not rule in your favor..."

[tbeatty]

Did the camera catch the road conditions? Did it get a good picture of you? If it's not provable to be you, it might not be enforceable. This is one of the problems with the cameras is that there is no human observation.

Who processes the tickets? In California, I believe, a private company paid for all the equipment for a share of the "cut." I believe a state judge through this arrangement out but maybe they are using it in your state.

Another argument might be that the traffic light was defective. It is not illegal to enter an intersection on a red light if it was defective but generally you have to come to stop first.

[the_doc]

This ain't so bad, friend FReeper. I thought you were caught doing something unseemly in a red-light district. (But I guess that would have gotten you more than a ticket.)

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

All I can tell you is that the Anchorage City Council (or more precisely, a few Democratic slime-suckers on it) brought those "traffic cameras" up here ("for the children"). They were supposed to be used only in school zones, during hours when children were around.

But guess what? They soon popped up all over town, at all hours- always in high-traffic (and high-revenue) areas.

We fought back on several fronts, and several of the suggestions made on this thread are good ones. BUT, the thing that really worked was massive civil disobedience. We just flat refused to pay the bogus tickets. (I still have mine- unpaid. I may frame it). A judge finally threw all of these tickets out- but I don't think the sheeple who paid them ever got their money back...

The lesson is that this is just another tax, and the ONLY way that taxes have ever been repealed in history has been through civil disobedience (too many folks refusing to pay for the government to handle), or war.

Take your pick.

[Sueann]

Go directly to www.rogerhedgecock.com and look up the lawyers who successfully got rid of red light scammeras in San Diego. Good luck!!

[TooBusy]

It would seem to me that civil disobedience demands that you acknowledge your actions then refuse to pay the fine and force the judge put you in jail. Make sure you call the press .

Of course this requires some free time and don't get "too friendly" with your cellmates!

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

A little anal-retentive, aren't we? Rules are REALLY IMPORTANT to you, hmmm? Even when they are just disguising a stealth tax increase.

See my reply, above.

And the traffic camera fiasco almost certainly ended the political career of at least one Democrat up here, so it was worth the battle.

[BunnySlippers]

Basically the defense you would want to mount is that the yellow light is cut down by a couple of seconds so the red light comes on sooner leaving you without enough time to get clear through the intersection.

You are not ticketed because you are in the intersection when the red light comes on ... the ticket is given ONLY when you ENTER the intersection when a red light comes on. So you can enter on a yellow but never on a red. As an aside, I have one of these red light cameras by my office next to UCLA. It has cut down on red light runners considerably on one very bad intersection in particular.

[Wordkraft]

Now, I saw the light just turn red just as my car got to the line at the intersection.

One question...If you saw the light turn red that tells me that you also saw it turn yellow first. Why did you not prepare to stop when you saw it turn yellow?

[unamused]

Kwitcher bitchin', bow your head and eat your grass...and remember to vote for the GOP...

[Bogey78O]

read closer...he was stopping. The guy behind him forced him to alter his plans.

[GeronL]

I suggest you go to court (you'll probably lose) and refuse to pay the fine... that $50 should be about.. 2 nights in jail??

You can live without FR that long, right??

[GeronL]

don't let Mom go to jail!

[Libertarian_4_eva]

Just go to the court and ask the judge if you can question the officer that gave you the ticket. Every defender has the right to question his accuser. The judge should laugh then rip up the ticket.

[GeronL]

does the photo/tape actually show the light??

[Libertarian_4_eva]

Also this worked for me here in Staten Island NYC. So it does work.

[Jolly Green]

GOLDSTATEGOP has some good advice. I would check out Roger Hedgecock's web site too. (He filled in for Rush today.) He has been fighting the good fight in San Diego on his talk show for quite some time. I recall that he had some info and links on some of the defenses that have been successful.