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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.

1. Get a copy of the City Ordinance or State Statute that governs the Red-light Camera. This will tell you what type of violation you were ticketed for.

2. Once you determine whether it is a moving violation you can see how to go about fighting it.

3. Decide how you are going to fight the ticket. Are you going to fight it from the position of the statute being unconstitutional or from the aspect that there were mitigating circumstances.

4. If you decide to fight it using mitigating circumstances, use FOIA to see if the man behind you also ran the red light. If not, he may be willing to sign an affidavit that because of weather conditions, he had troubl stopping. If he did run the red light, that is proof that your story is true.

5. Most of these statutes are written so that you do not receive a moving violation. In otherwords it is written so that the vehicle, not the driver get the ticket. They ticket the owner of the vehicle, not the driver of the vehicle. If it was a moving violation, they would have to ticket the driver and that would be pretty hard (until we get the chip implanted in our forehead) to prove who was driving. If it is not a moving violation(a parking ticket type violation) you could simply choose not to pay the violation. In order to collect their 50 dollars, they would have to serve you within a certain time frame. If you do not live within the city (if it is an ordinance) then normally they can't serve outside the city limits. In other words since they can't serve you within a timely manner, they have to drop the charges. So you could simply wait it out. You must study the statute before knoing how to fight the ticket. WIll it be a constituional fight or something less tha that.

I say you go to court and represent yourself; tell the judge just exactly what you told us and ask for a prayer for judge. (P.S. Do NOT take your sign :-) )

Darth; the first thing to do is go to the traffic court and try to win based upon the facts and common sense evidence. Most likely you will lose because traffic court is a rubber stamp; it is an administrative procedure; not a real court.

When you lose, you immediately give the traffic court notice of appeal for a trial or hearing De Nova. You must do this very fast because the judge will try to tell you the fine and rush you through to get to the next guy and keep ringing the cash register.

When you give notice; all fines etc. are stayed until the hearing in a real court. This will piss off the judge because you are rubbing his nose in it and the municipality issuing the ticket will have to send an attorney to appear in the common pleas court to plead their side of the case. This will cost the municipality substantially more than what they would gain from your fine. Do not be intimidated however, it is your right.

A Trial or a Hearing De Nova means 2nd hearing, but fresh, like it has not been heard or adjudicated before. You get to present real evidence and have a good shot at winning (in some cases you can even request a jury trial; and sometimes the case is dropped when you show up because it isn't worth it for the municipality to try the case); but even if you lose, the municipality issuing the ticket (if different than the locality of the common pleas court) will not get any proceeds from the fine; it goes to the real court.

I have done this in Ohio before; and have seen it work for others as well.

Have a nice day, sui