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Red Light Cameras Ruled Constitutional
Red light cameras have been a controversial aspect of traffic enforcement in Broward County ever since they were installed in 2007. Learn more about how a recent court ruling will keep them in place despite evidentiary and constitutional challenges.
September 03, 2011 /Government PR News/ -- Red light cameras have been a controversial aspect of traffic enforcement in Broward County ever since they were installed in 2007. They have faced hundreds of court challenges based on due process and speedy-trial protections, as well as evidentiary issues regarding the admissibility of pictures taken by traffic enforcement cameras. According to a recent Miami Herald report, hundreds of citations have been dismissed, and a large majority of tickets have not been paid. The situation nearly reached a point where municipalities considered discontinuing their contracts with camera contractors.
However, a recent ruling held that red-light cameras will stay...for now. Judge Steven P. DeLuca, a Broward County judge who hears drivers' challenges to red-light camera tickets, recently ruled that the cameras do not violate their constitutional rights.
In the meantime, lawyers can still challenge whether the images accurately identify the driver, and they can contest whether the camera was actually working properly at the time the photograph was taken. It is entirely possible that cameras could malfunction and indicate that a car crossed through an intersection before a light actually turned red. According to a Wall Street Journal report, attorney Aaron Delgado has made it a personal mission to challenge the use of red light cameras, even defending such citations for free. He explains that the cameras are an improper invasion on drivers' civil liberties, and has had more than a dozen tickets dismissed.
Car owners previously complained that the camera systems assumed that they were driving the car at the time the violation occurred, and that they had the undue burden of proving that they were not behind the wheel when the photo was taken. They argued that this essentially removed the state's obligation to prove its case.
While Judge DeLuca previously rejected the notion that the cameras violated due process, the recent ruling merely limited the arguments attorneys could raise in contesting red-light citations. Nevertheless, he still rejected a large majority of citations before him. Between July 2010 and May 2011, he upheld only 44 of 830 tickets.
If you have been cited for a red-light violation, an experienced attorney can advise you of your rights and options.
Article provided by Damore Delgado Romanik & Rawlins
Visit us at www.communitylawfirm.com
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