Defense attorneys challenging red light cameras win three cases before the Missouri Supreme Court.

http://thenewspaper.com/news/47/4770.asp


The highest court in Missouri on Monday struck down red light camera and speed camera programs. In three separate cases, the high court judges found that the cameras unconstitutionally shifted the burden of proof by forcing ticket recipients to prove their own innocence. The judges also found that the creation of "civil" citations and administrative hearings for moving traffic violations violated state law.

The decisions were a major blow to American Traffic Solutions (ATS), the Arizona-based vendor that sought to obtain a "first mover" advantage against its competition by opening for business in the Show Me State without the General Assembly's authorization. The company's own lawyers warned that the move was likely to be found illegal (view legal memo). Earlier this year, the firm settled a class action lawsuit over the lack of authority for the programs, but Monday's state Supreme Court rulings raised deeper legal issues.

Law Enforcement and Corrections are two functions I do not believe the government should be contracting out.

All the Red Light Cams in Leon County (Tallahassee) will be gone by the middle of September.

AFTER the courts forced the company and the county to adjust the length of the yellow to comply with state regulations, they began losing MILLIONS. Depending on the speed limit, the length of the yellow light changes.

Leon Counties were about four tenths of a second too quick. We won't have to pay the millions they lost, that was in the contract, but they accomplished nothing and cost us MILLIONS.

Again...I told them so!