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This brings up the constitutional right to have the right to cross examine
your accuser in court. Since the officer was not present when the
photos were taken,
you can request the person operating the cameras be present in court for
you to cross-examine. You do this in advance of the court
date. If the photographer is not present upon your request, you will
most likely have the case dismissed. But not always, it depends upon
the judge's ruling. You might also use this argument in court even
if you did not request the photographer be present. The officer will
argue that it is his responsibility to evaluate the evidence and determine
if a citation should be issued. Your argument should be that
"admission of the photographs showing defendant's violation
constituted improper hearsay, and the photos do not fall within the
business records exception to the hearsay rule. Then it is up to the
judge to rule on the case.
Another
argument that has recently been given credibility. The law says that
you can't be find unreasonable fines for violations. In my opinion
where we have a recession and many people may be working for minimum
wages, a $500 fine is excessive. Again it is up to the judge's
ruling.
Another argument is to ask the Judge if you can get a fair trial in his
court. Your judge will assure you that you can. Then ask who
pays the judges salary and claim that there is a conflict of interest in
this courtroom. I don't think you will be very popular with the
Judge, but you might get a laugh out of the spectators sitting in court.
A lot of red light infringements are defeated in court because of
mechanical things like the yellow light was not long enough for the speed
limit. Take a video of the cameras and make sure they are working
properly.
Different speed limits require different lengths of time the yellow light
must stay on before turning red.
A new very popular tactic has been to file to have the motion dismissed or squashed
because the citation "Has no Standing". What this means;
is the citation considered a criminal or civil case? If it is civil,
it must either be a Tort or Contract law violation. Since this is
not a Tort violation, most courts
consider citations a civil case and a violation of contract law. In a civil case there has to be a
violation of a contract and harm or damage relative to the violation of
the contract. What is the harm in running a red light? What is
the harm or damage for not wearing a seat belt? How do you value the
damage to determining a judgment value? Most judges will dismiss
your red light ticket based upon this argument.
Another argument used by attorneys defending clients. They get the
officer to claim that the purpose of the camera is for safety and to
reduce the number of accidents at that intersection. Then ask the
officer to explain to the court who is Net Flex, and what roll do they
play. Then ask the officer if Net Flex has a contract with the city
guaranteeing them a percentage of income off every citation. Then
claim their motivation is for revenue and not safety. When the
officer has stated two different reasons for the camera there is a
conflict and the case should be dismissed. Again you at
the mercy of the Judge's ruling.
Another argument that can be made in incorporated cities. The law
says that any corporation must be represented by; an attorney, a member of
the Law Board, the City Prosecutor, or the District Attorney in the case
of an incorporated city. If the Officer is representing the city,
ask him if he has a license to practice law in your State? Few
officers are attorneys and you can claim that he is practicing law without
a license in an incorporated city. This argument may not apply if
the officer is a County Sheriff or Highway Patrol because they are not
employed by the individual incorporated cities. But I suspect most
officers arguing cases for red light citations are city Police Officers.
There are many good web sites out there to help you prepare for defending
yourself against a red light citation. One is HIghwayRobbery.net
that lists many cases where the defendant has won his case upon appeal and
the arguments can be used in your case. Also, the Beartrap Guide is
a good listing of the red light cameras. The Beartrap Guide is for professional
truck drivers and lists most of the Beartraps (speed traps) on the
Interstate Highway System. There is also a new section that lists
many of the red light cameras within the cities. www.Beartraps.com
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