http://www.local10.com/news/ruling-puts-the-brakes-on-red-light-cameras-in-most-fla-cities/29146012 (http://www.local10.com/news/ruling-puts-the-brakes-on-red-light-cameras-in-most-fla-cities/29146012)
Another big blow for RLCs in Florida. Time for the city council to just cut its losses and take these ever present 4th amendment violations down
QuoteThe third party is American Traffic Solutions (ATS), a Phoenix company which administers the red light camera programs for the majority of Florida cities that use the devices. When a driver runs a red light, the camera sends the picture and video of the violation to ATS. Company representatives review the video to determine if, in fact, a violation occurred and then sends the information to the police agency to confirm. The court said:
"For all practical purposes, it is the vendor that decides which cases the TIEO (Traffic Infraction Enforcement Officer) gets to review; it is the vendor who initially determines who is subject to prosecution for a red light violation; it is the vendor that obtains the information necessary for the completion of the citation; it is the vendor that creates the actual citation; it is the vendor that issues the citation to the registered owner of the vehicle; and, it is the vendor that eventually transmits the traffic citation data to the court."
"In Florida, only law enforcement officers and traffic enforcement officers have the legal authority to issue citations for traffic infractions, which means only law enforcement officers and traffic enforcement officers are entitled to determine who gets prosecuted for a red light violation."
Great news for those cities! They're getting (part) of their constitutional rights back.
Won't help us here though, the sheriff's office reviews the video before sending the ticket out. Hopefully when Mr rutherford-I-need-morefunding is gone, we'll have a sheriff who cares about our safety and not revenue.