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As reported by The Newspaper.com, in February 2009, the Appellate Court of Los Angeles ruled that red light cameras tickets can be issued by companies with illegal contract arrangements. The defendant in this case argued that this ticket was invalid because it had been issued by a private company and the city of Lancaster (where the red light camera ticket was snapped) who were operating jointly under an agreement forbidden by the state's red light camera statute. The law requires that the private contracting company providing the cameras be compensated on a “flat-rate” basis to avoid the financial incentive for the private company to issue more tickets. Lancaster is using a "cost neutral" formula that adjusts the rate paid based on whether the number of tickets issued falls within a certain range.
Although in December 2008, The Orange County appellate court struck down red light camera tickets issued in the city of Fullerton because the used a similar payment scheme as Lancaster, The Los Angeles appellate court refused to consider whether the Lancaster arrangement violated the law. It insisted that this question was irrelevant.
Judge Patti Jo McKay wrote for the three-judge panel:
"Had the legislature intended for such compliance or contract language to be conditions precedent to the issuance of citations, part of the prosecution's prima facie case, or a basis for the exclusion of evidence, it would have simply included the appropriate language reflecting its intent in the statute,"
In effect, McKay ruled that if a municipality refuses to follow the law by using a contract based upon bounty payments, nothing can be done about it. This sounds a little fishy coming from a judge, doesn’t it? Both the Orange County and Los Angeles courts draw millions in revenue from "court costs" imposed on the $400 camera ticket.
We will keep you posted on future rulings similar to this one and on any changes to the state's red light camera statute and enforcement of it. If ‘nothing can be done about it’ in the Los Angeles Court, maybe we should look to other enforcement agencies.
You be the judge and let us know your opinion regarding red light cameras tickets at Fightredlightcameraticketsonline.com, a service provided by Ticket Busters of California (TicketBust.com) or call us at 800.850.8038.
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