Star Tribune: “ACLU suit challenges ‘photo cop’ law”
From the article:
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota has challenged the constitutionality of [the Minneapolis] “stop on red” ordinance, which uses cameras to capture drivers running red lights.
Howard Bass, one of the attorneys filing a motion on behalf of a person who was ticketed, said the problem with the ordinance is that it presumes that the registered owner of the car is guilty, not innocent.
In other words, even if the owner of the vehicle is not the driver, the owner is the one who gets the ticket. The traffic cameras do not show the driver of the vehicle. Tickets are then sent to the owner, who can pay the fine or try to get the actual driver to come forward.
Obviously, this creates an incentive for owners to pin the blame on another person, who may find themselves charged with a moving violation out of the blue, even if they weren’t responsible.
Although the article reports the city attorney as saying he is confident the city will prevail, it seems obvious the law needs some tweaking.
