Knoxville’s Red Light Districts: Constitutionality Questions Still Abound

I’ve discussed the red light camera enforcement several times here, and several new regional/local developments have taken place, one of which I’ve been meaning to address. The local paper has a news item that a Federal District Court Judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the local red-light cameras. But, there’s a twist in this story.

He struck down the lawsuit, but this federal judge pulled no punches about his view of the constitutionality of Knoxville’s Red Light Photo Enforcement program.

Opining that Judy Williams had jumped into federal court too soon, U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips dismissed in a ruling issued late Thursday her lawsuit challenging the city’s alliance with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. to nab alleged red-light scofflaws with cameras.

However, Phillips made it clear he believes the city’s enforcement program may not pass legal muster if properly challenged.

“Although this plaintiff lacks standing, the court is constrained to observe that the Red Light Photo Enforcement program raises numerous federal constitutional questions,” Phillips wrote.

It also may run afoul of Tennessee’s constitution, he said. Even the ordinance authorizing it might not have been properly enacted, the opinion notes.

Which, to me, means that there is a gapping hole to strike down the whole red-light revenue traps, if the fight follows a prescribed road. Shorter version, the suit was dismissed on standing NOT merits.

There are numerous problems associated with Knoxville’s alliance with RedFlex Traffic Systems. The first of which is whether fighting a ticket is a criminal or civil offense.

If a ticketed motorist agrees to pay the $50 fine, then no record of the red-light violation is filed by either a motorist’s insurance company or the state Department of Safety. Challenge it, however, and the motorist risks an extra $67.50 in court costs and a stain on his or her driving record if convicted.

Now, the city of Knoxville, passed an ordinance that being ticketed by any of these cameras is a civil offense. But, state law says driving through a red light is a crime. Hmmm. So, what is it? As I noted before, when the city of Knoxville changed the law from being criminal to civil they also moved the burden of proof onto the ticketed person. And Phillips notes this in his opinion (page 9).

Although this plaintiff lacks standing, the court is constrained to observe that the Red Light Photo Enforcement Program raises numerous federal constitutional questions.2 For example, in Minnesota v. Kuhlman, 729 N.W.2d 577 (Minn. 2007), the Supreme Court of Minnesota held that a Minneapolis ordinance allowing Redflex to operate its red light system conflicted with Minnesota criminal statutory provisions which imposed a uniformity of application of the criminal laws throughout the state. Basically, the way in which the citations were issued impermissibly shifted the burden of proof to the defendant to show that she was not driving the car at the time of the violation.

Thank you Judge Phillips. This is, I believe, a very important point within the constitutionality issue.

But, constitutionality issues aren’t the only problems with red light camera enforcement. There are “safety” issues as well. Last week, a Municipal Court Judge in Chattanooga ruled that the city must refund paid tickets because a light was improperly timed.

A driver’s complaint about an improperly timed traffic light got the attention of a Chattanooga judge who said city officials are sending refunds to 176 motorists who were photographed by an automated camera and got tickets.

Municipal Court Judge Russell Bean dismissed the traffic cases after officials checked out the complaint that a traffic light at a busy intersection was not timed correctly. A man who received a ticket for running the light raised the issue in court.

“I’m going to dismiss them, and the city is going to refund their money back,” the judge told the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

City traffic engineer John Van Winkle said his office investigated the March 3 complaint and the next day corrected the computer program’s timing glitch. He said the yellow light for drivers turning left onto Pine Street from east M.L King was too brief, 3 seconds instead of almost 4 seconds.

This is interesting, because the yellow lights at camera intersections in Knoxville are timed for 3 seconds. As I have noted before (and linked to before) studies have shown that a 4.5-5 second yellow light helps reduce the number of motorists running red lights at busy intersections more so than traffic enforcement cameras.

I’m thinking that each red light camera should be checked for yellow-light timing here in Knoxville, and checked against the city engineers record of what they are supposed to be timed.  Of course, with a shorter yellow light the more revenue the red light company makes, and this is, after all, about making mo’ money, wrapped up in a disingenuous concern for safety.