Community Corner

Class Action Lawsuits Against Missouri Red-Light Camera Cities

A St. Louis-based law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against all cities using red-light camera technology.

Simon Law Firm, a St. Louis-based group, has filed a class action lawsuit against Arnold, other Missouri cities that use red-light cameras and American Traffic Solutions (ATS), the maker of red-light cameras.

The suit also names the Missouri cities of Creve Coeur, Ellisville, Florissant and Kansas City, reports Riverfront Times.

Lawyers with the firm said that Judge Mark Neil's decision to void St. Louis city's red-light camera ordinance should apply to all of Missouri.

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Neil's decision said the cameras do not enforce the rules of the road or a city's traffic regulations, the Riverfront Times reported.

The suing lawyers also said the red-light camera tickets should assess points on violators' licenses if the cameras are for safety reasons.

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Currently red-light camera violations in Missouri are considered non-moving violations, the attorneys said to the Riverfront Times.

Neil's decision is under appeal, Riverfront Times reported.

The class action lawsuit against ATS and the cities has no merit, said ATS spokesman Charles Territo in an email interview with Arnold Patch.

"One thing that challenges like these all have in common is that they have consistently failed," Territo said. "The constitutionality of red-light camera programs has been affirmed by courts at every level and throughout the country."

U.S. Appellate Judge Frank Easterbrook, of the Seventh Circuit Court based in Chicago, dismissed a lawsuit against that city's red-light cameras in 2009, this site reported in March.

Easterbrook's decision said the U.S. Constitution allows cities to pass laws that differ from state or county laws. Easterbrook also said the cameras do not violate due process, improperly fine drivers or raise city revenues.

Easterbrook's decision has no bearing in Missouri because the state is in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, Patch reader Greg Zotta said in a comment on the Arnold Patch site.

The circuit appeals courts work to find congruences and similar reasoning when enforcing the U.S. Constitution, said Arnold City Attorney Bob Sweeney in a interview with Patch in March. 


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