Judge Tosses Red-Light Camera Tickets

SAN DIEGO-A judge Tuesday threw out 290 tickets issued to motorists allegedly caught running red lights by this city’s controversial automated camera system installed at busy intersections.

Superior Court Judge Ronald Styn ruled that the city broke state law by not supervising the work of the company hired to install and run the cameras, Lockheed Martin IMS, a subsidiary of the giant defense contractor.

As a Superior Court decision it is not binding in other jurisdictions but will be cited by lawyers fighting the red-light cameras in other cities.

Styn said the information in the tickets is inadmissible in court because the company has a conflict of interest; the more tickets issued, the more money it makes.

The company receives $70 for each $271 ticket. Last year it made $1.76 million from the city. As the cameras are installed at more intersections, payments to the company could skyrocket.

Styn said state law requires the city to calibrate and monitor the timing of the cameras to ensure that motorists are not being ticketed unfairly.

Motorists have complained that they are receiving tickets even when they enter an intersection legally. That argument got a boost in the spring when it was shown that the timing of the cameras was faulty at several intersections.

Asst. Police Chief John Welter said he was disappointed in the red-light ruling. He noted that at 19 intersections with the cameras, instances of red-light running have declined by 45%. “We think the red-light system is saving lives,” he said.

Since being introduced to this country from Europe a decade ago, the red-light cameras have been used in dozens of cities, including Los Angeles. Controversy has dogged the system in many areas.

The controversy has even spread to Congress, where Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) held a recent hearing to blast the cameras as nothing but moneymaking schemes for local government.

Affiliated Computer Services Inc., previously owned by Lockheed-Martin, has agreed to change the San Diego system and to allow city employees to check the accuracy of the timing mechanisms.

The controversy shows no signs of ending soon. Anti-ticket lawyers have gone to federal court asking for rebates for more than 10,000 persons who have paid the $271 fine.