4:02 p.m. – This story has been updated with a statement from the city of St. Louis.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled 6-1 Tuesday that St. Louis’ red-light cameras ordinance is unconstitutional and that the city can no longer issue fines to violators.
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That means you don’t need to pay your red-light camera ticket fines anymore, says Bevis Schock, the lawyer who represents the two women who sued St. Louis over the ordinance. The decision also eases the statewide confusion over the legality of traffic cameras.
See also: From the Front Lines of St. Louis Traffic Court
The high court said in its decision that St. Louis’ red-light camera ordinance “is constitutionally invalid because it creates a rebuttable presumption that shifts the burden of persuasion onto the defendant to prove that the defendant was not operating the motor vehicle at the time of the violation.”
In plain English, that means St. Louis’ red-light cameras can’t tell who is driving, so car owners are penalized even when they’re not the ones running the light. For example, the two women who originally sued St. Louis and its red-light camera provider, American Traffic Solutions, say they received red-light camera tickets even though they weren’t the ones driving their cars at the time.
Forcing car owners to prove they weren’t the ones behind the wheel is unconstitutional, the court ruled.
See also: Highway Robbery By Government
UPDATE: St. Louis will prepare a new ordinance that legally establishes red-light cameras, Deputy City Counselor Michael Garvin said.
“The city’s goal from the outset has been to utilize technology in a way that allows us to make optimal use of police manpower while at the same time safeguarding individuals’ constitutional rights,” Garvin said in a statement. “We will work with the Board of Aldermen to prepare a new ordinance that complies with the Court’s rulings.”
Our original story continues below.
The court ruling didn’t declare red-light cameras illegal or invalid, and American Traffic Solutions heralded the court’s ruling for validating the use of photo and video evidence for traffic control.
Feeling a little déjà vu? That’s because this latest decision follows two similar decisions from lower courts.
In February 2014, Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer ruled that red-light cameras were invalid, but he allowed the city of St. Louis to continue collecting fines until the state supreme court made a final decision. Fines from red-light tickets went into an escrow account so they could be returned. Budget Director Paul Payne tells St. Louis Public Radio he’s not immediately sure what will happen to the money in the escrow fund, which contained about $5 million as of June.
Tuesday was a banner day for opponents of Missouri’s traffic camera programs. The court also ruled that St. Peters’ red-light camera rules are invalid because violations don’t result in mandatory points on a driver’s record, as other moving violations do. It’s possible that St. Peters, which halted its red-light camera program in September, will rework its rules to drop the part about mandatory points.
The court also upheld a circuit court decision to throw out a speeding ticket issued via speed camera by Moline Acres to radio personality Charlie Brennan for violating due process protections.
Contact Lindsay Toler by an email at [email protected] or on Twitter @StLouisLindsay. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
