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Oct
Minnesota Refunding Money For Red Light Camera Tickets
According to an article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Minneapolis is refunding money to drivers that received citations due to red light cameras. They are starting by refunding 147 fines, but up to $2.8 million could be refunded.
In the spring, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the program violated statewide traffic laws. The court found that ticketing the owners of cars that were videotaped without proof of who was actually driving the car violated the rights of the owners. The photos did not show who was driving, but the owners had to go to court if they wanted to challenge the ticket.
“They automatically cited the owner, even if the owner wasn’t driving,” Tanick said.
The state Supreme Court’s finding that the city had no authority to institute a system that videotaped cars running red lights had affirmed a March 2006 ruling by Wernick. At that time, about 5,000 such cases were pending; all were dismissed.
This is a very interesting development. We will have to see if this affects any other states that are already using the program.
