Many drivers aren’t a fan of red light cameras and it appears that these disapprovers have a big ally on their side: courts throughout Florida. As the result of a recent ruling, there will be some major changes coming to traffic lights throughout the county.
According to the ruling issued by the State Court of Appeals, law enforcement officers and traffic enforcement officers must be the ones to issue a citation for a red light traffic ticket and not the owner of the red light cameras. Currently, employees of the companies that manufacture the red light cameras are the ones who issue the tickets on behalf of the state. However, this breaches of the letter of the law explicitly, which means that the courts have ruled that the companies must stop this practice immediately.
Red light cameras have been a contentious subject for quite sometime. Many believe that only police officers should be the one to issue red light tickets as sometimes tickets from cameras are issued in error or in violation of the rights of the driver. Because of challenges brought on by drivers, the courts have been forced to decide on this issue in a very explicit manner as to provide clarity.
These recent legal developments means that many people who have been issued a red light camera ticket in the past few years were ticketed illegally as the majority of red light cameras are operated by third parties who issue the tickets on behalf of the city. This could have significant ramifications for those who have been affected as potentially thousands of people have been issued tickets illegally and it may be time to contact a Miami Traffic Attorney to see what are your options.
If you think you have been issued a red light ticket illegally, contact the expert legal team at Hochman & Goldin. Their highly trained lawyers can help you fight a variety of tickets including red light camera tickets as well as other citations. You can also partner with a Miami Expungement Attorney to clear your traffic record of charges in certain cases. To receive a free consultation, call (305) 665-1000.