Good grief, I think I’m stunned. This ruling came out of the Socialist Nanny State of Minnesota. How is it possible there could a modicum of common sense left in the state?

Minnesota: $2.6 Million in Red Light Camera Tickets Refunded – The Newspaper (A Journal of the politics of driving)

The problems for Minneapolis began in 2005 when the city decided to issue red light camera tickets without the sanction of state lawmakers. By April 2007 the Minnesota Supreme Court had ruled that the use of automating ticketing machines violated state law and deprived motorists of due process (view ruling). The city was forced to end its program for good, but it had no intention of returning the $2.6 million collected from the program.

In addition to the city’s fines, thousand of drivers paid hefty surcharges to their insurance company and about 300 had their drivers’ licenses suspended as a result of the illegal photo tickets. The lawsuit was required to force the unwilling city to take action in May to clear the driving records of those affected. The three plaintiffs who brought the successful suit will receive $1500 each, and the city will cover the legal fees accumulated during the lengthy court battle.

Unfortunately for Tennessee, the Tennessee Attorney General Robert E. Cooper ruled the use of red light cameras and speed cameras are constitutional. Tennessee plans to raise revenue for it’s budget deficit by once again screwing drivers.

Tennessee Attorney General Promotes Photo Ticketing (12/03/2008)
Tennessee Attorney General issues opinion supporting the use of red light cameras and speed cameras.

“It is an accepted principle that enactments of the General Assembly are presumed constitutional,” Cooper wrote. “Whenever the constitutionality of a statute is attacked, courts are required to indulge every presumption in favor of its validity and resolve any doubt in favor of, rather than against, the constitutionality of the act.”

The legislature in 2008 embraced red light cameras while Bredesen officials were quietly exploring the possibility of adopting a freeway speed camera setup similar to that used in Arizona. Cooper cited the rational basis test as establishing the constitutionality of the legislature’s actions.

“If any reasonable justification for the law may be conceived, it must be upheld by the courts,” Cooper said, citing the Tennessee Court of Appeals. “Absent implication of a fundamental right, a legislative act will withstand a substantive due process challenge if the government identifies a legitimate governmental interest that the legislative body could rationally conclude was served by the legislative act.”

The appeals court made similar arguments in a July decision that stated there is no problem in allowing prosecutors to presume the owner of a vehicle is guilty. Shifting the burden of proof presents no constitutional difficulty as long as the state can establish that a vehicle committed a crime (read decision). According to Cooper, the only protection the legislature allows is that private vendors may not decide who is guilty.

Where’s due process in the State of Tennessee?

Red light traffic cameras, speed cameras, Minneapolis MN, Tennessee, AG Robert Cooper, Gov Phil Bredesen

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