NMA National Alert: Missouri Court Rules Against Civil Processing of Photo Tickets
In a ruling that we hope creates a trend followed by other state courts, the Missouri Supreme Court has found that violations of municipal ordinances, such as red-light camera infractions, cannot be handled through administrative proceedings. Rather, the Court requires that such cases be heard in a division of the circuit court, where defendants are afforded their due process rights, including the right to a trial.
There has been a trend around the country for local municipalities to rewrite their laws so that traffic violations are treated (bureaucratically) as civil matters. Their motivation is money. Not only does the local government keep the ticket revenue instead of sharing it with the state when the locality's ordinances are broken, but because points aren't assigned against drivers licenses and defendants aren't afforded the usual rights assigned to criminal proceedings, even fewer people will fight their tickets.
One of the immediate results of the Missouri Supreme Court ruling is gratifying: The city of Springfield, MO announced its suspension of its red-light camera program, and pending cases will be dismissed.
