Orlando Red Light Camera Citations Are Unenforceable

On July 6, 2012, the Fifth District Court of Appeals ruled Florida state laws preempt Orlando’s Red Light Infractions ordinance and the citations issued are unenforceable.

Various sources show there are between 96 and 150 red light cameras in the greater Orlando area.

Attorney Michael Brehne, Tampa Motorcycle Accident Lawyer of 911 Biker Law.com comments, “I agree that running red lights is like speeding – a major cause of traffic accidents, especially for motorcycles. In fact, intersections are the most common site for motorcycles being hit by cars. Enforcement should be strict, but done by police, not robots, non-qualified appointed personnel or cameras.”

Brehne adds, “My understanding is this is a private and ‘for profit’ company supplying and maintaining the cameras. They share in the profit with the City of Orlando so they have a vested interest in these citations. There aren’t proper checks and balances in place. Frankly it’s an infringement of an individual’s constitutional rights. The 6th amendment includes the Confrontation Clause, where you have a right to confront your accuser. That doesn’t exist here because your accuser is a camera! Lastly, it’s a ‘guilty unless proven innocent’ ordinance where the car photographed is presumed driven by the owner and the owner gets the ticket whether or not they were driving or watching T.V. at home.”

The Court agrees with Brehne as this ruling and states, “At a minimum, the ordinance conflicts with state law because it provides for a notice of violation based solely on recorded images and not on the personal observation of a law or traffic enforcement office, provides that an individual appointed by the City Council who is not a judge determines the existence of the violation, allows for an adjudication based on proof less than beyond a reasonable doubt, imposes the penalty against the vehicle owner who may not have been the driver, imposes a fine different from that provided by state law, distributes the fines to the City and a private corporation and not as provided by state law and imposes additional penalties not allowed by state law. Thus the trial court properly invalidated the ordinance based on preemption and conflict grounds.”

Orlando Motorcycle accident attorney Michael Brehne will fight for your case. With thousands of successful cases totaling to millions of dollars, Michael Brehne is the man you want in your corner when the fighting gets tough. For more information, visit us today at the Law Office of Michael Brehne.