JEFFERSON CITY • Whether traffic camera enforcement laws in ºüÀêÊÓƵ and two other cities conflict with state law remains unclear, but an answer is one step closer after the Missouri Supreme Court heard three cases Tuesday.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ, along with the suburban municipalities of Moline Acres and St. Peters, argued the legality of their laws in the widely watched legal showdown pitting municipalities, which insist the cameras are an important safety tool, against motorists, who see the cameras as Orwellian devices that are more about generating revenue than making roads safer.
A decision is expected later.
This year, in a case brought by Sarah Tupper and Sandra Thurmond after their vehicles were photographed running red lights. Both vehicle owners said someone else was driving at the time.
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Ohmer placed his order on hold to allow proponents of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ ordinance to mount an appeal. The city is still issuing tickets but placing fines it collects in an escrow account pending the outcome of the case.
Michael Garvin, the city’s attorney, said Tuesday that the city presumes the vehicle’s owner is operating it at the time of the photograph. The owner is operating the vehicle about 70 percent to 80 percent of the time, he said, adding that the camera in ºüÀêÊÓƵ only picks up the vehicle’s tags.
Vehicle owners who receive a ticket can rebut the claim, but Bevis Schock, attorney for Tupper and Thurmond, said that places undo difficulty on the owner and takes away their due process rights.
Tupper and Thurmond are asking the court to void the ºüÀêÊÓƵ red-light camera ordinance and block the city from carrying out the program.
Another case heard Tuesday challenges the Moline Acres speed camera ordinance. It started when was ticketed when his car was caught on camera going 11 mph over the speed limit on a stretch of Missouri Highway 367 in the city limit in July 2012.
Brennan is challenging whether the municipal ordinance can turn moving violations into a civil matter that doesn’t result in points against a drivers license. Carl Lumley, the city’s attorney, said Tuesday that the vehicle owner is charged with unsafe supervision of a vehicle, not a moving violation. Whether or not the owner was in the vehicle at the time of the violation, Lumley said he or she permitted its use.
He added that owners can attempt to prove they did not give permission to operate the car.
Moline Acres Mayor Michele DeShay said Monday that the speed cameras are no longer in place but “there is a possibility†they could return, depending on how the court rules.
The third case heard Tuesday involves the use of red-light cameras in St. Peters. In 2013, because convictions don’t result in penalty points on a driver’s license. House dismissed a ticket received by Bonnie A. Roeder but did not void the city’s camera ordinance.
Scott Williams, the city’s attorney, said Tuesday the state’s charge code manual does not include red-light cameras, so the city is not required to report it to the state for points on a drivers license.
St. Peters officials suspended the city’s red-light camera program on Sept. 1.