ST. LOUIS • The Missouri Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to take up the city’s red-light camera ordinance by reviewing a challenge brought by two women who received photo-generated tickets for cars they weren’t driving at the time.
It is the second traffic photo enforcement case the court has agreed to take up this year.
Earlier this year, ºüÀêÊÓƵ Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer invalidated the ºüÀêÊÓƵ ordinance after hearing a lawsuit filed on behalf of motorists Sarah Tupper and Sandra Thurmond. The two were ticketed after their vehicles were photographed running red lights. Neither was at the wheel at the time.
“We are grateful the Missouri Supreme Court will provide us the guidance to properly enforce our red-light safety camera ordinance,†Deputy City Counselor Michael Garvin said in a statement. “Conflicting Missouri Court of Appeals rulings have led to confusion on the proper enforcement of red-light cameras. We are pleased the Supreme Court is willing to clarify the situation.â€
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Ohmer placed his order on hold to give proponents of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ ordinance time to file an appeal.
“Obviously, it is the Supreme Court’s job to declare the final law in Missouri,†Tupper’s attorney, Bevis Schock, said. “That is what they get paid to do and they are going to do it.â€
Ohmer concluded that earlier the Eastern and Western District Courts of Appeals had “strongly trended towards the invalidation†of red-light camera ordinances. The state’s highest court decided in February not to take up the cases of three cities whose red-light camera laws had been challenged with some success in lower courts.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Police Chief Sam Dotson said he was “very encouraged†that the state Supreme Court was willing to take up the case so quickly. He said there was little disagreement over the city’s power to use photo enforcement to catch red-light runners. The issue is one of process, Dotson said.
He said the court would give the city “clear guidance and direction†on what to do going forward. Meanwhile, he added, the red-light cameras have changed driver behavior. More than 80 percent of drivers who get a red-light camera ticket in the city do not get a second one.
Schock said he expected the court to hear arguments in the fall with a decision likely around the Christmas holiday.
Last month, the state Supreme Court agreed to review the legality of speed cameras in a Moline Acres case in which KMOX radio personality Charlie Brennan was ticketed.