Stop STOP!
Last Friday, November 30, 2007, Stop-on-Red filed a new lawsuit against the City's STOP Ordinance. The new Complaint is here. The lawsuit asked the district court to issue a declaratory judgment finding the red-light camera and speed camera ordinance illegal, enjoin the program, and return all the fines collected. The grounds for the relief were as broad as the relief requested:
This was the second comprehensive legal challenge to the STOP Ordinance. The first was filed by the Branch Law Firm over a year ago. Reportedly, the firm's founder, Turner Branch, had received a notice of violation. By agreement with the City, a class action was certified, but in recent months the lawsuit remained stalled. The court docket for the case, Branch, et al., vs. City of Albuquerque, shows that other than having a new judge assigned to the case, nothing has happened in the past few months.
Current events, including a heightened pitch of opposition to the City's traffic enforcement scheme, an apparent withdrawal of support by the Mayor, whose decision to run for Senator sparked his concern over the negative value of being closely associated with a traffic enforcement scheme that almost everyone hated, and a lack of traffic safety data concerning the efficacy of the STOP Ordinance, combined to create a ripe environment for another legal challenge. Most recently, the Mayor appointed a Task Force to study the Safe Traffic Operations Program to see how safe it was, where the money was going, and how fair was it. Although they probably won't admit it, the Task Force may have to evaluate how many people hate the speed and red-light cameras enough to refrain from voting for Marty for Senator, and whether that number is sufficient to stop the STOP Ordinance.
Still another factor was a series of errors that gave the perception that the City and Redflex were just after money and more money, without any concern for what was right or fair. Three such incidents have come to light: 1) the signs at the Quail and Coors intersection on the City's west side were found to show different speed limits; 2) a speed van on I-25 near Ceasar Chavez reportedly "violations" of a 55-mph speed limit when it was actually in a 65-mph zone; and 3) tickets were given for violations of a 30-mph limit when the actual speed limit was 40-mph on Academy near Ventura. In each instance cases were dismissed for those who asked for hearings, appeared, and argued their cases, either themselves or through an attorney. As for all the others given violation notices that were paid, no refunds have been offered or given.
The most recent effort asserting a class action lawsuit gained special notoriety when a respected former Albuquerque Police Department Captain, Sonny Leeper, a victim of the third incident on Academy, joined the other named-Plaintiffs. The other Plaintiffs included two attorneys, and others opposed in fact and principle to the STOP traffic enforcement program. "Stop-on-red," also known as employment attorney Paul Livingston, represents the Plaintiffs.
Under the STOP Ordinance, traffic violations are presumed after a picture is taken showing a vehicle speeding, running a red light, or making an improper turn on red. Rather than charging and proving a traffic violation, the City Council had approved a scheme wherein vehicle owners are charged with being "public nuisances." Rather than proving that a vehicle, its owner, and/or its driver had actually created a "nuisance," the City's response to an owner's or driver's challenge (not surprisingly, no actual vehicles, the so-called "instrumentality of a public nuisance" did any challenging) was to revert to showing a traffic violation, not by the owner or driver, but by the vehicle.
- The City lacks jurisdiction over violations of the state and city traffic laws;
- The private contractor, Redflex, and the City violate the NM Unfair Practices Act by making false threats and collecting fines for pretextual "nuisance" violations;
- The STOP Ordinance violates City and State traffic codes, turning alleged traffic violations into so-called "nuisance abatement" law;
- The Ordinance is unconstitutional; and
- The hearing process and Hearing Officers are biased in favor of the Defendants.
This was the second comprehensive legal challenge to the STOP Ordinance. The first was filed by the Branch Law Firm over a year ago. Reportedly, the firm's founder, Turner Branch, had received a notice of violation. By agreement with the City, a class action was certified, but in recent months the lawsuit remained stalled. The court docket for the case, Branch, et al., vs. City of Albuquerque, shows that other than having a new judge assigned to the case, nothing has happened in the past few months.
Current events, including a heightened pitch of opposition to the City's traffic enforcement scheme, an apparent withdrawal of support by the Mayor, whose decision to run for Senator sparked his concern over the negative value of being closely associated with a traffic enforcement scheme that almost everyone hated, and a lack of traffic safety data concerning the efficacy of the STOP Ordinance, combined to create a ripe environment for another legal challenge. Most recently, the Mayor appointed a Task Force to study the Safe Traffic Operations Program to see how safe it was, where the money was going, and how fair was it. Although they probably won't admit it, the Task Force may have to evaluate how many people hate the speed and red-light cameras enough to refrain from voting for Marty for Senator, and whether that number is sufficient to stop the STOP Ordinance.
Still another factor was a series of errors that gave the perception that the City and Redflex were just after money and more money, without any concern for what was right or fair. Three such incidents have come to light: 1) the signs at the Quail and Coors intersection on the City's west side were found to show different speed limits; 2) a speed van on I-25 near Ceasar Chavez reportedly "violations" of a 55-mph speed limit when it was actually in a 65-mph zone; and 3) tickets were given for violations of a 30-mph limit when the actual speed limit was 40-mph on Academy near Ventura. In each instance cases were dismissed for those who asked for hearings, appeared, and argued their cases, either themselves or through an attorney. As for all the others given violation notices that were paid, no refunds have been offered or given.
The most recent effort asserting a class action lawsuit gained special notoriety when a respected former Albuquerque Police Department Captain, Sonny Leeper, a victim of the third incident on Academy, joined the other named-Plaintiffs. The other Plaintiffs included two attorneys, and others opposed in fact and principle to the STOP traffic enforcement program. "Stop-on-red," also known as employment attorney Paul Livingston, represents the Plaintiffs.
posted by anon at 11:44 PM
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