I’ve been helping people fight red light camera tickets (automated enforcement – CVC 21453) since they were rolled out in the late nineties. The many strategies for fighting these tickets mostly break down into two categories: technical defenses and identity defenses.
Technical Defenses
Technical defenses are when the accused attacks the technical aspects of technology, such as, the yellow light interval was shorter than it should have been, or there the intersection was missing the proper signs within 200 feet of the limit line, or other technical aspects of the technology that are described in California Vehicle Code 21455.5. During the first few years of automated enforcement, Ticket Assassin members were mostly using technical defenses. However, technical defenses require sophistication with a stop watch, they require math, and they require other direct observations of the intersection. There are so many ways to screw up a technical defense that the success rate was just not very high. A lot of people were losing because they were simply not capable of mounting a successful technical defense. So, I came up with the 5th Amendment / Identity defense. To this day, I recommend the Identity Defenses because they are much easier to write. (Caveat: if you if you think you can handle the math, and if you think you can find something about the light that is not in compliance with CVC 24155.5, then you stand a very good chance, especially in court, provided you have evidence to support your assertion. CVC 21455.5 is posted below for you to review.)
The Fifth Amendment / Identity Defense
The fifth amendment (Identity) defense is successful about half the time on average. The odds go up when they include a good photo that doesn’t look like the driver. The odds plummet with no photo.
The gist of this defense is that you claim it is not you, and you back this up with a photo. Here’s the photo strategy:
Photo Strategy: Sending a Photo With Your Declaration
Some courts will ask you to send a copy of your driver’s license photo and/or a recent photo with your declaration. In these cases, follow one of two strategies:
Send a Good Clear Picture:
If the citation photo is clearly not you, I’d send the clearest possible copy of your driver’s license photo and a good recent picture with a close up of your face. You will benefit from showing that the driver in the citation photo was not you, even if the court has not specifically asked for a photo. Point out obvious age and gender differences (if any) between yourself and the driver pictured on the citation.
Send a Bad Picture:
If the person on the citation photo is close to your age, gender and general appearance, I would not send a picture unless specifically asked. If you must send a picture, a copy of a copy (of a copy) of your driver’s license should suffice. If you must also send a recent personal photo, send a copy only of a full body shot (shot taken from a distance). Do not send a face picture close up. The judge might rule that the picture match is “close enough” if you send a good face shot and match the general appearance of the cited driver.
Send a Photo of Someone Else:
A friend of mine got a camera ticket. Instead of sending a copy of his driver’s license along with this Written Declaration, he sent in a really good, close-up photo of his roommate’s face. He got his not-guilty verdict by mail a few weeks later. Of course, my friend is an idiot who was willing to perjure himself.
Although the Ticket Assassin would never recommend anyone commit perjury, the remarkable success of this should at least be mentioned.
VEHICLE CODE – VEH
DIVISION 11. RULES OF THE ROAD [21000 – 23336]
( Division 11 enacted by Stats. 1959, Ch. 3. )
CHAPTER 2. Traffic Signs, Signals, and Markings [21350 – 21468]
( Chapter 2 enacted by Stats. 1959, Ch. 3. )
ARTICLE 3. Offenses Relating to Traffic Devices [21450 – 21468]
( Article 3 enacted by Stats. 1959, Ch. 3. )
California Vehicle Code 21455.5.
(a) The limit line, the intersection, or a place designated in Section 21455, where a driver is required to stop, may be equipped with an automated traffic enforcement system if the governmental agency utilizing the system meets all of the following requirements:
(1) Identifies the system by signs posted within 200 feet of an intersection where a system is operating that clearly indicate the system’s presence and are visible to traffic approaching from all directions in which the automated traffic enforcement system is being utilized to issue citations. A governmental agency utilizing such a system does not need to post signs visible to traffic approaching the intersection from directions not subject to the automated traffic enforcement system. Automated traffic enforcement systems installed as of January 1, 2013, shall be identified no later than January 1, 2014.
(2) Locates the system at an intersection and ensures that the system meets the criteria specified in Section 21455.7.
(b) Prior to issuing citations under this section, a local jurisdiction utilizing an automated traffic enforcement system shall commence a program to issue only warning notices for 30 days. The local jurisdiction shall also make a public announcement of the automated traffic enforcement system at least 30 days prior to the commencement of the enforcement program.
(c) Only a governmental agency, in cooperation with a law enforcement agency, may operate an automated traffic enforcement system. A governmental agency that operates an automated traffic enforcement system shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop uniform guidelines for screening and issuing violations and for the processing and storage of confidential information, and establish procedures to ensure compliance with those guidelines. For systems installed as of January 1, 2013, a governmental agency that operates an automated traffic enforcement system shall establish those guidelines by January 1, 2014.
(2) Perform administrative functions and day-to-day functions, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Establishing guidelines for the selection of a location. Prior to installing an automated traffic enforcement system after January 1, 2013, the governmental agency shall make and adopt a finding of fact establishing that the system is needed at a specific location for reasons related to safety.
(B) Ensuring that the equipment is regularly inspected.
(C) Certifying that the equipment is properly installed and calibrated, and is operating properly.
(D) Regularly inspecting and maintaining warning signs placed under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(E) Overseeing the establishment or change of signal phases and the timing thereof.
(F) Maintaining controls necessary to ensure that only those citations that have been reviewed and approved by law enforcement are delivered to violators.
(d) The activities listed in subdivision (c) that relate to the operation of the system may be contracted out by the governmental agency, if it maintains overall control and supervision of the system. However, the activities listed in paragraph (1) of, and subparagraphs (A), (D), (E), and (F) of paragraph (2) of, subdivision (c) shall not be contracted out to the manufacturer or supplier of the automated traffic enforcement system.
(e) The printed representation of computer-generated information, video, or photographic images stored by an automated traffic enforcement system does not constitute an out-of-court hearsay statement by a declarant under Division 10 (commencing with Section 1200) of the Evidence Code.
(f) (1) Notwithstanding Section 6253 of the Government Code, or any other law, photographic records made by an automated traffic enforcement system shall be confidential, and shall be made available only to governmental agencies and law enforcement agencies and only for the purposes of this article.
(2) Confidential information obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles for the administration or enforcement of this article shall be held confidential, and shall not be used for any other purpose.
(3) Except for court records described in Section 68152 of the Government Code, the confidential records and information described in paragraphs (1) and (2) may be retained for up to six months from the date the information was first obtained, or until final disposition of the citation, whichever date is later, after which time the information shall be destroyed in a manner that will preserve the confidentiality of any person included in the record or information.
(g) Notwithstanding subdivision (f), the registered owner or any individual identified by the registered owner as the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation shall be permitted to review the photographic evidence of the alleged violation.
(h) (1) A contract between a governmental agency and a manufacturer or supplier of automated traffic enforcement equipment shall not include provision for the payment or compensation to the manufacturer or supplier based on the number of citations generated, or as a percentage of the revenue generated, as a result of the use of the equipment authorized under this section.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a contract that was entered into by a governmental agency and a manufacturer or supplier of automated traffic enforcement equipment before January 1, 2004, unless that contract is renewed, extended, or amended on or after January 1, 2004.
(3) A governmental agency that proposes to install or operate an automated traffic enforcement system shall not consider revenue generation, beyond recovering its actual costs of operating the system, as a factor when considering whether or not to install or operate a system within its local jurisdiction.
(i) A manufacturer or supplier that operates an automated traffic enforcement system pursuant to this section shall, in cooperation with the governmental agency, submit an annual report to the Judicial Council that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following information if this information is in the possession of, or readily available to, the manufacturer or supplier:
(1) The number of alleged violations captured by the systems they operate.
(2) The number of citations issued by a law enforcement agency based on information collected from the automated traffic enforcement system.
(3) For citations identified in paragraph (2), the number of violations that involved traveling straight through the intersection, turning right, and turning left.
(4) The number and percentage of citations that are dismissed by the court.
(5) The number of traffic collisions at each intersection that occurred prior to, and after the installation of, the automated traffic enforcement system.
(j) If a governmental agency utilizing an automated traffic enforcement system has posted signs on or before January 1, 2013, that met the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of this section, as it read on January 1, 2012, the governmental agency shall not remove those signs until signs are posted that meet the requirements specified in this section, as it reads on January 1, 2013.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 735, Sec. 3. (SB 1303) Effective January 1, 2013.)