If you want to fight a photo traffic ticket, focus on questioning the evidence brought against you. Remember, the onus is on the police officer, who issued the ticket after reviewing images from a red-light camera, to prove your guilt. It's not on you to prove your innocence. Because it may be difficult to fight photographic evidence such as that on PhotoNotice.com, a proprietary website of RedFlex Traffic Systems, your best approach will be to try to get such evidence thrown out. There are a few ways to do this.
Step 1
File a motion for discovery as soon as possible. Discovery compels the prosecution to provide you with copies of all evidence to be used against you, including photos from the red-light camera. Ask your court clerk if you have the right to demand discovery in your state and if you do, send a written request to the police agency that ticketed you and the district attorney.
Step 2
Examine the evidence for inaccurate information. If the information printed on the photos is inaccurate, you can argue the evidence is faulty and should be thrown out.
Step 3
Read your state's vehicle code on photo-enforcement regulations, available through your state government's website. This will tell you what rules a government agency must follow when using cameras in traffic enforcement. If you find your city hasn't complied with any of these regulations, you can argue the evidence was gathered illegally and should be excluded.
Tips
- Obey all traffic laws.
- If you think you are guilty, you should plead guilty or no contest.
References
Tips
- Obey all traffic laws.
- If you think you are guilty, you should plead guilty or no contest.
Writer Bio
Adrienne Bischoff has been writing professionally for more than 10 years. Her work has been featured in "Pulse! Magazine," NoHoLa, Cinequest and "The San Mateo Daily Journal." Bischoff has also had short works of fiction published in "San Diego CityBeat." She holds a B.A. in English literature and has completed graduate studies in rhetoric.