Putting the Kubosh on red-light cams

Michael Kubosh, the Houston bail bondsman and red-light camera opponent who made headlines in September when his plan to intentionally run a light backfired, is finally going to have his day in court: According to the Chronicle, Kubosh plans to file a lawsuit against the city in state district court this week. At issue, Kubosh said, is that the city overstepped its authority by installing the red-light cameras, which issue civil citations to the registered owners of cars they catch running red lights at intersections across the city: "The city has gone outside their legislative authority," Kubosh told the Chron. "We just can't let this go because accidents increase at intersections where these things are put up."

The problem with the cameras, according to Kubosh, is that the civil violations conflict with state law that makes running a red light a misdemeanor. The question of whether cities should be able to issue civil citations to red light runners has been discussed for years, and in 2003, the state Legislature amended the state traffic code to allow, in the Chronicle's words, "the civil enforcement of vehicle safety standards under state law or municipal ordinance." Kubosh called that an "obscure provision," but City Attorney Arturo Michel said it doesn't matter how obscure it is. "Courts look at what the words say," he said. "The plain language of the rules allows us to regulate."

Kubosh's suit also argues that the camera system deprives defendants of rights including trial by jury, the right to remain silent, the right to confront witnesses and the right to have guilt proven beyond a reasonable doubt — all rights guaranteed to criminal, not civil, offenders. As far as his claim that accidents increase where red-light cameras have been installed, the Chron cites a 2005 Federal Highway Administration report showing that accidents decreased in seven cities where cameras were installed, but other reports show the opposite. Should be interesting to see the statistics when they're presented in court.