{"id":1501,"date":"2012-03-29T16:35:25","date_gmt":"2012-03-29T16:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/red-light-camera-tickets-la\/"},"modified":"2020-10-30T20:48:50","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T20:48:50","slug":"red-light-camera-tickets-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/red-light-camera-tickets-la\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Light Camera Tickets in LA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Red<\/a>The rules on Red Light Camera Tickets in LA are changing every day. \u00a0 Do you have to pay them? \u00a0Can you ignore red light camera tickets in LA? \u00a0Are they legal? Illegal? \u00a0What if I got mine in Van Nuys Traffic Court<\/a>? \u00a0How about the Beverly Hills\u00a0Courthouse<\/a>? \u00a0Is that part of the LA court system<\/a>? \u00a0Does West Covina Traffic Court count<\/a>? What about the Inland Empire<\/a>? \u00a0What do they do in Orange County traffic courts<\/a>? \u00a0I don’t want to pay my red light camera tickets in LA if I don’t have to, but I don’t want a warrant, a suspended license, or problems with my credit report….. help! \u00a0\u00a0There is a constant supply of false information floating around out there about red light camera tickets in LA and people are continuing to make bad decisions based on the confusion. \u00a0 Here are some guidelines in plain English to help you decide what to do with those red light camera tickets in LA.<\/p>\n

The law on running a red light in California<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can’t run a red light in LA. \u00a0In fact, you can’t run a red light anywhere in California. \u00a0It’s illegal under California Vehicle Code 21453(a) to do so and if you get caught you get a traffic ticket. \u00a0Just like any traffic infraction in California you have three choices on what to do with it. \u00a0 You can pay it, post bail and file a trial by declaration<\/a>, or fight it in court. \u00a0If you pay it, or fight it and lose, you will be fined about $500 and you will receive a point on your driving record because this violation is a deemed a “moving violation”. \u00a0At $500, the fine hurts, but the point on your driving can end up being even worse once your insurance company or employer finds out. \u00a0 Get too many points, and the California DMV will designate you as a negligent operator and suspend your license. \u00a0If you failed to appear on the ticket originally, it may now be with GC Services<\/a>, a collection agency, and they may be asking you for $800 or more. \u00a0 I have had some clients in Beverly Hills receive a bill for over $1300 on red light camera tickets in LA! \u00a0 It also common for people to have multiple unpaid red light camera tickets with a combined bill that can run thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n

Red Light Camera Tickets in LA<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Red Light Camera Tickets in LA didn’t change the law, they just changed how the law was enforced. \u00a0Instead of getting a traffic ticket from an officer who witnessed you running the light, you get a ticket in the mail from an automated system. \u00a0 As much as people hate getting pulled over by a traffic cop, it doesn’t even come close to the anger generated by red light camera tickets. \u00a0People truly hate red light camera tickets. There are stories posted everyday about people vandalizing the cameras in order to render them inoperative<\/a>. \u00a0People post the locations of the cameras that issue red light camera tickets on twitter<\/a>, facebook<\/a>, or other social networking sites to help others avoid receiving a ticket. \u00a0People have filed class action law suits against the cities that issue and prosecute them<\/a>, as well as against the companies who install and maintain the cameras that issue red light camera tickets. \u00a0People go to court and scream at the clerks in traffic court so often that many traffic courts now have clerks behind bullet proof glass. \u00a0 People show up in court and vent on the judge, the bailiff, or the laptop cop who is there to try to prove up red light camera tickets at trial. \u00a0I’m a Los Angeles Traffic Ticket Attorney<\/a>, and people call me all the time with questions about red light camera tickets.\u00a0 At least once a day, someone will cuss me out and hang up on me. \u00a0No matter how you slice it, people just hate red light camera tickets in LA.<\/p>\n

Basic Legal Challenges to Red Light Camera Tickets in LA<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you decide to fight your red light camera ticket in any court in California (or in a trial be declaration), you have several potential arguments to present at trial. \u00a0 \u00a0Here are the most common and most effective defenses to red light camera tickets:<\/p>\n

IDENTITY-If the photo or video does not clearly show that you were the person driving the car at the time of the violation, you should win your case every time. \u00a0 Some red light camera tickets are so clear that the clerk will dismiss them at the window, others require an arraignment, and other times the court will require you to go through the full process of trial before granting the dismissal. \u00a0 Remember, that you have NO DUTY to inform the court staff, the cops, or the judge who was actually driving the car. \u00a0If you are faced with this question you should invoke your right to remain silent or simply respond with “not me”. \u00a0 It’s not your job to prove who else was driving the car. \u00a0The burden is on the prosecution to prove that YOU were driving the car, and if they can’t do that, the case will get dismissed. \u00a0“Snitch tickets” are psuedo citations sent in the mail to the registered owner of a vehicle that clearly does not match the identity of the driver in the photo (for example a gender mismatch). \u00a0These “tickets” do not give a date for an appearance but do request fine payment or in the alternative they can returned with information regarding the identity of the true driver. \u00a0 File a snitch ticket in your garbage can where it belongs.<\/p>\n

HEARSAY-In a courtroom the general rule is that the person testifying against you must have personal knowledge of the facts and give live testimony in court. \u00a0 \u00a0So if a cop saw you run the light, she testifies to what she saw and you will usually be found guilty by the judge. \u00a0 With red light camera tickets, the witness in court is NOT the person who saw you commit the violation. \u00a0 So it is always a good idea to object that the person testifying does not have personal knowledge of the facts and that the evidence being presented is “hearsay” or based on “hearsay evidence” such as \u00a0a review of the photo or video.<\/p>\n

FOUNDATION-If you take your case to trial, the prosecution will have to introduce evidence against you. \u00a0 They will attempt to admit the video or photo into evidence and you should object that there is a lack of “foundation” to establish that the video or photo accurately depicts what happened on the day of the alleged violation. \u00a0 For red light camera tickets this is usually done by the “laptop cop”. \u00a0 The laptop cop shows up in court on trial day and shows everyone their photo or video in an effort to get them to plead guilty to their red light camera tickets before trial and pay their fines. \u00a0 \u00a0If you don’t surrender and you demand your trial, the laptop cop will try to present the evidence at trial. \u00a0 A proper objection based on lack of foundation will often be sustained. \u00a0Some jurisdictions will go so far as to bring in a prosecutor (usually the city attorney) as well as employees of the company that installed and maintains the camera system to get around this objection and prove up the ticket. \u00a0 Other jurisdictions will allow the laptop cop to “lay a foundation” by reading a statement off a sheet of paper that was prepared by a lawyer to help avoid this issue.<\/p>\n

CONFRONTATION CLAUSE-You have a constitutional right to confront and cross-examine any witness against you in court. \u00a0 With red light camera tickets, this can obviously trigger some issues. \u00a0So be sure to object on confrontation clause grounds in addition to the grounds stated above.<\/p>\n

CONFLICT OF INTEREST-This argument is based on the financial agreements between the cities who profit from the red light camera tickets and the companies who install and maintain them. \u00a0 In the past it was revealed that many of the contracts included incentives for the company who installed and maintained the system that were based on the amount of fines collected. \u00a0 The contracts for red light camera tickets were ditched or overhauled in many cities in Southern California when this was exposed by some of California’s more skilled traffic lawyers a few years ago.<\/p>\n

SHORT YELLOW-This is a technical defense based on the amount of time it takes for the light to cycle from yellow to red. \u00a0Not surprisingly studies have shown that many intersections with red light camera tickets have a cycle that is too fast in order to maximize profits. \u00a0 \u00a0The trick with this defense is that you need to show that the cycle was too short at the time the violation occurred. \u00a0And you usually don’t even know you were alleged to have broken the law until days, weeks, or \u00a0months later when the ticket shows up in the mail. \u00a0 Don’t be intimidated by the laptop cop when fighting red light camera tickets. \u00a0Ask to review the video and check the timing of the yellow phase.<\/p>\n

NOTICE-This defense is based on your right to be informed of the charges brought against you in a timely fashion. \u00a0Because there is no live officer issuing a citation, many people do not receive notice of violation on red light camera tickets for months or even years after the incident is alleged to have occurred. \u00a0This can also be a defense to any allegation that you failed to appear on the date included in the initial notice to appear.<\/p>\n

Strategically Ignoring Your Red Light Camera Ticket in LA<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

All of the strategies discussed above involve going to court and fighting your ticket. \u00a0But this is LA and that sounds like a lot of work. \u00a0 LA is always on the cutting edge so we invented a whole different kind of defense to red light camera tickets. \u00a0Ignoring them! \u00a0This strategy is based on the lack of negative consequences associated with ignoring red light camera tickets. \u00a0 \u00a0To understand this method let’s compare red light camera tickets to regular tickets.<\/p>\n

If you get a regular ticket and ignore it, bad things happen. \u00a0 The reason for this is that when you sign a ticket, you are promising to appear on or before a certain date. \u00a0If you don’t follow through, you can get hit with a misdemeanor failure to appear charge under VC 40508(a). The court can also issue a warrant for your arrest. \u00a0 In addition, the court can place a hold on your license pursuant to VC 40509.5<\/a>, and add a fine of $300 as a civil assessment pursuant to PC 1214.1. \u00a0The court can also deem your failure to appear as a request or a trial by declaration and find you guilty in your absence. \u00a0 Ouch! \u00a0All of these are very bad things so don’t ever ignore a ticket issued by a live officer. \u00a0If you do, there will be consequences.<\/p>\n

Now compare that with red light camera tickets. \u00a0With the camera ticket you never sign a promise to appear. \u00a0 Because of this the court is limited in it’s ability to issue a warrant or place a hold on your license if you ignore the ticket. \u00a0 So in some regards, you can fix the problem by simply ignoring it. \u00a0Now you will of course still receive a million letters from the collection agency demanding payment, notices or threats of increased fines, threats of the suspension of your license, warrants etc. \u00a0 But according to the people who use this method, none of these bad things ever actually happen in Los Angeles county. \u00a0This method was so effective that the city of LA actually started losing money on red light camera tickets. \u00a0 So recently, they stopped issuing tickets!\u00a0 \u00a0Other cities within the county of LA are still using the cameras and attempting to enforce red light camera tickets.\u00a0 \u00a0So if you are in Culver City, Beverly Hills, Van Nuys etc, you can still be issued one of these tickets but if you ignore the ticket, the LA county court system will simply refer it to collections without placing a hold on your license or issuing a warrant.<\/p>\n

Four areas of further discussion here<\/p>\n

1-Ignoring means completely ignoring. \u00a0So if you have already done anything at all with the ticket besides ignore it, you have blown this opportunity. \u00a0So if you have gone to court to check in on your ticket, or if you set a date online or over the phone, requested an extension, mailed in a letter, set it for trial, went to court and plead guilty for a fine but haven’t paid it yet, set up a payment plan, or whatever you did, this option is probably off the table. \u00a0 \u00a0You blew it. \u00a0No it’s not fair, but that’s what is happening. \u00a0Please don’t call me to tell me how unfair this is for you. \u00a0I didn’t make the rules, I’m just sharing my knowledge with you. \u00a0Don’t do anything with the ticket if you want to ignore it.<\/p>\n

2-Even though you can make a red light camera ticket go away in LA by COMPLETELY ignoring it, that doesn’t mean you should. \u00a0 You may feel\u00a0 a moral or ethical obligation to address the fact that you are alleged to have committed the violation. \u00a0You may not like getting letters and calls from the collection agency. \u00a0You may have court on other matters and you don’t want to have the red light camera tickets you are “strategically ignoring” thrown in your face while you stand in front of a judge.<\/p>\n

3-I am not telling you and will not tell you that “it’s ok to ignore it”, or that they are illegal. \u00a0Don’t call my office to bitch about your camera ticket or request that I give some sort of official clearance to ignore it. \u00a0 Not happening. \u00a0All I can do is tell you what is happening and you make the choice what to do.<\/p>\n

4-If your ticket is from outside of Los Angeles county, do not ignore your ticket. \u00a0For some reason Orange County, Riverside, and San Bernardino seem to be more aggressive in applying penalties to drivers who ignore red light camera tickets. \u00a0 Riverside will actually place a hold on your license with the DMV if you ignore one of these and San Bernardino will take it even further by garnishing your wages to collect! \u00a0 If your ticket is outside of Southern California you will need to do more research or contact a traffic attorney in your local area to find out what’s happening in your jurisdiction with red light camera tickets.<\/p>\n

2018 Update<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Nothing has changed.\u00a0 \u00a0People are still ignoring red light camera tickets in Los Angeles county and getting away with it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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The rules on Red Light Camera Tickets in LA are changing every day. \u00a0 Do you have to pay them? \u00a0Can you ignore red light camera tickets in LA? \u00a0Are they legal? Illegal? \u00a0What if I got mine in Van Nuys Traffic Court? \u00a0How about the Beverly Hills\u00a0Courthouse? \u00a0Is that part of the LA court…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,20],"tags":[33,23,35,24,36,86,47,25,253,27,28,10,29,30,38,32],"class_list":["post-1501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-california-criminal-law-blog","category-california-traffic-ticket-blog","tag-40509-5-holds","tag-dmv","tag-failure-to-appear","tag-gallagher","tag-gc-services","tag-misdemeanor","tag-news-coverage","tag-points","tag-red-light-camera-tickets","tag-suspended-license","tag-tickets","tag-traffic-court","tag-traffic-ticket","tag-traffic-tickets","tag-vc-40509-5","tag-vehicle-code"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1501"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5594,"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1501\/revisions\/5594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markagallagher.com\/socaldefenselawyers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}