FC: Lockheed gets $70 for each red light ticket in San Diego

[Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>]

More coverage:

      Ex-worker says firm puts profits over safety
      Jul. 7, 2001 05:50 ET
      http://www.uniontrib.com/news/metro/20010706-9999_7m6cameras.html

      Clouds on holiday horizon
      Jul. 7, 2001 05:30 ET
      http://www.newsobserver.com/saturday/news/columnists/Story/513067p-508721c.html

      Motorists race to court to challenge red-light cameras -- Photos
      called privacy threat
      Jul. 7, 2001 04:46 ET
      http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010706/3462035s.htm

      Most red-light camera cases voided
      Jul. 4, 2001 05:48 ET
      http://www.uniontrib.com/news/metro/20010703-9999_1m3tickets.html

      STOP OR THEY'LL SHOOT
      Jul. 3, 2001 05:44 ET
      http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/today/business_b3048022d12c103b0034.html

      Look who's watching
      Jul. 3, 2001 04:15 ET
      http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20010703-698391.htm

      District Begins Using Radar Cameras
      Jul. 3, 2001 03:15 ET
      http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10846-2001Jul2.html

*********

From: rms@privacyfoundation.org (Richard M. Smith)
To: "'Declan McCullagh'" <declan@well.com>
Subject: Lockheed gets a piece of the action with the San Diego red-light 
cameras
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2001 13:59:01 -0400
Message-ID: <00ba01c10645$590e3d20$6501a8c0@tiac.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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         boundary="----=_NextPart_000_00BB_01C10623.D1FC9D20"
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Hi,

City governments hire private firms all of the time
to help provide city services.  However, the idea of
that a private company gets a percentage of traffic fines
seems quite wrong headed to me.

   Ex-worker says firm puts profits over safety
   Man testifies that revenue is main purpose of red-light cameras at
intersections
   http://www.uniontrib.com/news/metro/20010706-9999_7m6cameras.html

   "Lockheed gets $70 for every $271 fine generated by a red-light
   ticket in San Diego, according to testimony yesterday."

Richard M. Smith
CTO, http://www.privacyfoundation.org

********

From: "Diamond, Richard" <Richard.Diamond@mail.house.gov>
Subject: Local news coverage of San Diego red light camera criminal case
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 20:22:58 -0400
MIME-Version: 1.0


Here's an update from local stations on today's hearing in San Diego where 
red light cameras are on trial.

Highlights: a Lockheed Martin whistleblower takes the stand to say their 
only motive was profit.  Also, a San Diego court clerk testifies that the 
camera program was fraught with problems. The case will continue into next 
week. Full text below.

Richard Diamond
Office of the Majority Leader
US House of Representatives
202-225-6007 / www.freedom.gov

Artie Ojeda, Lawyers challenge 400 red-light tickets, NBCSanDiego.com, 7/5/01
<http://NBCSanDiego.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=FutureTense/Apps/Xcelerate/Render&c=NBCArticle&cid=NBCCSXHFSOC&p=NBCWPJZRB8C&preview=true>http://NBCSanDiego.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=FutureTense/Apps/Xcelerate/Render&c=NBCArticle&cid=NBCCSXHFSOC&p=NBCWPJZRB8C&preview=true

SAN DIEGO, July 5 -    A San Diego judge is being asked to dismiss hundreds 
of red-light tickets in what may be one of the largest traffic court cases 
in history.  Lawyers for the people who received citations are arguing that 
the automated  cameras used to generate the tickets are unconstitutional.


Lawyers want the judge to dismiss tickets issued to some 400 drivers who 
were photographed running red lights at 19 San Diego  intersections. The 
lawyers argued Thursday that the red-light cameras installed and operated 
at the intersections by Lockheed Martin are there to generate revenue and 
not to protect public safety. They also claimed that the remote 
surveillance violates the constitutional rights of San Diego drivers.

[snip. --DBM]

Red Light Camera Hearing Begins: Lawsuit Seeks To Have Tickets Thrown Out, 
KGTV-10, 7/5/01
<http://www.thesandiegochannel.com/sand/news/stories/news-85893420010705-130747.html>http://www.thesandiegochannel.com/sand/news/stories/news-85893420010705-130747.html 

SAN DIEGO, 4:15 p.m. PDT July 5, 2001 -- Witnesses began testifying 
Thursday in a class-action lawsuit aimed at getting hundreds of red light 
camera tickets thrown out.

         A total of 290 drivers are named in the suit, which claims that 
the red light ticket program in San Diego is flawed and unfair.

[snip --DBM]

        If you'd like more detailed information on the red light cameras, 
you can call the city information line at (619) 533-5604.

<http://www.kogo.com/localstory.html?ID=20010703132003>http://www.kogo.com/localstory.html?ID=20010703132003 


Most red-light camera cases voided; But refunds aren't OK'd for motorists 
who've paid fines, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/3/01

A judge yesterday threw out almost all the active traffic tickets generated 
by red-light cameras at three San Diego intersections, a move that followed 
city officials' announcement of possible irregularities with the cameras.

         Superior Court Presiding Judge Wayne Peterson dismissed almost all 
unresolved red-light citations issued before June 6 by cameras at 16th and 
F streets downtown; Ingraham Street and Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach; and 
Mira Mesa Boulevard and Black Mountain Road in Mira Mesa.

[snip --DBM]




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