[Press Release] : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: City suspends red-light camera prosecution

[Press Releases]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Stephen Richey
City Prosecutor
(573) 874-7229


City suspends red-light camera prosecution

COLUMBIA, MO (November 7, 2013) - The City of Columbia is temporarily suspending its prosecution of red-light camera violations due to a Nov. 5, 2013, Eastern District Court of Appeals decision in which the court held that the City of Ellisville red-light camera ordinance conflicts with state law. The Eastern District’s court decision is subject to appeal or rehearing. The City of Columbia will consider options for its red-light program as the City of Ellisville case progresses through the court system. 

The City of Columbia adopted its red-light camera ordinance Aug. 21, 2006. The original ordinance placed responsibility on the driver for the red-light violation. Gatso, the city’s red-light camera vendor, offered a program that included photographs of the drivers and complied with Missouri law. In 2011, the Eastern District Court of Appeals in the City of Creve Coeur vs. Nottebrok upheld Creve Coeur’s ordinance which imposed liability on the vehicle owner regardless of whether the owner was operating the vehicle at the time of the violation. 

In reliance on the Court of Appeal’s decision in the Nottebrok case, the City of Columbia amended its red-light camera ordinance Aug. 19, 2013, to place liability on the vehicle owner rather than the operator. The temporary suspension of the red-light camera prosecution will only impact those being prosecuted under the current ordinance. Prosecution of red-light camera cases that occurred prior to the Aug. 19 amendment will continue. 



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