Motion To Rid City From Red-Light Cases Fails
Judge Denies Motion To Disqualify City Attorney From Prosecuting Cases
POSTED: 7:17 am PDT October 4,
2001
UPDATED: 12:18 pm PDT October 4,
2001
SAN DIEGO -- A judge Thursday denied a defense motion to remove the San Diego city attorney's office from prosecuting cases involving the city's red-light camera program, according to 10News.
Superior Court Judge Ronald Styn said that he lacked jurisdiction to rule on the request, since the city last week appealed his earlier decision that evidence gathered from red-light cameras was inadmissable at pending trials.
Defense attorney Christopher Plourd (pictured, far left) claims the city should be disqualified from prosecuting red-light camera cases because it negotiated an "unethical" contingency fee with Lockheed Martin when it gave the company $70 for each $271 ticket that was paid, 10News reported. 
He said that city officials will "wait and see" what happens in the courts before deciding whether to put the red-light cameras back into operation. All of San Diego's 19 red-light cameras have been turned off pending completion of an independent audit of the system. Hansen said that he was confident that the city would win its appeal of Styn's Aug. 15 ruling. But Plourd said that he would fight any attempt to reinstate the red-light camera system. "(The city) certainly can't operate the cameras the way they were operating the cameras," Plourd said. "The only remedy we want is dismissal."
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Plourd and two other attorneys represent about 250 people who were issued red-light citations. "They have a clear conflict of interest, we feel," Plourd said outside Styn's courtroom Thursday. Styn ruled in August that the city failed to operate the red-light camera program as outlined by the state Legislature. The city's decision to contract with Lockheed Martin to run the program -- combined with the contingency fee -- made evidence gathered from the cameras "unreliable" and "untrustworthy," Styn ruled. Deputy city attorney Steven Hansen (pictured, above) said that city engineers "screwed up" when they shortened yellow light times at certain red-light camera intersections. 
He said that city officials will "wait and see" what happens in the courts before deciding whether to put the red-light cameras back into operation. All of San Diego's 19 red-light cameras have been turned off pending completion of an independent audit of the system. Hansen said that he was confident that the city would win its appeal of Styn's Aug. 15 ruling. But Plourd said that he would fight any attempt to reinstate the red-light camera system. "(The city) certainly can't operate the cameras the way they were operating the cameras," Plourd said. "The only remedy we want is dismissal." Previous Stories:
- September 26, 2001: Poway To Power Up Red-Light Cameras
- September 7, 2001: Second Red-Light Class-Action Lawsuit Filed
- September 6, 2001: More Red-Light Camera Cases Dismissed
- September 5, 2001: Judge: Red-Light Cameras Unreliable
- September 1, 2001: Red-Light Class-Action Lawsuit Filed
- August 21, 2001: Red-Light Camera Defense Files Motion
- August 16, 2001: Judge Rules In Favor Of Red-Light Cameras
- July 31, 2001: Red-Light Controversy Heads To Washington
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