Many people ask me how to handle tickets that involve photos taken of a car speeding or a car running a red light. I used to tell people to go ahead and pay them because the municipalities were making it easy to do that — they really just wanted the revenue. So, they would say that there won’t be any points and the fine will be $100.

More recently though, there have been challenges to these kinds of tickets. The City of St. Louis no longer enforces them, for example.

Three municipalities now have cases pending before the Missouri Supreme Court – the State’s highest court. In the City of St. Louis, the problem was that people claimed they weren’t driving the car. The pictures did not identify a driver. The cities of Moline Acres and St. Peters have been challenged because of the complexity of the notices of violation, and also because of an alleged conflict with State law. Missouri has laws about what violations carry points etc. When the local government sets fines or says no points will attach to a violation – the local is in conflict with State law.

We’ll see what the Supreme Court ultimately says. Frankly, I don’t think it looks good for the camera ticketers. What should you do in the meantime? Depends on your tolerance for risk. If you are a gambler, you can wait and see what the Supremes do. But that solution isn’t for everyone.

If you want to discuss your ticket specifically, please give me a call. 314-801-1323.