Each Wednesday, we’ll publish quick summaries of the articles from the last week on TheNewspaper.com. We’re doing this because these articles are often strongly connected to the issues that National Motorists Association members are interested in.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
DC: Federal Court Upholds Arrest Of Elderly Man Over Parking Violation
An elderly motorist arrested while waiting for his 64-year-old wife to return from the drug store cannot sue Washington, DC’s police department. The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit earlier this month ruled that Barbara and Hamilton P. Fox III had no recourse for their treatment in the December 20, 2008 no-parking zone dispute.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Illinois: Challenge Proceeds Against Chicago Red-Light Cams
A Cook County, Illinois judge on Thursday refused to throw out a class action lawsuit challenging Chicago’s lucrative red-light camera program. The lawsuit, Kata v. City of Chicago, was filed in 2012, but the latest hearing addressed the city’s motion to have the case dismissed. After two and a half hours of sparring between the city’s attorneys and those that brought the suit, Judge Rita M. Novak sided with the plaintiffs on several points but continued the city’s motion until Oct. 6 to hear arguments on several other issues.
Monday, August 3, 2015
France, Germany, Saudi Arabia: Speed Cameras Disabled
Vigilantes scorched a pair of speed cameras in Cologne, Germany on Tuesday using gasoline and a match. According to Kolnische Rundschau, the first automated ticketing machine was located on the Boltensternstrasse, and the second, on Escher Strasse, was ripped from its concrete base before being torched.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Federal Judge Tosses Red-Light Camera Lawsuit Filed Against Fifty-Three Cities
One man cannot file a lawsuit against every Texas city that uses red-light cameras. That was the ruling Wednesday by US District Judge John McBryde in throwing out the wide-ranging suit filed in April by James H. Watson against fifty-three towns. The judge will hear Watson’s arguments only against Southlake, the town that actually ticketed him, and its vendor, Redflex Traffic Solutions of Australia.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
License Plate Camera Case Goes To California Supreme Court
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) are not giving up in their fight to compel greater transparency in the use of automated license plate readers (ALPR, also known as ANPR in Europe). The groups on Monday filed briefs with the California Supreme Court in their effort to overturn a lower court decision handed down last year (view ruling) denying access to a sampling of the data that police agencies in Los Angeles collect about motorists who are suspected of no wrongdoing. In May, the state Court of Appeal came to the same conclusion, to the dismay of the privacy advocates.
