Red Light Enforcement — Not So Enforceable??

Local communities that have been grappling with the decision whether to utilize red light enforcement machines may have another reason to think twice about installing the machines. In a decision entered on May 21st of this year, a Superior Court appellate panel ordered that a photo enforcement citation issued to Tarek Khaled be dismissed. That ruling is now final after the Court of Appeal denied transfer.

Tarek Khaled received a citation in August 2008 from the Santa Ana police. He was cited for “running” a red light. Tarek Khaled disputed the ticket and requested his day in court. At the trial, the prosecution sought to admit the photographs of Tarek “running” the red light to prove their case. The defense objected on the ground that the photographs, which had certain information, entered on them, such as the time and date they were taken, were inadmissible, hearsay. The Court Commissioner, Daniel Ornelas hearing the case, disagreed and admitted the photos and a supporting declaration from a police officer.

Upon review, the appellate panel agreed with the defense and said the objection should have been sustained and the pictures should not have been admitted.

It is a well founded principle of law that admission of a photograph or videotape requires testimony from the photographer or the person who took the video, or from a person who was present and witnessed the event that the photograph or video purports to depict, or from someone who has personal knowledge as to when the camera was started or stopped.

In the case of Tarek Khaled, the prosecution sought to have a police officer that was familiar with that specific intersection admit the testimony. The officer was unable to establish the time in question, the method of retrieval of the photographs, or that any of the photographs or the videotape were a reasonable representation of what it is alleged to portray.

The panel further rejected the argument that the photos could be admitted under the business records or official records exceptions to the hearsay rule because foundational requirements were not met. “The person or persons who maintain the system did not testify.” The panel explained. The panel further went on to rule: “Without these documents, there is a total lack of evidence to support the vehicle code violation in question.”

The result is that if you’ve had a recent traffic ticket and the basis of that citation is a red light enforcement machine than you may have a reason to contest the ticket, or if you were convicted of a violation and a red light enforcement machine was the basis of that conviction you may still have time to appeal.

Call 949-203-3814. The call is free. The advice may be priceless.