Dallas' red light camera program was struck down yesterday. A judge ruled the city's shameless money grab violates Texas law. I have been following the proliferation of red light cameras in Texas. It's a greedy government pig covered with some public safety lipstick.
Why did the judge rule these cameras were illegal? To the occupations code we go!
§ 1702.104. INVESTIGATIONS COMPANY. (a) A person acts as an investigations company for the purposes of this chapter if the person: (1) engages in the business of obtaining or furnishing, or accepts employment to obtain or furnish, information related to: (A) crime or wrongs done or threatened against a state or the United States;....... (b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1), obtaining or furnishing information includes information obtained or furnished through the review and analysis of, and the investigation into the content of, computer-based data not available to the public.
Dallas was so exited about stealing money from drivers, they forgot to read the law.
Being in criminal defense necessitates familiarity with laws well outside the Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure. All defense attorneys need to be aware of this statute.
Why? Because evidence obtained in violation of state law can not be used against criminal defendants. It's our state's version of theexclusionary rule. If the police want to use this red light camera information to place a defendant in a certain place at a certain time, they have to make sure the camera company is licensed.
The fight isn't over yet. Our appellate courts love upholding police powers and Dallas is addicted to red light cash.
Robert: This controversy is one battle in a larger, nationwide war between two professions: private investigators (PIs) and computer forensics experts. --Ben Details: http://legal-beagle.typepad.com/wrights_legal_beagle/2008/12/e-discovery-forensics-private-investigator-license-for-computer-data-collection-and-assessment.html
Robert...in regards to "evidence obtained in violation of state law can not be used against criminal defendants..."
They treat this as a civil matter. It is not a criminal matter until after arbitration, right? So what happens then? You have to arbitrate and lose before going to the court for an appeal, right?
So isn't this a violation of the 4th, 6th, and 14th Amendments (to start)?
The tickets are issued to owners of vehicles regardless of who is driving...How is any of this constitutional?
Thank you,
Tony Seagroves