Smile! The Ticket's in the Mail

Jessica Hopkins at Keloland.com (Keloland TV), explores the controversy surrounding red-light cameras. Ron Branson, author of South Dakota's embattled Ammendment E (a safeguard against judicial tyranny), has a thoughtful take on the issue.

The courts around the country are uncertain how to
handle enforcement of red light cameras. Above are but
two different ways these camera are enforced, one being
is in Minnesota, and the other in South Dakota. In San
Diego, California a judge handled it another way. He
simple declared the red light cameras unconstitutional.

This raises the question, is there really a constitutionally
uniform way in which all red light camera cases must be
handled? The answer is yes, and that way is that there
must exist a sworn oath or affirmation signed by the
accuser against the accused to support Probable Cause
which must be determined by a magistrate. Upon such a
determination in the affirmative, there must be drawn up
an accusatory pleading by the People of the State of
Whatever, to which the accused may plea thereto or
demurrer based upon a jurisdictional defect. Upon a
determination that there exists jurisdiction for the court
to proceed to trial, such trial must be by jury in which the
accused shall be afforded the right to assistance of counsel,
to compel witnesses aid in his defense, and to cross-
examine his accuser. All of these measures are
constitutionally established principles to be afforded
every accused.

If you are thinking that such processes makes things
such as red light cameras expensive and difficult to
enforce, then you may be interested to know that this is
precisely what our Founding Fathers intended to prevent
repeating the oppression inflicted upon them when they
wrote the Declaration of Independence, "He has erected
a multitude of new offices [Red Light Cameras], and sent
hither swarms of officers to harass our People, and eat out
their substance [by tickets imposed by cashier justice].

Further, by mandating jury trials for everyone accused by
their government of minor matters, they sought to keep
the enforcement of crimes to those truly mandating the
attention of the People of the community.

-Ron Branson