Beating Red Light Camera Tickets in California
Beating This California Traffic Ticket can be Very Difficult
Red light camera traffic tickets in California are hard to beat. The video evidence usually proves the guilt of the driver. Even if the wrong driver is identified on a red light camera ticket, the police and even the court are usually successful in getting the registered owner to reveal the identity of the driver in the photo.
Snitch Tickets
In some California cities, owners of cars that have gone through a red light camera intersection with a traffic violation receive nomination notices from the police department requiring the owner to identify the driver of a red light violation. This occurs when it's obvious that the driver's face is not the same as the registered owner's face. They are better known as snitch tickets because they look like a real ticket, but are designed to coerce owners into identify the offending driver.
Here is an example of a snitch ticket and a real red light ticket, both from the Bakersfield Police Department. Snitch tickets typically have verbiage telling owners not to contact the court. The reason for this is because there is no actual citation on record at the court. A real ticket has complete information on how to contact the court. Real tickets have the verbiage "Notice to Appear" on the front while snitch tickets say "Traffic Violation Notice" or something similar.
The problem with snitch tickets is that people in the US have the right to remain silent, but most people fail to exercise that right due to pressure from the police with snitch tickets. The police are allowed to lie, but it's not legal to lie to the police by responding with false information on the snitch ticket. In most cases, it's best to ignore the snitch ticket, but only if one is 100% sure it's not a real ticket. Contact a licensed California traffic attorney if there is any uncertainty.
California Red Light Camera Tickets
If a real traffic ticket is issued to the wrong driver, the police will strongly insist that the registered owner identify the driver in the photo as part of a bargain to dismiss the red light camera ticket. The problem in not cooperating with the police and going to trial is if the photo has a strong resemblance to the registered owner. The judge may rule for the prosecution resulting in a conviction for the wrong driver. In most cases where the photo proves innocence, if the defendant refuses to reveal the real driver, the police will eventually give up trying to get the identity of the driver and dismiss the ticket.
If the ticket is issued to the correct driver, the chances of winning at trial are remote without a lot of significant help, such as a California traffic attorney. Defenses such as blurry photograph of the driver, bad signage, and yellow light timing may be used to challenge the ticket, but in many cases they don't work since many judges still believes the defendant is guilty anyway. Many police departments play the entire video of the traffic violation in court.
Keep in mind that most judges in California will not reduce the fine on this type of traffic ticket, because a large portion of the revenue goes to the company running the red light cameras.
For any offenders who are still eligible for traffic ticket school, that might be something to consider instead of a traffic ticket defense. But going to class costs nearly $400 for a red light camera ticket in California. Either way, the choice is difficult. Those that need more information on deciding what to do can also read about California traffic ticket defense.
References:
Brown, David Wayne. "Fight Your Ticket and Win in California." Nolo Press (2008).
Judicial Council of California.
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