The high court says the way Kansas City, St. Louis and other cities had been handling red-light camera tickets conflicted with state law and is invalid. Both said someone else was driving at the time.
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The Court ruled that because the appeals by those two men were filed before voters approved that constitutional change, it would not apply to their cases and they are still subject to the law against felons possessing firearms.
“This Court further finds ordinance 66868 is unconstitutional because it creates a rebuttable presumption that improperly shifts the burden of persuasion onto the defendant to prove that he or she was not operating the motor vehicle at the time of the violation”, the court’s majority wrote in the opinion in support of the women who brought the St. Louis case. He said vehicle owners can dispute the claim. “We will work with the Board of Aldermen to prepare a new ordinance that complies with the Court’s rulings”.
The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that a state constitutional amendment on gun rights does not allow convicted felons to possess firearms.
The court identified issues with how those cities were implementing the programs and gave what some consider guidance on how to lawfully and constitutionally use the cameras.
Since 2008, the city said 17 intersections had cameras taking pictures of drivers running red lights.
Alderwoman Shonte Young said the city will review the ruling Wednesday. It is unclear what will happen to those funds after the ruling. That ordinance categorized such infractions as “non-moving” violations that would not lead to points on a driver’s record.
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An effort to put a measure on the August 2016 ballot to ban red-light cameras in Missouri was voted down in this year’s legislative session.
