City council requests red-light camera rehearing

The city of Springfield is asking the Missouri Supreme Court to reconsider parts of its March 2 decision related to the city's use of red-light cameras.

The city began using cameras to catch drivers running red lights in 2007. Drivers were charged a $100 fine if the camera detected that a vehicle had broken the plane of the intersection after the light had turned red.

The Supreme Court's decision was related to the method of handling those infractions. The city used an administrative judge to handle cases in which the driver contested the decision, a process appealed by Adolph Belt Jr. The Supreme Court agreed, saying the administrative judge system was unconstitutional.

The city is asking the court to reconsider specific portions of its decision, according to a city news release. The release did not state which sections were up for reconsideration. Council also authorized hiring outside legal counsel to file the rehearing, along with a related class-action lawsuit filed last week by residents fined previously under the system.

The city has dropped all pending violations, amounting to $169,500 in fines. According to documents on the city Web site, the city has collected $803,000 since the cameras were installed, but the city has paid more than $950,000 to vendor Lasercraft for the cameras.[[In-content Ad]]