Iowa Supreme Court to hear Davenport red-light camera case

The Associated Press

1/14/2008

DAVENPORT, Iowa — The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in Davenport's red-light camera case.

The case involves Thomas Seymour, who was allegedly photographed going 49 mph in a 35 mph zone in March 2006. He fought the ticket, saying the city's ordinance conflicts with state law.

Seymour lost the case and was ordered to pay a $125 fine.

The case was taken up by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, which appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court.

The court will hear oral arguments on March 11 at the Drake University Legal Clinic in Des Moines.

A second case that the city lost is still under judicial review, said Tom Warner, a city attorney.

In that case, Monique Rhoden won her challenge the ordinance in district court and District Judge Gary McKenrick ruled it could be a class action lawsuit.

The judge's ruling means the city could be forced to pay refunds to thousands of drivers who received tickets before the cameras were turned off in January 2007.

Between 2004, when the cameras became operational, and 2007, the city issued 16,878 tickets and collected more than $1 million in fines. Of that, the city placed $558,659 in its general fund and paid $453,000 to two traffic camera vendors.

The setting of the date before the Supreme Court comes after a study released by the Iowa Department of Transportation showed the cameras significantly reduced traffic accidents in Davenport and Council Bluffs.

"Reductions in total crashes of 20 percent and 44 percent were found in Davenport and Council Bluffs, respectively," according to the study, which was funded by transportation department and the Center for Transportation Research and Education at Iowa State University.