City won’t yield on red light cameras

BRADENTON — The legality of red light cameras in Florida has been dealt the first blow by the courts — but it apparently won’t change Bradenton’s effort to ticket drivers caught on camera, running the light at one of the city’s busiest intersections.

Defense attorneys across the state — including one suing the city of Bradenton on behalf of a Manatee client — are touting a Miami-Dade Circuit Court ruling that cameras in Aventura violate state law as an initial victory in the fight against cameras statewide.

For Bradenton officials, though, the ruling made no initial waves. Bradenton City Attorney Bill Lisch said until an appeals court weighs in, or a local judge, it is business as usual here.

“Unless an appellate court makes a decision, it really doesn’t affect us,” he said.

Bradenton Police Deputy Chief William Tokajer put it another way when asked if the ruling would put a stop to the program.

“Not at this time,” he said.

Aventura is one of several cities across the state being sued as attorneys have attacked the use of city ordinances to fine drivers caught on camera.

On Monday, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Jerald Bagley ruled against Aventura, saying the city did not have jurisdiction to enforce red light infractions by using the cameras. By law, the state has authority over enforcing traffic laws, not cities.

But numerous cities across the state — including Bradenton — got around that by creating ordinances allowing the fines, which are not state citations that can add up points on a driver’s license, but a civil infraction like a parking ticket that can be appealed to a city’s code enforcement board.

Bagley said he will draft a written ruling in a week that will specifically outline his conclusions, and he also allowed Aventura to continue operating the cameras and issuing fines should the city file an appeal, which is expected.

In August, Bradenton began fining drivers captured on camera running the red light at First Street and Manatee Avenue West. The city was subsequently sued by West Palm Beach attorney Jason Weisser on behalf of a cited motorist. The city has issued more than 1,000 citations since the program began. The fine for each is $125.

Weisser praised Bagley’s ruling and said he hopes a judge in Manatee will make the same decision, as his lawsuit makes the same accusation that Bradenton is violating state law.

“I am quite happy with the ruling,” he said. “And I look forward to presenting the same argument in Bradenton.”

The ruling in Aventura will not have binding effect on any Manatee judge because it came in a different judicial circuit. But Bagley’s ruling can be presented to a judge here as “persuasive” argument, according to Sarasota traffic attorney David Haenel.

“It sets precedent,” Haenel said. “This is bad for the municipalities.”