Kubosh packs it in

Anti-red light camera crusader Michael Kubosh has dropped his lawsuit over the city's camera program.

Kubosh had sued the city about the red-light cameras and the administrative-hearing process for motorists who fight their tickets, which are considered civil fines.

The judge in the case ruled that the red-light cameras were constitutional but that the city would have to better authenticate the photographs used as evidence in the administrative hearings.

The judge also said the city should not charge a non-refundable fee to citizens who wanted to appeal the tickets further after they lost in the administrative hearings.

The city now uses affidavits to authenticate the photographs and no longer charges the non-refundable fees, said Philip Fraissinet, an attorney with Bracewell & Giuliani, which represented the city in the lawsuit.

Kubosh said the city's changes led him to withdraw his appeal. However, he said he may again challenge the program's constitutionality.

As I noted before, those two relatively minor points were the only places on which Kubosh had won. (The ruling can still be seen here as a PDF file.) The bulk of Kubosh's complaint had already been dealt with by the Legislature last year when it passed SB1119. I have no idea what constitutional grounds Kubosh may have in mind at this point, but whatever. I don't see it as making any difference.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on February 15, 2008 to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles