The Ohio Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that Toledo can no longer send appeals of traffic camera tickets to a city-paid administrative hearing officer. The attorney who won the case says it could shut down traffic camera programs in any city with a similar process.
After getting a $120 traffic camera ticket in the mail last year, Susan Magsig sued the city of Toledo, saying state law requires appeals to go to municipal court, not to a city hearing officer.
Perrysburg lawyer Andrew Mayle represented Magsig, and has been fighting traffic camera programs for a decade.
“This is a money making scam and it totally depends upon denying people their day in court," Mayle said.
Cities have long claimed that red-light and speed cameras make intersections safer. But Mayle said the private companies operate these camera programs have no interest in public safety.
Mayle said this Supreme Court decision will affect Toledo, Dayton and Akron and any other city that didn’t change its appeals process after a law last year gave exclusive jurisdiction of traffic camera appeals to muni courts. Other parts of that law are being challenged in other cases.
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