Community Corner
Is Newark Above the Law? More about red light camera tickets.
Is Newark Above the Law?
In a recent case involving a red light camera ticket issued at Cedar and Mowry in Newark, the Commissioner hearing the case ruled that Newark had not complied with a particular section of the vehicle code. This section said that Newark should have issued a Public Notice prior to activating the cameras. The Commissioner ruled that Newark had not done so and therefor dismissed the ticket.
Here is where it gets interesting. A news report (Channel 5) and a few letters from local residents questioned whether any tickets in the past were valid and whether the City had the authority to issue any future tickets in light of the recent ruling.
Find out what's happening in Newarkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The result has been that the City Manager, John Becker, has said the City had investigated further and there were notices made to the public. The newly found evidence has been posted to the City of Newark's website. He believes the newly found evidence shows that the City had complied with the law.
The crucial point is not whether any new evidence can convince the local residents otherwise but whether such evidence can convince the Court. The disagreement is with the Court ruling. It was the Court's decision that said Newark had not complied with the Vehicle Code.
Find out what's happening in Newarkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Meanwhile Newark has chosen to simply ignore the ruling and conduct business as usual. It continues to prosecute cases just 100 feet down the hall in front of a different Commissioner. There has been no effort as far as I know to notify the Court. Testimony by the Newark Police representative at trial continues to be given that the City has complied with the Public Notice provision of the Vehicle Code in direct opposition to the recent ruling.
Can Newark just ignore the previous decision and just continue business as usual before a different Commissioner? About 29,000 tickets have been issued for violations occurring at this one intersection (Cedar and Mowry). I am sure many of those would love to ignore the court's decision in their cases. Is Newark above the law?
