[TRAFFIC CAMERAS]
Gov halts van cams Gov. Ben Cayetano temporarily suspended the state's controversial traffic camera program last night after two Honolulu District Court judges threw out dozens of contested photo citations earlier in the day.
The program is put on hold after
judges throw out the first round of
tickets challenged The private
ticketing agency is optimistic that it
can fix the technical flaws in the form»Motorists who paid fines still can challenge tickets
»Court action 'another nail' for cams' repealBy Nelson Daranciang and Rosemarie Bernardo
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com
rbernardo@starbulletin.com"If the court is saying it's flawed, no sense giving a ticket," the governor said. "In fairness to everyone, including the driver, we need to ensure the legal part is correct," Cayetano said.
In traffic court yesterday, Judges Russel Nagata and Leslie Ann Hayashi threw out many photo citations because the form did not include the signature of the person issuing the citation or information that indicates the operator of the laser camera is certified in the proper use of the equipment.
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"The administrative judges approved the forms but the trial judges said, 'No, you need to have a little more information.' So its a legal, technical flaw that I think has to be corrected. You need to fix these things, that's all," Cayetano said.A representative from Affiliated Computer Services, the vendor that operates the camera vans and issues the citations, said the company anticipated the legal challenge to the citations.
Department of Transportation Director Brian Minaai told state lawmakers last night he plans to submit an amendment to the citation to the state Judiciary and expects approval within a week.
"It comes as a surprise. The citation was approved months prior to the implementation of the program. However, with that said, we're addressing this concern and working with the courts to correct that flaw," Minaai said.
The department's Photo Traffic Enforcement program started on Jan 2. Yesterday was the first opportunity for people who received photo speeding citations to challenge them in court.
"We can address these concerns. I think they're manageable. Even the judge indicated that it's simply a flaw as he perceived it in the form. It had no ruling to the substantive aspect of the legislation at all," said Bruce Eddy, ACS Inc.
However Cayetano said the delay could add momentum to the those who want to scrap the program. Still, he noted, he thought the program was effective in curbing speeding.
The state Judiciary set up two courtrooms yesterday to handle up to 150 people expected to show up in traffic court to challenge the citations issued for cars caught by the traffic cameras on the first few days of the program.
Margaret Date was planning to explain to the judge that she was driving her car 10 miles over the speed limit on Moanalua Freeway because she needed to take her father to the hospital. But after hearing people before her successfully convince the judge to dismiss their speeding tickets, she decided to use their arguments.
"I originally was going to state the reason that I thought it was a life or death situation. But I figured I would be better off contesting on the grounds that the laser gun operator was not certified and there was no signature on the citation."
Attorneys Pat McPherson and Michael Kam were the first ones to appear before Judges Nagata and Hayashi, respectively, and successfully make those arguments on behalf of their clients.
Kam was so confident that the arguments would be successful that he asked Hayashi if he could speak on behalf of everyone in the courtroom. She denied his request.
Instead, "I told everybody before court started they can always use the attorneys' argument for their own cases," Kam said.
Most of the people who followed did and got their cases dismissed.
A similar scenario played out in Nagata's courtroom, who dismissed the cases on just one argument -- that there is nothing on the citation that indicates that the operator was certified in the proper use of the laser cameras.
"I hope that every person in court uses that argument in court. I think it's a good argument," said McPherson, who was representing David Swann, a Honolulu Star-Bulletin graphic artist.
In front of House lawmakers last night, Minaai said he favors changing the classification of the speeding citation to a nonmoving violation so drivers' insurance premiums will not be affected.
State Rep. Willie Espero questioned Minaai on motorists who have already submitted a payment on their photo citations.
"It's a matter to be discussed with the Judiciary," Minaai responded.