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Iowa Supreme Court issues rulings on traffic camera use

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August 31st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a lower court ruling that had ordered the city of Des Moines to repay more than $90,000 in fines collected from traffic camera enforcement ā€” but it resurrected several constitutional challenges to the city’s use of the traffic camera.

The high court’s ruling Friday was one of three issued on the use of traffic cameras in the state. In the Des Moines case, a majority of justices ruled that the plaintiffs should be allowed to argue that the city’s use of an automated speed radar camera on Interstate 235 violates the due process and equal protection rights of motorists.

The ruling reverses a Polk County judge’s decision last year that threw out those claims. The high court also gave new life to a similar lawsuit in Cedar Rapids, saying that city’s law on collecting traffic camera fines doesn’t conform to state law.