This is a backdoor means of generating revenue for localities and police agencies at the expense of the citizenry’s rights to privacy and due process

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** For Immediate Release: February 24, 2020
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** Rutherford Institute: Speed Camera Laws Are Unconstitutional, Profit-Driven Extensions of the Surveillance State
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RICHMOND, Va. — Pushing back against government attempts to further extend the surveillance state ([link removed]) , The Rutherford Institute is asking the Virginia General Assembly to reject legislation that would authorize state entities to use automated cameras and radar devices to bring speeding charges for which the accused is presumed guilty.

In denouncing House Bill 1442, which would allow localities to set up “photo speed monitoring devices” in school crossing and highway work zones, Institute attorneys point out that HB 1442 upends bedrock legal principles that are meant to protect citizens accused of misconduct ([link removed]) . The letter ([link removed]) also accuses the General Assembly of concealing the existence of HB 1442 as it worked its way through the lawmaking process, robbing citizens of the opportunity to air their views on the use of speed monitoring systems, which have been widely unpopular when proposed in other jurisdictions.

“At a time when the Commonwealth of Virginia is struggling with critical issues on almost every front, it is a poor reflection on the General Assembly that one of its top legislative priorities—authorizing the installation and deployment of automated speed cameras throughout the state—involves a backdoor means of generating revenue for localities and police agencies at the expense of the citizenry’s rights to privacy and due process,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People ([link removed]) . “To the detriment of all, House Bill 1442 will further extend the government’s pervasive and oppressive surveillance of citizens.”
MAKE THE GOVERNMENT PLAY BY THE RULES OF THE CONSTITUTION: SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM ([link removed])

House Bill 1442, which is before the Virginia General Assembly, proposes adding a section to the Virginia Code that would allow law-enforcement agencies and localities to set up “photo speed monitoring devices” at school crossing zones and highway work zones ([link removed]) . These devices automatically measure the speed of vehicles passing through these zones and take a photograph, video or other recorded image of the vehicle. If the device determines that the vehicle was exceeding the speed limit for the zone by more than 10 miles per hour, the owner of the vehicle can be cited and fined. Based solely on data recorded by the device, a summons for committing a speeding offense can be issued to the owner of the vehicle. The owner would be determined using the image of the vehicle’s license plate as captured by
the photo speed monitoring device.

In its letter to Virginia’s Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee ([link removed]) , The Rutherford Institute warns against the overtly negative legal and constitutional ramifications of HB 1442, namely that it establishes procedures for proving speeding violations that are contrary to accepted legal standards that normally apply when the government charges a person with an offense. Specifically, HB 1442’s mandatory presumption of guilt offends standards of due process; its assumption about driver identity is insufficient for imposing a fine; its systemic delays in issuing notice of violation hinders drivers’ ability to challenge charges; and it wholly eliminates any requirement that the speed detection equipment used was accurate and reliable for that purpose.

Moreover, the Institute warns that these speed cameras will not only provide the government with yet another tool for tracking the movements and activities of citizens of drivers in school and work zones, while doing little to ensure traffic safety ([link removed]) , they will also add to the government’s already burgeoning arsenal of surveillance devices, including the already omnipresent license plate readers, which it employs ad hoc to invade the citizenry’s privacy and erode their fundamental right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.

The Rutherford Institute’s letter in opposition to House Bill 1442 is available at www.rutherford.org. ([link removed])

The Rutherford Institute ([link removed]) , a nonprofit civil liberties organization, defends individuals whose constitutional rights have been violated and educates the public about threats to their freedoms.

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CONTACT INFORMATION
Nisha Whitehead
(434) 978-3888 ext. 604
** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE
Post Office Box 7482
Charlottesville, VA 22906-7482
Phone: (434) 978-3888
** www.rutherford.org ([link removed])

Copyright © 2020 The Rutherford Institute, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because of your interest in the work of The Rutherford Institute. Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated. To discontinue your membership electronically, or if you feel you are receiving this message in error, please follow the link below.

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