Thursday, June 19, 2008

Traffic Camera Citation Dismissed

Chicago criminal defense attorney, James Dimeas, succeeded in having a ticket issued by the Village of Rolling Meadows for failing to stop for a traffic light at an intersection where cameras were set up to record vehicles that failed to stop for the red light. Chicago criminal defense attorney, James G. Dimeas, was representing an individual who received a traffic citation in the mail from the Village of Rolling Meadows containing a photograph of his client's vehicle at the intersection of Rohlwing Road and Kirchoff Road which purported to show the vehicle failing to stop at the red light. The ticket also contained a photograph of the license plate of the client's vehicle. Chicago criminal defense attorney, James G. Dimeas, obtained a copy of the Village Ordinance. Article IV, entitled "Automated Traffic Law Enforcement System" contains all the requirements for issuing tickets by camera. Section 3-70(k) of the ordinance provides that "the date, time and place of the administrative hearing at which the charge may be contested on its merits, a date that shall be no less than 15 nor more than 40 days from the mailing or other service of the notice of violation." The violation date on the ticket was April 4, 2008. The hearing was being held on June 19, 2008. The date between the violation date and the hearing date far exceeded the 40 day time limit spelled out in the Village Ordinance. As a result, the Hearing Officer dismissed the citation for violating the time limits contained in the ordinance. In doing so, Chicago criminal defense attorney, James G. Dimeas, exposed a serious flaw in the Village of Rolling Meadows Ordinance which will probably result in the Village of Rolling Meadows having to rewrite the ordinance. Most of the people who appeared before Chicago criminal defense attorney, James G. Dimeas's case was called had been issued citations around the same time as his client. However, Chicago criminal defense attorney, James G. Dimeas, was the only one to raise this defense.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

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