The Second Court of Appeals has ruled that red light camera ticket evidence is inadmissible.  In the case of People v. Borzakian the Court of Appeals held that the State did not lay a proper foundation for the admission of the red light photos.  Before any evidence can be admitted the proponent must lay a foundation, that is show that the evidence is what it purports to be. The State can not do that where, as in the photo evidence, their officer is not the one who personally maintains the camera.

The Court reasoned that the police officer did not and could not properly authenticate the procedure used to maintain the camera.  Because the City of Beverly Hills contracted to Redflex (the camera manufacturer/maintainer) the maintenance, the Beverly Hills records could not be considered business records.

Prior to the appellate court ruling in Borzakian there were two opposing red light camera cases.  People v. Khaled from the Orange County Appellate Division held that the photos were inadmissible.  People v. Goldsmith from LA County Appellate Division held that they were admissible. The Second District followed the holding in Khaled and rejected the holding from Goldsmith.  The Court points to the weakness in Goldsmiths' argument that a photo is a writing and therefore hearsay in California law.  The only thing that Evidence Code Section 1552 does is say the printer worked, not that what was printed is an accurate representation of the video.

In a footnote, the Court of Appeal addressed Borzakian's other issue: the Confrontation Clause. The Court noted that the Redflex evidence has as its primary purpose the of establishing prior events potentially relevant to a criminal prosecution (Bullcoming v. New Mexico) and is therefore testimonial, triggering the confrontation clause. This is dicta as the Court relies on the lack of foundation to overturn the conviction and doesn't have to reach the confrontation issue.

If you or someone you know has an issue with red light cameras, evidential foundations, confrontation or any DUI/Criminal related issues do not hesitate to contact me at (213) 479-5322.