Attorney files federal lawsuit against Chesapeake speed cameras

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Speed cameras in Hampton Roads have sparked a federal lawsuit, with a local attorney calling them unconstitutional.

Attorney Tim Anderson argues speed cameras in Chesapeake are operated by a third-party company out of Maryland, and receiving a ticket through this method doesn’t follow the same process as one given by an officer.

“If police are going to do automated policing, they still have to follow the constitution,” Anderson said.

A ticket from an officer would automatically give a court date where someone can appeal. In fact, Anderson said that’s mandated by Virginia law. However, speed camera tickets don’t have that in place.

“They’re just sending you a bill, they’ve already found you guilty, you owe us $100,” Anderson said. “If you want to contest it, you have to ask for a court hearing.”

The fact that they’re run by a private company is also an issue, Anderson said.

“The record of whether the calibrations are working is not even a police record,” Anderson said. “It’s a business record from the third-party company and there’s nobody to ask any questions about, and that is absolutely in violation of your right to confront your accusers in court.”

The money is collected by the company in Maryland, which then sends a portion to the cities. Over 100,000 tickets in the last fiscal year were sent out to drivers in Suffolk, which equates to $11 million. In Chesapeake, there have been almost 60,000 tickets, equaling $6 million.

Anderson said the solution would be simple if it were really about road safety.

“If you want to actually slow people down at school zones, if that’s the real motivation, you put a police car out there and somebody has red lights on them, everybody’s going to slow down,” Anderson added.

The defendant in this federal lawsuit is the city of Chesapeake. Chesapeake has 60 days to respond, so Anderson said we’ll know more about the direction of the case in August.