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Red-light camera fight goes to Supreme Court

A dispute about whether a South Florida city’s red-light camera program violates state traffic laws has gone to the Florida Supreme Court.

Motorist Lee Stein is challenging a ruling by the 3rd District Court of Appeal that backed Aventura in the dispute --- one of numerous legal fights in recent years about red-light cameras in the state. A notice filed last week at the Supreme Court, as is common, does not detail the arguments Stein’s attorney will make in the challenge.

A panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal in June overturned a Miami-Dade County judge’s ruling against the city in the dispute, which stems from Stein receiving a citation for failing to stop at a red light in 2014. The case focuses on guidelines used by Aventura in deciding whether to cite motorists based on red-light camera images. Aventura and other cities have different guidelines, leading Stein to argue, in part, that Aventura violated a state requirement of uniform traffic laws.

The appeals court, in an 18-page decision, rejected the arguments, saying the different guidelines “essentially reflect a commitment of different levels of police resources and therefore different levels of local enforcement.”