County judge prevents voters in Cleveland, Texas from deciding whether the city should use red light cameras.
Judge Carroll Wilborn JrLawyers for American Traffic Solutions (ATS) told a Texas judge that voters in the city of Cleveland should have no say in whether red light cameras are used in their community. Last week, Judge Carroll Wilborn Jr agreed, giving the Arizona-based photo ticketing firm the injunction it sought keeping voters from seeing a camera ban on the May ballot.
“The court issues a temporary injunction because the court finds that the plaintiff [ATS] is likely to prevail on the merits of the case,” Judge Wilborn wrote.
Though Cleveland is in Liberty County, Judge Wilborn was specially brought in from Chambers County to hear the case. Because he is retiring, he will not face voters at the end of his term.
ATS is repeating the legal strategy the company used four years ago in its attempt to block a vote in Houston. ATS sues the city, which supports cameras and wants to keep them running, and asks a judge to grant an injunction. This excludes the sponsors of the ballot measure from the proceedings and ensures a win because the city’s legal team will throw the case. In Houston, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rebuked the Houston judge who ruled against public participation at the ballot (view ruling), and voters in the nation’s fourth largest city ultimately rejected the cameras.
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