Minnesota Lawyer Blog

In a decision issued today, Hennepin County District Court Judge Mark Wernick granted the defendants’ motions to reopen their “stop on red” cases and obtain a refund of fines and costs paid.

Specifically, Wernick found:

-- W ith respect to those Defendant-Claimants above who pleaded guilty to violating the Minneapolis automated traffic control ordinance, such guilty pleas are hereby withdrawn and the charges are dismissed. The city of Minneapolis shall take all necessary action to decertify the convictions and refund all fines, surcharges, and law library fees.

-- With respect to those Defendant-Claimants above who paid prosecution costs as part of a suspended prosecution agreement, the city of Minneapolis shall take all necessary action to refund such costs.

The decision is Minneapolis v. Adan, et al.

The Minnesota Supreme Court struck down the Minneapolis “photo-cop” ordinances on the ground that they conflict with state law regulating traffic.

The decision affirms the Court of Appeals, which had decided the case on the same grounds and which had affirmed a Hennepin County District Court judge.

The ordinances imposed a petty misdemeanor penalty on the owner of a car that was photographed running a red light, even where the owner was not the driver.

The Supreme Court said that the ordinances conflict with the Minnesota Traffic Regulations Act, which requires uniformity of traffic regulations throughout the state. The Legislature has preempted the field of traffic regulation, and the ordinances are not authorized by the statute, wrote Justice Sam Hanson for the court. Furthermore, they conflict with the statute by creating owner liability for traffic violations and are restricted to Minneapolis. Additionally, the ordinances only impose liability on owners, leading to a presumption that the owner is the driver.