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Rental Driver Red Light Camera Ruling Challenged

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - In a case stemming from a rental-car driver running a red light in 2012, the city of Fort Lauderdale urged the Florida Supreme Court this week to overturn a ruling that found part of a red-light camera law unconstitutional.

The 4th District Court of Appeal last year found that the constitutional rights of rental-car driver June Dhar had been violated because of "disparate treatment" in the way rental-car drivers and other types of drivers were treated after red-light camera infractions.

Dhar rented a vehicle from Dollar Rent A Car, which received a notice of her infraction. The company submitted information identifying the driver as Dhar, who did not receive the notice. Such notices carry a $158 penalty, but she instead received a $263 uniform-traffic citation.

The appeals court found that there was "no rational basis" for treating Dhar differently than a car owner who is nabbed by a red-light camera and would receive a notice of violation.

But in a brief filed Monday in the Supreme Court, Fort Lauderdale argued that such basis could exist.

"In line with the act's purpose to penalize those who violate red light camera laws, the Legislature could have reasonably determined that a renter, whom an owner has established by affidavit was in the care, custody, or control of the vehicle when the violation occurred, should be treated like a driver pulled over by a police officer who observes him or her running a red light,'' part of the brief said.

In such situations, it said, police officers can immediately issue uniform-traffic citations without the prerequisite of notices of violation. As the case moved its way through the court system, the Legislature in 2013 changed state law to prevent such disparities.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

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