Second Circuit Upholds Previous Dismissal of Suit Against Nassau County
Uniondale, NY, November 19 — The federal appellate court for the Second Circuit has rejected a constitutional challenge to Nassau County’s red light camera program, it was announced by the county’s outside counsel Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, PC (Uniondale, NY).
The unanimous decision, issued November 18 following oral arguments, affirmed the earlier judgment of the Eastern District of the United States District Court, which dismissed a suit against the Nassau County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency (TPVA) and its red light camera vendor brought by a plaintiff who had received a violation ticket.
Senior litigator Mark S. Mulholland of Ruskin Moscou Faltischek said “The Court’s decision is an excellent and most fair outcome, and properly supports the County of Nassau’s fundamental right to deploy state-of-the-art automated equipment to increase safety levels for all area drivers.”
“Constitutional laws are constantly evolving along with new technologies,” he noted. “This decision represents an important and logical next step for the ongoing development of critical constitutional principles.”
In the case, plaintiff Claire Leder claimed that Nassau County and its vendor Automated Traffic Safety Systems, Inc. had violated the Equal Protection and Due Process rights of drivers who were cited with automated red light violations. The plaintiff also alleged – anecdotally and without specifics – that yellow light times were shortened in order to generate tickets, and sought to have the Court accept her case as a Class Action on behalf of all drivers cited by the automated camera program. The Eastern District of the United States District Court had dismissed the suit in its entirety in February 2015 stating the claims did not rise to the level of substantive due process under the federal and state constitutions.
For more than 47 years, Ruskin Moscou Faltischek P.C., headquartered in Uniondale, has built a reputation as one of the region’s leading providers of innovative legal services. Its attorneys are practical, experienced advocates who measure their success by their clients’ success. Cornerstone groups in all major practice areas of the law are represented at the firm, including corporate & securities, financial services, commercial litigation, intellectual property,