Do red-light cameras assume the vehicle owner is guilty rather than “innocent until proven guilty”?
A. Photo enforcement does not violate the presumption of innocence, which attaches at trial and not during the investigation or citation phase. Police and prosecutors are not bound by a presumption of innocence. To the contrary, ethics prevent them from charging a person unless there is sufficient evidence. Photographic evidence of a violation is sufficient to issue a citation to a registered owner, but the citation is merely a summons and the recipient is entitled to present a defense in person or in an affidavit stating under oath that he or she was not the driver at the time of the offense. Due process is preserved through this opportunity for rebuttal.
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