Opinion ID: 2677274
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The evidence submitted in this case

Text: A notice to appear was issued to defendant pursuant to the City of Inglewood‘s implementation of the automated traffic enforcement statutes we have described. (Veh. Code, §§ 21455.5–21455.7.) The citation alleged that on March 13, 2009, defendant failed to stop at a red traffic light located at the intersection of Centinela Avenue and Beach Avenue in the City of Inglewood (Inglewood). Defendant entered a plea of not guilty. At the court trial held before a traffic commissioner, only one witness testified. Dean Young, an investigator with the Inglewood Police Department, testified that he was assigned to the traffic division in red light camera enforcement, and had more than six years of experience in that assignment. Young testified that defendant‘s citation was the result of the red light camera program first implemented by Inglewood in 2003. Young testified that Inglewood‘s ATES was operated by the police department, but was maintained by Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc. (Redflex). Based on his experience and the knowledge that he acquired from city engineers regarding how the traffic signals and system work and from Redflex regarding how the ATES works, Young testified that the computer-based digital camera system operates ―independently‖ and records events occurring within an intersection after the traffic signal has turned red. Young stated that the ATES information is stored as it is ―reported‖ on the hard disc of a computer at the scene. According to Young, Redflex technicians retrieve that computerized information periodically throughout the day through an Internet connection. A police officer then reviews all photographs before a citation is printed or mailed. Young explained the photos and video images that are recorded and produced by the ATES as follows. There are three photographs taken, plus a 12second video. The first photograph taken by the ATES camera, referred to as a 4 ―previolation‖ photograph, shows the vehicle at or before the crosswalk or limit line for the intersection with the traffic signal shown in the background during its red phase. The second photograph, referred to as a ―postviolation‖ photograph, shows the vehicle within the intersection either in the process of making a right turn or going straight through the intersection. The third photograph shows the vehicle‘s license plate. A data bar is imprinted on all the photographs by the ATES to show the date, time, location, and how long the light had been red at the time of the photograph. The 12-second video shows the approach and progression of the vehicle through the intersection. Young testified, based on the ATES evidence, that defendant‘s violation occurred at the intersection of Centinela Avenue and Beach Avenue on Friday, March 13, 2009. It involved a ―straight through movement‖ by defendant. Defendant objected that the photographs did not establish that she was the driver of the vehicle depicted in the photographs because the right eye and part of the forehead of the person shown in the photograph was obscured. The trial court stated that it was satisfied that the photograph depicted defendant as the driver. Defendant then objected to Young‘s testimony on the grounds of lack of foundation and hearsay. The trial court overruled the objections after defendant examined Young on voir dire. Young proceeded to testify that the data bar printed on the previolation photograph of defendant‘s vehicle showed the traffic light had been red for 0.27 seconds and that defendant‘s vehicle‘s approach speed was 53 miles per hour at the time the photograph was taken. According to Young, in the postviolation photograph taken 0.66 second later, defendant‘s vehicle was shown in the intersection while the signal light remained in the red light phase. Young testified that the 12-second video of defendant‘s vehicle crossing the intersection began with the signal light in its green phase and showed the transitioning of the light phases, including a four-second yellow light. 5 Defendant challenged Young‘s characterization of the yellow light interval as being four seconds. Asked by the court to lay a foundation for his opinion regarding the yellow light interval, Young testified that he visually inspected the traffic signal at this intersection and each of the other camera-enforced intersections on a monthly basis to ensure that the yellow phase timing complies with the minimum guidelines established by California‘s Department of Transportation. According to Young, on February 16, 2009, and March 16, 2009, he conducted timing checks of the signal at this intersection, which showed averages of 4.11 and 4.03 seconds, respectively. He testified that these test results were well above the 3.9 seconds established by the Department of Transportation for a 40-mile-an-hour zone. Based on this evidence, the trial court found beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was guilty of failing to stop at a red signal light and imposed a fine of $436.