SUFFOLK — A judge is expected to determine within a month whether a lawsuit challenging the city’s procedure for issuing speeding violations through speed zone cameras will be dismissed or head to trial.
Suffolk Circuit Court Judge Alfred Bates III heard a case Tuesday brought by former Del. Tim Anderson against the city of Suffolk. In April, Anderson filed a lawsuit in the circuit courts of Chesapeake and Suffolk alleging the cities are improperly issuing speeding violations and allowing third party vendors to impersonate local government when collecting fees. State code says that “any prosecution shall be instituted and conducted in the same manner as prosecution for traffic infractions.”
The crux of the dispute at Tuesday’s hearing was whether the city is entitled to sovereign immunity, a legal doctrine that protects government entities from some legal action. Suffolk Assistant City Attorney Rebecca Powers also disputed, through examples of case law, the interpretation of the word “shall” in state code, noting that the term doesn’t mean it’s mandatory to follow the law precisely as written. The city also argues, through a demurrer, that the plaintiff’s claims are false and the case should be tossed out.
After the hearing, Powers declined to comment. A city spokesperson also declined to comment.
Anderson has said state code for school and work zone cameras in particular is specific about issuing citations with the same official uniform Virginia summons issued for other traffic infractions. It also allows cities to contract with third-party private companies to provide the services. But Anderson’s argument Tuesday was that while cities have the right to use the equipment and issue fines, they can’t do it through a private third-party. And that by doing so, the city waived its sovereign immunity.
“(When) courts have wrestled with this before, there’s really never been a situation where the government has said, ‘You owe us money,’ and then the citizen says, ‘I don’t think you’re doing it legally,'” Anderson said after Tuesday’s hearing. “So I think it’s a case of real first impression for the court to wrestle with.”
The General Assembly approved legislation in 2020 allowing state and local police to set up speed cameras at highway work sites and school crossing zones. Under that law, only motorists caught going at least 10 mph over the speed limit are ticketed.
Several Hampton Roads cities have installed speed cameras since in an effort to deter speeding and enhance public safety. A dozen cameras went live in Chesapeake in 2022. Suffolk has cameras at 10 schools and one work zone — launched last year.
As of April, Chesapeake police issued 150,788 citations and collected $9.35 million in fines, according to information provided by the city. Suffolk issued 167,883 as of March and had collected $11.72 million in fines.
Anderson’s client in the Suffolk case, whom he’s representing pro bono, is Curtis Lytle from the city of Zuni. He received a notice of violation in June in a Suffolk work zone.
A hearing in the Chesapeake case is scheduled in September. Anderson had also filed a federal lawsuit challenging the use of the cameras, but said Tuesday that case had been withdrawn while the state lawsuits play out.
The judge said he’d issue a ruling on the sovereign immunity claim as well as the demurrer within 30 days via a letter.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com
