Jaquez

INTRODUCTION

The City of Victorville (the City), like many municipalities in California, has installed an automated traffic enforcement system (ATES), commonly called a “red light traffic camera” (People v. Goldsmith (2014) 59 Cal.4th 258, 262 (Goldsmith)), at selected intersections. The City’s ATES’s are operated and maintained by Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc. (Redflex). Each of the named plaintiffs—Carole Jaquez, John Macias, and Michael Curran (collectively, Plaintiffs)—was cited for failing to stop at a red light monitored by an ATES in the City in violation of Vehicle Code section 21453. The citations were issued based on photographic images produced by an ATES. Plaintiffs brought this lawsuit against the City pursuant to 28 United States Code section 1983 (section 1983), alleging that use of the ATES violated their rights guaranteed under the confrontation, due process, and equal protection clauses of the United States Constitution and the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The City demurred to the first amended complaint (the Complaint) on the ground it failed to state facts sufficient to state a cause of action and was uncertain. The trial court sustained…