House schedules debate on traffic cameras

By Rod Boshart ,

DES MOINES — Opponents of automated traffic enforcement devices
apparently have gotten the green light to debate a ban on red-light
cameras in the Iowa House.
House File 2214, a measure designed to ban cameras used to enforce
traffic laws at busy or dangerous intersections and monitor speeds on
streets and highways, was placed on Wednesday's House debate calendar.
The action is an 11th-hour effort to keep the issue from falling
victim to Friday's "funnel" deadline for non-money measures to clear
one legislative chamber and a committee of the other one to remain
eligible for consideration this session.
"Presently, I have more than 51 votes from both parties," said Rep.
Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, floor manager of the bill. "I hope it will
be debated and passed."
House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said the bill's supporters
"have picked up votes," which increased the likelihood the issue will
get debated.
However, Sen. Tom Rielly, D-Oskaloosa, a former mayor who is chairman
of the Senate Transportation Committee and who believes the decision
whether to use traffic-enforcement cameras should be left up to local
officials, said he was uncertain whether the issue would be considered
by the Senate panel even if it is able to garner the minimum of 51
House votes needed for passage.
"We'll see what happens in the House," said Rielly, whose committee
tentatively is slated to meet Wednesday and Thursday. "Are we going to
take it up? I don't know, I haven't really thought about it. My
initial, knee-jerk reaction is probably not."
Supporters of traffic-monitoring cameras say they have dramatically
reduced the number of motor vehicle accidents and fatalities and have
encouraged drivers to be more conscientious about obeying the traffic
laws.
Opponents argue the cameras are a "big brother" infringement on
privacy rights and due process, and that the underlying motive for
local officials using the devices is to raise money by issuing more
traffic tickets. At a minimum, they say, traffic enforcement cameras
should be subject to uniform statewide standards and fine schedules if
they are allowed to operate in Iowa.
Gov. Terry Branstad has said he would sign legislation to ban
traffic-monitoring devices if the legislature sent him a bill this
session.
"If the General Assembly were to approve legislation banning this, I
would be pleased to sign it," Branstad said in January.
The bill slated for House debate requires that a local authority
currently using an automated traffic law enforcement system shall
discontinue using the system on or before the effective date of the
bill. The legislation, if passed by the House and Senate, would take
effect upon the governor's signature.
All automated traffic law enforcement system equipment would have to
be removed from Iowa roadways by July 1. A local authority's ordinance
authorizing the use of automated traffic law enforcement systems would
be considered void on the effective date of the bill, but notices of
violations mailed or citations issued under such an ordinance would be
valid and processed according to the prior law.
The House measure specifies that the term "automated traffic law
enforcement system" does not include a device operated in the presence
of a peace officer or a device mounted on a school bus and operated in
the presence of the school bus driver.

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548 5020, option 1.

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What is Bail?

By Shaffer & Engle

The purposes of bail are to secure the accused's attendance, and avoid
the imprisonment of persons still entitled to a presumption of
innocence, among others. Since it is not the purpose of the criminal
law to confine a person accused of crime before conviction, bail is
allowed in recognition of the presumption of innocence until guilt is
proved, and is a necessary corollary to the constitutional concept
that persons may be imprisoned only after conviction.  Bail is
intended to enable an accused to remain out of jail until the next
proceeding in the case, or until there has been a final disposition of
the accusation, and to prepare a defense.
Another object of bail is to secure the presence of a person charged
with a crime at trial, or at any other time when his or her presence
may lawfully be required, and to provide adequate assurance that the
defendant will stand trial and submit to the sentence if found guilty.
What do the courts look at when determining what the bail amount will be?
Among many factors, the courts will often review the following when
determining how much the bail amount should be:
The nature of the crime(s) charged.  Certain crimes, such as murder,
may not allow for bail to be established.  Charges with more serious
consequences or mandatory jail terms will have higher amounts.
The criminal history of the accused.  Although bail is not to be
punitive in nature, the courts will often review the criminal history
of the defendant.  Certain crimes, such escape or fleeing and eluding
police will militate against a low bail amount.
The defendant's ties to the community.  Do they have a family, a job,
a home in the community?  A person is less likely to flee the
jurisdiction if so.
The position of the Commonwealth.  The police or prosecutors may
indicate to the court that they do not oppose low monetary bail for
many reasons, the least of which is cooperativeness of the defendant.
Any other factor that the court deems relevant to establish that the
defendant will abide by the terms and conditions of their bail.

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548 5020, option 1.

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Sincerely,

Tatiana, Restrepo, Front Office Manager
From the Law Office of Yoel Molina, P. A.
Office: 305-548-5020
782 NW 42nd Ave, Suite 343, Miami, Fl. 33126 in the "Ocean Bank" Building

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Legislature urged to amend current racial-profiling act

Connecticut lawmakers and civil rights leaders are once again urging
the state Legislature to amend the current racial-profiling act to
ensure that the law receives proper oversight and enforcement.
Under the current act, Connecticut police departments are not to
practice racial profiling and are required to submit annual
traffic-stop reports and complaints of alleged discriminatory stops to
the African-American Affairs Commission for review.
Since enacted in 1999, however, some say the law, championed by the
late Bridgeport Sen. Alvin W. Penn, has been largely unenforced by the
state due to budgetary and staffing concerns.
Glenn Cassis, executive director of the African-American Affairs
Commission, said that last year only about 27 of the state's police
departments collected and reported the data, which is mandated under
state law. Recently, he said, the number has gone up as more attention
has been focused on the issue due to the alleged police discrimination
in East Haven, where four police officers were arrested by the FBI.
And, a recent report by the Hartford Courant found racial disparities
in police traffic stops.
Cassis said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's recent push toward enforcement in
response to the incidents could also have contributed to the rise.
In an attempt to ultimately strengthen the act, state lawmakers and
members of the Latino and Puerto Rican and African-American Affairs
Commissions are recommending changes to the bill that would shift the
responsibility of data reviewing and reporting to the state's Office
of Policy and Management.
Advocates of the amendment say OPM will be better equipped to process
traffic stop and other police data, as well as have the ability to
penalize departments that do not comply with the law.
Black and Puerto Rican Caucus Chairman Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield,
D-New Haven, said the renewed effort to pass the proposed changes this
session comes in response to the incidents in East Haven. He said he
is disappointed that similar legislation on the issue failed to make
it out of the General Assembly's Planning and Development Committee
last year.
"There is no one in this building who has any legitimate reason why
they would vote against or work against a bill to fix the bill that
passed in 1999," he said.
Holder-Winfield, however, acknowledged that the majority of
Connecticut police officers do not practice racial discrimination.
Redding police Chief Douglas Fuchs, the president of the Police Chiefs
Association, said in a statement that police chiefs throughout the
state are committed to protecting all citizens equally. He said his
association believes that "the entire data collection process is
inadequate and flawed" and does not accurately represent law
enforcement practices in the state.
He said his association has been in contact with the African-American
Affairs Commission regarding diversity training and data collection
and analysis.
In January, Malloy called for greater enforcement of the current
anti-racial profiling act, by directing his staff, along with the
Department of Transportation, to ensure the collection and submission
of traffic-stop data by police departments for analysis and report.
Isaias Tomas Diaz, the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission
chairman, said that despite the governor's push to enforce the current
law, the act has systematic problems that need to be addressed.
Because of this, the commission and other advocates say they would
like to see legislation passed that places the changes into law, so
that future administrations can follow suit.
Mike Lawlor, OPM undersecretary for criminal justice policy, said his
office has already begun work to implement some of the proposed
changes, due to a $1.2 million federal grant for traffic stop data
collection and analysis that has been sitting at the Department of
Transportation for the past five years. He said he believes confusion
over the grant left it untouched by previous administrations.
With the funding, OPM is creating an advisory group to oversee the
data collection, as well as continue expanding its criminal justice
information system -- an online system that streamlines data from all
police department and related agency computers. Lawlor said the
system, which will be fully integrated by the end of 2013, will allow
OPM to process data without having to wait for police department
submissions.
He said that although OPM is developing the processes, they will be
available to the African-American Affairs Commission if the amendments
do not go into effect this session.
Bridgeport Sen. Edwin Gomes said the Legislature's Judiciary Committee
is likely to raise a bill that would shift responsibility to OPM, as
well as set up an advisory committee, including stakeholders, to make
sure the law and racial profiling ban are enforced and develop a
standardized practice for all police departments to collect traffic
stop data.

For more information on these matters, please call our office at 305
548 5020, option 1

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