Fla. Daily Sues City Over Whether Traffic Tickets Are Public Records

Image via WikipediaIn Times Publishing Co. v. City of Kenneth City (Case No. 10-17865), The St. Petersburg Times has petitioned the 6th Judicial District Circuit Court for Pinellas County for a writ of mandamus ordering the municipality to release records of red-light violators who received traffic citations from American Traffic Solutions (ATS), the private company hired by the city to issue traffic tickets.

As reported by Courthouse News Service, the Times, which is owned by the nonprofit Poynter Institute for Media Studies, filed a freedom of information request Dec. 1, pursuant to Florida's Public Records Act (Ch. 119, Fla. Stat.) and Art. 1, Sec. 24 of the Fla. Constitution (access to public records & meetings), seeking warning notices and citations issued by the city. Then-Fla. Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law in May 2010, H.B. 325, which empowers cities to use red-light cameras and other traffic infraction devices to issue citations to offending drivers.

Kenneth City hired ATS, which began issuing citations last November, one month after it started doling out warning citations. ATS, which produces a report for the city that identifies offenders, agreed only to provide the Times with statistics on the numbers of drivers it ticketed, contending that, as a private entity, the materials it kept were not public records.  The city, in turn, declined to produce the records naming the offenders, claiming that doing so would violate the federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act [18 U.S.C. sec.2721 et seq.].

For its part, the Times argues that it has a legal and constitutional right to inspect the traffic records. Not that the Pinellas County Court has consulted us, but "TUOL" believes the newspaper's request should be green-lighted. Expect to see a spate of such lawsuits nationwide as municipalities continue to privatize governmental services such as trash collection and traffic enforcement.