Oregon Man Wins Three-year-long Constitutional Battle Sparked by Red Light Camera Ticket

by Steph Willems

Published: December 8th, 2017

oregon man wins three year long constitutional battle sparked by red light camera

You can’t fight city hall, they say, but you can fight the state of Oregon — and win.

That’s what one man, Mats Järlström, found out after a dogged fight against the Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying. The epic constitutional battle, which pitted a former electronics engineer against an overzealous bureaucracy, began when his wife received a ticket for running a red light.

Järlström first fought the ticket, which was mailed to the Beaverton, Oregon couple in 2013, via a federal civil rights lawsuit. In the suit, he claimed the red light cycle at the offending intersection was not sufficiently lengthy, being some 3.35 seconds in duration. The norm is 3.5 seconds. However, the federal judge was not receptive to the idea that this amounted to a cash grab on the part of the municipality, tossing the case out of court. (Järlström’s wife paid the ticket.)

Undeterred in his quest against the cameras, Järlström submitted a 2014 letter to the state board arguing his case. In it, he presented research on red light camera systems and asked to discuss the issue with the board’s members. Having once worked on aircraft camera systems for the Swedish Air Force, the technology held particular interest for him. Oregon was not happy to hear from him.

Rather than hear Järlström out, the board issued a $500 fine. Despite holding a degree in electrical engineering (and having worked as one), the state board said Järlström’s research on the topic amounted to practicing engineering without a license. Even stating the words “I am an engineer” was a violation of state law, it said.

Clearly, the state board thought this would silence him. It did not. Claiming that a person does not need a license to practice basic math, Järlström filed a non-monetary lawsuit against the Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying on constitutional (read: free speech) grounds. A libertarian law firm, Institute for Justice, picked up the case.

According to Reason, the case revealed numerous instances where the state board had aggressively investigated similar cases, even going as far as opening a file on Portland Monthly after the publication described a woman as being “an engineer behind Portland’s newest bridge.”

This week, Järlström’s persistence finally paid off. The state admitted in court that it violated the plaintiff’s rights.

“We have admitted to violating Mr. Järlström’s rights,” Senior Assistant Attorney General Christina L. Beatty-Walters said, adding that the state’s handling of the issue “was not narrowly tailored to any compelling state interests.”

Oregon has now refunded Järlström’s $500 fine and assured him it will not police his use of the word “engineer.” However, that’s not good enough for the plaintiff. The quiet Swede wants the state to back off with its broad interpretation of the law, citing previous cases.

“Past history suggests the board can’t be trusted on how the laws should be applied constitutionally,” said Samuel Gedge, Järlström attorney.

The judge in the case, Stacie F. Beckerman, seems to agree.

“If the board got it wrong in this case, why should the court defer to the board going forward?” Beckerman stated. With another ruling coming down within a few weeks, it’s possible the state board could find its powers weakened in the near future.

Never doubt the power of a patient and righteous individual, even one that’s peeved over a $150 red light ticket.

#CrimeAndPunishment #LawAndOrder #Oregon #RedLightCameras #TrafficLaws

Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 57 comments

Jcwconsult on Dec 09, 2017

Please note the dramatic videos of t-bone crashes and near misses are absolute proof the cameras did NOT prevent those crashes and near misses. Those videos, when properly considered, show the cameras are ineffective to prevent violations by drivers that are DUI, otherwise impaired, or just distracted.

Like Reply
Jcwconsult on Dec 10, 2017

If red light cameras ticketed only through movement violations 2+ seconds into the red, and ticketed right on red movements only when the videos revealed a failure to yield the right of way, then no one would object. But the cameras would then lose so much money versus their high costs that no one would use them.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

JLGOLDEN Enormous competition is working against any brand in the fight for "luxury" validation. It gets murky for Cadillac's image when Chevy, Buick, and GMC models keep moving up the luxury features (and price) scale. I think Cadillac needs more consistency with square, crisp designs...even at the expense of aerodynamics and optimized efficiency. Reintroduce names such as DeVille, Seville, El Dorado if you want to create a stir.
ClipTheApex I don't understand all of the negativity from folks on this forum regarding Europeans. Having visited the EU multiple times across different countries, I find they are very much like us in North America-- not as different as politicians like to present them. They all aren't liberal "weenies." They are very much like you and me. Unless you've travelled there and engaged with them, it's easy to digest and repeat what we hear. I wish more Americans would travel abroad. When they return, they will have a different view of America. We are not as perfect or special as we like to believe. And no, many Europeans don't look up to America. Quite the opposite, actually.
Dwford Let's face it, Cadillac is planning minimal investment in the current ICE products. Their plan is to muddle through until the transition to full EV is complete. The best you are going to get is one more generation of ICE vehicles built on the existing platforms. What should Cadillac do going forward? No more vehicles under $50k. No more compact vehicles. Rely on Buick for that. Many people here mention Genesis. Genesis doesn't sell a small sedan, and they don't sell a small crossover. They sell midsize and above. So should Cadillac.
EBFlex Sorry BP. They aren’t any gaps
Bd2 To sum up my comments and follow-up comments here backed by some data, perhaps Cadillac should look to the Genesis formula in order to secure a more competitive position in the market. Indeed, by using bespoke Rwd chassis, powertrains and interiors Genesis is selling neck and neck with Lexus while ATPs are 15 to 35% higher depending on the segment you are looking at. While Lexus can't sell Rwd sedans, Genesis is outpacing them 2.2 to 1.Genesis is an industry world changing success story, frankly Cadillac would be insane to not replicate it for themselves.