Mo. appeals court upholds red-light camera fines

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A Missouri appeals court has upheld an ordinance in a suburban St. Louis city that imposes a $100 fine when cameras catch vehicles running red lights.

The Eastern District appeals court on Tuesday rejected an argument that the Creve Coeur ordinance violates due process rights by ticketing a vehicle's owner without knowing if the owner was driving when the vehicle ran a red light.

The appeals panel said the city's traffic-camera ordinance is similar to a parking ticket in that it is a civil penalty -- not a criminal violation. The court said such tickets can be issued to the vehicle owner without regard to who was driving the vehicle.