Speed Camera Defense - Md. Transp. §21-809 Statutory Defenses
Maryland's school zone and work zone speed camera statute (§21-809) lists six explicit affirmative defenses: (1) vehicle was stolen, (2) recorded image of substantially different vehicle, (3) image at incorrectly measured speed, (4) speed below 12 mph over the limit threshold, (5) image taken outside authorized hours/days, (6) malfunction shown by maintenance records. The driver-not-owner rebuttal (§21-809(g)) also dismisses on showing another person was operating.
Legal basis
Md. Code, Transp. §21-809 (school zone speed cameras); §21-810 (work zone cameras); §21-810.1 (Annapolis); §21-202.1 (red light cameras)
Sample appeal wording
[DATE] District Court of Maryland for [COUNTY] [ADDRESS] RE: Defense to Citation #[NUMBER] - Md. Transp. §21-809 Your Honor: I respectfully request dismissal of the speed camera citation referenced above based on the following statutory defense(s) under Md. Code, Transp. §21-809(f): ☐ §21-809(f)(5) - Outside Authorized Hours: The recorded image was taken at [TIME] on [DATE]. Per [SCHOOL DISTRICT] bell schedule (Exhibit A), school zone hours that date were [HOURS]. The cited time falls outside this window. ☐ §21-809(f)(3) - Incorrectly Measured Speed: PIA records show the device was last calibrated [DATE], more than 12 months before the citation, OR was flagged for malfunction on [DATE] (Exhibit B). ☐ §21-809(f)(2) - Different Vehicle: The recorded image shows [DESCRIBE — different make/color/plate]. My vehicle is [DESCRIBE WITH REGISTRATION]. ☐ §21-809(g) - Driver-Not-Owner: I was not the operator of the vehicle. The driver was [NAME], and a sworn affidavit (Exhibit C) is attached. ☐ §21-809(b) - Threshold Speed: The image lists the recorded speed as [SPEED] in a [LIMIT] zone. The required threshold for a citation is 12 mph above the limit; this measurement is below threshold. Dismissal respectfully requested. [NAME] [ADDRESS]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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- Md. Code, Transp. §21-809
- Md. Code, Transp. §21-810
- Md. Code, Transp. §21-810.1
- Maryland Public Information Act