St. Louis Red Light Camera — Tupper / Smith Doctrine (Unenforceable Without Driver ID)
St. Louis's red-light camera ordinance was struck down by the Missouri Supreme Court in City of St. Louis v. Tupper (Mo. banc 2015) and the related Smith line of cases. The court held that ordinances treating red-light camera violations as non-moving parking-style infractions, and assessing them against the registered owner without proof of who was driving, conflict with the state's point-system statute (RSMo §302.302) and are therefore void. While the original program was discontinued, similar issues have arisen with newer photo-enforcement and school-zone speed-camera programs (the Show-Me-Safe St. Louis school-zone program, 2023+). Any photo-enforcement citation issued to the registered owner without proof of driver identity is vulnerable.
Legal basis
City of St. Louis v. Tupper, 468 S.W.3d 360 (Mo. banc 2015); Brunner v. City of Arnold, 427 S.W.3d 201 (Mo. banc 2014); RSMo §302.302; RSMo §304.281
Sample appeal wording
TO: City of St. Louis Municipal Court RE: Citation [TICKET_NUMBER] — Red Light / Photo-Enforcement Challenge I request dismissal under City of St. Louis v. Tupper, 468 S.W.3d 360 (Mo. banc 2015), and Brunner v. City of Arnold, 427 S.W.3d 201 (Mo. banc 2014). The citation was issued against me as registered owner without any evidence I was the driver and without imposition of the moving-violation point assessment required by RSMo §302.302. The Missouri Supreme Court has held that ordinances assessing photo-enforcement penalties against the registered owner without proof of driver identity conflict with state law and are void. Dismissal is required. Signed, [FULL_NAME] Date: [DATE]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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- City of St. Louis v. Tupper, 468 S.W.3d 360 (Mo. banc 2015)
- Brunner v. City of Arnold, 427 S.W.3d 201 (Mo. banc 2014)
- RSMo §302.302; §304.281