Traffic ticket dismissed on red light camera technicality, report says

(CBS) NEWARK, Calif. - Keisha Dunlevy, a California woman who ran a red light, successfully fought her traffic ticket by arguing that the public was not properly notified of cameras being installed at that intersection, CBS San Francisco reports.

According to the station, a red light camera recently snapped photos of Dunlevy blowing though a red light in Newark, Calif., but she was determined to fight the ticket on the grounds that cameras at that intersection were not properly publicized.

Dunlevy went to traffic court and reportedly presented a newspaper clipping of a public notice from when the cameras were first installed in November of 2006.

It read, "A camera has been installed at the intersection of Cedar Boulevard and Mowry Avenue to capture vehicles that run the red light as they travel east on both streets."

Problem is: Cedar Boulevard runs north and south.

The traffic commissioner agreed and ruled that the "matter is dismissed due to inadequate notice," sparing Dunlevy the $500 fine.

Roger Jones, a "red light camera activist," says Newark should refund all the collected fines, the station reports.

"I do hope that this motivates other people to always check into their ticket [and] not just take it because the officer said...," Jones told CBS San Francisco.