TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A recent court ruling in Tallahassee could stir new implications for the city’s school speed zone camera program.
A judge threw out one resident’s citation in September after officers failed to independently prove the time and day the offense happened.
The case opened last April after a driver was given notice of violation for allegedly speeding on North Martin Luther King Boulevard.
The man was given a citation for $213 and later challenged it in Tallahassee court.
His attorney, Jeremy Cohen, asked that the case be dismissed, primarily on the grounds that the officer had no personal knowledge of the offense’s exact date and time.
State statute requires that camera data be manually reviewed and confirmed by an enforcement officer before a citation is issued.
The cameras must also be shown to be accurate and properly calibrated before being used as evidence.
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A judge ruled that the case could not move forward without the officer’s confirmation.
Cohen said the ruling could add to ongoing discussions statewide over the future of speed zone cameras.
“There are 67 counties in Florida,” Cohen said. “They’re running these programs all over the place. Every registered owner should be able to beat the Red Speed school zone vendor camera based on this order if the state can’t prove the exact date and time of the infraction.”
The Tallahassee School Zone Speed Enforcement Program was launched in 2025.
More than 46,000 violations were logged last school year.
WCTV reached out to the Tallahassee Police Department for comment on Wednesday and Thursday and has not heard back.
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