{"id":253715,"date":"2026-07-28T13:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/253715\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T13:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:36:08","slug":"hate-phillys-red-light-cameras-michael-coard-wants-to-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/253715\/","title":{"rendered":"Hate Philly’s Red-Light Cameras? Michael Coard Wants to Help"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQ&A<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The activist and lawyer says that the PPA, which runs the traffic camera program, is a \u201cbigger street thug\u201d than actual murderers he\u2019s defended.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Philadelphia<\/p>\n

Philadelphia lawyer and activist Michael Coard, who is an opponent of the Philadelphia Parking Authority and its red-light camera program. He explains how to dispute a red-light camera ticket in Philadelphia. \/ Photograph by Diemmy Dang (left); Image courtesy 6ABC screenshot (right)<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Michael Coard<\/a> held a small rally outside of City Hall. No, not against the Trump administration for its controversial replacement of the slavery memorial outside of the President\u2019s House on Independence Mall<\/a>, something Coard has been making local and national headlines<\/a> for since earlier this year. This time, Coard\u2019s target was the much-loathed Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) over its red-light camera and speed camera programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came out with a megaphone and explained that he wanted to bankrupt and destroy the Philadelphia Parking Authority,\u201d says Philly Mag\u2019s Diemmy Dang, who was on the scene. \u201cAnd then he offered his help to anybody, on a pro bono basis, who wanted to beat the camera system, who wanted to get the money back that the Parking Authority had \u2018robbed\u2019 from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier that day, we caught up with Coard, who, in addition to being a civil rights activist, is a criminal defense attorney who self-describes as \u201cthe angriest Black man in America.\u201d We discussed the PPA\u2019s red light and speed camera programs, which generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue annually.<\/p>\n

Michael, you\u2019re certainly a busy guy. You\u2019re taking on racism in the Trump administration, erasers of history, and history revisionists. You\u2019re a civil rights activist as well as a busy criminal defense attorney. And now \u2026 red-light cameras?
What is this capital-murder defense attorney, what is this civil rights activist doing slumming and battling with the Philadelphia Parking Authority? It\u2019s all consistent.<\/p>\n

How so?
The bottom line is, I hate the violation of civil rights, especially when done by bullies. And there\u2019s no greater bully than a government, whether it\u2019s the city government, the state government, the federal government. It\u2019s interesting that you referenced my criminal law practice, because I\u2019ve represented some bad guys: murders, rapists and robbers. But without any hyperbole whatsoever, I gotta say that the Philadelphia Parking Authority is the biggest street thug I\u2019ve ever encountered. So in the same way that I battle the police, the same way I battle the federal government, is the same way I battle the constitution-violating bully known as the Philadelphia Parking Authority.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot that people can\u2019t seem to agree on these days. But I would imagine that if you polled 100 Philadelphians, you wouldn\u2019t have more than a few who disagreed that the Philadelphia Parking Authority sucks.
Normally, I\u2019m advocating for a very specific demographic. But everybody hates the fucking Parking Authority: Black, white, Jew, Gentile, Muslim, gay, straight, rich, poor, suburban, urban. Everybody. One of the things that Frank Rizzo said was that if he got elected, he\u2019s gonna break [the PPA ticket writers\u2019] fucking pencils. And I\u2019m feeling that. Can you believe that Michael Coard and Frank Rizzo are allies on something? Yep. We\u2019re allies on this.<\/p>\n

Okay, yeah, everybody hates the Philadelphia Parking Authority, and I hear complaints from people all the time. Somebody will email me and say, \u201cI overstayed my parking time by three minutes and got a ticket! This is bullshit! This should be against the law!\u201d But \u2026 they overstayed their parking time by three minutes. Don\u2019t do that. Yes, we\u2019ve seen plenty of corruption in the PPA over the years<\/a>, but, people need to move their cars or we won\u2019t have anywhere to park. If you got a red-light ticket, I\u2019m guessing you went through a red light.
Victor, you are a man of good faith, and what you are saying is, Hey, the rules are there for a reason. You\u2019ve got to keep traffic moving. You gotta make parking spaces available for people. If that was the intent of the Parking Authority, I\u2019d say, Bravo. Do what you gotta do. But that\u2019s not their intent. That\u2019s not their reason. If you\u2019re doing something for a good reason, I applaud you, but if you are doing it for a malicious reason, then I\u2019m going to condemn you.<\/p>\n

And you don\u2019t buy that they are doing it for good reason?
They are doing it to rob the public. They say, we got these red-light cameras and speed cameras because we want to stop speeding and stop traffic accidents. No, you don\u2019t. Because there are other ways<\/a> you could do that if you wanted to do that. It\u2019s a money grab. For example, on Broad Street, you have speed cameras with a 25 mph speed limit. What\u2019s the difference between 25 miles per hour and 30? The whole point is to trap people and to rob them. In terms of the parking meter situation, yeah, you shouldn\u2019t stay beyond your time, but the idea of Parking Authority nazis hovering over parking meters like fucking vultures and waiting for that second to pass and then jumping all over you is absolutely outrageous.<\/p>\n

Right, but you\u2019re making what is really a moral and ethical argument here. Where does the, you know, law come into it? Because I don\u2019t think that morals or ethics will work in trying to dispute a parking or red-light ticket or speed-camera ticket from the PPA.
But then there\u2019s the whole notion of due process, and what I mean by that is: Were the meters operating properly? Were the computer devices used by the stormtroopers operating properly? The Parking Authority is operating in bad faith. So if you say, hey, I\u2019m enforcing this in order to keep spots available and keep traffic moving, that sounds good, but that\u2019s a goddamn lie. You\u2019re doing it to line your pockets and pay your officials exorbitant sums in salaries.<\/p>\n

But, again, from a legal point of view, is there much of a point of trying to fight a red-light camera ticket, for example?
Here\u2019s the thing in regards to the camera. I\u2019ll give you the example of my client, John Lewis, who is on videotape shooting and killing a great and heroic police officer Chuck Cassidy at Dunkin\u2019 Donuts. My client\u2019s on videotape doing that. So, and this is a true story, Victor, I\u2019m walking into the courthouse and a news reporter sticks a camera in my face and says, \u201cMr. Coard, what are you doing? Your client is on camera shooting and killing the cop.\u201d I turn around slowly and I said, \u201cYou\u2019re absolutely right. So now we got two options. Based on what you saw in that video, we can take my client out back for a lynching, or we can take him upstairs for a trial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wow, so you\u2019re using the example of a cop killer to further your argument about red-light cameras?
That\u2019s the essence of all of this. In America, we have due process, and due process means a trial by an impartial body. So, if just the camera convicts you, why do we have any trials for bank robbers who walk into the bank with no mask on and rob the place? Why do we have trials in a case like John Lewis where he\u2019s clearly on video shooting a cop? Because it\u2019s about due process. The greatest threat to a civilized society is not the one bad guy. The greatest threat to a civilized society is an unchecked governmental entity.<\/p>\n

And from my understanding, you personally are battling the PPA on a red-light camera ticket.
They claim they had me on video, on camera, running a red light, and I had essentially seven arguments against them, and this also applies to the speed cameras. The first argument is the whole due process concept. The United States Constitution makes it clear that you can\u2019t take anybody\u2019s life, liberty, or property without due process. The Pennsylvania State Constitution also talks about the concept of due process. That camera you alluded to doesn\u2019t mean shit. You gotta have a trial by an impartial and, I must say, knowledgeable entity. Those fucking idiots who serve as the mediators or hearing officers in connection with the Parking Authority don\u2019t know shit. When I go in there, I get the deer-in-the-headlights look.<\/p>\n

Knowing you, Michael, I can only imagine they are not happy to see you.
After I argue the Federal Constitution and the State Constitution, I don\u2019t stop there. I go to the Motor Vehicle Code, Volume 75, Section 3116, subsection H as in Harry 1, which makes it clear that there must be legally sufficient signage prior to the red light camera. But I don\u2019t stop there. Same Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code, but this is section 3117 I as in Isaac 1, which says that the city may not use speed or red light cameras unless the signage is in a conspicuous place. That didn\u2019t happen in my case.<\/p>\n

Right, and so if I am following you, thanks to due process, they have to prove that those things are true, and then you are also going to dispute with them what is and what is not conspicuous.
Right and then, they need to present a certificate at the hearing about the yellow light. Obviously, a traffic light goes from green to yellow to red. But what if the yellow light has a malfunction and only gave you a split section and now you\u2019re caught going through the red light? It\u2019s got to be properly calibrated to make sure that the yellow light is on for a sufficient duration. They have to show that it was.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m definitely making note of all of this and trying it if and when I get one of these tickets.
But don\u2019t forget that they have to produce a certificate from the state indicating that the light system was calibrated in a timely manner, which is usually every 60 days. And then there\u2019s also the Philadelphia code, which has its own requirements about the yellow light change intervals, and this information must appear on the traffic signal permit.<\/p>\n

Has your red-light ticket case been resolved?
Well, corrupt court \u2014 I mean, Traffic Court \u2014 ruled against me. Then I paid over $200 to appeal the matter to Common Pleas Court, and I won the appeal. The Parking Authority asked the judge for a reconsideration, which was initially set, but then the judge basically said there\u2019s no need for a reconsideration, and the reconsideration hearing was canceled. So now, the Parking Authority has appealed the matter to Commonwealth Court, and I\u2019m waiting for them to send me a briefing schedule.<\/p>\n

Are you prepared to take this all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court?
You bet I am.<\/p>\n

Good luck and keep us posted.
Thank you. I will.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve received a red-light or speed or ticket from the PPA, Michael Coard may be willing to help you on a pro bono basis. You can email him at MichaelCoardX@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Q&A The activist and lawyer says that the PPA, which runs the traffic camera program, is a \u201cbigger…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[69,71,70],"class_list":["post-253715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}