Arizona Daily Star By Kim Smith 01.23.2009
Nearly 150 people allegedly caught by city photo radar cameras will likely have their cases dismissed because a process server — who is now under investigation by the Tucson Police Department — may never have served them citations.
The number of dismissals may rise because another 864 people were allegedly served by the man, said Chris Hale, deputy City Court administrator.
He said an unknown number of them have requested court hearings to discuss their citations, which could result in more charges being dropped, particularly if they say they weren't served either.
The only citations automatically dismissed so far are those that have already resulted in default judgments against drivers who failed to appear, Hale said.
Over the last couple of weeks, Tucson City Court employees received more than a dozen complaints from people who received notices a default judgment had been filed against them when they had never received their photo enforcement citations, Chris Hale said.
An investigation revealed a process server employed by Hawkins and E-Z Messenger Legal Support Providers may have filed false affidavits indicating people had been served, Hale said.
In one case, the process server filed an affidavit saying he served a citation to one woman in person, but the address was a UPS store and the store was closed at the time listed on the affidavit, Hale said.
People caught speeding or running red lights on camera are mailed tickets and given 30 days to pay or contest them, or go to traffic school.
Read the rest of the story:
Radar citations unserved; cases may be dismissed
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