NMA E-Newsletter #738: The Revenue-Hungry Rise of Automated Ticketing

By Jay Beeber, Director of Policy & Research For the past few years, we’ve been monitoring a concerning trend in traffic enforcement: a steady shift towards more and more automated ticketing. Unfortunately, this trend appears to be gaining momentum. In California, we’ve witnessed a surge of bills introduced that attempt to authorize various forms of […]
NMA E-Newsletter #735: Walberg, Raskin Lead Bipartisan Effort to Reform Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws

The National Motorists Association has, for some years now, been fighting to protect motorists from abusive Civil Asset Forfeiture laws. For those unaware of how this abuse of the public’s trust operates, Civil Asset Forfeiture allows police departments to seize assets such as cash, vehicles, houses and other valuables simply on the allegation that those assets […]
Low-Level Traffic Fines: A Slippery Slope to Civil Court: NMA E-Newsletter #730

On January 1st, Nevada became the latest state to remove the threat of a criminal charge for motorists who can’t pay fines for minor traffic violations. The new law has downgraded these minor infractions from criminal misdemeanors to civil violations with civil penalties. This change only applies to low-level traffic tickets, not to tickets like reckless […]
Civil Asset Forfeiture in Indiana Goes Beyond Policing for Profit: NMA E-Newsletter #701

Initially created to take down drug lords, civil asset forfeiture has morphed into an excuse by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to confiscate cash and other property regardless of whether a person is charged with a crime. The Indiana Supreme Court recently ruled that the government must prove it is ‘entitled’ to keep […]
The Legal Obliteration of Due Process

Editor’s Note: This post first appeared as NMA E-Newsletter #642. If you would like to subscribe to this weekly one-topic newsletter, click HERE to subscribe. Coercion is an ugly word, but lawmakers have been known to use it as a blunt weapon to force compliance by the very people they represent. The latest and all-too-blatant […]
Speed Camera Games Played for Profits in Ohio: NMA E-Newsletter #650

When will Ohio municipalities ever learn? The Ohio Supreme Court has been working overtime on automated enforcement cases brought by motorists against cities and townships across the state. Justice would be better served if the state prohibited ticket cameras altogether. The difficulty is that the larger cities in Ohio have home-rule authority, i.e., they set […]
The Legal Obliteration of Due Process: NMA E-Newsletter #642

Coercion is an ugly word, but lawmakers have been known to use it as a blunt weapon to force compliance by the very people they represent. The latest and all-too-blatant example of legislative intimidation is contained within California Senate Bill 111. While this bill is about the use of school bus automated enforcement, a topic […]
Criminal Traffic Court is the Best Option

By Gary Biller, NMA President Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared as an NMA E-Newsletter #450 in August 2017. If you would like to receive the NMA E-Newsletter every Sunday in your inbox, subscribe HERE. Whose side are we on anyway? The NMA objects when cities lower the traffic court bar, downgrading routine moving violations […]
Pay that Red-Light Camera Ticket No Matter What

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared as an NMA Weekly E-Newsletter #605 emailed to members in August 2020. If you would like to receive the newsletter, join today the thousands of other active motorists who have made that choice! The Delaware Supreme Court ruled recently that red-light camera ticket fines under $100 cannot be appealed beyond local courts. […]
Flipping the Stacked Deck against Civil Asset Forfeiture

By Gary Biller, NMA President Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared as an NMA Weekly Newsletter #594 emailed to members in May 2020. If you would like to receive the newsletter, join today the thousands of other active motorists who have made that choice! There are many forms of legitimized stealing. The government has perfected […]