Iowa Supreme Court Will Hear Woman’s $75 Speeding Ticket Case

The Iowa Surpreme Court will hear a small claims case in the controversial automated traffic camera debate.

Maria Leaf, 67, of Cedar Rapids says that she was wrongfully ticketed by an automated traffic camera. It is very rare that the supreme court will take on a small claims case, but Leaf said it's not about the money but more about her constitutional rights.

Leaf's lawyer, James Larew, argued Wednesday that Cedar Rapids is violating equal protection and due process clauses of the Iowa Constitution because this is delegating police power to the private for profit company, Gatso USA who runs the equipment.

Leaf was ticketed in February of 2015 on Interstate 380. The camera said she was going 67 mph in a 55 mph zone. She said the roads were icy and she remembers cars passing her on both sides of the road. She insists she was going 50 in the 55.

Larew said the case also has fundamental questions about if a city can impose a fine on peple driving on a federal interstate highway. Iowa is the only state to allow automated speed cameras on interstates. Iowa Department of Transportation ordered the speed cameras removed a year before Leaf was ticketed but Cedar Rapids was allowed to keep them during appeals.