Florida newspaper wins red-light camera FOIA case

From theNewspaper.com:

A federal court on Monday ordered the city of Tallahassee and for-profit vendor Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) to hand over the names of all red light camera ticket recipients to the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper. On July 15, 2011, the paper demanded copies of a year's worth of notices so it could analyze how the program is being administered, particularly the identity of city and county employees who have received citations. Fearing disclosure, the city filed suit, asking the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida to decide whether the freedom of information request was barred under federal statutes designed to protect motorist privacy.

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[US District Judge Robert L.] Hinkle found the city's lawsuit to have been a prudent move given the "close" nature of the legal question at hand. He decided the Tallahassee Democrat did not deserve to be reimbursed for its legal fees.