Hate Philly’s Red-Light Cameras? Michael Coard Is Here for the Fight

Philadelphia lawyer and activist Michael Coard 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)

On Thursday, Michael Coard 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’s House on Independence Mall, something Coard has been making local and national headlines for since earlier this year. This time, Coard’s target was the much-loathed Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) over its red-light camera and speed camera programs.

“He came out with a megaphone and explained that he wanted to bankrupt and destroy the Philadelphia Parking Authority,” says Philly Mag’s Diemmy Dang, who was on the scene. “And 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 ‘robbed’ from them.”

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 “the angriest Black man in America.” We discussed the PPA’s red light and speed camera programs, which generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue annually.

Michael, you’re certainly a busy guy. You’re taking on racism in the Trump administration, erasers of history, and history revisionists. You’re a civil rights activist as well as a busy criminal defense attorney. And now … 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’s all consistent.

How so?
The bottom line is, I hate the violation of civil rights, especially when done by bullies. And there’s no greater bully than a government, whether it’s the city government, the state government, the federal government. It’s interesting that you referenced my criminal law practice, because I’ve 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’ve 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 bully known as the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

There’s a lot that people can’t seem to agree on these days. But I’d imagine that if you polled 100 Philadelphians, you’d have more than a few who agreed that the Philadelphia Parking Authority sucks.
Normally, I’m 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’s gonna break [the PPA ticket writers’] fucking pencils. And I’m feeling that. Can you believe that Michael Coard and Frank Rizzo are allies on something? Yep. We’re allies on this.

Okay, yeah, I hear PPA complaints from people all the time. Somebody will email me and say, “I overstayed my parking time by three minutes and got a ticket! This is bullshit! This should be against the law!” But … they overstayed their parking time by three minutes. Don’t do that. Yes, we’ve seen plenty of corruption in the PPA over the years, but, people need to move their cars or we won’t have anywhere to park. If you got a red-light ticket, I’m 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’ve got to keep traffic moving. You gotta make parking spaces available for people. If that was the intent of the Parking Authority, I’d say, Bravo. Do what you gotta do. But that’s not their intent.

You don’t buy that they’re doing it for good reason?
They say, we got these red-light cameras and speed cameras because we want to stop speeding and stop traffic accidents. No, you don’t. Because there are other ways you could do that if you wanted to do that. It’s a money grab. For example, on Broad Street, you have speed cameras with a 25 mph speed limit. What’s 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’t stay beyond your time, but the idea of the Parking Authority meter readers hovering over meters like fucking vultures and waiting for that second to pass and then jumping all over you is absolutely outrageous.

Right, but you’re making what is really a moral and ethical argument here. Where does the law come into it? Because I don’t 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’s 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? In my opinion, the Parking Authority is operating in bad faith. So if you say, Hey, I’m enforcing this in order to keep spots available and keep traffic moving, that sounds good, but I think that’s a goddamn lie. You’re doing it to line your pockets and pay your officials exorbitant sums in salaries.

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’s the thing in regards to the camera. I’ll 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’ Donuts. My client’s on videotape doing that. So, and this is a true story, Victor, I’m walking into the courthouse and a news reporter sticks a camera in my face and says, “Mr. Coard, what are you doing? Your client is on camera shooting and killing the cop.” I turn around slowly and I said, “You’re 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.”

Wow, so you’re using the example of a cop killer to further your argument about red-light cameras?
That’s 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’s clearly on video shooting a cop? Because it’s 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.

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’t take anybody’s 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’t mean shit. You gotta have a trial by an impartial and, I must say, knowledgeable entity. When I go in there, I get the deer-in-the-headlights look.

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’t 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’t 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’t happen in my case.

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’re caught going through the red light? It’s 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.

I’m definitely making note of all of this and trying it if and when I get one of these tickets.
But don’t 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’s 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.

Has your red-light ticket case been resolved?
Well, Traffic Court 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’s 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’m waiting for them to send me a briefing schedule.

Are you prepared to take this all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court?
You bet I am.

Keep us posted.
Thank you. I will.

If you’ve received a 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.