Centerfield

One...Small...Step Against Petty Oppressions

One small item to put in the win column:

A judge struck down the Minneapolis ordinance because police ticketed car owners without determining who was really driving.

...

...District Judge Mark Wernick said the ordinance is invalid because it provides vehicle owners with less due process rights in court than the state statute. State law for a similar violation requires the state to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" who was driving. But Minneapolis' ordinance shifted the burden to the owners to prove their innocence.

...

Bass, the attorney involved in the lawsuit, said Minneapolis knew it didn't have the authority to create its own ordinance because a bill to get state approval failed several times in the Legislature in the past few years.

"Tuesday was a good day for due process rights in Minnesota," he said.

Hat tip, Instapundit. I also agree with Glenn that the way to curtail such practices is to require that revenues generated don't go directly to the town. This gives them less incentive to to use public safety as pretty spring skirt for a practice that everyone knows is becoming popular because it generates revenue.