City refuses to dismiss 40,000 traffic tickets issued despite clerical error

City officials in Mesa, Arizona, say they will not dismiss or refund more than 40,000 photo radar traffic citations issued between 2020 and 2021, even after discovering the tickets contained a clerical error involving an incorrect judge’s name.

A city clerk identified the error after noticing that the digital signature on the automated photo radar citations belonged to a judge who had retired from the city’s bench, Assistant City Manager Ken Cost said. Despite the discrepancy, officials maintain the tickets remain legally enforceable.

“It’s legally valid. The name is inconsequential. Totally understand where people are coming from with their concern, but people need to understand their tickets were valid in the city of Mesa. It was a process error, not a legal error,” Mesa assistant city manager Ken Cost told Arizona’s Family.

Automated photo radar systems are designed to capture images, vehicle speed and other data when drivers run red lights or exceed posted speed limits.

That information is transmitted to the city, where a judge’s digital signature is applied before notices are mailed to vehicle owners. In this case, the system continued to apply the retired judge’s name long after they left office.

Officials say a similar issue occurred in 2024 but was quickly corrected.

The city is pursuing a petition with higher courts to eliminate the requirement for a judge’s signature on photo radar citations, which officials say could prevent similar issues in the future.