This announcement came Saturday evening -- a day after the city of Houston lost another legal battle in the dispute with the company that installed red light cameras around the city.
Federal Judge Lynn Hughes handed down a late decision on Friday denying the city's request to appeal his decision that invalidated the red light camera election.
The city asked the judge for permission to appeal his initial decision two days ago. At the same time, Mayor Annise Parker turned the red light cameras back on, saying the city couldn't afford to pay ATS millions of dollars in damages. The judge has set a hearing date for July 19 for both sides to bring additional issues. It could bring up the problem that the city may have to pay ATS for damages during the period of time the red light cameras were turned off. After the hearing on July 19 is wrapped up, the city would then be eligible for the standard appeals process, like to the appellate courts.The city is calling this a positive step because the judge is moving quickly through the process in his court, so the city can have a standard appeal.
