Some try to reason with the police officer who has pulled them over

for some real or imagined traffic offense. But when law enforcement is

represented by a computer-driven camera that has immortalized your

violations in film, it is hard to talk your way out of a heavy fine. Yet 【M1】__________

that is precisely what some 300 motorists in San Diego succeeded in

doing last week that a superior court judge rules that pictures taken by 【M2】__________

the so-called red-light cameras were unreliable and therefore unacceptable.

The first US court decision to reject all the traffic violations

catching on camera, the ruling by judge Ronald Styn has fueled debate 【M3】__________

over the growing use of the devices. Police departments swear, and

studies indicate that the robot cameras deter people in speeding and 【M4】__________

running red lights. Yet at least seven states have blocked proposals to

implement them, but opponents—ranging from House majority leader 【M5】__________

Dick Armey to the American Civil Liberties Union—argues that the 【M6】__________

cameras violate privacy and place profit above public safety.

Part of the problem is that virtually all the devices in the place are 【M7】__________

operated by private firms that handle everything from installing the

machinery to identifying violations—often with maximal police 【M8】__________

oversight—and have an incentive to pull in as many drivers as they can.

The companies get paid as many as $ 70 a ticket, and the total revenue 【M9】__________

is hardly chump change. “It’s all about money,” says Congressman Bob

Barr, a leading critic. Not so, insists Terrance Gainer, Washington’s

executive assistant chief of police. “We have reduced fatalities. If some

company is making money for that, that is American way. “ 【M10】_________

【M6】