Wow. I thought this case was over, but apparently it wasn’t. Remember the case involving the Palatine, Illinois police department leaving traffic citations on windshields that contain personal information? If you don’t, just search this site for “Palatine” to find all the previous coverage.
The AP now reports that the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Palatine didn’t break the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act when an officer left a ticket for Jason Senne listing his name, address, license number, birthdate, gender, height and weight.
AP goes on to report:
Tuesday’s ruling says Palatine had good reason for including the personal information. Among other things, the court says it shows someone getting a ticket police know who they are, making it more likely they’ll pay.
So why should Senne’s birthdate, height, and weight be posted on his windshield if it was his wife or child (for example) who earned the traffic citation? If I were living in Palatine, I wouldn’t want to be named as the registered owner of a car, knowing that if any driver of the car got a parking ticket, it would be my details on the windshield.