Lawmakers push back after thousands of citations improperly signed in Mesa

Retired judge's digital signature used on 40K+ traffic citations

A retired judge's digital signature was used for months on more than 43,000 traffic citations, and driver's weren't notified. FOX 10's Kenzie Beach learns more on how lawmakers are pushing back. 

MESA, Ariz. - Lawmakers are pushing back against the City of Mesa after more than 40,000 traffic citations were signed off by a retired judge. These citations are all part of the photo enforcement traffic cameras used in cities across the Valley.

What we know:

The city confirmed that a retired judge’s digital signature was used for months on tens of thousands of traffic citations, and drivers were never notified of the error.

"The reality is, I don’t like this photo radar business, and I don’t think it’s fair to the people of Arizona," said Arizona Rep. Teresa Martinez.

As photo enforcement cameras expand across Arizona cities, questions are growing about their legality and privacy concerns.

"That’s unconstitutional to A, collect your information without your permission or knowing it, and B, to serve you in this fashion," said Arizona Sen. Wendy Rogers.

A resolution, SCR 1004, received a "Do Pass" from the Senate’s Appropriations, Transportation and Technology Committee. If approved, it would remove photo enforcement cameras across the state.

By the numbers:

The push for the resolution comes as FOX10 obtained a letter signed by the Mesa City Manager confirming more than 43,000 citations were incorrectly and electronically signed by a retired judge over an 11-month period between 2020 and 2021.

"It makes the courts seem like they're shady," Martinez said.

Dig deeper:

The letter also states it happened again in 2024. More than 2,000 citations were incorrectly signed by a judge who was no longer the presiding magistrate.

"Insurance went up because of it. I promise you that. They had to pay the ticket, and it's the wrong judge's name?" Martinez said. "The City of Mesa should issue a refund to every person who got a ticket under that wrong judge's name. That's not right."

What's next:

The City of Mesa said it was aware of the issue, did not inform drivers, and now plans to remove a judge’s signature from citations entirely.

Lawmakers want to leave this decision up to voters. There are now two separate resolutions: one that would require a current sitting judge to sign off on tickets, and another that would ban photo enforcement cameras in Arizona altogether.