Automated traffic enforcement tools, such as red-light cameras and speeding cameras, have been in the news a lot lately, and now Colorado is poised to be the latest state to ban the devices entirely.

In May 2014, the State Senate voted 21-14 to ban all types of traffic-enforcement cameras. Ten states, including Nevada and Montana, have already adopted a similar measure. The proposal now moves to the Democrat-controlled House, where observers say it has a good chance of passing.

Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, also a Democrat, has thus far been noncommittal when asked whether he would sign such a ban.

Traffic enforcement cameras, at least as currently constituted, seem to be on the way out. In addition to the concern that these cameras are basically modern-day "speed traps" that are basically designed to generate revenue, and roadway safety is a side benefit, at best, some say that traffic enforcement cameras violate individual privacy.

The California Constitution explicitly guarantees a right to privacy in Article 1, Section 1, but a claimant may face an uphill battle. To prove a constitutional violation in Kern County, a plaintiff must show:

But other arguments regarding due process, other circumstances that the camera could not capture, and the manner in which the state presents its case are much more likely to prevail at trial.