In an opinion released Monday, the court indicated its problem wasn't so much the idea behind the law but the way the law was applied.
The statute affected cars which were registered in Georgia and which were driven by people who resided in the state. Nonresidents weren't affected by the law, which carried misdemeanor penalties.
The court said it saw no valid reason for the Legislature to draw a distinction between residents and nonresidents, and therefore ruled the law invalid.
``It being self-evident that nonresidents can be as dangerous to police officers as residents, we perceive no rational connection between the residence of the driver of a vehicle and the goal of improving law enforcement officer safety during traffic stops,'' the court held in a unanimous opinion.
A footnote in the ruling cited the laws of several other states whose window-tinting laws ``apply to all persons without regard to residence.''
The law made it illegal to apply material to car windows which reduced light transmission to less than 32 percent or which increased light reflectance to more than 20 percent. Tinting applied by a manufacturer prior to delivery was not affected.
The law was challenged by Jessica Ciak, who was stopped in Cobb County by an officer who suspected her windows were tinted beyond the limits of the law.
Her attorneys challenged the law's constitutionality before a trial judge but lost a motion to have it invalidated. The Supreme Court appeal followed.
Cobb County Solicitor General Barry Morgan, whose office prosecuted the case, said the decision exposes law enforcement officers to a potential hazard until the Legislature can meet again and decide whether the law can be fixed.
``A law enforcement officer who's making an approach to a car never knows what he's going to meet,'' said Morgan, adding that heavily tinted windows simply increase the risk.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/6/157831