I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure there are laws in place (at least in some states) that provide a minimum time for a light to shine yellow before going to red. Basically, if the stop light has a yellow light that is short of the minimum, you can fight a ticket for running a red right. Not sure on the particulars here, but just something to consider.
Most people don't assume that this sort of thing could be against a law, since it's a government doing it to them; they just glower and pay the tickets.
