Incorrect Facts in Officer's Affidavit for a Speeding Ticket

[lawvg]

My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Washington

Officer issued me a notice of infraction for driving 29 in 20 mph zone (46.61.440 SPD SCH/PLGD ZN/XWLK). At the point of stop I told the officer that I was driving no more than 20 mph near the school crosswalk and asked the officer why the speed limit was 20 at the point where he stopped me. The officer indistinctly said something about a posted 20 MPH speed limit sign with flashing orange light.

0) Approximately 6 hours after that I drove to that location again to take photos of the road signs because there was no 20 MPH speed limit sign with flashing orange light there.

I filed a contest, then request for discovery and received my discovery materials as well (3 pages linked below: NOI, back side of NOI, affidavit of speed).





Affidavit states the recent radar unit calibration date, no more than six months from NOI, but I will still need to obtain the radar certification from the court and I will post it when I get it.

There are several facts that are incorrect in the affidavit though.
1) street wet / weather rain: the day was actually clear sunny and the streets were dry, in the photographs that I took 6 hours later the roads are dry and leaves and other garbage at the curbs are also dry without any moisture.
2) brake lamp: the officer didn't mention anything about my brake lamp and it is definitely functional, the car is also relatively new and hasn't had any electronics or lamps repairs.
3) proof of insurance: I provided proof of insurance to the officer and there were no problems with it; I definitely did not receive a citation for failing to provide proof of insurance.
4) children present: there were no children or other pedestrians present on the sidewalks at that time of early Monday morning
5) city block: the city block in NOI and mentioned in the affidavit is the "block 2", and it is located entirely at a distance of at least 300 ft from the school crosswalk according to my measurements using Google maps (image linked).
school property is located farther in the direction of the arrow, "block 1" is located within 300ft of the crosswalk; block 2 is the block on NOI and in the affidavit and is located beyond 300ft from the crosswalk; there's also word "SCHOOL" on the road for traffic driving in a different direction towards the crosswalk in block 1, word "SCHOOL" is within 300ft from the crosswalk which would indicate to me that the school crosswalk 300ft zone indeed ends between the blocks and my vehicle would not be located within 300ft from the crosswalk in the block specified in NOI/Affidavit.



What would be ways to build evidence helping with dismissal?
0) How shall I introduce into evidence pictures of the road in that area showing that there is no 20MPH sign and the only road sign before NOI-block would be marked crosswalk? Shall I just print the pictures I took or do I need to certify/notarize some accompanying paper too?
1) street condition / weather: Is it worth anything? Would personal pictures be sufficient? Is it possible to request certified timestamped images from say traffic cameras nearby or a certified weather report?
2) brake lamp: Is it worth anything? Shall I go to my official dealership and have an expert mechanic sign a paper that the brake lamp is operational and no work was required or performed on the brake lamp or electronics since the vehicle was purchased from them?
3) proof of insurance: Shall I get a paper confirming that no citation for lack of insurance was issued? Where would I get that? Shall I bring my insurance card to the hearing or do I need to call my insurance and have them issue some sort of statement with dates of coverage?
4) children present: I wish I took pictures right there... since the officer didn't mention children at the time of stop I didn't think about it. I don't know of any real evidence that can be produced, but I can declare at the hearing under penalty of perjury that there were no children or other pedestrians present within 300ft of a marked school crosswalk at the time when my vehicle was driving on the street. Is it worth doing so?
5) measuring 300ft from the crosswalk seems like the heaviest argument to me. To the best of my understanding the officer actually measured my speed towards the end of block2 which would be more like 500ft from the crosswalk, but it would be best to prove that the entire block would be past 300ft from the crosswalk if possible. What are block boundaries for the purpose of infractions and vehicle location in officer's report? Where should 300ft be measured from - middle of crosswalk painted on road / edge of painted crosswalk / yellow sign with the arrow pointing at crosswalk? How should the actual distance of 300ft be measured and presented at the hearing for evidence purposes?

Do you have any suggestions to use omissions from officers' affidavits. Are there any helpful omissions here? E.g.:
a) officer didn't state his location
b) officer didn't state how far he was from the vehicle when he observed or when he measured its speed with radar
c) officer didn't state that he tested radar immediately before/after stop
d) officer didn't state which radar antenna was used
e) officer states that he used his radar in "Stationary" mode, but then states that speedometer reading and "Patrol Speed" were consistent, not sure whether it contradicts the radar's stationary use requirements?

Thank you for your help!

[PTPD22]

The officer's affidavit is sloppily done and is an obvious cut-and-paste job that he did not properly edit for the specific facts of your stop. One dead giveaway is that he says he had the radar in "stationary" mode...but, just a bit down he says that the his speedometer reading was consistent with the patrol speed displayed on the radar. In stationary mode, there is no patrol speed displayed and, even in moving mode, there will be no speed displayed while the patrol car is stationary.

I'll leave it to others here to give you detailed info about how to beat this. But, this is either an inexperienced cop who doesn't really know what he/she is doing yet or he/she has gotten lackadaisical/lazy. Either way, a little embarrassment in traffic court might be a good learning experience.

Sorry, feeling a little surly this morning toward sloppy cops.

[Speedy Gonzalez]

The affidavit says you were cited for no insurance, but the Notice Of Infraction does not list this charge. Also, could you un-blank everything except your name and the citation number? Unless this was done in the SECTOR system, the officer's signature statement could be questionable if it just contains a typed name, since it does not look to be hand-signed. He doesn't say he enters his badge number to authenticate it. If he didn't use SECTOR, and the name is typed, then it may not be a valid signature.

Also, how is it that the officer identified you by "Other"?

Other things to do while at the court getting the cert: Find out WHEN the ticket was filed with the court.

[lawvg]

Thank you for your replies!

The affidavit says you were cited for no insurance, but the Notice Of Infraction does not list this charge.

Correct, I had and still have a valid insurance and I was not cited for it.

... the officer's signature statement could be questionable if it just contains a typed name ...

NOI and back of NOI pages contain "I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that all statements made herein are true and accurate and that I am entering my authorized user id and password to authenticate it", below that is a typed officer's name and a 3-digit number.
Affidavit contains only "I certify (or declare) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that the above is true and correct", below that is a typed officer's name followed by the same 3-digit number, no actual signature.

on the line "Identified by (Other)

Blanked out on that line is my driver license number.

Find out WHEN the ticket was filed with the court

The ticket was filed with the court on the same day that NOI was issued, the online system shows that and the court clerk told me that when I was submitting a contested ticket and request for discovery.

[BrendanjKeegan]

I feel like we've been here before... Oh wait. Check this thread.

The moving vs. stationary should do the trick.

[Speedy Gonzalez]

Well, we also need to find out if the signature on the affidavit is valid. Brendan, any idea if this department uses SECTOR? Or are all printed WA tickets like this SECTOR?

[BrendanjKeegan]

Yeah. Kirkland PD uses SECTOR. Most of these white printed tickets are printed through the SECTOR management system. That means the second the officer goes back to the station and plugs into the internet, the ticket is automatically updated.

However, only the ticket and the report is sent this way.

Imagine an email being sent with two parts, a body and a signature. The body being the ticket and the signature being the report. If I send you this email, I have to enter my username and password in order to access the system in the first place. This email, is encrypted in a way that requires you to enter the same after you click the send button.

Washington Courts accept this under the amended GR 30(d), as one unlucky poster recently discovered. However, the rule states "Any document initiated by a law enforcement officer is presumed to have been signed when the officer uses his or her user ID and password to electronically submit the document to a court or prosecutor through the Statewide Electronic Collision & Traffic Online Records (SECTOR) application, the Justice Information Network Data Exchange (JINDEX), or a local secured system that the
presiding judge designates by local rule."

This officer does not attest to the fact that this document was electronically signed by entering his user id and password. It looks to me like he went into Microsoft Word, typed in his name and a few details from the ticket, and pressed print. This document was NOT sent by SECTOR or through JINDEX, as the application states itself to be 2 pages. There was no 3rd page sent via SECTOR - otherwise it would have noted it.

It's worth a shot, but personally, I'd use the moving vs. stationary argument before that.

[lawvg]

I got copies of the radar and speedometer certificates today too, linked at the bottom of this post.

The only difference from the affidavit of speed is this: in affidavit of speed the officer wrote: "The speedometer on my police vehicle was calibrated with a Lidar Unit on 9-14-2011 by Officers Kissinger and Lousberg", but the actual speedometer certificate on file with the court is dated June-02 2011.

Can you also please help me check the language of the motion I adapted from the thread referenced by Brendan:

---
Your honor, the officer doesn't specify his exact location, nor did the officer indicate that he had a clear and unobstructed view of defendant's vehicle. Proper use of radar requires a clear and unobstructed view of the target vehicle. In the officer's affidavit, he states that he was was using a moving radar unit in the "Stationary" mode, yet he states that the speedometer on officer's police vehicle was consistent with the patrol speed displayed in the Patrol Speed window of the radar unit. In stationary mode, there is no patrol speed displayed and in moving mode there will be no speed displayed while the patrol car is stationary. As the Kustom Signals Raptor SMD has both moving and stationary modes, there is no way to know the officer was in the proper mode to obtain an accurate reading. Thus the defendant makes a motion to suppress the affidavit. Then motion to dismiss due to lack of evidence.
---

If that doesn't work shall I try to dispute the officer's signature? What would be the proper language to use here?

---
Your honor, the affidavit of speed has not been signed by the officer as required by RCW 9A.72.085. Even if the officer filed the affidavit of speed electronically, GR 30 (d)(2)(D) presumes document to have been signed when the officer uses his user ID and password. On the affidavit of speed the officer doesn't specify that he used his user ID and password, therefore the defendant makes a motion to suppress the affidavit of speed. Then motion to dismiss due to lack of evidence.
---

If that fails and I would like to bring pictures and a copy of google maps what's the best way to present those at the hearing? Is it worth bringing up the discrepancies in facts specified in officer's affidavit and actual facts from the day of stop too? Or do you think that the motions above must succeed with a very high probability?

Thanks!

[lawvg]

Also another couple of quick questions: are the motions above pre-hearing motions or do I wait for the judge to read the officer's statement first? Do I need to state several motions upfront (moving vs. stationary, signature, facts, etc.)? Or do I state one motion and let the judge make a ruling on it, then state another one and let the judge make a ruling on it?
Thank you.

[BrendanjKeegan]

Your case is called and you tell the judge, "Your honor, if I may make a few pre-hearing motions?" He'll probably say, "go ahead." Wait for his okay to start so that you have his undivided attention. Don't start before he's ready.

Then you state these one at a time:
1.) "Your honor, the officer states that he was was using a moving radar unit in the "Stationary" mode, yet he states that the speedometer on officer's police vehicle was consistent with the patrol speed displayed in the Patrol Speed window of the radar unit. It goes without saying that in the stationary mode of operation, there is no patrol speed displayed and in moving mode there will be no speed displayed while the patrol car is stationary. As the Kustom Signals Raptor SMD has both moving and stationary modes, there is no way to know with reasonably certainty if the officer was in the proper mode to obtain an accurate reading. Thus I would like to move to suppress the affidavit and move to dismiss the case."

2.) "Your honor, the officer doesn't specify his exact location, nor did the officer indicate that he had a clear and unobstructed view of defendant's vehicle. Proper use of radar requires a clear and unobstructed view of the target vehicle. Without knowing the officer's EXACT location in reference to my location, I am also unable to argue if I was within the 300 ft of the crosswalk that constitutes this school zone at the time the reading was obtained. I move to suppress and dismiss as there are not enough facts to prove that I was within the school zone."

3.) "Your honor, the affidavit of speed has not been signed by the officer as required by RCW 9A.72.085. Even if the officer filed the affidavit of speed electronically, GR 30 (d)(2)(D) presumes document to have been signed when the officer uses his user ID and password. On the affidavit of speed the officer doesn't specify that he used his user ID and password. In fact, it looks as if the officer used a word processing document to create this affidavit and therefore he did not sign it. Courts in this state have held that ONLY affidavits submitted via SECTOR are admissible with electronic signatures. I move to suppress the entire affidavit of speed as there is an improper certification and then move to dismiss due to lack of evidence."

4.) "Your honor, the officer states that the SMD was in the moving mode. The certification on file with the court does not meet the requirements of IRLJ 6.6. Furthermore, the officer's who checked the accuracy of the speedometer do not state their qualifications and do not constitute as experts. Cases such as Bellevue v. Mociulski mandate that the person attesting to the device's accuracy must first introduce testimony that he is qualified as an expert. Unless the prosecution will be introducing some sort of expert testimony as to the accuracy of the speedometer, I move to dismiss via IRLJ 6.6."

Do the motions one at a time and let the judge make his ruling one at a time.