46 in a 35mph Zone in Kennewick, Washington (Benton County) - Contested Hearing Tips

[aznbabygirl06]

I really need advice on how to win my contested hearing in benton county court in Kennewick, WA

I'm very young and have no training in law or law enforcement, so I'm not sure how to go about this

Anyway, I got pulled over in Kennewick on May 14,2009 (the day before my 21st birthday!) for going 46mph in a 35mph zone - so 11mph over and I was fined $154 for this infraction

Now, I'm sorry but I'm a broke college student and I could not afford to pay this, and I did not want to admit that I committed the infraction, as that would have meant I would have had to pay - so I opted for the contested hearing

I've been doing some research, and so far it seems like the best options for me are to request continuances for as long as I possibly can (according to IRLJ Rule 2.6 (a) (1) that should be 120 days from the date of notice of infraction right?) and then try to subpoena the cop and the speed measuring device expert in order to help my case out as much as possible

Well, in addition to doing all of that I found that the cop charged me way too much for this infraction and in IRLJ 6.2 (d) (1) the statute code I was cited for (RCW 46.61.400) has a base penalty of $52 - could it be possible for the statutory assessments fees to be $102?!?! That just seems so ridiculous - I want to know:

1.) Is this an overcharge on my penalty?

2.) If it is an overcharge, can I use that fact against the officer who cited me? And/or will it help my case at all?

If it helps I'm a 21 year old college student, not even from anywhere near Kennewick, WA - I actually live in Bremerton, WA which is all the way on the other side of the state (like an hour away from Seattle, WA) - but I go to school at WSU in Pullman, WA which is in eastern WA but it's like 2.5 hours away from Kennewick...

Either way... PLEASE HELP!

Also, here is a link to the rules concerning the court i'm scheduled to be heard:
http://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules...p=clj&set=IRLJ

thanks!

[blewis]

I've been doing some research, and so far it seems like the best options for me are to request continuances for as long as I possibly can (according to IRLJ Rule 2.6 (a) (1) that should be 120 days from the date of notice of infraction right?) and then try to subpoena the cop and the speed measuring device expert in order to help my case out as much as possible

You are certainly welcome to use whatever strategy you wish. Keep in mind, however, that I have NEVER heard of ANYONE winning when the officer shows up. Now, if the officer FAILS to show (highly unlikely in King County -- I don't know about the tri-cities), you will, most likely, get a dismissal.

Well, in addition to doing all of that I found that the cop charged me way too much for this infraction and in IRLJ 6.2 (d) (1) the statute code I was cited for (RCW 46.61.400) has a base penalty of $52 - could it be possible for the statutory assessments fees to be $102?!?! That just seems so ridiculous - I want to know:

1.) Is this an overcharge on my penalty?

2.) If it is an overcharge, can I use that fact against the officer who cited me? And/or will it help my case at all?

Nope, unfortunately $154 is the correct TOTAL penalty for 11 over when the speed limit is 40 or under.

Barry