How to Keep the Officer's Affidavit of Speed Out of Court

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

I am not here to dispute if I did or did not commit the infraction; I am here to ask members that are more legally educated than myself if there are any discrepancies within the provided discovery that would lead to a not-committed finding. I am a college student that can not afford to retain an attorney at the moment and enjoy the challenge of contesting a citation.

With that said, the officers affidavit appears to be accurate regarding conditions and location. However, I did notice a few discrepancies:

1. Under number 1 on the list, the tuning forks serial numbers listed do not match the serial numbers provided in the certificates on the next page.
2. Under number 3 on the same list, he states "I checked the patrol vehicle speed against the radar unit at both 35 MPH and 50 MPH." Within the certificate of accuracy on the following page (although they are for the incorrect tuning forks), it states that the when operating in the K band, they should read at 35 and 65 MPH.
3. While likely irrelevant, in the last paragraph, he states "The driver was aware the stop was for speeding, thought the speed limit was 35 MPH and thought that the speed of their vehicle was unknown." I never answered why I thought I was being pulled over nor did I state what the speed limit was.

I do not know the correct wording, but I believe that I am attempting to get the affidavit of speed thrown out due to incorrect information and then request a dismissal based on a lack of evidence. Please correct me if I am wrong or provide any useful information. Please do not post if you're going to say something along the lines of "you committed the crime, pay the consequences." Thank you in advance for any and all information/guidance! I will reply back quickly.

http://i39.tinypic.com/25korit.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/2s01lsg.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/xgfzm1.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/1z2nnsm.jpg

This may be an open and shut case. You need to go to the court and request to see the RADAR certification binder. If the certification they have on file for that unit has the same serial numbers as what the prosecutor sent you, then you should win.

Several things I spot here.

1. Unless the prosecutor sent you a page that you did not post, then the certifications do not substantially conform with IRLJ 6.6(b), and are therefore invalid. Who is this guy "Jorge Marciano" and what are his qualifications?
1. The officer states that he calibrated the unit with the wrong serial numbers (as you pointed out).
2. The officer states that he calibrated the unit against the patrol vehicle's speedometer, for which NO certification was supplied, so his statement is hearsay because it cannot be established from his statement that he was present when the speedometer was calibrated. It is inadmissible under (Evidence Rule) ER802.

"Your Honor, I move to suppress the RADAR certification per IRLJ 6.6(b). The certification does not substantially conform with the rule, and should be deemed inadmissible."

If that works, use this:

"Your Honor, I move to suppress the speed readings per IRLJ 6.6(c) and move to dismiss with prejudice for lack of evidence."

If not, move on:

"Your Honor, I move to suppress the officer's statement about having calibrated this RADAR against the patrol vehicle's speedometer per ER802, hearsay. The patrol vehicle is not identified, and the officer has not sworn to having been present when the speedometer was last calibrated. The statement is hearsay and should be disallowed as such."

"Your Honor, I move to suppress the officer's RADAR affidavit and the speed reading per ER902 (careful, this is close to the other but different) and move to dismiss with prejudice for lack of evidence. The officer did not use the tuning forks assigned to this unit. Therefore it is impossible to legally or factually establish whether the device in use was properly calibrated at the time it was used. The device cannot be authenticated as reliable and the readings be disallowed."

Sorry, I did not provide those additional pages because the post only allowed four images. I have posted them below. Thank you for your EXCELLENT information!

http://i40.tinypic.com/2vmsdpi.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/2zjby46.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/2wogknc.jpg

Ok, scratch the first two motions off your list.

Next step: Go to court. Check binder. Get copies. Be prepared to pay using cash or check for the pages you get copied.

Specifically what you are looking for is a designation that those serial numbers are for that device or another device. The certs they sent you do not make that connection as they do not list either the reciprocal serial number. If what you have is what is filed, use the motion to suppress based on the fact that he did not use the tuning forks that were sent in the certification response.

Thank you again for the information. You put what I wanted to say into legal terms! The court date isn't until 12/20 (initial continuance and motion for continuance), but I'll let you know how it goes. I have another case on that date also; I'm waiting for a copy of the discovery for that case.

- - - Updated - - -

So if the certs match, do I move to suppress the officer's statement about having calibrated this RADAR against the patrol vehicle's speedometer per ER802 AND move to suppress the officer's RADAR affidavit and the speed reading per ER902, or only the latter?

The hearsay alone will not get the relevant parts of the statement suppressed, but it is integral to getting completely squashing all possibility to state 'well it was accurate because it matched the speedometer'. The key here is the tuning fork serial numbers. If the state cannot show that they are assigned to the device, it is pretty much the same thing. They gave you certification for one set, the officer states he used a different set. Who is right? The officer cannot speak for the prosecutor, the prosecutor cannot speak for the officer. Do not accept a continuance for them to straighten it out. The day of court is the day of court... you aren't to blame if the prosecutor cannot get their act together.

Thank you! As far as I know, Pierce County District Court is one of the few remaining courts that does not have a prosecutor.

Then they cannot object or ask for a continuance, then, can they. :)

Did you check the certification log book yet?

Sorry about the late reply! I just got done with finals this week and returned to the west side. I went in to court today and asked to see the binder. The clerk said one minute, left for a couple minutes, and said "What you received in the discovery is what we have on file." He didn't offer to let me see it. I will proceed with the process that you recommended.

My court date is tomorrow. I also have two hearings tomorrow. I am about to post my discovery for that citation in a new thread.

Thank you again for your assistance Speedy!

So what happened? It sounds to me like they were/are trying to hide something.