How to Fight a Rejected Traffic Court Appeal
My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Cowlitz County, Washington
Good Day! I was in Portland last week for a weekend trip with a friend from Canada (we were using her car) and I was the one driving at 2 in the morning, speed was just below the limit as I was not trying to go above the limit since im just a tourist in this country and don't want to get into any trouble. A lot of cars have passed me and was left alone driving on a hazy/dark area, there were no lights and road reflectors on the area I was driving at, no cars to tailgate, and just about a mile away I saw a construction zone so I had to slow down a bit, then suddenly, just a few feet away, a police car was driving right behind me. First, I thought it was nothing and just needed to slow down so he can overtake me but realized he was tailgaiting me so I had to stop and was really surprised and super clueless at what was happening. The police went down and said that I was driving at 80 for a 60 limit. I had to argue a bit and explain that I wasn't driving that fast as most cars have already passed me and did not even try to beat them or whatsoever, I was also telling him that I was using this navigator on my phone which alerts me if I go pass the limit (we're using KM in my country so it still confuses me). To cut short, this police wouldn't even let me explain, he proceeded in giving me a ticket for $317 and that was it. Totally felt discriminated, maybe because of my ethnicity and how hard I was trying to explain in perfect english (I was mumbling some words a bit because I was in shock of what had happened).
I tried to appeal online, but the judge rejected the appeal. I tried to ask the county clerk if I could still make another appeal and he said that I should speak with an attorney for any legal advise. So here I am asking some good readers and professionals out here how I can remedy this situation I am in. I don't want to pay for something I believe I didn't do, and felt really discriminated after this incident, as I have heard some stories of other people getting away with speeding ticket especially for a first violation and most especially for a tourist like me. $317 is still a big deal for me since I am just alloting a really tight budget for this trip :( Hope you guys can help. Thank you so much and appreciate the time and effort to read my story :)
Re: How to Fight a Rejected Appeal
When you choose to submit a written statement online in lieu of an in-person hearing, you are requesting a Decision on Written Statements pursuant to IRLJ 3.5 and Cowlitz County Rule 2.4. Almost always your chances of winning are better in person.
Probably the judge’s decision on your statement is final, but you might possibly still be able to request a deferred finding. Based on the court’s web information, it looks like a deferral would cost $150 which is less than half your fine. Of course that is conditional on you not getting another ticket in Washington State within 1 year.
I would ask a court clerk if you can still apply for deferral. The problem however is that it’s probably necessary for a judge to first vacate the finding of committed before granting a deferral, and that might not be something he/she is willing to do.
Re: How to Fight a Rejected Appeal
Explain this to me like I'm 5:
When did you receive this ticket?
Did you fill out the information on the ticket and email it to the court?
If so, did you select "Contested Hearing?"
Finally, are you planning on going down to Cowlitz County to state your case if you're given a court date?
Re: How to Fight a Rejected Appeal
For starters, your claim of discrimination seems to be nonsense: based on nothing other than a belief that anything bad that happened had to be because you're not from the U.S.
As far as the ticket, cops don't generally entertain argument about tickets (especially not in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere). Sometimes a driver can convince a cop to let the driver off with a warning, but that's the exception to the rule.
You told us that you "tried to appeal online," but I don't know what that means. A ticket is nothing more than a notice of a charge against you. Typically, you will receive a courtesy notice that gives you the option to pay or sometimes other options. If you don't get one or don't want to pay, you show up in court and ask the court to set your case for trial. If you lose at trial, THEN you can appeal. As the first response indicated, maybe you did a trial by declaration, and the first response suggested some options.
Beyond that, challenging a speeding ticket is very difficult because it typically comes down to your word against the cop's.
Re: How to Fight a Rejected Appeal
In WA for most counties you contact the court for a trial date, usually within two weeks of the offense, there is no courtesy notice and no arraignment. There are no other appearances. In some courts you can request a written defense instead of appearing before the court. This is what the OP did. As searcher99 has pointed out, State Court Rules allow for this but unlike CA with trial De Novo, the decision is final, no appeals allowed. As searcher99 also points out, it looks like they need to consult with a local attorney to explore other options or contact the court to request a deferral which I expect to be unlikely.
Re: How to Fight a Rejected Appeal
Quote:
Quoting
joef
This is what the OP did.
And what led you to that conclusion?
Re: How to Fight a Rejected Appeal
He starts the second paragraph with "I tried to appeal online, but the judge rejected the appeal. I tried to ask the county clerk if I could still make another appeal" Cowlitz County Courts have an online form to fill out to contest a citation without attending a hearing. The OP's statements sounds like he used the online form to contest the citation and it was denied by the judge and he was found guilty. That is why he is looking for "another appeal" to try to have the citation dismissed. This court also has online forms to request either a contested hearing or a mitigation hearing and a form to reschedule a contested hearing.
The OP's statements are consistent with this scenario.
Re: How to Fight a Rejected Appeal
Hello!
I did file for an appeal, explaining my side. The judge denied the appeal, I don't know if they even read it since I was asking for a written proof for the radar this police officer was using. I was the only one on the road, friends from the US would call this thing as "speed trap". Also, I never "overspeed" in the construction zone, that's just where they stopped me, so I don't get the "double violation" part of this ticket. Thanks
Re: How to Fight a Rejected Appeal
You don’t ask for the radar data as you did. It would be requested and used in a trial.
Quote:
I was the only one on the road, friends from the US would call this thing as "speed trap"
im not your friend but I am from the us and no, I would not call that a speed trap, or anything close to it.
and given it was dark and no road lights, what makes you think the cop has any idea what your ethnicity is? I grow tired of people always claiming discrimination when realistically it is very very unlikely to be true. It really makes it sound like the person is grabbing at straws trying to escape justice.
You also said the cop was behind you about a mile before the construction zone. Did he follow you for that mile before pulling you over? How fast were you driving when he pulled in behind you?
how fast were you going when the cop measured your speed?
Re: How to Fight a Rejected Appeal
No, I was about a mile away when I saw the construction zone, so I had to slow down. Just before entering the construction zone/few feets away, a police car was suddenly behind me. I didn't know that he was trying to pull me over, so I just drove along and thought that he needed to go pass me so I stopped on the left side (there were cones on the right side).