Re: Trial in 2 Days, What Should I Do
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searcher99
As for cross examination I would really hope that you never get to that phase. If preliminary motions fail you could even possibly ask for a continuance to better prepare your case.
In WA the officer shows up only if subpoenaed by the defendant. The only evidence presented by the state is the officer's statement. There is no one to cross exam unless the defendant subpoenas the officer. Any defense outside of motions attacks the officer's statement.
Re: Trial in 2 Days, What Should I Do
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joef
In WA the officer shows up only if subpoenaed by the defendant. The only evidence presented by the state is the officer's statement. There is no one to cross exam unless the defendant subpoenas the officer. Any defense outside of motions attacks the officer's statement.
I was referring to the OP getting cross examined by the prosecutor, who will be present as mentioned by the OP in post #1, and also I was responding to the OP’s question in post #11.
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lawchick7
I'm not subpoenaing the officer, and the prosecuting attorney will be present since this is in Kitsap County at the Kitsap Court.
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lawchick7
Should I not respond at all except to say, "I don't recall," when cross-examined?
Re: Trial in 2 Days, What Should I Do
Thank you everyone for the advice, and especially thank you searcher99!
So I had my hearing today. The prosecutor just listed on a board 3 options for everyone in the room before the judge entered, people could either get the ticket reduced to a nonmoving violation, specifically driving with expired tabs, or they could get a deferral, or they could contest it in court with the judge.
I went up to talk to her to see if she could change the nonmoving violation to some other violation such as a mechanical violation or a parking violation since my tabs are and have always been kept current, but she said that was all she could offer. She also said I could go to the clerk's room to see if I qualified for community service, which I did.
I did read her some of my grounds for dismissal just to see what she had to say about it. She said the address was irrelevant and said since I was served the ticket in-person that was irrelevant. She said she had never heard of the argument about needing to have the cop car number listed, re the statutes that searcher99 presented for not having the cop car and cop car radar reading.
I asked about the points since m.p. 34 was very broad, but didn't show her the map with the different points that I listed.
She seemed very adamant that she was not going to dismiss my charge, didn't seem to want to hear what I had to say or found objections to it, and it seemed like she was only doing the 3 options listed.
At least my ticket was reduced to a nonmoving violation though, and I can work it off in community service. The prosecutor did say that all nonmoving violations show up on your driving record. Although I know that parking and camera infractions don't, but maybe those are the only one's?
Re: Trial in 2 Days, What Should I Do
Thanks for updating us, and I think you did good work dealing with your first ticket. It wasn’t an easy one to find defenses for, but you’ve kept it from raising insurance and your deferral remains available in case you need it later. Also you provided information about inattentive driving that I will try to investigate further. Although I know it’s done a lot, it nevertheless bothers me that people should be expected to admit to completely irrelevant non-moving offenses such as expired tabs.
The defense I brought up regarding the speedometer was probably too risky for your situation, and more suited to someone with court experience who might be willing to appeal a negative decision to Superior Court, which involves work and expense. If it had been a pace ticket where the speedometer is the primary speed measuring device, there would be an excellent chance of dismissal if the officer failed to id his vehicle or if no certification document was provided by prosecution (such as in this previous post).
It’s more of a grey area when the speedometer is only used to check the moving radar, but I still believe the check is invalid without an available speedometer cert. Then it becomes a question of how critical that check is for foundation. Prosecutors will usually say that it’s not, and also some judges but not all.