Speeding Ticket in Washington

My question involves a speeding ticket from the State of: Washington

I received a speeding ticket in Grays Harbor County this weekend. We were on our way to Pacific Beach and we were on a road that was 50 MPH, then suddenly drops to 35 MPH, then back up to 50MPH. The officer was driving in the opposite direction and turned around to cite me. He said I was travelling 48 MPH. The ticket is for $124.

The last time I received a speeding ticket was in December 2002 in Mercer Island, WA. I hired an attorney that time, which was a waste of money. The judge asked everyone that wanted a deferment to stand up. I accepted the deferment, paid a $100 fee to the court and a fee to the attorney. I should have done the research and realized that I didn't need an attorney to get a deferment! Anyways, I understand that I can't do another deferment since it has not been 7 years.

What do you all suggest? I am interested in keeping this off my record. I've found one attorney that wants $750 (probably because Aberdeen is 2-3 hours from Seattle!). Should I contest it? If I contest it, what would my next step be? Its 2-3 hours to get out there for a court date.

Barry....any advice? You seem to be one of the experts here!

Brian

If it were me, I'd call the Clerk of the Court listed on your ticket. Ask him/her:

1. Am I eligible for a deferral? (They should be able to check your record.)
2. What was the filing date for the ticket? (Must be filed within five days -- not counting weekends or holidays -- of the citation date).
3. What is the address for the prosecutor's office (so you can send them a discovery request).

Just be sure to make a copy (both sides) of your citation and send it back within the 15 day time limit. And remember, unless you're eligible for another deferral, if you mark anything but "contested", it will definitely go on your record -- you will have to fight it to keep it off.

Let us know what you find out.

Barry

I will do the things you suggested. I'll keep you posted.

As a side note, I have contacted multiple attorneys in that rural region. They all want $500-$1000 to represent me. However, no one has had any experience in "traffic" law. In Seattle, there are attorneys that charge a one time rate ($200-400) and they only practice traffic law, which means they have experience and usually a high success rate. I had one attorney tell me that since it is a rural area, its much harder to fight.

Ok...here's what I found out from the court clerk:

1. I've used my deferral in January 2003
2. Ticket was issued on 9/26/08, and was filed on 9/30/08
3. I received the address to the prosecutor's office.

What would my next step be?

Oh...and I've talked to different attorneys and the consensus is that this specific district court is quite strict and don't dismiss tickets very often. Attorneys don't like going there because the prosecutor shows up for every hearing. And if the officer or prosecutor doesn't show up, the one judge out in that area always allows continuances, so attorneys have to go out there multiple times. It looks like this may be a tough court to get my ticket dismissed. What should I do? Try and fight it on my own or hire an attorney? Thanks for all your help!

Also....I just called the clerk and asked her to read off the officer's sworn statement. She said that there was none. She suggested that I do a discovery request first, then the office will be notified of the hearing, and he would then provide a sworn statement. She said that a lot of times, the officer does not provide a sworn statement until a hearing has been set.

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Quoting brianc333

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Also....I just called the clerk and asked her to read off the officer's sworn statement. She said that there was none. She suggested that I do a discovery request first, then the office will be notified of the hearing, and he would then provide a sworn statement. She said that a lot of times, the officer does not provide a sworn statement until a hearing has been set.

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If the officer filed the Notice of Infraction (NOI), then there had best be a probable cause statement with the copy sent to the court. Otherwise, it's a defective instrument and can dismissed for lack of, well, probable cause.

But yeah, you'll need to file for discovery to get a copy before the court date. The clerk of court in that area can advise you on the local rules used there for discovery. Or you can read up on the rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction.

The upshot about the continuances is if the officer doesn't show up is that they can't do this indefinitely. Your right to a speedy trial tolls when the prosecution moves for a continuance. If you move for a continuance (and you're entitled to 1 unless you have evidence or a witness who's out of the jurisdiction of the court and that you'll need for trial, which case the continuances can be filed for as much reasonable time as needed to get the witness/evidence into the jurisdiction of the court), you'll probably have to sign a waiver for the right to a speedy trial. That essentially resets the 90 window, leaving the prosecution its normal burden.

If the prosecution requests a continuance and asks you to sign a waiver of your right to a speedy trial, you needn't sign it. This time is tolled in your favor. They have 90 days to either bring it to trial, or it's dismissed. There are certain times when that doesn't always hold, but it's a good rule of thumb.

Since it's a speeding ticket, I would also expect that the officer would have made a hand-drawn sketch of his position, your position, other traffic (was there any?) and any obstacles.

If this differs from your memory, you should take photographs of any obstacles to his line of sight.

Also on the NOI will be the method of the speed monitoring. In this case it should be RaDAR since he was also moving. So, if you're going at this alone and really want to contest it (paying for the lawyer is a good idea), then you'll also want to get discovery for their records on the unit the officer was using that day. Its serial number is discoverable, as well as which tuning forks he used. There should be 2 of them used for this unit.

This is a lot of information for you get smart on by the time of your court date though. It's why it's best to pony up and get the attorney.

As another poster mentioned, if you check anything but contested, you have pleaded guilty to the offense. You can always plead guilty later, but it's much harder to plead guilty and then try to plead not guilty. So, check contested, which you can always turn into a mitigation hearing. The reverse isn't necessarily true.

Also, are you very familiar with this stretch of road?

Also, and this is a longer shot, but you might want to find out if the stray 35 MPH sign is either authorized or legally posted.

There are really a ton of things which could be looked at, and this is why the attorneys charge what seems like a lot for just a speeding ticket.

I don't know if he did a hand-drawn sketch. The court clerk said that there wasn't any statement with the NOI.

There was one car in front of me, but a good 30-40 yards ahead of me. I don't believe there was anything in his line of sight. I saw the police cruiser coming for probably 4-5 seconds. It was 10:30 at night, so it was dark already.

The method of speed monitoring was "SPD".

I just returned the citation and checked "contested hearing".

I am not familiar with this stretch of the road. We were heading to the coast for a weekend trip.

I doubt the sign was an unauthorized sign. The speed dropped to 35 because that short stretch of road was through a small town with some commercial storefronts.

And yes...I am considering hiring an attorney. I screened over 10 attorneys today trying to find the right person who has experience in that district court. Supposedly, this court is pretty difficult to get traffic infractions dismissed.

However, I do enjoy learning how this all works.

So when do I do a discovery request? Do I have to wait until I get a court date?

Also, should I wait to hire an attorney after I do the discovery request? If everyone here can help me and we find something really obvious, then I would rather fight it on my own. This court allows me to contest in writing.

According to IRLJ 2.6, the hearing must be scheduled with 120 days of the infraction unless the court schedules you for a "pre-hearing conference." In that case, the pre-hearing conference must be within 45 days of the infraction and the actual hearing within 90 days of the pre-hearing conference.

EVERY continuance request is granted or not granted at the discretion of the judge. You are NOT ENTITLED to 1 continuance. Likewise, there is no limit on how many continuances you may receive. There is less likelihood of being granted a continuance if you have subpoenaed witnesses, but it's not impossible.

Ashman165 is right about the speedy trial clock ticking if the prosecution requests a continuance, however, if the court allows a continuance which would take you beyond the 120 day limit (or 90 days if there was a pre-hearing conference), IRLJ 2.6 (d) requires that YOU must file a motion for a speedy trial within 10 days of the notice, or you waive your right. Notice, also, that IRLJ 2.6 (d) is usually printed on the back of the hearing notice, so you cannot claim you didn't know.

In most jurisidictions, you are NOT required to sign a separate waiver of your speedy trial rights when you request a continuance. As it states in IRLJ 2.6 (e):

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Quoting IRLJ 2.6

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(e) Time for Hearing; Effect of Delay or Continuances.
A motion for dismissal for the failure to hold a hearing within the time period provided by this rule shall not be granted if the failure to hold the hearing was attributable to the defendant or the defendant's counsel.

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I would file the discovery request as soon as you can. If you PM me with your email address, I can send you a form you can use. If you do not receive the officer's sworn statement in the discovery packet, move that it not be admitted into evidence at the hearing. Also, you will probably NOT receive the SMD certification as part of discovery -- they are usually kept on file with the court (see IRLJ 6.6 (d)).

Barry

Does the discovery request cost anything?

If the officer did not provide a sworn statement, can he add one later, even after discovery? The court clerk said that the officer doesn't need to provide one unless there is a hearing. Is that true? I've sent you a PM with my email.

How should I get the SMD certification? Is it possible to get it without physically going to the courthouse?

Quote:

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Quoting blewis

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According to IRLJ 2.6, the hearing must be scheduled with 120 days of the infraction unless the court schedules you for a "pre-hearing conference." In that case, the pre-hearing conference must be within 45 days of the infraction and the actual hearing within 90 days of the pre-hearing conference.

EVERY continuance request is granted or not granted at the discretion of the judge. You are NOT ENTITLED to 1 continuance. Likewise, there is no limit on how many continuances you may receive. There is less likelihood of being granted a continuance if you have subpoenaed witnesses, but it's not impossible.

Ashman165 is right about the speedy trial clock ticking if the prosecution requests a continuance, however, if the court allows a continuance which would take you beyond the 120 day limit (or 90 days if there was a pre-hearing conference), IRLJ 2.6 (d) requires that YOU must file a motion for a speedy trial within 10 days of the notice, or you waive your right. Notice, also, that IRLJ 2.6 (d) is usually printed on the back of the hearing notice, so you cannot claim you didn't know.

In most jurisidictions, you are NOT required to sign a separate waiver of your speedy trial rights when you request a continuance. As it states in IRLJ 2.6 (e):

I would file the discovery request as soon as you can. If you PM me with your email address, I can send you a form you can use. If you do not receive the officer's sworn statement in the discovery packet, move that it not be admitted into evidence at the hearing. Also, you will probably NOT receive the SMD certification as part of discovery -- they are usually kept on file with the court (see IRLJ 6.6 (d)).

Barry

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He is correct about the continuances and dates. I was reading in a different portion - on a different kind of court. But yeah, it's a court of limited jurisdiction.

Anyway, this is why it's good to hire a flesh and blood attorney. ^_^

What the court which has jurisdiction over this case will accept as pleadings for discovery is something best taken up with them, or an attorney. Anyway, some things you can get as a matter of public record by simply asking the clerk. Other things you have to specifically request, and there are filing times for different things.

You can find out more by going to: http://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules...p=clj&set=IRLJ

I do apologize for my collosal faux pas and any confusion.

Thank you for correcting me, Barry.