Speeding Ticket Washington State

So this was a shock today. Driving towards Shelton from Port Orchard on Highway 3. At the top of the hill A 1/2 Mile back a cop with Sirens blazing was speeding up the hill, me the two cars in front of me all pulled over to the shoulder to let it safely pass, but instead the car came up behind me (the back car) and everyone else saw and just pulled out and left. The State Patrol officer in his unmarked car came up and said speed limit is 55 you were doing 72, and asked for liscense and registration took it and left, came back with the citation. It was embarrasing cause i have 4 kids in with me and my wife, and I know i couldn't have been clocked from where he was accurately, and i know i wasn't speeding faster than traffic at the bottom of the hill which would have been the only place he could have taken an accurate measurement. Since i had other cars in front of me i was unaware of my speed though so that didn't help me much, although i wasn't given a chance to talk. The RCW is 46.61.400 no sub (if there is any) 72 in 55 is the speed note and Notes say "Speed over Legal R-2192" I think handwriting is a little sloppy its given in Kitsap County Court. I was going to go into the court next friday to pick up his report before i mail in the ticket to check his throughness and accuracy.

You have 15 days to mail that ticket in or you waive all rights to contest. Why would you go to court first and wait to decide whether not to turn it in? Always check box 3 that you'd like to contest because you always have the option to admit guilt and pay the fine. If you choose box 1 or 2 you waive any right to contest.

IRLJ 2.2(d) requires them to file the ticket with the court within 5 business days. That's the first thing to check.

I won my case yesterday pro se.

Very good point, thank you, and very nice i would have asked for a deferral with officer notes like that! i'm sure the court session was a great rush!

I haven't seen Barry post on here in a few days so I will take the liberty of referring you to his Procedural Guide to Traffic Tickets in Washington State thread.

UPDATE:

So I got my stuff and am hopinh for a little more brainstorming here. There is an obvious mistake in the report, but the ticket itself contradicts the mistake. I did also check the distance from which he came up behind us and found it to be 1/3 to 1/4 of a mile definately not more. Is it possible since my family was with me to use them as witnesses? I'm going to post the pictures of the ticket and report.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Issaquah...30235949174450

http://picasaweb.google.com/Issaquah...30256107705170


Thanks all.

his SWORN AFFIDAVIT states that you were doing 55 in a 72 MPH ZONE!!!!!!!!

The ticket itself isnot evidence, it is a notice.....the evidence is the sworn affidavit!

motion the judge to dismiss the ticket.

Your honor i would motion you to dismiss this case as the affidavit states that i was doing 55 MPH in a 72 MPH zone.The only evidence in this case is the officers affidavit and no where in it, does the trooper identify me breaking any speed laws.
And, NO i would not bring any witnesses etc....you can beat this on your own.

Thank you colemac, that was something i was unclear about, but you gave me a nice smile with that confirmation.

Just cause i want to be prepared... do you think i should site something such as ER 402.. or would the judge generally just accept motion without question?

Cole's idea may well work -- if you get a stupid judge. However, if the judge knows the IRLJ's, he/she will know that IRLJ 3.3 (c) includes this statement:

Quote:

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Quoting IRLJ 3.3 (c)

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The court may consider the notice of infraction AND any other written report made under oath submitted by the officer who issued the notice or whose written statement was the basis for the issuance of the notice in lieu of the officer's personal appearance at the hearing....

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Not only is the Notice of Infraction admissible, it MUST be considered along with the sworn statement. This rule does not allow for the exclusion of either one -- if the officer is not present.

Again, Cole might be right, but I think you've got to be prepared for the possibility that the judge will simply treat that as a typo. Plus, who ever heard of a 72 MPH speed limit?

ER 402? That deals with the inadmissibility of "irrelevant" evidence. What evidence, exactly, do you consider "irrelevant" in this case?

Personally, if the sworn statement error gets turned down, I think you should try the old "no subsection" argument (read this post).

If that fails, I'd attack the fact that the officer NEVER specifies HIS position when he first observed you. YOU think he came from behind you -- from about 1/2 mile back, yet the sworn statement says that YOU were approaching HIS position -- and he was MOVING! That means he would have been on the opposite side of the road, going in the opposite direction -- that means you would have seen HIM, as well. Then he would have had to have made a U-turn to give chase. During that time, he would necessarily have lost sight of your vehicle. And, since you drive a vehicle similar to many others, perhaps he pulled over the WRONG one.

Also, the officer does not indicate whether the radar was in "same" or "opposite" direction mode. And since the Bee III has "Automatic Same Direction Mode", there is some chance that he was actually measuring the speed of a car "ahead" of his own, travelling in the same direction he was -- thinking that he was tracking YOU.

I would also object to the preprinted statement "The defendant was the only vehicle in the radar beam at the time I obtained the above reading." Since it is preprinted, EVERY ticket this officer writes will contain that statement. Logically, using moving radar to measure the speed of approaching vehicles, this is simply NOT POSSIBLE, given that the MPH Bee III has a range of 1 mile (see brochure)!

Barry

Quote:

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Quoting blewis

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Cole's idea may well work -- if you get a stupid judge. However, if the judge knows the IRLJ's, he/she will know that IRLJ 3.3 (c) includes this statement:




Not only is the Notice of Infraction admissible, it MUST be considered along with the sworn statement. This rule does not allow for the exclusion of either one -- if the officer is not present.

Again, Cole might be right, but I think you've got to be prepared for the possibility that the judge will simply treat that as a typo. Plus, who ever heard of a 72 MPH speed limit?

ER 402? That deals with the inadmissibility of "irrelevant" evidence. What evidence, exactly, do you consider "irrelevant" in this case?

Personally, if the sworn statement error gets turned down, I think you should try the old "no subsection" argument (read this post).

If that fails, I'd attack the fact that the officer NEVER specifies HIS position when he first observed you. YOU think he came from behind you -- from about 1/2 mile back, yet the sworn statement says that YOU were approaching HIS position -- and he was MOVING! That means he would have been on the opposite side of the road, going in the opposite direction -- that means you would have seen HIM, as well. Then he would have had to have made a U-turn to give chase. During that time, he would necessarily have lost sight of your vehicle. And, since you drive a vehicle similar to many others, perhaps he pulled over the WRONG one.

Also, the officer does not indicate whether the radar was in "same" or "opposite" direction mode. And since the Bee III has "Automatic Same Direction Mode", there is some chance that he was actually measuring the speed of a car "ahead" of his own, travelling in the same direction he was -- thinking that he was tracking YOU.

I would also object to the preprinted statement "The defendant was the only vehicle in the radar beam at the time I obtained the above reading." Since it is preprinted, EVERY ticket this officer writes will contain that statement. Logically, using moving radar to measure the speed of approaching vehicles, this is simply NOT POSSIBLE, given that the MPH Bee III has a range of 1 mile (see brochure)!

Barry

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Thanks for your input Barry, it is very appreciated.

The officer also doesn't state who preformed the internal and external tests at the beginning and end of his shift.

UPDATE: Attended court, started with subsections, Judge asked me what it was i got confused, went on to the officers statement says he clocked me at 55, jusge again asked me what it was... after about 30 seconds of me looking like a sheepish dumbass, i figured out he wanted me to state they were errors (on the record) and it was Dismissed! Thanks for everyones great ideas.

Great job! Congratulations!

Thanks for the update,
Barry