My question involves court procedures for the state of: Washington
What happened: I was bird hunting in an area where lead shot is prohibited. I mistakenly used lead shot shells thinking they were steel.
Why I did it: This is my first season bird hunting and I knew that lead shot is illegal. I didn't think lead shot was legal for any hunting so when I got a box of shells for Christmas that said "Game Load" on it I assumed it was steel shot.
The Citation: The game warden who stopped me believed that I was being truthful in that I thought I had steel shot. He informed me that the lead shot fine was $1,000 and loss of hunting license for 2 years. He instead cited me for "unlawful use of Dept. Lands, Fail to obey posted regulation." This carries a $250 fine and I get to keep my license. I am so very grateful that he gave me such a break. However $250 is still a hefty fine for something I did unintentionally and I was purposefully trying to obey the law. My bigger concern is I am preparing to put an application in for the State Police and I don't want this to affect my chances if it sticks.
So my questions are if I take this in and use the defense that I thought they were steel shells and bring the box to show that it said "Game Load" can the judge change the citation to the lead shot citation and impose the larger fine?
I am going to go in and get discovery, would it be wise or unwise to explain this to the prosecutor to see if they would understand and drop the case against me before I have to take it to court or can they also try to impose the higher fine if I explain what happened?
The violation date was November 4th, the ticket date is November 7th. What is the time frame in WA state that they have to have the report filed?
My court date is on November 19th, the Summons says it's an arraignment, do I just plead guilty or not guilty or do I get to explain my situation? I know in traffic court you can ask for a mitigated hearing or a contested hearing, is this the same?
Any other advice for fighting this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your help!

