Completing Traffic School to Dismiss a Speeding Violation

[doraz]

A prosecutor should be at every state infraction hearing and in the interest of judicial efficiency will always offer amendment of the infraction to a lesser offense. It will mostly be an infraction that will not appear on your driving record (Seatbelt, No Tabs, Cell Phone).

If it comes to that (i.e. I can't get the ticket dismissed outright) would you recommend I contact the prosecutor prior to to hearing just so I don't get a surprise when I show up for court?

[BrendanjKeegan]

There's really no way the prosecutor will return your calls. They're WAY too busy. You'll just have to show up in court to talk to them.

[doraz]

I have one more question while I wait for the court to get back to me. Do I need to submit a discovery request in order to get a copy of the ticket with the filing date, or can I drive over and ask the court clerk for it?

[Speedy Gonzalez]

You can do either one. Provided it is MORE than 14 calendar days until your hearing, I recommend serving an official discovery request on the prosecutor via hand delivery. Make two copies of it. To to the prosecutor's office, and have them stamp all three. Leave them one. Take the other two copies to the court, and have them stamp both copies. Leave one with them and keep the third for your own records. Bring it with you on the day of your hearing.

I do it all on the same day when possible, and preferably EXACTLY 14 days to the hearing.


Scan/photo the results and post it here after you redact your personal info. Let us take a crack at it.

[doraz]

So this Wednesday it'll be two weeks since I received the infraction and sent it in with a request for the contested hearing, but I still haven't heard from the court. Is that normal, or should I check to make sure that they received it?

When I go to this website: http://dw.courts.wa.gov/index.cfm?fa...pt&flashform=0 and type in my information I do get a result which shows a case number, but I don't know if this means they received my signed infraction or just that the officer filed it with the court.

[gogodawgs]

That just shows that the officer filed that infraction with the court. Two weeks is not unusual... be patient for now. You can call the court and see if they have received it...

[doraz]

So I received the notice from the court and my hearing has been set for the 17th. I'm going to file the discovery request on the 3rd and see if it contains anything useful (by the way, do they send the requested documents by regular or certified mail?)

Speedy Gonzalez, you said that you've dealt with this prosecutor before, and I assume you've been in the same court. Can you tell me what to expect when I go in for the hearing?

[doraz]

Still no discovery, and my hearing date is on Thursday. You can see my request for discovery at this url: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...ryrequest.png/ It seems fine to me, but maybe you guys can spot some mistake.

I've read blewis' thorough guide to dealing with WA traffic tickets (and used his template for discovery request), and I see that I can use IRLJ 3.1 (b) to get the evidence suppressed and my infraction dismissed if I don't receive the requested documents, but could anyone tell me exactly what to say, and when, once I'm in court?

I'm thinking something along the lines of:
Your Honor, I move to suppress the officer's sworn statement and the testimony of any witnesses per IRLJ 3.1 (b) and move for dismissal for lack of evidence. I served a request for discovery with the prosecutor's office, and filed a copy of my request with the court, but I have not received the requested documents.

Would that be enough, or am I missing something? And is this a slum-dunk, or could the prosecutor argue against this somehow?

Also, in his guide blewis mentioned that if you receive the discovery documents, but not within 7 days as required, you could make the same argument as long as you could show prejudice. If I received the documents tomorrow, only one day before the hearing, could I argue prejudice based on not having enough time to review the documents and potentially discuss them with a lawyer?

[BrendanjKeegan]

You're good to go on this. Snohomish County is super busy as of late. Slam dunk unless by some miracle you get the materials tomorrow. Knock on wood.

[doraz]

Thanks Brendan. What is the procedure for making a motion in court? Will the judge ask if either party wants to make one, or should I say I'd like to make a motion as soon as I'm called?