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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Posts
    2

    Default How to File Pre-Hearing Motions in District Court

    This is a two part question:

    A) What is required in Thurston County District Court to make a pre-hearing motion (i.e. Motion to Dismiss)?
    B) Even if advance notice is not required, how do file such a motion? What forms do I use and what supporting documentation should I include? Please assume I know nothing about motions.

    Here is what I am trying to accomplish: Make a pre-hearing Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice. The basis for this is the fact that it took 63 days (44 business days) for the Thurston County District Court to send me written notice of the time, place, and date of my contested hearing. Here is the timeline: I received a Notice of Infraction on Day 1 (Sunday). On Day 2 (Monday) I mailed my Request for Hearing (Signed Notice of Infraction). On Day 3 (Tuesday) the county received my Request for Hearing (Verified by County Clerk). On Day 63 (Day 44 by business day) I received my Notice of Hearing (Yellow Slip). Based on IRLJ 2.6 (a) (2), the district county, by rule, was supposed to deliver this Notice of Hearing within 21 days. Furthermore, based on IRLJ 2.6 (a) (4), I can request a dismissal based on a showing of prejudice.

    Repealed Requirement?: It looks like Thurston County used to have a rule related to pre-hearing motions, but it appears to be repealed. See LIRLJ 3.1 (e). Rule says adopted on June 26, 2002 and repealed on September 1, 2006.

    Miscellaneous Info: I've already submitted and received a discovery request. My Notice of Infraction was filed with the Thurston County District Court within 1 day (well within the 5 days required by IRLJ 2.2 (d)). In addition, I've subpoenaed the officer who issued the Notice of Infraction (15 days before my hearing).

    Thanks for your help! My hearing is next week. I have appreciated the existing threads and posts by senior users. I could not find a thread about this specific topic. If I missed one, I apologize for the repost.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: How to File Pre-Hearing Motions in District Court

    When you received the notice is IMMATERIAL. The rule says "sent by the court". Was it sent after the time had expired? That's point one to check.

    Second point, paragraph (4) says the charge MAY be dismissed. May is permissive. You can ask the court but they aren't obligated as if the rule said SHALL.

    Third point, paragraph (4) further says "upon showing prejudice" which means you have to tell them that somehow the delay has been detrimental to you mounting your case.

    That's just the reading of the law. Washington law is quirky (AND YOU'D HAVE GOTTEN A BETTER ANSWER IF YOU HAD FOLLOWED THE RULES AND GAVE THE STATE NAME ORIGINALLY) and one of the Washington state experts will be along to offer specific help once they notice despite the lack of the state being mentioned, we're talking about Washington.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: How to File Pre-Hearing Motions in District Court

    Thank you flyingron.

    First, I apologize for not naming my state. I had intended to do so, but I cut and pasted the text of my post in/out of a Word doc (to correct spelling and grammar) and I accidentally deleted that portion of the post in the process. I should have used the spell check function built into the site. The state is Washington.

    Second, you make good points.

    1. As to the date on which the court sent the Notice of Hearing, it was in fact Day 63 (Day 44 by business days). This is the date on the yellow slip of paper. I mistakenly wrote above that it was the date that I received it. It actually came in the mail a few days later.

    2. Good to know on the "may" versus "shall" distinction in IRLJ 2.6 (a) (4). I should have picked up on that.

    3. “Upon show of prejudice” in IRLJ 2.6 (a) (4). I can now see that this is what the "may" hinges on in terms of the judge dismissing the Notice of Infraction. One argument that I can think of is that the delay was detrimental in terms of my loss of memory of the event. Sure, I remember the gist of the things, but the details fade over time (as documented by scientific research). To me, this is likely why the rule was included. In this instance, the court took 3 times the time allotted (63 days vs 21 days). The officer is not going to suffer from related memory loss because he is simply going to testify based on his sworn statement (as indicated in other posts in this forum, i.e. the great post by blewis). While I should still have a decent working memory of the incident, it does put me at a disadvantage relative to the prosecution AND this disadvantage was created by a delay by the prosecution. Is this a strong enough case for a "showing of prejudice"? Is there another obvious argument I'm missing?

    Thanks again!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Posts
    244

    Default Re: How to File Pre-Hearing Motions in District Court

    you can ask for a dismissal or one can be filed at any time ... you want to claim lack of jurisdiction due to a time issue (which can actually be a good motion sometimes ~ if the time limit is mandatory). once you claim a lack of jurisdiction then its up to the other party to make the case that the court has jurisdiction ~ a court cannot argue this point.

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