My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Washington.
On November 12, 2014, I was ticketed for speeding in a school zone on Gibson Road in Snohomish County, Everett, WA. I have a completely clean record and have never been stopped or had any trouble with the law before this incident. I’ve opted to contest this infraction and would obviously like to keep it off my record, for both personal and financial reasons. As a younger driver, the last thing I need is something to further elevate my insurance rates. Everything seems to be in order in terms of the paperwork, but since I’m due in court tomorrow afternoon and find myself stressing out over this quite a bit, I figure it would be worth getting the two cents of someone with actual wisdom on the matter. This is my last-ditch effort and I admittedly have no experience whatsoever in this area; therefore, I have nothing to lose by having someone else take a look. I’m dubious as to whether there’s anything that can work in my favor here, but on the off chance there’s something I can use, I’m seeking a bit of last-minute counsel. I’ll apologize profusely ahead of time for the length of my post…
I had been asked to be drive a family member to and from a medical appointment, as their vision and orientation would be severely impaired, leaving them in no condition to safely operate a vehicle afterward. I was driving their vehicle (with a malfunctioning/non-functioning speedometer) on an unfamiliar route utilizing back roads to avoid traffic on I-5 North. As we were traveling down Ash Way (a 35 m.p.h. road), my passenger was attempting to direct me down the appropriate streets, but their capacity to do so was limited by their state of disorientation after the aforementioned appointment. Left to my own devices, I wound up lost and confused as I attempted to orient myself and find my way. My only instructions were to turn right at the next stop sign. As I was lost at the time and in an unfamiliar area, I had no idea that there was a school down the hill and around the bend in front of me, nor could I see the school from my position. I approached the stop sign at E. Gibson Road, and since I intended to turn right, I did not catch the sign indicating an upcoming school zone. In addition, there were no children or crossing guards present at this intersection. I accelerated to turn right and travel uphill, but was suddenly told that it was the wrong street, so I redirected the vehicle and continued down the hill. I assume that this is when I missed the sign and the flashing lights, assuming that they were actually flashing – I later drove back to the scene to get a better idea of the area. That being said, even without seeing the School Zone sign, it’s quite apparent when children and crossing guards are present. As a courtesy and safety measure, I tend to slow my vehicle in such situations regardless of signage. I observed only parked cars along the street as I continued down the road; I did not observe any children present at this time.
All of a sudden, I see an officer jump out from behind a parked car and start waving me down. Completely startled and confused, I start braking and both my passenger and I began looking around to see why I was being waved down like this. Further down the road, we saw what appeared to be a pair of crossing guards LEAVING the crosswalk area and returning to what must have been the school. This was at the end of the road and below the slight crest of the hill, which you cannot see from the intersection I mentioned previously. On this same token, being that the officer was below the crest of the hill and there were cars parked all around, I’m not quite sure how his view was entirely unobstructed unless he’s quite the marksman. It wasn’t until the officer appeared from his hiding spot and I saw these crossing guards walking AWAY from their post as I was pulling over that I even realized I was near a school. I knew I had not been exceeding the 35 m.p.h. speed limit (based on the last sign I’d seen, I believe that to be the current speed limit), and my passenger attests to this.
We were very polite and attempted to explain that we were lost and unaware of the school zone, and we tried to inquire as to where the school zone began, but the officer was dismissive and not interested in listening to anything we had to say. He said that he “clocked” me at 30 m.p.h. at the top of the hill. He couldn’t define clearly where the sign was, and he claimed that there were children, crossing guards, and flashing lights “everywhere,” which was ridiculously far from the truth. However, arguing with the man would not have been prudent, so I took my ticket and hung my head in shame. I drove home quite frustrated and dismayed by this, as it was not only my first ticket, but I also had not been negligent. I am quite strict about adhering to the rules of the road whether I am the driver or a passenger, and I believe that I am absolutely a safe driver. I am not someone who relishes the idea of breaking the law, and this was honestly quite devastating.
I requested discovery using the template provided by blewis (Thank you!) and received the officer’s statement, but I had to dig through the infamous court binders for the SMD information. Sure, I can hope that my clean record and my character will work for me in my case, but it would be foolish to rely solely on that in front of a judge. The passenger who witnessed the events can provide a written statement and is willing to be present at the hearing, but I'm unsure as to the value in this. I’d like to have something else in my defense, but my untrained eye is not seeing anything usable based on the documentation I have before me. Perhaps there’s an error somewhere or a technicality worth pursuing, but I’m not seeing either of those at this point. According to the court, the ticket was filed the same day it was issued, so that eliminates untimely filing by the officer as a defense. Scans of my discovery documents can be seen here: https://imageshack.com/a/eiJz/1
I sincerely appreciate any input or tips you may have, even if it’s just advice on how to proceed during my hearing. Many, many thanks in advance for your time.

