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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    2

    Default Contesting a Speeding Ticket for 70 MPH in a 60 MPH Zone

    I recently received a traffic violation in Washington State and have a court date set for February 17 at 9 AM at the Okanogan District Court. I do not have any prior traffic violations and tomorrow I will submit a request for discovery based on Barry's provided template.

    The traffic violation happened on New Years day and occurred right after I had turned onto the highway 97 from highway 20. I was accelerating when the officer passed me going the opposite direction (slowed down when I saw the officer do a u-turn) and then the officer proceeded to immediately pull me over. At no point was the officer's car stopped prior to when he pulled me over.

    The citation listed two infractions (46.61.400 and 75R-2446) and was based upon driving at 70 mph in a 60 mph zone (Speeding over 10 mph (40 mph or greater speed zone)). SMD was checked as the method of determining my speed and the total penalty was $125.

    Outstanding questions:
    1) How do I confirm when the officer filed the citation (to see if it was within 5 days)?

    2) Is there an online or readily available source to confirm the SMD certifications if they're not provided with the request for discovery?

    3) Should I pay for an attorney if I could defer this ticket?

    Any suggestions/ how likely is it for me to get this ticket successfully dismissed? I'll post any response I receive from the discovery request. Thanks in advance for your help!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    California
    Posts
    169

    Default Re: Contesting a Speeding Ticket for 70 MPH in a 60 MPH Zone

    1) I imagine discovery will show this;
    2) https://fortress.wa.gov/wsp/smdsearch/
    3) I don't think this is worth paying an attorney for.

    Folks on this forum familiar with WA tickets will likely be able to tell you what your chances are after you post discovery results.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Posts
    8,006

    Default Re: Contesting a Speeding Ticket for 70 MPH in a 60 MPH Zone

    As an FYI: That website only has the SMD certs for devices used by WSP so if OP wasn't cited by them, they'll have to go to the courthouse to check for it.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Snohomish, WA
    Posts
    1,588

    Default Re: Contesting a Speeding Ticket for 70 MPH in a 60 MPH Zone

    On #1, call the court (or show up in person) and ask the court clerk. The day of the cite does not count, nor do holidays or weekends. Since day of was a holiday/didn't count day combined, they had until January 8th to file it.

    #3 is a definite no. My opinion is never pay for what you can do yourself. It is an unnecessary extra cost to you. If you are eligible and wish to defer, all you need to do is get on the contested calendar. Most judges explain the whole deferral process, then have people who wish to defer line up. The judge will confirm your eligibility and grant it based on that. You usually pay a slightly higher fine.

    When you get your discovery response, redact your personal info and post the entire thing so we can have a look at it and see if there are any technical attacks you can muster.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Contesting a Speeding Ticket for 70 MPH in a 60 MPH Zone

    Hi All - Thanks so much for the help on contesting my ticket! The link below is the redacted discovery response I received yesterday (sorry - couldn't figure out how to attach directly). Any chance one of you could help me come up with a strategy to get the ticket successfully dismissed? Or do you all think my best option is to defer? Thanks again!

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4d...ew?usp=sharing

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