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  1. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Posts
    886

    Default Re: Speeding Ticket Court Gameplan

    I’m pretty much in agreement with zeljo’s comments above. The officer’s initial description of the checks is more general, but later he did attest to personal knowledge by stating: “I checked the radar at the beginning and end of my shift. Both the internal and external checks of this unit confirmed it was functioning properly and in good working condition at the time that the speed was obtained.”

    If you are feeling adventurous, or you are not eligible for a deferred finding and no prosecutor is available to speak to before the hearing, there are a few weaker defenses you could try. Each of the following would be preliminary motions to exclude or suppress the evidence of speed:

    1. The device calibration certificate could not be found online. The exact device identification provided in the officer’s statement contains 6 characters and the state patrol website for certifications will only accept 5 characters. (As I see it, adding extra characters fails identification as required in ER 901 because the extra characters will always return an error when typed into the WSP online database for certifications.)
    2. The device calibration certificate is not filed at the court as required. (This assumes that you arrived early, checked the certificates on file and could not locate that device. If the certificate is not filed at the court, there are a few judges who will not recognize online certificates and grant an objection based on the last sentence of IRLJ 6.6(d), such as in this previous post.)
    3. It could be argued that the State Patrol certificates are not substantially compliant with the form spelled out in IRLJ 6.6(b). They cannot state beforehand that “The units were evaluated and certified” when the actual certification gets done later. If themadnorwegian is correct in this previous post, then it can be argued that the Washington Supreme Court requires an objection be granted when it relates to a defective certificate.
    4. It could maybe be argued that the electronic signature on the date of actual calibration is not sufficient. Perhaps a physical signature is required, but really I don’t know about that—just wondering. In any case, the 2 different dates/signatures would seem not to comply with the form spelled out in the rule, which looks to require a single signature after completion of specific device calibration.
    5. There is also a possibility of one other defense. I find it interesting that the officer actually stated when he did the end of shift testing (1:03 am). For electronically filed SECTOR tickets, tech support might be able to give you the “last modified” time for the ticket which would indicate when it was filed (click the link for their email). If that time was earlier in his shift substantially before 1:03 am, his statement of testing at end of shift could be called into question as he cannot attest to something in the future.

    Again I want to stress that these are iffy motions and if you want the safest outcome you might be better off not to contest at all, but if you do contest then announce that you have motions immediately when your case is called, before the officer’s statement is read into the record and before you are sworn in for testimony.

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