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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Posts
    1

    Question Speeding Ticket in King County, Washington

    My question involves a speeding ticket from the State of: Washington

    Well, I wish that I would have stumbled upon this website much earlier (as I have a contested hearing tomorrow morning at 10:15 am). This is the current situation I am in:

    I used a deferral 4 years ago and have maintained a clean driving record ever since. However, in February of this year I was involved in a 3 car incident on I-405 during rush hour AM traffic on my way to get laid off from work. This accident was determined as my fault, even though the driver in front of me had SMASHED the first car in line before I eventually rear ended her... the ticket I received was "speed to fast for conditions". This made no sense to me as I was going with the flow of stop and go traffic on my way into Bellevue shortly after passing I-90. There was neither ice, rain nor fog. This is neither here nor there I guess, just a basic set up to my current predicament.

    As stated previously, I have a contested hearing tomorrow morning. The infraction I received was for driving 45mph in a 35mph zone on a rural road in Duvall (King County). The officer told me I had been going 50 but wrote down 45 because i was "a nice young man" and because I have an "awesome car". For the record, I am quite certain that I was not even going as fast as the 45mph he so graciously wrote down for me.

    While the officer was issuing my citation he was pulling over other drivers left and right. They were literally dropping like flies. He was accomplishing this all while eating a bag of corn nuts. He was just flailing the radar/laser gun wildly at anyone coming around the corner and then saying such things as: "oh man that sucker is flying" and "this guy is cruisin'!" and then would point them to the side of the road...
    The officer specifically told me to contest the ticket.... Overall it was an odd experience and I know I should have better prepared myself for tomorrow morning. I have not made any discovery requests or attorney contacts as I thought this would be something rather easy to get off of since he told me to just contest it and tell the judge what happened... I even called and spoke with a court clerk who told me to just ask the judge for leniency. I have a clean record other than the deferral 4 years ago and the recent accident in February that I was faulted for. All in all, I know I do not have a deferral available. I am just looking to avoid an increase in insurance premiums as I am still, unfortunately, unemployed. Seems as if my case (since I do not seem to have one) is a lost cause. But does anyone have any sort of advice? Or have I just set myself up for failure?

    Kind Regards,
    Nick

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    3,577

    Default Re: Speeding Ticket in King County, Washington

    Well, with so little time, there's not much you CAN do. The first thing will be to get a copy of the discovery materials (which you should have requested WEEKS ago). Get to court early. Talk to the clerk. See if they can get you a copy of the officer's sworn statement and the "filed" ticket (which will contain the filing stamp). Check the filing date (on the stamp) to make sure it's within 5 court days of the infraction. If not, move for dismissal pursuant to IRLJ 2.2 (d).

    Next, ask the clerk for a copy of the radar certification for the radar identified in the officer's sworn statement. If they can't give it to you, try to get it from the prosecutor. Check to be sure the last "test" date was within a year of the infraction date (also make sure it was BEFORE the infraction). If not, move to suppress any radar evidence pursuant to IRLJ 6.6 (d)

    I'm afraid anything else will be up to you. Read the sworn statement. Be sure it indicates the officer's location, your location, etc., etc. Look for ANYTHING that appears strange or self-contradictory. As a last resort, you can try to ask the court for a continuance, since you "didn't know about discovery" and now need time to prepare a defense. They may grant it, or they may not.

    Sorry I can't be of more help. Next time try to remember the old expression "Chance favors the prepared mind".

    Good luck,
    Barry

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