Speeding Ticket

[molsen]

Washington State Speeding Ticket

well according to this you probably can't take traffic school. there is some more good information on that website. like the officer is not required to attend the hearing. YIKES!

and LOLZ i just read up on Washington state court laws and "adjudication withheld" isn't really a washington thing, but there is something similar:

You have fifteen days to pay the Washington State speeding ticket or notify the court you wish to appear. If you decide to appear, you may request a mitigation hearing or a trial. The ticket is considered a determination you committed the violation and no further evidence is necessary to convict you of the charge. Unless you have a very good defense, you will lose. If you do not have a Washing State attorney, your best option may be to negotiate with the judge for a reduced charge at a mitigation hearing. There is no prosecutor and the officer does not have to appear.
In Washington State the officer is not required to attend the hearing. However he is required to file a written report and he or she is required to file the citation with the court within five business days. You can check with the clerk of court to see when your speeding ticket was filed with the court and whether his/her report is on file.
The new law requires the judge to dismiss the Washington State speeding ticket if it is not filed within the five day limit. However, you will have to appear and make a motion for dismissal.​

so based on this new information i have found, you're even less likely to win the case unless the officer is lazy. and since you most likely can't attend traffic school, you might as well try and contest the tickets like you were saying. if it isn't going well I guess you just plead for a lesser sentence. say "i'll pay the fine and any court fees assessed but no points please" lol

 

[tommyboy123x]

took me a while to see why the officer not attending is a bad thing.... double yikes!

I really fail to see how this is fair... i mean he issued a ticket which I am trying to explain was incorrect and how can i do so if he is not there to question? Don't I have some kind of right to bring him in as a whitness? eh i guess law and order has tought me one thing... people don't HAVE to testify

So does this mean the equivilent of him not showing is him not sending in the written testimony in 5 days?

 

[molsen]

So does this mean the equivilent of him not showing is him not sending in the written testimony in 5 days?

this question seems like it would be better answered by a court secretary

 

[Ronnie]

took me a while to see why the officer not attending is a bad thing.... double yikes!

I really fail to see how this is fair... i mean he issued a ticket which I am trying to explain was incorrect and how can i do so if he is not there to question? Don't I have some kind of right to bring him in as a whitness? eh i guess law and order has tought me one thing... people don't HAVE to testify

So does this mean the equivilent of him not showing is him not sending in the written testimony in 5 days?

doesnt matter if it was fair or not really
you were driving past curfew and speeding
fairness will not come into play in court lol sorry dude

 

[Brinson]

Curfew is ******** anyway.

 

[tommyboy123x]

this question seems like it would be better answered by a court secretary

lol agreed but i am 98% sure this is accurate

doesnt matter if it was fair or not really
you were driving past curfew and speeding
fairness will not come into play in court lol sorry dude

call me naive but i do believe the criminal system is as just and fair as it can get. I mean there are people getting screwed by it probably every day, but I have to say overall i agree with it so i'm happy

....I hope people are smart enough not to start fighting over whether or not the system is just

 

[Crysalis]

My first ticket was pretty easy to get out of. I went in all prepared to fight it (because I wasn't the one speeding... another guy was). So, I went to the first court date and plead not guilty. Then, they set another court date for me to come back and fight it.

So, that day comes and I was prepared to fight the ticket against the cop. I took the chance because if the cop doesn't show, then you get off and are set free with no violations since the cop isn't there to fight back. It's either that, or if they want to, a court offical/officer will come out and offer you lesser points or a non-moving violation. Unfortunately, I got the second one. They offered me no points on my license and changed it to a non-moving violation (which for most insurance companies, means no penalties). Either that, or I fight it. I wasn't sure if the cop was there or not, so I just took it. The judge told me be careful etc etc and let me go with no points. I still had to pay the ticket and the court fees, but better than paying more for insurance. BUT... i just found out last month that my insurance company will penalize for any ticket, so my insurance went up $20 every 6 months (big whoop).

I would say go in and just explain to the judge what you were doing and what happened. Don't defend yourself or attack the cop/court/police. If you think it wasn't your fault or if you have a good reason that you were speeding (pregnant passenger, emergency, etc), then go in. If not, then just pay up and learn your lesson.

 

[tommyboy123x]

well for the second one being out past curfew i actually left a party a little late on my way to a friends house to spend the night and was the only one who didn't drink but unfortuanely that **** doesn't work in court :-(

for the speeding ticket i figure a speedometer fix will at the very least make this ticket not hit my insurance (az doesn't recognize it i guess if its under 10mph yay!). I really don't belive this is going to be a problem to clear up if i get that receipt in time.

 

[Vormund]

I don't know where you're getting these ideas about 10 MPH being disregarded in Arizona, but anyhow, these courts have heard it all. The more games you play with them, the more you'll be hurting in the end... unless you play your part extremely well, like Molsen apparently does?

Your speedometer excuse isn't going to hold up... especially in a 25 zone, meaning houses and such? Now maybe if you were doing 30, then you'd be 1-2 over which may be believable, but yeah... you were technically speeding either way, and with no extenuating circumstances, it's over.

Then the curfew excuse: it doesn't mean a thing - this is black and white - you're guilty... the end. (Not to be mean, but "he had no reason" will never work against a cop, nor any other excuse you made up above.)

 

[Brinson]

No, but there are ALOT of legitimate defenses for curfew...one of which being that you were doing something for your parents...

Maybe his mom told him to go to a party? Who knows?