I had a ticket, I live in Pullman, and I went to spokane to contest it. If you subpoena the cops written statement and the calibration of the radar gun it usually gets you off in Spokane because the state attorneys office up there is really unorganized. When I contested mine there were 4 other people who got off because the state did not give them the required paper work in time. Just make sure you meet all the deadlines to cover your own ***. Also subpoena the cop just to **** him off.
But you don't have to subpoena the cop, it is just easier because if you do and he doesn't show they have to drop the case(from my understanding).

Stephen

 

Everytime the cop writes a ticket they sit on the side of the road after you leave and, among other things :cough:jerk it:cough:, they write down exactly what happened on the back of the ticket. You will have to file for contesting the ticket and send it in, then you have until 15 days before you assigned court date to subpoena the officer and his statement and his calibration of the radar gun. The state attorney's office is only responsible for the officers statement to you though, the rest I am not sure how to get. But the catch is that as long as it is postmarked within 15 days of the court date you are fine. So if you send it from out of the area it will take longer to get there and for them to reply. They have, so says the almight ticket, up until 7 days of the court date to get the information to you. I think the downfall to the officer is you have to subpoena him in person, but in spokane they will not let you do it which is really stupid. So you have to have someone that you know go and hand the courthouse the subpoena. After that you may or may not get the information in time, it is all up to the attorneys. But with me they never sent it out. One side note, make sure to send the letter registered mail, it will cost you a buck or two, but then you have proof. But back to the subpoena stuff. If they don't get you the information(they didn't get mine to me) your life is smooth sailing. You go in and have the judge get the letter, which he will have, and show him where you requested the OFFICERS WRITTEN STATEMENT and when he says "Well you never got it?" in his okie-fied voice you say "No, your honor" then he turns to the counselor and says "Well?" and the counselor scratches his head and says "Well I guess he is off the hook." If they do get the information to you, and you go to court and the officer is there then you can continue to contest the ticket and try to beat the officer, or you can strike a deal with the court attorney. Usually they give you a non-moving violation infraction(tags or something) and you go and pay that(it will be more than your ticket, but you will not get a moving violation which is good). But if/when you do get the sworn statement read it over and make sure there are no mistakes(license plate #, drivers lic.#, time of day, date, etc.) Because from my understanding all these things can get you off pretty easily too. Especially something stupid like a wrong date. Sorry this is so long. But if you need more clarification PM me or post here again.

Stephen

 

Well subpoenaing(sp?) the officer is a decent idea because if he is a stater chances are he may not make it to court(he might be out of the area). But that is up to you, if they get you the information and the officer shows up you are kind of screwed unless you can strike a deal with the attorney for the state. I AM IN NO WAY SAYING THIS ALL WILL WORK. But if you want to get the only chance of getting the ticket dropped(76 in a 55 is pretty hard to get rid of through begging with the judge) you need to contest the ticket. Make sure to send it registered mail and send it out the last day possible. You may want to call the court. It is 15 days, and I think it is 15 calendar days(not business), and I think if the 15th day lands on a sunday you get until monday(but that is just my thought it may be wrong). But if you send it in the last possible day you have the best chance of the courts not sending you the stuff in time. But the reason you want to subpoena everything is because if they can't get one thing in time then they have to drop your case. But you have to send your ticket in in like 10 days or something. Then you can send them a letter requesting the officers sworn statement, and that is 15 day deadline thing. If it is still unclear I can try and clarify again. Also send in your ticket the last possible day. I am not sure if this will make any difference but it might get to the bottom of the stack for everything. Any other questions give me a holler.

Stephen

 

I'm not too sure how things work in Washington, but maybe this could be beneficial to you. First, go to the clerk of courts and file for an extention BEFORE entering a plea, tell them that you want to explore your legal options before entering a plea whatsoever.
They usaully will grant an extention one time without entering a plea. That will usually get you a good 90 days worth of time. After that the time will come to enter a plea, plea not guilty AND WAVE YOUR RIGHT TO A TIMELY TRIAL! This should be good for another 90 days or so. During that time get your supoenas (sp) and all the other facts that you can. BEFORE THAT TIME IS UP file for a change of venue, make something up about commuting or staying with a relative, be creative! this will buy you more time and will give the officer LESS inclination to show up at the court date.

So,
first- extension
second-not guilty, wave your time-file supoenas
third-change of venue

let us know how it works out!

 

Yeah but he is not able to say he didn't do it. He is trying to beat the system. If a cop is going to show up to court at one time they will do it most any other unless they have something planned. But the law in WA is that if the cop can't show up because of vacation or work or something the court will give you the option for a later date, if you opt not to then they take the cops word for it and then you just really have to get lucky. I think if you just draw everything out until the last minute you will not give the court clerks any time to work with it. When I contested my ticket in spokane I won on a technicality like that. But I called the courts like a week before saying I had not received anything(which I hadn't) and they said they were asked to hold it at the court room. I decided not to pick it up and just went in a told the judge that I never got my stuff. In my opinion I did not lie, I wouldn't want to get caught in perjury, but there was some misunderstanding in my favor at the courthouse. Maybe something cool will happen like that with you. But I do think that since they are so disorganized if you just draw it out they will not have the time to get it all together.

Stephen

BTW good luck with whatever you do.