How traffic court works

We will be using the example of a speeding ticket, but court will work the same way with any traffic infraction.

The Judge will make the final decision on whether the ticket is found committed.  But how does a Judge decide and how does the process work?

Before court gets started

Once you receive a ticket, you will need to tell the court what kind of a hearing you would like.  There are three options printed on your ticket: Pay the fine, Ask for a Mitigation Hearing, or ask for a Contested Hearing.  The only option that gives you a chance to have your ticket dismissed outright is the ‘Contested Hearing’ option.  Hearings are usually set 60 days out from when the Court gets your request for hearing.  If you do not respond to the ticket or waited too long to send your ticket back (most courts only give you 30 days from when you received the ticket), then the court will take a default judgement against you and find the ticket committed.

Prosecutors will generally make an announcement before court starts.  They will introduce themselves and go over some basic options.  Afterwards, they will be available for you to talk with them.  Do it!  Most prosecutors are pretty decent people and if there is a problem with their case, they will tell you or dismiss the ticket if the problem is big enough.  They may also offer you a reduction to a non-moving offense (more on this later).  Once the Contested Hearing starts, all offers will be withdrawn so decide up front whether you have a good argument or not.

·        Practice tip:  Always introduce yourself to the prosecutor.  This will be an opportunity to get an offer on your case and a chance for you to explain any problems you see with their case.  In some situations, this will allow you to get a ticket dismissed without the risk of a judge doing something unexpected.

Once Your Case is Called

Most courts are very busy, meaning that you will have to wait until your case is called.  Sometimes this can be an hour or more.  Once your case is called, you will be expected to come up to one of the tables in front of the Judge or in the case of a virtual appearance you will be allowed to unmute yourself.  The court will direct you where to go, but it’s easy to tell since one attorney will be seated at a table during the entire court session.  That attorney is usually the prosecutor.  They will also have the largest stack of files of anyone in the court.

Once you and the prosecutor are in front of the Judge, the Judge will ask the prosecutor for their side of the case.  The prosecuting authority goes first, because it is their burden to prove the elements of the infraction.  In a speeding ticket case, they must prove that it is more likely than not that you were driving faster than the posted limit.  The legal term for this burden of proof is preponderance.  Generally speaking, this means that they will hand forward copies of the police reports, the citation, etc.

·        Practice tip:  Some prosecutor’s offices will file the citation and officer narrative with the court ahead of time.  The law allows a judge to consider the police reports even without the prosecutor formally handing them forward, so long as they are filed with the court ahead of time.

Preliminary Motions

When the Court has an attorney in front of them (representing a client), the Judge will ask the attorney if they have any preliminary motions.  The Judge is asking whether there are legal challenges to the admission of the police reports or just certain aspects of the prosecutor’s case.  This is where having an experience attorney really helps.  Motions are quick and knowing what you have to work with will allow your case to get the best result.  There are potentially dozens of motions that could apply to your case.

·        Example:  The officer issued a ticket on some date but didn’t file the ticket with the court within 5 days of issuance.  Under the rules, this can mean that the ticket will be dismissed for an untimely filing.  However, the ticket will not be dismissed unless you tell the Judge what the issue is, cite the rule, and move for dismissal.

·        Example 2:  The officer issued a speeding ticket based on the result from a SMD (speed measuring device) like a Radar gun or a Lidar gun.  Both of these devices have testing requirements that the officer must do both before they engage your car and again afterwards (usually this means at the beginning and end of the officer’s shift).  This ‘foundational’ information must be in the officer’s narrative.  Without it, the Judge will consider not allowing that information in.  Often if the SMD result is not admissible, that’s the end of your ticket.

The Judge will then ask you if you have anything you want to tell the court.  Since this is an evidentiary hearing, you will need to be sworn in before your testimony will be considered.  They don’t have you put your hand on a bible anymore, but you will have to swear or affirm to tell the truth.

·        Practice tip:  If you tell the Judge that you do not believe you were going as fast as the officer claims then you’ve told the Judge your theory of the case.  The very next question a judge will have is: ‘What proof do you have?’  This isn’t a statement about your credibility rather the Judge must make their decision based on evidence.  Since most of us rely on our speedometer, make sure you have recent proof that your speedometer produces a reliable result.

The Judge will then decide based on both sides arguments whether the prosecutor has met their burden.  If not, then the ticket will be dismissed otherwise the ticket will be found committed.

Default Judgments

If you fail to send your ticket back in time or miss the hearing, the Judge will take a default judgment against you and find the ticket committed.  You may be able to undo this decision, but it will take some work. 

·        Practice tip:  You can write a letter to the presiding Judge asking them to remove the default judgement and reset the matter for a contested hearing.  Alternatively, your attorney can make a formal written motion and order for the court.

Alternatives to Contested Hearing

Some court will allow you to resolve your ticket without going through a contested hearing.  State law allows you to use a program called a Deferred Finding.  Although each court has different requirements, all agree that successful completion of the Deferred Finding program will cause at least one count in your ticket to be dismissed.  However, you can only use this program once ever seven years.  It is also discretionary so a Judge is not required to allow you to use this program.  Other programs, like Alive at 25, are becoming more common.  Check with the court to see what programs are available.

·        Practice tip:  Charges like Negligent Driving in the 2nd degree or speeding substantially over the legal limit may not be allowed to use the Deferral program.

What if there is no prosecutor?

Very few Judges will appreciate it if the prosecutor fails to show up at the hearing.  This does not mean that your ticket will automatically be dismissed however since the law allows a Judge to consider the police reports even if no prosecutor is present.

·        Practice tip:  It is very common for Judges to allow defendants or their attorneys to make an evidentiary objection then ask for the prosecutor to respond and since there is no one to make a counter argument, grant the request for suppression or dismissal.

Evidence objections

The rules of evidence are fairly complex.  This is another area where having a trained attorney really helps.  The procedure is straightforward though. 

Example 1:  Say we had a ticket for ‘following too close for conditions.’  The police report tells us that “Unit 1 struck the rear of Unit 2.”  Sounds straightforward right?  However, Evidence Rule 602 requires that a witness (like a cop) must have personal knowledge of the subject matter they are testifying about.  In this example, there is no information on how the officer knows that Unit 1 hit Unit 2. 

Example 2:  If the same report used in Example 1 also said “the driver of Unit 2 said they were hit by Unit 1.”  In this case, we don’t actually have any sworn testimony from the driver of Unit 2.  Evidence rule 802 would prohibit a Judge from considering the statement attributed to the driver of Unit 2 because it is hearsay.

Procedure:  At the time the evidence is offered to the Judge, you must object to it.  If you wait too long, a Judge could tell you that your objection is not timely.  This would cause an otherwise good objection to be overruled.  When the Judge asks you for preliminary motions, this is what they are talking about.  You must say, “I object to [describe the part of the evidence you want suppressed] because it is hearsay.”  The Judge can then decide to overrule your objection or to grant your request to suppress that portion of the evidence.  The Judge will NOT make objections for you.  Keep in mind that if a prosecutor is present, the Judge will allow them to argue why your objection should be overruled before the Judge makes their decision.

Where to find the laws

The rules that govern these hearings come from three sources.  The Infraction Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (IRLJ), is the black letter law for infractions.  These rules are interpreted from Case Law.  Local court rules (available on-line) can also affect how evidence is treated.  There are lots of evidence rules, each of which can be found with a simple Google search for Rules of Evidence.  Make sure that you are looking at evidence rules for Washington State.

Deal making

It is very common for negotiations to happen in infraction cases.  Prosecutors know that a committed finding on your ticket can cause your insurance rates to increase.  They will sometimes offer to amend (change) your ticket from one offense (like speeding) to a non-moving offense like Expired Tabs.  Some offices will raise the price of the ticket as a condition of the amendment. 

One question that comes up frequently is: How can I get an Expired Tabs ticket if there was nothing wrong with my tabs?  In this example, you were guilty of the speeding offense but are getting a reduced charge and since no one objects to the amendment, the Judge will allow it.