Washington Traffic Law Blog : Washington Traffic Lawyer & Attorney : Jon Zimmerman Law Firm : Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma

As 2011 comes to an end and the State of Washington has begun to charge motorists a toll for crossing the 520 Bridge, traffic has decreased by nearly 60 percent as 40,000 daily drivers avoid the toll, according to figures obtained by the Seattle Times. State officials with the Washington Department of Transportation tell us that with decreased traffic, the commute times between Bellevue and Seattle are much faster. What they won’t tell you is that there is a very good chance that the police will issue more speeding tickets on 520 now that people have a greater opportunity to speed due to decreased traffic.   

Don’t believe it? On the first day of tolling, the first car to get tolled was traveling at 76 mph, according to data released by WSDOT. While this event occurred at 5:00 A.M. and the driver was apparently trying to beat the toll by seconds, the ability to speed without traffic is increased, even during peak hours. Officials claim that they don’t share speed data with the Washington State Patrol. That would be illegal. Instead, officials share speed data with the WSP, the media, and everyone who will read about it!  So much for WSDOT obeying the law.  You probably won’t see WSP enforcing any laws against WSDOT, but what you will see are WSP troopers pulling drivers over on 520 and issuing speeding tickets that threaten insurance premiums, people’s driving privilege, and drivers’ livelihoods. 

Although WSDOT would like drivers to use 520 and pay the toll, the tolls will actually have the effect of rerouting traffic to I-90 for toll avoidance while creating an incentive to speed on 520. If a toll on 520 means less traffic there, and WSDOT is talking about a “faster” commute for those who choose 520, drivers will be able to step on the gas. However, drivers should know that WSDOT is not increasing the speed limit to compensate for less traffic on 520. 

Also, no plans to reroute troopers who respond to traffic events on 520 have been reported, which means a smaller officer-to-vehicle ratio on 520 than prior to tolling. All other things staying constant, this means that a car on 520 that is speeding probably has a greater chance at getting pulled over on 520 than prior to tolling. 

My prediction is that in 2012, Seattle area drivers will see a greater police emphasis on enforcing the speed laws on 520 than on I-90. Drivers using I-90 and crossing over Mercer Island to get to places such as Bellevue, I-405, and Issaquah might encounter more traffic, but probably fewer incidents of speeding tickets than on 520.  Happy New Year!  

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As drivers begin travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, they should be aware that law enforcement will be joining them on the roadway in places such as Seattle, Everett, and Tacoma, and points in between. A couple years ago I wrote about the Thanksgiving holiday weekend being the worst for traffic fatalities. Add more cars to the road, families in confined spaces over long distances, and the sometimes-complicated dynamics of family get-togethers and a recipe exists for distracted drivers and traffic violations. What this usually means is more collisions, more traffic tickets for violations of following too closely, failure to control speed to avoid a collision, speeding, negligent driving, and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle or violations of emergency zones. Whatever the reason for the police pulling someone over, expect a greater emphasis on enforcement.   Below are a few tips for trying to avoid getting cited over the holiday weekend in the State of Washington. 

First, drop the cell phone. Cell phones are a major reason people get pulled over. Distracted or not, and whether you are actually holding the phone to your ear will be secondary to the police officer who pulls you over when the officer sees you holding a cell phone. If you have a Bluetooth-enabled device consider using this, but do not dial or text while driving or even while in traffic. Avoiding these behaviors will save you some hassle.  

Second, if you drink let someone else do the driving. Despite the fact that it is legal to drink and drive in the State of Washington (with limitations, of course), you can be below a .08 and still be charged with DUI or an alcohol-related offense. Thanksgiving is a holiday when law enforcement is going to be serious about enforcement, and you can be serious about your driving. Stay over at a friend’s or family member’s house if you drink over the holiday weekend. Even if you only have a drink, if you are in any collision (even one not your fault) and this causes a police response, the investigation will be longer if the odor of alcohol is detected or you exhibit any signs of impairment. 

Third, try to reduce speed and switch lanes prior to 200 feet, if safe to do so, before you catch up to visible emergency responders, including tow trucks, police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks. Under RCW 46.61.212, you can be cited for an enhanced traffic infraction, and if you put or were likely to put an emergency worker in danger, you can be charged with the gross misdemeanor of reckless endangerment of an emergency worker.  Slowing down and creating an extra lane between your vehicle and an emergency response vehicle are good ways to avoid these types of traffic offenses. Of course, if you get cited, you can send me an e-mail or call me for help.

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Speeding in a school zone, defined in RCW 46.61.440 and by many equivalent municipal codes, is a type of traffic infraction that many drivers receive in the State of Washington, though tickets for this type of offense are frequent in Lake Forest Park, Seattle, and jurisdictions throughout King County. This post focuses on some tips to avoid these infractions, what it means if you get a school zone ticket, and what you should do (and shouldn’t do) with a school zone ticket. 

These tickets are most frequently-issued in two types of ways: (1) by a law enforcement officer observing the speeding, pulling over the driver, and issuing a citation or (2) by a camera taking a photo of a license plate (also known as a traffic camera citation). As of the date of this post, traffic camera citations do not affect the driving records and privileges of drivers who receive these citations Washington. 

To avoid these infractions, drivers should take special notice any time drivers are entering a school zone and reduce speed to no more than 20 MPH. Reducing speed is a critical tip for parents because parents are frequently in school zones and dropping off and picking up children at school. Police officers love to pull parents over and issue parents tickets for speeding in a school zone, even for driving 25 MPH. 

Sometimes, it is difficult to know the location where a school zone begins: for example, in some jurisdictions, there is a sign that says “School Ahead” or “Reduce Speed to 20 MPH,” but in other jurisdictions it is not as obvious, and rarely if ever is there a sign that states “School Zone Begins.” Signs are indications that a driver is about to enter a school zone. Another indication is a sign that specifically mentions that there is a traffic camera. Traffic cameras are often attached to speed measurement devices around school zones. In addition to reducing speed to no more than 20 MPH and looking for signage, drivers might want to avoid school zone areas entirely during certain times of day, typically in the early morning or mid-afternoon, when students are going to and leaving school. Another way to avoid a school zone ticket is to drive on streets where there are no, school zones may extend 300 feet from the school or playground property, as well as 300 feet from a marked school or playground crosswalk. 

If you receive a school zone ticket, one thing you should know is that you cannot mitigate a school zone ticket. Although mitigation is an option on the ticket, mitigation is actually not an option under Washington law for this type of infraction. The reason is that the Legislature decided that a person who is found to have committed an infraction (either by admitting to the infraction by mitigating, paying the ticket, or after a contested hearing) shall not have the penalty waived, reduced, or suspended. Therefore, if you want a reduced penalty for the infraction, you will not get one because mitigation is not an option. Do NOT mitigate.  DO contest your infraction so that it can be challenged to avoid higher insurance and marks on your driving record.  

In addition to not being able to mitigate your fine, the fine in a school zone speeding ticket is higher than a normal speeding ticket. Although regular speeding tickets are also moving violations, drivers who get speeding tickets in a school zone face more serious consequences. If you have received any type of speeding offense, contact my office for help.   

 

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Traffic tickets for driving in the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane are very common on Highway 520 and interstates such as I-90, I-405, and I-5 in the State of Washington, where the Washington State Patrol is out in force looking to pull people over and cite them with HOV infractions. In fact, this type of offense has become so popular with the police and the public that Seattle Times staff reporter Christina Clarridge recently wrote a story about “Mad Dog,” the license plate and nickname of an alleged persistent HOV offender, HOV tickets, and how the public works with Washington State government and law enforcement to make sure more HOV tickets are issued. 

Although the State Patrol, through its spokesman, apparently doesn’t put a high priority on HOV offenders (translation: the State Patrol doesn’t want to admit that they put a high priority on HOV tickets), the State of Washington contributes significant resources to HOV lanes, keeping track of alleged violators, and making sure tickets are issued, especially in King County. In case you were wondering, this is where your highway tax dollars go. 

HOV-lane tickets are a bit unusual in that the State of Washington encourages the public to call a phone number, 877-764-HERO—also known as the HERO hotline—in order to report the license plates of alleged HOV-lane offenders. The phone number has been in existence since 1984 and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) accepts reports of alleged HOV violators, runs license plates of reported violator vehicles, and then mails brochures and letters to the owners of the vehicles (which may or may not be the drivers). WSDOT also reports license plates to the Washington State Patrol so that the police can be on the lookout for frequently reported vehicles.   

Although the police can cite any driver they observe unlawfully in an HOV lane, calls to the HERO line do not result in the issuance of a citation. On the first complaint, WSDOT sends a brochure, followed by a letter after the second complaint. On the third complaint, the Washington State Patrol sends a letter. The article states that

Typically the police cite drivers under RCW 46.61.165, the HOV lane statute, when the police view an individual driving as a single occupant in a restricted, HOV lane with diamond markings, but also when there are two occupants in a lane restricted to three occupants. 

In fact, I get a lot of phone calls about HOV tickets. Most of the time drivers ask me if tickets for driving in the HOV are moving violations. Indeed, in Washington, HOV infractions are moving offenses that affect a person’s insurance and driving privilege, just like a speeding ticket or failure to yield violation. 

If you have received an HOV ticket and want to fight it, contact me by e-mail or by phone.  

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Freelance correspondent Karen Aho had a very interesting article last week about a small town in Missouri that collected more than 75 percent of its annual budget from traffic fines.  Unlike in the State of Washington, in Missouri, traffic ticket collections are capped at 35 percent of a town’s revenue.  In Washington, however, police officers from Seattle and Everett and deputy sheriffs and state troopers from King County and other places such as Lewis County and Thurston County patrol state roadways looking to bring in money for their respective municipal, county, and state governments, without any limitation.  

In her article on insurance.com, Aho discovered a 2006 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis that found that the number of tickets issued in municipalities increased on average by 0.4 percent for every 1 percent decline in other revenue.  Aho writes:  “Individual officers may concentrate on public safety, but the data show that departments tend to increase the number of tickets issued during hard times.” 

But in Washington it’s not just municipalities, it’s county and state governments that are also seeing a decline in revenue.  That’s not good news if you’re commuting on I-5 to places like Seattle and Tacoma or you are driving over I-90 to Bellevue and Issaquah.  As declining revenue is continuing to be a problem for local and state governments, expect to see more local police officers, deputy sheriffs, and state troopers pulling drivers over for speeding.  The hope is that people will just pay the fines. 

In Washington, drivers who get and don’t fight their tickets will see these tickets stay on insurance records for three years.  As Aho mentions in her article, the government never even see most of the money auto insurance companies are making off the driver with even one traffic ticket.  Speeding tickets account for millions of dollars of increased premiums for drivers in the State of Washington. 

It’s not uncommon for a driver with even one speeding ticket to see an increase in premiums of more than 20 percent.  Why?  Because insurers think that drivers with even one traffic violation are a greater risk to insure than drivers with no speeding tickets.  Insurance also increases for drivers who get tickets for negligent driving, failing to signal, running a stop sign, improperly being in the HOV, and having a brake light that is out, among other traffic offenses.  

Luckily, a driver in the State of Washington has a choice: pay the fine and allow insurance companies to hike premiums, or contest (fight) the ticket and try to keep the ticket from affecting one’s driving record and insurance.  If you have received a speeding ticket or other type of traffic violation and want to keep it off your record, please contact me.  

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Here you are in your vehicle, driving along, and you see blue and red lights flashing behind you.  A police officer is practically on your bumper.  You pull over and an officer asks you for your license, registration, and insurance.  The police officer takes your information, leaves to go to his or her patrol car or motorcycle, and a few minutes later the officer has returned with a ticket.  You drive away, irritated and not knowing what to do.  

A few of the frequent questions I get asked are:

1.  Should I fight my speeding or other type of traffic ticket?  

2.  Why should I hire an experienced attorney to help me fight my traffic ticket?  

3.  My traffic ticket that I got in Everett or Seattle or Tacoma is *only* for $124, why should I pay a lawyer more than the face value of the ticket?  

These are great questions.  Maybe you are reading this blog and you just got a traffic ticket, or you are wondering how to fight your ticket.  Or perhaps you are coming to this blog because you understand some of the costs involved beyond what you see on a speeding ticket or other type of moving violation. 

WHY YOU NEED TO FIGHT

Moving violations affect auto and life insurance premiums as well as your driving record.  For some people it even affects employment.  It's important to differentiate between a moving violation and a nonmoving violation.  The general difference is that moving violations usually affect your driving record and what you pay for insurance and nonmoving violations usually do not.  There are some unusual exceptions, but this is a basic, general difference in most but not all cases.  Want to keep your insurance from going through the roof?  Want to keep your driving record clean so you don't get suspended or revoked?  These are reasons why you need to fight your traffic ticket.  Paying or mitigating a moving violation means you are saying "please raise my insurance rates, please put this violation on my record."  Informed and smart drivers understand that they want to keep their driving records clean and drivers want to keep insurance rates low.  

WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE AN ATTORNEY EXPERIENCED IN DEFENDING PEOPLE WHO GET TRAFFIC TICKETS

In my practice I have fought thousands of tickets for people in most of the State of Washington's 39 counties.  I see people in court all the time trying to defend themselves.  In fact, some people tell me "I'm going to defend myself on this ticket, the cop was absolutely wrong, and when I tell the judge what happened, the judge will believe me."  I also hear others say "the judge just sided with the officer and didn't listen to anything I had to say."  The truth is that most people in court on a traffic ticket have rarely been to court.  They have no idea what to say.  They are nervous.  They often convict themselves by saying something that never or rarely works.  And I see people who represent themselves lose, time and again.  But these drivers aren't just losing $124.  They are losing jobs.  Drivers are losing more money to insurance companies (often thousands of dollars) and drivers then have tarnished driving records, making it financially more difficult to pay other expenses.  

It pains me to see drivers who represent themselves lose, especially when these drivers could often win if they had just said the right thing.  An attorney experienced in fighting traffic tickets and in defending people accused of traffic violations understands the law, an attorney is familiar with the rules the police must follow and what happens when these rules aren't followed, and an attorney understands court procedures.  In my experience, judges often treat people with attorneys better than those who fight traffic tickets without an attorney.  This isn't necessarily fair, but it's a reality I often see.  One reason is that sometimes judges feel that a person who has hired an attorney cares more about the person's driving record.  Another reason is that judges know that an experienced attorney understands where to start and often has some familiarity with the court's policies and sometimes with the prosecutor.  This usually helps the court calendars run more quickly and smoothly.  

Finally, people visit a doctor for medical problems, a plumber for plumbing issues, and a mechanic for car issues.  People do this because these providers can help in very specific areas.  The legal world is complicated.  Missteps are expensive.  They cost people money and create numerous other headaches.  Don't let a traffic ticket cause you a lot of stress.  Contact an attorney who focuses on representing people with traffic tickets and put your best foot forward (not just on the gas!).   An attorney can usually go to court without you having to appear, meaning you can stay at work and let your lawyer deal with your case in court.  

HOW A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS TO AN ATTORNEY CAN SAVE YOU THOUSANDS OF BUCKS

Except in exceptional and unusual cases, I always charge a flat fee to fight traffic tickets.  This creates certainty in the fee and lowers stress.  

Let's work with the example in the third question above.  A driver receives a $124 speeding ticket.  This is a moving violation that, if you lose the violation, pay, or mitigate the ticket, stays on the insurance record for three years and affects your premiums.  How does it add up?  

Imagine that you pay the ticket and disregard everything I've said on this blog.  For illustration purposes only, imagine your rates go up a modest $125 every six months for three years, just because of this one infraction, let's say a speeding ticket or unsafe lane change or stop sign infraction.  Forget employment or other diving privilege issues.  

Your potential cost in this example only:

$150 x 6 premium periods = $900

+

$124 cost of the ticket = 

------------------------------------------------

$1,024 = Cost to driver of paying the ticket and not hiring an attorney to fight the ticket (for illustration purposes only, as every driver will have different factors that affect insurance premiums and overall costs).  

An attorney's fee for dealing with a speeding ticket and trying to get a traffic ticket dismissed or down to something that won't affect a person's insurance and driving record is often LESS than what you will pay in extra costs over time.  

To recap:  Fight your ticket, hire an experienced attorney who understands procedural (technical) and substantive issues, and do not get fooled into thinking that the amount on the ticket is the bottom line.  Know that you can fight your ticket and that you can hire an experienced attorney who will try to save you time and money.  

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Many drivers call me after they have been stopped by the police in the State of Washington and after the police have issued traffic tickets.  Every traffic ticket, which usually contains one or more listed infractions, often cause feelings of stress, fear, annoyance, and humiliation for most people.  Traffic infractions also can have many serious, collateral consequences.  For the drug rep or truck driver, a speeding ticket can mean higher insurance rates for an employer and individual.  It can also mean the loss of a job for the employee.  For the 16 or 17-year-old driver, a couple infractions can mean a license suspension, not to mention enormous insurance premium increases.  These examples are just a couple highlights and are not meant to be an unlimited list of consequences.  But the rights drivers have are mostly fairly standard around the state, if not entirely understood by the general population.  In this post I want to go over a few of the rights drivers, passengers, bicyclists, and pedestrians have in dealing with a traffic infraction.  All groups above have the same rights, although the collateral consequences for an operator of a motor vehicle are often different than a pedestrian or member of another class.  These rights are not meant to be an exhaustive list and any individual cited for a moving violation should consult an attorney experienced in handling traffic infraction cases.  You go to a doctor when you get ill and you might see a plumber to fix a plumbing issue.  Hiring a lawyer for a traffic ticket will often put you ahead of the pack and can be of great economic value.  

Remember that Washington State traffic infractions are noncriminal violations of law defined by statute and punishable by a fine.  What follows are some observations about the differences between contesting, mitigating, and appealing.  Hopefully readers of this blog will find some useful information.  

• Contesting an infraction:  Every driver can contest a traffic infraction.  The driver should read the ticket, front and back if the ticket is green, and the front if the ticket is white.  White tickets are usually "e-tickets," or electronic, and special care should be given to these notices because sometimes these "tickets" are not really infractions, but rather a notice, or summons, requiring a person to appear in court.  If that's the case, do not pass go, as you are not in infraction land anymore, and the case is a criminal offense and there are different rights and responsibilities for the individual.  But for a traffic infraction, every individual can contest (challenge) the ticket, and this is the only choice available on the ticket if an individual doesn't want a chance at an insurance company or employer seeing the ticket for several years (3 years for insurance companies, 5 years for employers in Washington on a final judgment that an individual committed an infraction).  A person must respond to the ticket within 15 days of the date the ticket was issued, or, if mailed, typically 18 days from the date the ticket was mailed to the defendant.   

• Mitigating an Infraction:  Most of the time a defendant doesn't need an attorney to mitigate an infraction.  Here, drivers are asking for a reduction in fine.  It is typically the second-worst choice (behind paying the infraction), because the driver is admitting commission of the offense without even looking at any of the evidence, and although some drivers qualify for reductions in fines, not all drivers do.  For example, sometimes judges are not allowed to reduce the fine.  This is true for school and construction zone tickets, to cite a couple of different infractions in which the Legislature has taken away judicial discretion in reducing fines.  Of course, a driver can still challenge (contest) the infraction if the driver requests a contested hearing instead of mitigation.  Another reason to not mitigate an infraction is that mitigating an infraction is the same as paying the infraction as far as showing up on your insurance goes.  Same for affecting a driver's record for a moving violation.  Occasionally, judges will reduce speed as well as the underlying fine, but this really doesn't help the driver very much.  Speeding, for example, is a still a moving violation.  Moving violations greatly affect drivers' insurance premiums and can affect the driving privilege (these consequences do not apply, however, for camera tickets in the State of Washington).  

• Appealing a Judicial Determination that an Infraction is Committed:  Many people confuse "contesting" from "appealing."  When a person contests an infraction, the individual is contesting the officer's determination that the individual committed the infraction.  Remember that this is a law enforcement officer's determination - it is not the final word on the ticket if a person contests the ticket.  The final word in a lower court is a final judgment by a judicial officer (a magistrate, commissioner, or judge).  Requesting a contested hearing must be done within the first 15 days after receiving the notice of infraction, or 18 days from the time the infraction is mailed.  With a request to contest, the person gets what most people would consider their "day in court" to challenge the infraction, or a time for an attorney to represent the person accused of the infraction in the first instance.  But what if a judge finds that you did it, that you committed the infraction?  Is there any recourse?  The answer is yes, all defendants have an appeal as of right, that is one chance as of right to go to a higher court to have the adverse decision reviewed.  However, very few judgments on infractions are appealed in the State of Washington.  This is partly due to the expense of appealing, which is usually more expensive than contesting an infraction.  This appeal as of right category is reserved for extraordinary infraction cases, and in Washington approximately less than 1 in 10,000 infraction cases get appealed every year.  There are probably many more bad decisions that should be appealed from lower courts, but most people just want their contested hearing, and usually that is enough.  It is extremely helpful to hire an attorney to contest a hearing (see above) because hopefully, with the use of an attorney, the individual will have no need for an appeal and will be able to obtain the benefits of wining at a contested hearing.  If, however, there is a need for an appeal, an experienced attorney will identify and preserve the important issues in a case for review by a higher court, should an individual wish to appeal the case.  

These rules apply for all infractions in the State of Washington, whether a person gets a ticket in Seattle or Sunnyside, Colfax or Kirkland.  These rules apply to various type of offenses, from speeding tickets to failing to yield the right of way and failing to signal.  Note that federal traffic offenses, such as speeding in a national park or on a military base, go to federal court and are treated very differently than state-level traffic infractions.  To see how these rules apply in a specific case, it is critical that a cited individual contact an attorney at the earliest possible time.  

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Correspondents Julia Preston and Robert Gebeloff recently published an article in The New York Times on illegal immigrant drivers in which these journalists wrote about how Some Unlicensed Drivers Who Risk More Than a Fine can face deportation in traffic cases.  

What many people don't understand, however, is that even licensed drivers who are immigrants can face the risk of deportation and other immigration consequences that can have a serious impact on their livelihood and the lives of their families.  How can this happen?  

What used to be seen as a simple traffic ticket may not always be so, especially for the immigrant driver.  For example, in many municipalities, prosecutors might choose to refile--even when they should not--civil infractions as criminal offenses.  These criminal offenses, if they turn into convictions, can lead to immigration violations if the offenses are crimes of moral turpitude, crimes that carry serious public safety risks, or both.  Even with civil infractions, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) routinely contact courts to obtain case docketing information on case records, even on traffic infractions.  The federal government is looking at state court records of immigrants, and immigrants should be concerned.    

Unfortunately, the risk of examination, and thus an immigration hold, is becoming more frequent for drivers in many states, including Washington.  Certain drivers are at greater risk than others.  For example, in the State of Washington, Hispanic drivers are at great risk of getting pulled over for a driving offense and having an immigration problem because in addition to a large Hispanic population in the state, Hispanic drivers are disproportionately unlicensed.  Washington, New Mexico, and Utah currently allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver licenses; yet in Washington, 38% of Hispanic drivers killed in crashes between 2000-2009 were unlicensed (contrast this with 19% in New Mexico and 43% in Utah), according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  Nationally, the number stood at 35% for the same time period.  

In addition, in the State of Washington, Hispanic drivers are increasingly targeted by the Washington State Patrol.  As of the end of 2010, even though the Hispanic population of the state accounts for just over 10% of the state's overall population, to date 80% of the WSP's Most Wanted fugitives are Hispanic.  80% of illegal immigrants nationally are also Hispanic.  

What will also have an effect on immigrant drivers is the federal government's emphasis on empowering state law enforcement to question, arrest, and detain illegal immigrants after routine traffic stops.  Perhaps most controversial is ICE's 287(g) program, which local police agencies can join.  Under the program, the federal government trains local police officers to question and detain--by placing immigration holds (detainers) on suspected illegal immigrants so that when a release from a local jail would normally occur, the inmate is not really released but transferred to federal custody.  As the New York Times observes, the program is designed to hone in on "criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety or a danger to the community."  Vanessa Kosky, a defense attorney in Georgia, believes that most illegal immigrants caught up in the 287(g) program are not terrible drivers.  She states: "These are not D.U.I.'s.  These are not people who are putting people in danger."  

Whatever the case may be, this phenomenon doesn't just affect Hispanic immigrants from Mexico and unlicensed drivers.  In my own practice, I have also seen licensed immigrant drivers in Washington from Canada, Asia, and Europe who can have many problems with courts and immigration.  

Although all drivers should contact an attorney who understands traffic offenses when these drivers receive a notice of a traffic violation, what is clear is that immigrant drivers face a special, heightened risk of other problems such as detention and deportation.  Immigrant drivers should not try to deal with these offenses and the American legal system by themselves.  Contacting an attorney can often help protect one's rights.  

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A frequent question drivers have for me when they receive a speeding ticket or other type of traffic ticket is which box they should check before they return the ticket.  A few years ago I wrote a little bit about what to do when you get a traffic ticket and the same really holds true:  read the ticket, and then figure out which box to check.  What box should I check when I get a ticket for negligent driving in the second degree, speeding, or failing to signal?  

The first two boxes are really no choices at all if you wish to challenge your ticket, whether it's a speeding infraction, failure to yield infraction, or a ticket for multiple infractions.  This is true whether you get the speeding ticket in Snohomish or Seattle, Clyde Hill or Kirkland, Bellevue or Bellingham. The reason is that with the first box, you're just paying the ticket.  With the second box, you are asking for a reduction in the fine.  What's wrong with that you ask?  Nothing if you like paying higher insurance premiums for moving violations and having a mark against your driver's license that can affect your driving privilege and even your job.  In fact, with the second box, some infractions (like speeding in a school zone or speeding in a construction zone) cannot have their fines reduced (but you're not told that when you get the ticket).  

The choice for fighting your Seattle speeding ticket or your Pierce County failure to yield to an emergency vehicle citation, to give a couple examples, is to contest the ticket.  You do that by checking the last choice.  It's true - the agency tasked with designing these infractions saved the best choice for last.  If you want a chance at keeping the ticket from affecting your insurance, your job, and even your driving privilege, the contested hearing box is the one you want.  

Now it's true that not every type of ticket affects insurance, your job, and your driving privilege, but if you're not sure, it's always a good idea to check the contested hearing box and find out from an experienced Seattle traffic attorney what the consequences are for a particular infraction.  If you decide not to fight the ticket, you can always pay the amount on the ticket prior to the hearing.  But it's often very difficult--if not impossible--to get a hearing after you've missed the deadline (15 days to request a hearing from the date you are issued the infraction, slightly longer if the ticket is mailed to you).  You have nothing to lose by preserving your right to a contested hearing.

Practice Tip:  When you check the contested hearing box for your traffic ticket, make sure you do two more things:  make a copy of the ticket for your attorney and/or your records, and mail the original ticket to the court certified and return receipt requested.  Why do you want to mail it this way?  Because courts lose paperwork.  With thousands of tickets each day and millions each year just in the State of Washington, courts are going to lose stuff.  They are going to misplace paperwork.  Why have that happen to your case?  A certified mail slip helps show a court that you mailed something, and a return receipt shows that someone signed for what you mailed.  Having both a certified mail slip and a return receipt is a good idea in the event the court or the post office loses your paperwork.  Your local U.S. Post Office will help you with the proper forms so that you can mail your ticket back to the court, whether you got the ticket in Spokane, Cle Elum, Tacoma, or Everett.  

Requesting a contested hearing is the only choice that allows you, when you respond to a traffic ticket in Washington State, to challenge the citation(s) and attempt to get your ticket dismissed; to not pay a monetary penalty (bail amount); and to keep your driving record clear of citations for insurance purposes. In my practice, I strongly support #3. People do not come to me for #1 or #2, and they shouldn't.  Checking the third box on the back of the ticket is the only way to have the opportunity to avoid a monetary cost to the State AND to keep your insurance rates reasonable. Often, the cost of hiring me to represent you is much smaller than the potential increase in insurance costs that a driver could face if he or she is found to have committed the infraction. And sometimes, if you choose to have me represent you, you might not even have to come to court, which can save you the expense of taking time off work. In my practice, I can't guarantee that I'll win every time, but I can say with confidence that I will fight hard to get you the best possible result every time, and hopefully a result that will save you money on your insurance and keep your driving privilege intact. Before you decide to pay a lot of money to the government and to your insurance company, call or e-mail me for a free evaluation of your traffic ticket in Washington State.  

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Mayor Mike McGinn wants to punish business districts and drivers in Seattle by raising hourly parking rates to the highest of any city in the U.S.  In addition, the Mayor is advocating the issuance of more tickets.  Plenty of people--residents and visitors alike--are upset about this move.  

But first a personal story, gentle reader.  A few days ago, I parked my car in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood.  After I left an appointment and returned to my car, I noticed one of Seattle’s finest—a parking enforcement officer (PEO) with an Interceptor motor vehicle—pulled up next to my vehicle.  As I was getting ready to hop in my car and drive away, the PEO yelled out to me and asked me: “Why are you parked in a bus lane”? 

I had to explain that I was not parked in a bus lane.  Our parking enforcement officer wanted to know how this could be, so I literally walked around my vehicle to the curb, pointed to the painted sidewalk demarcating the bus lane, pointed to my vehicle that was parked against uncolored concrete, and I explained to him that I was not in violation of any bus lane ordinance.  I also suggested—in my kindest and gentlest tone—that the PEO could write me a ticket, and I would subpoena him to court so that we could discuss the matter further, if he should like.  I wanted to give him options. 

The PEO was very pleasant (which is unusual) and asked me how the bus might get into the bus lane if a vehicle is parked next to it; however, this isn’t my problem, and the lane is long enough for a bus to easily get in and out.  The parking space is legal, King County Metro has buses that drive on city streets where the buses stand and park in bus lanes, and drivers parked nearby but outside the bus lane are—shocking as though it may be to Seattle’s parking enforcement community—legally parked.   

But Mayor McGinn supports zealous—overzealous—enforcement of parking laws, to the point where PEOs are actually issuing tickets to legally parked vehicles.  I know because I was about to get one such bogus ticket.  Forget the fact that parking tickets don’t affect auto insurance premiums like tickets for speeding, HOV, negligent driving, or failing to signal a lane change.  Mayor McGinn wants to punish drivers not to increase public safety, but rather to increase more revenue for the City and punish drivers who choose to work, shop, dine, and do business in Seattle. 

Mayor McGinn’s master plan, according to Chris Grygiel of Seattlepi.com:  raise public parking rates to a high of $4/hour, spend $28,000 for red light photo enforcement, and issue more tickets.  It makes no difference to the Mayor that total tickets are up 23 percent in the last five years or that fines are projected to increase 17 percent for all of 2010. 

One of the biggest problems with Mayor McGinn’s (some have called him Mayor McSchwinn) plan is that all drivers are asked to subsidize pedestrians and bicyclists.  Some may think this is a great idea, but the roads were not designed or paved for bicyclists, yet in Seattle we still allow bicyclists to use the parts of the roadway designed for motor vehicle travel (this may seem normal to most people, but there are locations where roadway use is much more restricted).  To be fair, I like helping pedestrians and bicyclists too, but I do not believe drivers should be treated as a third-class citizenry meant to pay for everyone else.  Charging drivers to throw down some paint to create bike lanes might make bicyclists safer, but narrower vehicular roadways, elimination of vehicular lanes, more Interceptor parking enforcement vehicles, and no decrease in the number of motor vehicles on the road do not ease congestion, traffic, or make riding a bike an easier mode of transportation.  Increasing parking rates in a bad economy also angers businesses and drivers alike.  This has the result of increasing traffic in neighborhoods such as Northgate and areas around the U-Village while also sending business outside Seattle, to places such as Bellevue and Redmond.  

And in case the Mayor didn’t notice, as I mentioned in a previous blog post Mukilteo voters want to stop red-light camera tickets and photo enforcement.  I do not believe Seattle voters, given the opportunity, would react any differently. 

Mayor McGinn calls his critics “conservatives”—apparently anyone who criticizes the City for not acting enough like a business.  But higher parking fees for greater congestion (which will be increased when shoppers flock to downtown stores after 6:00 P.M. to avoid $4/hour downtown parking rates) or anyone who wants to avoid the overzealous issuance of a parking ticket.  

Mayor McGinn's message:  Welcome to Seattle, here's an (undeserved) parking ticket before you leave. 

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The 2010 midterm and state elections were significant:  nearly two dozen state legislatures changed control, more than 60 Repubicans were swept into the U.S. House (including at least one member-elect who has earned a lot of speeding tickets), and here in the State of Washington we had several voter initiatives at the state and local levels ranging from privitization of liquor sales, increasing the sales tax, creation of a state income tax, school levies, and--for a first in the State of Washington--a measure to make it much harder for the City of Mukilteo to install and generate income on red-light and speed enforcement traffic cameras.  But before we get to Mukilteo, let's talk about South Dakota. 

SOUTH DAKOTA

Leading the pack (literally!) of members-elect in the 112th Congress will be Kristi Noem, a farmer, rancher, hunting lodge owner, restaurant manager, and now South Dakota's at-large member-elect to the United States House of Representatives.  Congresswoman-elect Noem defeated Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, but Noem didn't win without her driving record making national headlines.  The South Dakota Democratic Party created what has to be one of the most amusing political hit websites of the 2010 cycle, chronicling Kristi Noem's driving, arrest warrant, and ticket history, along with a fantastic YouTube video in which candidate Noem states: "It's always kind of been in my nature to be in a hurry and get things done." 

I can't tell which I like better:  the video, the map (with audio as you scroll over it) of Noem's violations, arrest warrants, and failures to appear, or the fact that South Dakota voters really don't care whether their sole representative to the U.S. House drives a little fast. 

A few observations:  if you speed, South Dakota voters will probably forgive you.  About 30 speeding tickets?  Not a problem if you want to represent South Dakota!   If you are in Congress representing South Dakota and run through a stop sign and kill a motorcyclist, however, a South Dakota jury will likely convict you of manslaughter and you will probably go to jail, as happened to Bill Janklow a few years ago. 

Second, if you're Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, you get defeated repeatedly by those who speed like Janklow and Noem.  Apparently speeding tickets are not disincentives for getting elected to congressional office and candidates might actually do better in their electoral pursuits to rack up a few tickets.  

In the words of Congresswoman-elect Noem, "[B]e in a hurry and gets things done"! 

Third, if you're a family member who lost a loved one to a member of Congress's heavy foot, and the member of Congress kills your loved one while on official business, consider suing the United States Government and not the member of Congress, who will likely be protected from monetary damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act. 

Finally, my advice for Congresswoman-elect Noem - if you get stopped for speeding after you're sworn into office, consider invoking Article I, section 6, clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States:

Senators and Representatives . . . shall in all cases except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their attendance at the Sessions of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same...

- - -

MUKILTEO

The big news out of Mukilteo on Election Day is that Mukilteo voters are fed up with red-light cameras.  In fact, voters there also don't want speed cameras.  Like other jurisdictions across the United States, Mukilteo believes that traffic enforcement via camera technology is unnecessary.  So voters there decided to limit fines from these cameras to $20 per infraction, while making it much more difficult to install cameras in the future (two-thirds council vote, followed by a public vote to ratify council action).  There is a hope that Mukilteo's action might spur voter initiatives to end traffic "safety" cameras statewide.  Stay tuned.   

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I've written before on Washington's new cell phone law that makes it lawful for the police to pull over and cite a driver for holding a cell phone or other wireless communication device to the driver's ear while driving.  The law does not ban speech or talking on a phone with a handsfree device while driving.  

While the police used to need another reason (a primary offense to stop a driver), the new law that takes effect on June 10, 2010 allows the police more power to stop drivers, as the Washington Legislature made a cell phone infraction a primary offense after the Legislature failed to do so earlier in the legislative session.  

One of the upsides of the new law is that it will probably not have a tremendous effect on the poor, who are probably less likely to own vehicles and cell phones.  Parents who want their children to not use cell phones while driving will be pleased to know that the new law prohibits any cell phone use while driving for drivers under the age of 18.  

One of the downsides, however, is the new law's dubious effect on public safety, as Erik Lacitis reports in the Seattle Times.

As reported by Lacitis, studies have shown that the problem with driving stems from driver distraction distraction and not whether a driver is holding the cell phone or speaking into a handsfree device.   

Senator Tracey Eide (D-Federal Way), believes the new law will save lives as drivers talking with a handsfree device will be able to have two hands on the wheel while being able to look left and right.

Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste believes that under the old, secondary offense law, drivers showed outright defiance.  3,000 tickets were apparently not enough in the last two years, and Batiste states that the WSP will be enforcing the new law starting June 10, 2010.   

It's difficult to ascertain whether the new law will encourage more talking on cell phones with handsfree devices and, possibly, increase injuries and deaths or whether the new law will actually save lives by decreasing collisions.  

Washington has had a primary offense seat belt law since 2002, and NHTSA reports that in 2008, Washington's seat belt use was the third-highest among U.S. states at 96.5 percent, trailing only Hawaii and Michigan.  While seat belt use reduces deaths from auto collisions, only time will tell whether a law restricting the manner of talking on a cell phone will decrease the loss of life.  

For now, drivers in Washington should know that starting June 10, 2010, police officers from Blaine to Bellevue and Seattle to Spokane will be enforcing the new law and issuing a lot of tickets.  

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Why is it that as you're taking time off to be with friends and loved ones, there are more police officers on the road writing tickets?  

Often on holiday weekends in the Seattle area and in high-traffic areas like I-90 and I-5 in the State of Washington, drivers will notice an increased police presence.  Part of this has to do with a need for more police responders to deal with additional collisions that occur over high-capacity travel times, but the reality is that many police officers make EXTRA MONEY - yes, overtime - when they work certain holidays.  Part of the extra money is to get officers to work on certain holidays where they might otherwise take the day off, and as an increased incentive to many law enforcement agencies, the federal government will grant money to local jurisdictions to increase the police presence in traffic enforcement (read: more tickets).  

What the means for Jane and Joe Driver is that Jane and Joe just might end up with a speeding, lane change, stop sign, negligent driving, or other type of traffic infraction this weekend.  

The important thing to realize is that if you are the unlucky beneficiary of one of these traffic tickets, you are not alone.  You do not need to panic.  If you get a ticket in the State of Washington, you can call a traffic attorney who can help to maintain your driving privilege and keep your insurance rates low.  

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Yesterday the Washington House of Representatives reversed itself by passing the Washington Senate's version of a cell phone/texting bill, which the Governor is expected to sign.  

What does this mean to drivers in the State of Washington?  It means that if the bill becomes law (and it's really more a matter of when than if), police officers will be able to stop motorists who are holding cell phones and/or texting while driving without witnessing another offense.  Current law allows the police to issue traffic tickets to motorists for holding a cell phone or texting only if some other primary driving infraction (e.g., speeding, improper lane change) is being committed at the same time.  

Proponents think the new legislation will save lives; opponents see government intrusion and wonder why other activities such as smoking, eating, and putting on makeup are not similarly made primary offenses.  

As an attorney who deals with traffic offense cases every day, while I strongly support measures that make roadway users safe, I also believe in providing the driving public with incentives--especially economic ones--that will make drivers alter behavior in a positive way. 

The new legislation, while making cell phone and texting infractions primary offenses, prohibits the offenses from becoming part of a driver's record that is available to insurance companies.  Here, the Legislature creates a monetary penalty for the offenses, but says "hey, we don't want this offense on a driver's record, because even though we think this type of driving is so outrageous, and there is a major safety issue here that we must spend a ton of time with in this legislative session, we don't think it's really worth telling the public about or insurers."  Instead, the Legislature sends the following message:  the conduct is so unsafe that we don't want anyone to know the people who perform this unsafe behavior, so we will not punish through insurance increases anyone who breaks the law and we will not reward those who choose to obey the law.  

There's a reason that the word "law" is in the word "flaw."  The Legislature could have done a much better job by passing a bill that actually helps people who obey the restrictions obtain better insurance premiums.  After all, if the conduct is so dangerous, than clearly risky drivers ought to assume a greater financial burden.  But the Legislature didn't care about that, and instead chose expediency over substance, a common theme in this session.  

 

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Today the Seattle Times called the House of Representatives the "House of Wimps" in an editorial about the Legislature's failure to pass a distracted driving law.  I don't wholly disagree with the Times, but House members and senators are wimps not because they couldn't pass a comprehensive law, but rather because the bills lack any real incentive to improve public safety.  

A few years ago the Washington Legislature made texting and talking on a handheld wireless communication device civil traffic infractions punishable by a fine.  However, the Legislature made these infractions secondary offenses, meaning that police officers can only stop drivers who are allegedly committing some other, primary traffic violation.

Since these laws took effect, many citizens and some legislators have wanted to go a step further by making the texting/cell phone bans primary offenses.  Others, including some legislators who serve as police officers, criticized the move as going too far, at least as far as non-texting, verbal cell phone communication goes.  

What the Legislature wholly fails to address - and why I think the bills sponsored by Senator Tracey Eide (D-Federal Way) and State Representative Reuven Carlyle (D-Queen Anne) are inadequate - are incentives for the driving public to be better drivers.  If you buy the conclusion that texting and/or talking on a handheld wireless communication device, combined with driving, is dangerous - then why would you not want to punish the people creating the danger and reward your constituents who don't create the risk?  

The bills don't envision any reward/punishment scenario and as such, the bills might feel great but they don't really do anything for public safety.  

In fact, there is a built-in incentive for people to perform the very conduct  that legislators are trying to ban.  Why?  Because unlike drivers' other traffic offenses that are shared with insurance companies - and lawful drivers have to purchase insurance - cell phone and texting offenses are not shared and the Legislature has prohibited such communication of these offenses to insurance companies.  These offenses can still affect the privileges of intermediate (under age 18) drivers, but most of the driving public is not incentivized with any reward or punishment.  

If legislators really want to improve public safety AND help most of the driving public and their constituents pay less in insurance premiums, sponsors should strike the bills’ language that prevents employers and insurers from finding out about a person's driving offenses in this area.  

As there have been many comparisons to texting and cell phone offenses with DUI, if the comparisons are accurate (and I'm not arguing one way or the other that they are), it seems fitting that drivers who create risk by texting and/or holding a cell phone to their ears while driving should be readily identifiable to those who insure and employ these same drivers, whether it's a company attempting to measure risk or someone looking for a babysitter to drive their children to soccer practice.  

The safety and economic incentives are simple: if employers can minimize risk on the road by screening those drivers who have a history of these offenses, we will arguably have safer roads if more people are economically incentivized to curb conduct deemed risky or offensive.  

If insurers can identify drivers who create greater risk, then insurers can isolate risk to specific policyholders and policyholders who choose a more prudent way of driving will be economically incentivized to drive with their hands free of wireless communication devices if these drivers know they will pay less for insurance than the person who breaks the law. 

 Perhaps next year the Legislature can address the real issues with texting/cell phone legislation and debate the merits of a clean and meaningful bill.  

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Whether you decide to travel from Spokane to Seattle, Yakima to Yelm, or points in between during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, you will probably notice an increased police presence.  But rather than serve you some turkey and pumpkin pie, the police will be serving motorists with speeding tickets and other traffic tickets for such offenses as negligent driving, following too close, and improper lane change. 

The days preceding and following holidays are typically among the times of year when most fatality-collisions occur.  According to AAA, 2.1 million more travelers will be on the road this year during the hoilday weekend. 

Officers will not only be responding to collisions and looking for speeding, but also for drivers and passengers not wearing seat belts and also for cars with expired tabs. 

Of course, should you receive a ticket for a moving violation, you will want to fight it so that you can save money on insurance premiums and keep your driving record clean. 

Happy Thanksgiving and safe driving this holiday weekend. 

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Earlier this week Seattle Times reporter Danny Westneat wrote about his frustration and how his driving habits have changed--for the worse--since Seattle decided to put up red-light cameras.

Since drivers call me daily to talk about red-light camera traffic tickets that motorists have received in the mail (and no one has called me happy to have received such a gift), it is important to note that a red-light camera traffic ticket has no effect on insurance premiums, although if a driver is stopped by a police officer and cited for a red light violation, this latter type of violation does have consequences to insurance costs.

Seattle joins other cities like Auburn, Bellevue, Bremerton, Burien, Federal Way, Fife, Issaquah, Lacey, Lake Forest Park, Lakewood, Lynnwood, Monroe, Moses Lake, Puyallup, Renton, Seatac, Spokane, Tacoma, and Wenatchee in having some form of automated traffic camera devices.

Westneat makes many good observations (more after the jump).

Continue Reading...

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A forum on decriminalizing marijuana and making the offense punishable as a civil infraction will be the subject of an upcoming forum in Edmonds, the Daily Herald reports.  

My state senator, Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Queen Anne), will participate in a panel discussion with travel writer Rick Steves, former U.S. Attorney John McKay, and attorney and former White House Advisor Egil "Bud" Krogh.  It appears that Rep. Mary Helen Roberts (D-Lynnwood) might sign as a House sponsor.  

The idea is simple - treat low possessory amounts of marijuana like a speeding ticket or nontraffic civil infraction, save millions of dollars in incarceration and court costs, and bring in revenue (presumably millions of dollars) for people cited for marijuana possession as a civil infraction.  

What is less clear though are these items:  why the legislation proposes a $100 fine and why juveniles would get sanctioned criminally but adults would not.  

A $100 penalty for marijuana possession would be less than an HOV or lane change infraction, so perhaps legislators need to revisit the amount assessed for this proposed infraction, and whether the traffic version of a marijuana possession infraction would be a moving violation like possessing an open container of alcohol in a vehicle (which also carries a higher fine than $100).  

Second, it hardly seems fair that juveniles would receive detention ("juvy jail") for marijuana possession but adults would be able to pay a fine with no criminal sanctions.  Penalizing juvenile offenders more harshly than adults is unfair on its face nor would it be helpful for juvenile offenders who would have criminal records for marijuana possession when that same possession would be decriminalized if the juvenile were an adult.  

Third, the topic of marijuana decriminalization should be discussed in the broader context of our alcohol laws.  While decriminalization of marijuana could be a civil infraction for 19- or 20-year-olds, individuals this same age would still be charged as adults for the crime of minor in possession of alcohol.  Legislators should consider decriminalizing certain alcohol offenses.  Without certain changes, state law becomes inconsistent and appears to favor an illegal substance over a legal one, with a ticket for the illegal substance (marijuana) and jail time for the legal substance (alcohol possessed by an underage individual).  

I commend Senator Kohl-Welles for fostering a discussion on these important items.   

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It appears that on Monday, October 5, 2009, Bellevue will join the growing ranks of Washington cities to use speed cameras in an effort to obtain revenue from unwitting motorists.  Lake Forest Park began using the cameras earlier this year. 

Bellevue alleges that the cameras are part of a "pilot project to improve traffic safety," according to the Seattle Times.  Predictably, Bellevue stands to gain hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.  At least Bellevue might be fiscally safer! 

Although these cameras will probably do nothing to improve safety, the cameras will have the effect of thousands of tickets being issued (and many if not all of them wrongly) to vehicle owners who receive tickets in the mail. 

Here's how it works:  You're dropping your child off at school, and a camera attached to a speed measuring device photographs your vehicle.  The vehicle's owner (perhaps your spouse) gets a ticket in the mail.  Actually, you might even get a few tickets in a day, because it will take time for you to realize that you've even been photographed, traveling, perhaps, 25 mph in a 20 mph zone. 

Don't like speed cameras?  Sponsor an initiative to ban them, or vote your elected officials out of office. 

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Although this blog generally focuses on traffic infraction issues, I feel compelled to write a post about another category of civil infractions - dog violations.  Dog violations are issued by animal control officers.

Most citizens who go to court in the State of Washington go to courts of limited jurisdiction - that is, municipal and district courts that hear the bulk of our traffic infraction, misdemeanor, small claims, and dollar-limited civil cases. 

In general municipal courts are fairly small, but not Seattle Municipal Court.  Here, there are a dozen or so elected and appointed judicial officers hearing hundreds of cases each day. 

During one morning traffic calendar last week, I was in Seattle Muni, as I typically am each week.  But this was no typical day.  Prior to the bulk of speeding, red light, and following too closely infraction hearings, the City of Seattle, through its esteemed Rule 9 (law student) persecutor (who this blog will not name because he might enjoy unearned and undeserved publicity), decided it would spend the better part of an hour trying a defendant accused of 3 doggy infractions - off-leash and off premises violations. 

The events at issue apparently started when an animal control officer, the City's first witness, responded to a disturbance involving Mr. Tickles - a dog that allegedly strayed onto a neighbor's property.  The neighbor is Attorney Andrea Nicolaisen, who it appears was upset about a boundary dispute involving the defendant accused of the doggy infractions, and the fear that Oggy, her dog, had of Mr. Tickles. 

Remarkably, the only people who could keep poker faces during this farce of a court hearing were the defendant and Attorney Nicolaisen.  The judge, the animal control officer, and Rule 9 persecutor, the other attorneys in the room (including yours truly) had to laugh at the antics of Mr. Tickles.

But what is not a laughing matter is how the City and Attorney Nicolaisen, somewhat unjustifiably, made dozens of people sit in court for an hour over two neighbors' failure to resolve a boundary dispute, in what is really a fleecing of Seattle's taxpayer dollars.  To the City and Attorney Nicolaisen - this blog gives you two thumbs down. 

For entertainment value, this blog recommends that the next time you're flipping through channels and see the Washington Supreme Court on TVW, just think - you could have entertaining (if not wasteful) Seattle Municipal Court doggy violation hearings televised into your living room.  You really have to see it to believe it.  Contact your local cable provider immediately, and don't forget to mention Mr. Tickles.

UPDATE:  6/25/09 - SEATTLE

Attorney Andrea Nicolaisen wrote in to inform me that my previous post "got the facts all wrong."  Ms. Nicolaisen points out that it was her neighbor, Crystal Welch, who phoned animal control, and that Ms. Welch, the complainant, was actually cited.  This blog originally cited Ms. Nicolaisen as the complainant, when more appropriately she should have been identified as a very upset, complaining witness.  

Ms. Nicolaisen notes, however, that the hearing was " a three hour waste of [her] time" and she also notes that "after sitting there for 2 hours [yours truly was] so unable to get even the most basic facts correct."   Ms. Nicolaisen's view is not only inaccurate, but it needs to be supplemented by what transpired. 

Attorney Nicolaisen was subpoenaed by the City of Seattle for a non-traffic civil infraction hearing involving her dog.  She seemed to enjoy testifying against her neighbor.  She also did not have to testify, as a subpoena requires her appearance, but a subpoena does not require or compel her to speak or testify, let alone drag an entire courtroom into her neighbor's dispute.  However, that's exactly what Attorney Nicolaisen did.  Why Attorney Nicolaisen felt compelled to testify at a dog infraction hearing is beyond me.

I did not spend the entire hearing in the courtroom; rather, I attempted to get my own work done.  The sad part about the morning is that Attorney Nicolaisen and the Rule 9 Legal Intern failed to resolve the dispute in less than a couple hours.  Rather, Attorney Nicolaisen's dog Oggy and Ms. Welch's dog, Mr. Tickles, were caught in the middle of a human dispute.  Even though the City won the hearing, as an observer I blame the City (and partly Ms. Nicolaisen) for the delay on the calendar.  

I wish Attorney Nicolaisen and Oggy well in their future endeavors.  

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Many drivers know - and many learn - that fighting a speeding ticket or other type of traffic infraction often means the difference between maintaining low insurance premiums and having insurance payments go through the roof. 

But what does it mean to police officers who to go to court?  Overtime. 

Last week I had the pleasure of going to court in Chehalis, Lewis County.  Not long before my client's hearing, I observed a contested hearing with another attorney and two police officers from Morton, the small, approximately thousand persons town and hub of eastern Lewis County located between Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. 

Rather than file a declaration or affidavit to support the traffic infraction, two officers decided to show up to court, unannounced and without any prosecutor.  Investigation by yours truly discovered that the officers (yes, not one but two) decided that it was in their financial interest to go to court because the officers are able to accrue overtime. 

It's not a new discovery that some officers earn overtime by going to court, but there are two exceptional issues with this particular case.  First, it's unusual for two officers to come to court for one infraction.  Second, it's an incredible waste of money when taxpayers in a rural community like Morton (per capita median income at $16,275, 2000 census) foot the bill for fishing expeditions by police officers.  Overtime for the police officers' unrequired (and to my knowledge not demanded) presence would exceed the amount of any return from the infraction's bail amount.  This overzealousness, waste of time, and waste of resources by Morton police is another reason that drivers should feel empowered to fight unreasonable enforcement by fighting their tickets.   

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The Seattle Times and the Seattle PI recently reported an incident involving a Seattle Police Department lieutenant who was arrested for DUI on November 23 after a Washington State Patrol officer observed a vehicle drifting on I-5. 

Of course, while Lt. Lowe is presumed innocent until proven guilty, it is noteworthy that Lt. Lowe supervised a 42-member Seattle police detail for President Obama's inauguration nearly two months after the officer's arrest.  The news articles describe a number of disciplinary problems Lt. Lowe has had in his career, yet Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, who may become the nation's drug czar, appears to tolerate this behavior by granting supervisory authority to Lt. Lowe.  Chief Kerlikowske also declined to comment and I wonder if he endorses Lt. Lowe's conduct. 

While the Washington State Patrol appeared to treat Lt. Lowe no differently than other suspects of DUI, it certainly begs the question as to whether police officers who receive traffic infractions such as speeding and improper lane change - or who get arrested for a criminal offense - receive special treatment by their police department supervisors. 

While other motorists who are found to have committed traffic offenses pay higher auto and life insurance premiums, arguably the taxpayers would be left to finance higher insurance premiums for Seattle police officers who get into trouble.  That, in and of itself, is troublesome. 

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Today the Seattle Times reports that the WSP will have extra patrols on I-5 in King County while road crews make repairs. 

The State Patrol claims that "Worker and motorist safety is always [the State Patrol's] top priority."  The second priority is likely issuing motorists tickets, as fines are doubled in construction zones.  

For those drivers traveling on I-5 in the Seattle area, you risk getting stopped and issued a speeding  ticket that can increase your insurance premiums and affect your driving privilege.  If you get such a speeding or other traffic ticket, don't panic - give me a call. 

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In one of the latest examples of charging more and providing less, the City of Seattle has decided to institute pay parking in the City's Fremont neighborhood, the Seattle Times and the Seattle PI reported this month. 

The City has decided to place 13 to 20 pay stations in Fremont, along with other time-restricted and residential parking zones. 

Jessica Vets, the executive director of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, believes the City's move towards paid parking will hurt small businesses and Seattle citizens.  "This is a tax that has not been passed by the voters, that the Seattle City Council and the mayor are imposing on businesses, on residents and on Seattle citizens," says Vets. 

It's hard to disagree with Ms. Vets.  A parking ticket by one visitor to a retail establishment can certainly have an effect on that visitor's shopping patterns, and the business.  Less business means less tax revenue for the City.  Will the City make up for it with revenue from extra parking tickets?  Feel free to comment below. 

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The Seattle P-I reported earlier this month that 67 law enforcement agencies around the state will provide more officers through December 7 for seat-belt emphasis patrols.  Officers will be on the roads day and night looking for motorists and passengers who don't buckle up.  

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission spent over half a million dollars on this year's seat-belt campaign, with roughly $300,000 going to personnel for enforcement of the state's seat-belt law. 

Officials emphasize that seat-belt enforcement is not about issuing tickets but about saving lives.  Whether or not you believe that, and even if you believe that the state should not be mandating whether you or others wear a seat-belt (a valid opinion), there is certainly costs to all taxpayers when uninsured individuals get in collisions and the state has to pay for their medical care.  This alone should be reason enough to wear a seat belt.  If you choose not to, expect to be pulled over. 

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Several months ago, Seattle's mayor, city council, and police chief collaborated on obtaining Seattle's first "speed van," a $174,000 Chevy Uplander paid for by Seattle taxpayers.  

City officials are quite proud of this expense because they believe more people will be issued tickets and that speed cameras help reduce vehicular speed.  Only time will tell whether the speed cameras will reduce collisions. 

Speed van photo enforecment began last month.  For now, expect to be issued a $189 ticket if you speed and get picked up by the speed van. 

You can read more about the van and see a photo of it in the Seattle PI article.

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In a matter of weeks, Washington drivers will no longer be allowed to legally hold and talk on a cell phone while driving. As state, county, and local governments look to "protect" you, my gentle readers from yourselves and the public, they're also looking to take a few of your hard-earned bucks off you by having the police pull you over, delay you, and write you tickets. Don't let the government take your money.

Before you use your cell phone while driving, get a hands-free device for your cell phone. Hands-free cell phone devices are allowed and they are the new, permissible way to drive and talk on your cell phone. Hopefully the devices will save you some money as well.

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Recently the Seattle P-I published an article about a motorcyclist who was arrested for allegedly driving 164 mph in Oregon. Many drivers call my office to ask me if traveling a certain speed, such as 90 or 100 mph, constitutes reckless driving in the State of Washington. The answer is that any speed beyond  Washington's maximum speed limits could serve as prima facie evidence of reckless driving, which in Washington is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. The prosecuting authority would, however, have to prove the charge of reckless driving (which unlike a speeding infraction includes wanton and willful disregard of persons or property) to the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. So in Washington, if a driver is traveling 26 mph in a 25 mph zone, that person can be arrested (though it is unlikely and unusual). But if you're allegedly traveling 164 mph on a motorcycle, you are at high risk of getting arrested and charged with reckless driving. In most speeding cases, drivers are issued notices of infraction - that is, speeding tickets - which are civil infractions. The penalties for infractions do not include jail time, but the penalties do include monetary fines, higher insurance costs, and potential suspension or revocation of the driving privilege. But drivers in Washington should be aware that a police officer has the judgment call of citing a driver for reckless driving - and even arresting the driver on the spot - if the police officer believes the driver is disregarding the safety of persons or property. Getting stopped by the police can be a scary experience for many people, but luckily you have a lot of options and rights when you get stopped, cited, and even arrested. If you've received a citation and need help fighting it, give me a call, I can help.

UPDATE (NOVEMBER 9, 2008):

I realize the original post left out a few important points that I wish to clarify for my readers.  While officers maintain the "judgment call" of arresting certain drivers for reckless driving and citing other drivers for speeding infractions, I want to be very clear that an arrest for reckless driving does not mean a driver who was allegedly speeding is automatically guilty because the officer has chosen to make an arrest for reckless driving.  Although vehicular speed can in some cases amount to reckless driving, a driver can really no longer be lawfully convicted of reckless driving by evidence of speed alone where there is other evidence that a jury can weigh with regards to the offense, even though RCW 46.61.465  states that speeding shall be prima facie evidence of driving a vehicle in a reckless manner.  I have updated the original post to include the words "wanton and willful disregard of persons or property" with regards to reckless driving in order to avoid any confusion between speeding and reckless driving.

In 1994, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed a King County conviction involving two vehicular assault charges.  The Court reviewed Washington's reckless driving statute  because driving a vehicle in a reckless manner was the predicate to the appellant's assault convictions.  State appeals had been exhausted, a defendant's constitutional right violated, and the defendant-appellant remained in jail. 

The Court stated:

But instruction number 7 isolated speed as the only circumstance needed to permit the jury to find reckless driving and thereby convict Schwendeman. The jury was told, in effect, that it could ignore all the other evidence, consider only the evidence of Schwendeman's speed, and if [the jury] found [appellant] was exceeding the speed limit, that was enough to convict him--not of speeding, but of reckless driving.
 

"By focusing the jury on the evidence of speed alone, the challenged instruction erroneously permitted the jury to" convict the appellant without allowing the jury to consider all of the other evidence. 

In short, the Court differentiated between speeding and reckless driving, and the Court reversed the state courts and ordered respondent to release the appellant from the King County Jail unless appellant could be granted, within a reasonable time, a new trial. 

The case is Schwendeman v. Wallenstein, 971 F.2d 313 (9th Cir. 1992).  

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In perhaps the largest targeting of red-light runners in the State of Washington, Seattle will soon add red-light cameras at 18 more intersections in 2008, more than quadrupling the number of intersections added in 2006-2007. Last year, the City gained more than $1 million from red-light cameras. Some Seattle officials think that stepped-up enforcement will make people safer, even though a City study noted that accidents per intersection INCREASED even after the City added cameras at four intersections in 2006, although mainstream media outlets such as the Seattle Times and the Seattle PI have failed to report this fact, according to thenewspaper.com , a journal of the politics of driving. What is clear is that the City stands to make millions of dollars off of red-light tickets this year. Unhappy about this? City Council Member Nick Lacata wants citizen tax dollars to pay for an additional 24 cameras in 2009 (why not an even hundred Nick?!?!?!). Seattle is not alone - Puyallup will add the cameras in February, with monetary penalties beginning in Puyallup in March. Lakewood and Lynnwood already use cameras for enforcement.

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Last week the AP picked up a story from the Southwest Washington Columbian newspaper about the WSP's increased frequency of issuing speeding tickets to motorists in Washington. Not only is the WSP issuing more traffic tickets, the WSP has incentives to do so:  some of the money from ticket fines are used to fund the agency and the agency won an award from the International Association of Police Chiefs for the best state police agency of its size when the WSP's speeding ticket total exceeded the total from the previous year. Some interesting statistics found in the article:

• Snohomish County and Clark County have the highest number of tickets issued per mile on state and federal highways (it's unclear whether these counties beat out other states or if state highways refer only to Washington)
• The WSP issued 280,000 speeding tickets in Washington in 2006, an increase of 55,000.  These tickets are also only for speeding.  These numbers do not include other types of traffic offenses and this number does not include the hundreds of thousands of tickets issued by municipal police departments and  county sheriffs' departments.
• In the first half of 2007, troopers issued more than 165,000 speeding tickets
• Although tickets are up, fatalities were up 23% on Washington highways in the first eleven months of 2007.
• Troopers in Asotin County, in the far southeast corner of the state, issued only 155 tickets for the first half of 2007.
• Spokane County ranks 7th highest among Washington counties for speeding tickets issued.
• Of all Washington counties, Adams County has the highest number of WSP speeding tickets per 100 residents.
• King County and Pierce County are in the bottom third of Washington counties for WSP speeding tickets when number of residents is considered.
• Motorists now receive speeding tickets in 60%-65% of traffic stops, up from 44%, a 36%-48% increase.
• The WSP is aggressively searching to fill 86 vacancies for its "field force" - the troopers who give traffic tickets to motorists.

The bottom line is that a higher number of speeding tickets means more more people will probably pay their tickets, resulting in increased insurance premiums and tarnished driving records. This is why it's critical to have an experienced traffic attorney fight to keep your driving record clean and your insurance costs low.  If you received a speeding ticket or ticket for another type of traffic offense, call me today - help is only a phone call away.

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Beginning January 1, 2008, drivers in the State of Washington face a ticket if caught reading, writing, or sending a text message while driving.  This especially will affect  drivers who work at Microsoft and other high-tech companies as these drivers often employ wireless technology while on the road. There are a few exceptions (affirmative defenses) to committing this infraction, such as sending a message to summon help in an emergency, but many if not most drivers caught texting while driving will face a ticket. However, there is some good news about this type of ticket, and some bad news. The good news first - this type of ticket (or infraction in legal lingo) is a "secondary infraction," meaning that a police officer has to have another reason to pull you over (speeding, unsafe lane change, etc.).  Also good news is that state law prohibits this type of infraction from being reported to insurance companies. So what's the bad news?  If you get cited for texting while driving, you'll likely end up cited for a second infraction - that is, the speeding ticket or driving on the shoulder ticket or other type of primary moving violation that got you pulled over in the first place.  Now you'll have two infractions to deal with and one that can affect your insurance. If you should receive a texting ticket with some other type of violation, please call me for a free consultation.

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Police in several towns in King and Snohomish counties are toughening their approach to immigration (even legal immigration!) by arresting drivers that police suspect of being illegal, the Seattle Times reported. Take the case of Jose Luis Diaz: he was pulled over for speeding and detained by authorities for 8 days before he could present the proper paperwork to an immigration judge.  In fact, Mr. Diaz was released after he was able to show that his wife is a U.S. citizen and that he is in the process of obtaining legal status.  Of course, Mr. Diaz's arrest did not come before he lost a good job (and good wages). Other drivers who are going to pay parking tickets ended up being detained by immigration agents.  This is happening in places such as Pacific, Lynnwood, and Bothell. If motorists do not take care of their tickets, these same drivers will have a tough time renewing their drivers' licenses, working for American  businesses, and maintaining insurance. If you received a speeding or other traffic ticket and you are worried about your legal status, you can still fight your ticket without going to jail or being detained by immigration authorities.  Give me a call if you want help fighting your ticket.

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In addition to the standard fine for a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) violation having been raised from $101 to $124, police are using citizen drives to enforce traffic laws. In the State of Washington, drivers can call 206-764-HERO to report alleged HOV violators. According to a news report in the Seattle Times, the Washington State Patrol will actually send out warning letters to vehicle owners whose vehicle license plates are spotted by other drivers in the HOV lane. If a warning letter doesn't work (maybe the WSP receives more complaints?), then the WSP will apparently "stake out" the location of the alleged violation in order to "catch the cheater in the act." Aside from the enormous amount of resources the WSP must be spending to "stake out" a location to catch a person allegedly committing an infraction, this creates a shift in police resources - now the police, who are so concerned about HOV violations, are out on I-5 rather than staking out car theft locations. In addition, the WSP is sending warning letters to motorists who own vehicles even though these same motorists might not have been driving the vehicles they own when the vehicle allegedly committed a traffic offense. If you've received a traffic ticket, give my office a call, we can help.

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Recently the Washington Department of Transportation released data collected January 1 - March 31, 2007, that ranked the top locations for vehicles moving faster than 90 MPH based on the highest number of vehicles traveling 90 MPH or quicker. Of the top 10 locations, 6 of them were in King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties, in places including Issaquah, Fife, Seattle, and Tacoma. It is unknown whether every inch of state highway was tested, or whether western Washington was specifically targeted, or whether the top locations have a higher number of vehicles traveling 90 or over because more cars cross that area or if the vehicles traveling 90 or over actually amount to a higher percentage of speeding cars versus all cars that are traveling a given section of roadway. What is clear is that the State Patrol is stepping up enforcement (this means speeding tickets and other citations for traffic offenses such as negligent driving and reckless driving) in areas that it believes has a higher number of vehicles that speed.  This makes economic sense for the State Patrol - after all, the more tickets issued, there is arguably a better chance at committed findings and fines, all other things being equal. It is best for drivers to take notice of these stepped-up enforcement locations and if the unfortunate happens and you get a traffic ticket, give me a call, I can help.

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A new law that will make it easier for the police to issue a traffic ticket and impound (the fancy legal term for legally restraining) your vehicle will take effect on Sunday, July 22, 2007. Although the Legislature previously allowed the police to impound a vehicle for alleged criminal law violations and other circumstances (for example, the vehicle was reported stolen, or the vehicle is occupying a restricted zone), this new law allows the police to seize a vehicle if the vehicle is on a public street AND the vehicle has an expired registration of more than 45 days. BEWARE: This law change means that a police officer who pulls you over while you are driving, presumably so that your vehicle becomes parked on a public roadway, could ticket you and impound your vehicle if the registration is expired long enough. It could mean that if your vehicle is parked on the street outside your home, and you've not updated your tabs, your vehicle would be subject to impoundment if your tabs are expired for more than 45 days. Avoid the costly expenses of obtaining a traffic ticket and paying impound fees. Keep your registration up to date and if for some reason you cannot keep your registration up to date, move your vehicle onto private property.

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According to a PEMCO Northwest Insurance poll released last month, Washington drivers who have household income of more than $75,000 a year are more likely than those of household income below $75,000 to speed and talk on a cell phone. Among those drivers who are more likely to speed, the poll found that these drivers are under-55 males who earn at least $75,000 with one or more children at home. The least likely speeders? Empty-nester females over the age of 55 who earn less than $75,000, as well as single drivers without children. But here's what the poll doesn't show: whether the more likely speeders are actually more likely to get pulled over and cited for a speeding ticket or another traffic offense. A conclusion in the poll is that one would think that drivers with children would slow down and obey the speed limit, "helping to ensure they'll be around to raise their kids." However, the poll says nothing about whether parents are more likely to be involved in fatal collisions or that the absence of fatal collisions will help parents be around to raise their kids any more than quitting smoking or abstaining from trans-fats. What is more probable is that PEMCO and other insurance companies will use this and other similar data as an excuse to raise insurance rates for certain groups of people. It could be that under-55 male drivers with higher income, especially those who receive a speeding ticket, will see a remarkable rise in their insurance rates. Those drivers concerned about insurance rates would be wise to fight their tickets.

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This was the topic of a recent news story, which did not get the answer quite right. The short answer is generally no, not at this time, and drivers should not go rushing to the stores to buy GPS devices to counter speeding tickets. (The exception would be if you could bring in an expert to testify about the high accuracy of GPS as a speed measuring device - and even then a court in Washington would probably be reluctant to allow such new technology into evidence). Imagine this: you're driving a long, minding your own business, and Officer TicketCop pulls you over and he issues you a speeding ticket. He tells you that your car, according to his RADAR (radio detection and ranging) device, clocked your vehicle traveling 10 miles over the posted speed limit. Simple enough, right? Not exactly. You counter that you have a GPS system, which stated that your vehicle was traveling less than the posted speed. Can you use the GPS measurement to counter the officer's RADAR unit? Not really. The law is not developed for courts to agree on using GPS as a speed measuring device. RADAR, although it has a lot of problems, has been around for a very long time, and used properly, courts will allow a measurement of speed based on RADAR into evidence. But GPS is newer and based on new technology, you argue. Well yes, that's true, but from a court's perspective, you would need an expert on GPS to vouch for GPS's accuracy as a speed measuring device as well as how it is properly used. Assuming you win on that, you would still have to show that GPS is better than RADAR, and that your GPS measurement is more accurate than the Officer TicketCop's RADAR measurement, and that you employed the GPS device correctly. GPS is used for purposes other than speed, whereas a RADAR gun is used to measure vehicle speed (and as a reason for Officer TicketCop to give a lot of traffic infractions). One of the problems with a GPS system is the user - a user would have to show that the user's GPS measurement is accurate based on the way the user employed the system. Likely a user who is also the driver would have a tough time vouching for speed and vouching that the device was being used properly at the same time. Also, while a GPS device may be useful in measuring the distance a car has traveled, and average speed over a long distance (say point Seattle to point Tacoma), there is no indication that GPS will measure one or more speeds accurately over fixed, shorter distances (say 800 feet) in a matter of seconds. If you just received a speeding ticket or any other type of traffic infraction in the State of Washington, call me, I can help.

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As local suburbs become strapped for cash, police are issuing more traffic tickets, especially speeding tickets. Take Fircrest, for example. Fircrest is a 1.5-square-mile Tacoma suburb of approximately 6,000 people situated between Tacoma and University Place. Unfortunately for drivers, Fircrest's elected officials are supportive of an increase in traffic citations. According to the Tacoma News Tribune, police issued a record number of traffic citations - upwards of 3,400 - from 2005 to 2006. Criminal citations are up a whopping 90 percent in the same time period! Officers, such as Police Chief John Cheesman (yes, that's really his name), are supported by $47,000 in overtime pay so that they may continue their extra patrols. Yes, officers are actually paid extra money to issue traffic tickets. Chief Cheesman recommends that speeders need to "slow down or go around" Fircrest. Apparently he is not very business-friendly and will not be heading Fircrest's Chamber of Commerce any time soon. Fircrest Mayor David Viafore is also "extremely proud" of the patrol program. If you have been one of the unfortunate recipients of a speeding ticket or other traffic citation in Fircrest, give me a call, I can help.

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When drivers receive civil infraction tickets in the State of Washington, drivers have three choices: 1. Pay the fine (you're admitting that you committed the infraction) 2. Request a mitigation hearing (you also pay the fine and admit to the infraction, but a kind judge might lower the fine, provided that's allowed for the type of infraction for which you were cited); 3. Fight (contest) the ticket. Many drivers, especially those who get a Seattle ticket, think that requesting a contested hearing will get them a contested hearing. Unfortunately, in a number of locations around the state (most notably Seattle), that's not exactly true. For those drivers who smartly fight their tickets, Seattle first schedules a prehearing conference. State law allows local courts to decide whether they want to hold prehearing conferences. What this means for drivers is an extra step and often a waste of time. A prehearing conference is the civil equivalent of a pretrial conference in criminal law. At the prehearing conference, drivers appear in front of a magistrate in an office. The magistrate will attempt to get the driver to essentially mitigate the infraction, thereby saving court resources and obtaining revenue for the city, county, and/or state. Occasionally, a magistrate at a prehearing conference will dismiss an infraction, but this is very rare and drivers should not expect this. What drivers should expect is that if they go to the prehearing conference, they will have to wait and NOT be able to have a contested hearing on that same day. The magistrate knows that you won't be able to have a contested hearing that day, but he/she doesn't tell you until the end of the prehearing conference that you will have to come back to court on another day for a contested hearing if you'd rather fight your ticket than "take the deal." Prehearing conferences are mostly a scam. Most drivers are unaware that when they request a contested hearing and want their day in court, they might instead get a prehearing conference, they won't be able to fight their tickets on the same day as the prehearing conference, and the driver who wants to fight has to return to court, often taking time off work. Luckily, you can save yourself the hassle of prehearing conferences by waiving them in advance of the hearing, or hiring an attorney experienced in fighting traffic tickets. If you have been issued a speeding ticket or you have been cited for another type of traffic offense, don't panic - just give me a call.

UPDATE:  OCTOBER 13, 2011 - I have updated this post here.

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Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) recently signed legislation sponsored by Delegate David Albo (R-Fairfax), a traffic attorney and member of Virginia's esteemed House of Delegates. Mr. Albo has been known to remind people that he occupies the seat of George Mason, the Father of the Bill of Rights. Del. Albo thought it was a great idea to raise speeding ticket costs for driving as little as 15 MPH over the limit. Such a ticket could cost a driver $2,500 in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and Virginia drivers get the added "bonus" of paying a $1,050 tax. Luckily, Washington drivers can breathe a sigh of relief that we do not yet have to face $3,550 speeding tickets in the State of Washington. Unfortunately, the increased costs in insurance that a traffic ticket or several traffic tickets can bring make driving a real headache, if not impossible, for many Washington drivers. If you recently received a traffic ticket in the State of Washington, I can help. Please call me for a free consultation.

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Often I receive phone calls from citizens who have been issued a traffic ticket and/or arrested not because of anything these citizens were doing while driving, but because they were passengers in vehicles that were stopped for something totally unrelated to what the police officer is now alleging against the passenger. This begs the question: As a passenger, do I have the same right as the driver to challenge a traffic stop? Now you do. On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held that a passenger has the same right as the driver to challenge a traffic stop. The legal term is called standing, and now passengers have standing to challenge a traffic stop. 47 states and 9 federal circuit courts already held that when a car is pulled over, the passenger is seized for Fourth Amendment purposes--in other words, the passenger, as well as the driver, do not feel free to leave. However, California, Colorado, and the State of Washington have in the past held that passengers are not so seized. This most recent Supreme Court decision brings these three states in line with the rest of the country, and readers of this blog who are Washington drivers from Seattle to Spokane should be especially pleased. For those of you who are interested in this particular case, it's called Brendlin v. California, No. 06-8120. Here's a brief description of the major facts and the procedural history: A police officer in California, Officer Brokenbrough, illegally stopped a car that had a temporary operating permit. The officer knew that a renewal registration form was being processed, but he stopped the vehicle anyway. When he stopped the car, he recognized one of the passengers as "one of the Brendlin brothers," and one of the brothers was wanted on an arrest warrant. After other officers arrived, Officer Brokenbrough ordered Brendlin out of the car at gunpoint. Upon completing searches incident to arrest of the driver and passenger Brendlin, officers searched the car and found tubing, a scale, and other methamphetamine production components. The officers also found contraband on the driver. Brendlin moved to suppress all these items but the trial court found the stop lawful and the trial court denied the motion. Brendlin pleaded guilty and received four years in prison, subject to an appeal. Brendlin won his appeal at the Court of Appeal of California, but the California Supreme Court reversed and depublished the Court of Appeal opinion. The Supreme Court of the United States granted cert to decide whether a traffic stop subjects a passenger, as well as the driver, to Fourth Amendment seizure. As I noted earlier, the Supreme Court held that indeed, a passenger is also seized. The Court vacated the decision of the California Supreme Court, and the case is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings not inconsistent with the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion. Passengers can now rest a little easier in knowing that if their drivers are stopped, both driver and passenger will enjoy the same right to challenge the stop under the Fourth Amendment.

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Although SpeedingTicketBlog does not venture too often onto the highways of nonmoving traffic tickets, readers should be aware that the City of Seattle Parking Enforcement Division issued citations in violation of the City of Seattle Municipal Code. If you parked on a legal holiday and you were wrongly issued a citation, you car might also have been impounded, and wrongly so. In response to a lawsuit filed last fall on behalf of drivers who were wrongly issued citations, the City of Seattle changed its parking rules. Â Still, the City might still owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for the prior wrongful issuance of citations. The case is currently pending in King County Superior Court. For more information, read the Seattle PI's article here.

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We've all been there - in the car with a loved one. But is it lawful to "hook up" with the driver of a vehicle? Last week, a Washington State Trooper pulled over the driver of an alleged drifting SUV on I-90. The vehicle's occupants were naked, leading the Trooper to believe that an act of physical intimacy had occurred while the vehicle was in motion. In this case, the driver was charged with DUI and the passenger with being a minor in possession of alcohol. However, the couple were not cited under the "embracing" statute. But what if the couple had been hooking up while the car was moving? In Washington, "Embracing Another While Driving" is actually considered prima facie evidence of reckless driving, a gross misdemeanor that is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. The operator must have "in his or her embrace another person which prevents the free and unhampered operation of such vehicle." It seems, however, that a passenger could embrace an operator, as the passenger is not the operator of the vehicle, and hence the passenger is not embracing and driving at the same time. So if you're a driver in Washington, do not embrace others while driving, and if someone embraces you while driving, drive carefully!

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By the end of July, drivers who are stopped will see the costs of citations increase. A typical fine of what was $101 at the beginning of 2007 will increase to $124. The $1,050 penalty for not yielding to an emergency vehicle will also increase, as will most other traffic offenses. Unfortunately, there isn't much the public can do. The Washington Supreme Court and the State Legislature are driving the increases to keep pace with inflation, to pay for $50 million in computer upgrades, and to help people who suffer from traumatic brain injuries and their families (although it appears as though people with brain injuries will get less state money than will be collected to pay for computers, but that's a different issue). Whether these increased penalties are needed for state programs is questionable when more police are being hired, more drivers are moving to the state, and more tickets are being issued. In 2006 alone, police in Washington issued more than one million traffic tickets, resulting in over $110 million in fines. The police, the legislature, and the courts know that most people will just roll over and pay their tickets, giving these governmental bodies an extra incentive to charge you more for the same offenses. Fight back and fight your traffic ticket!

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Most people don't make a federal case out of a traffic ticket, but some people have no choice: Sahneewa Trimble is once such person. If you are issued a traffic ticket on federal property, such as at Fort Lewis Army Base in Tacoma, you will have to go to federal court if you wish to fight the ticket. In some cases, you will have to appear in federal court even if you don't want to fight the ticket. That is because federal traffic matters are often not infractions that one might receive on state highways, but many federal traffic citations are "petty offenses," for which an offender could serve up to 6 months in jail. In Ms. Trimble's case, she received six citations (some of them fairly serious). A U.S. Magistrate Judge in Tacoma dismissed two of the six citations, but the Magistrate imposed $25 penalties on three of the remaining ones. Not only had Ms. Trimble believed that she was excessively charged - more than other drivers who did the same thing on federal property that day - but she believed the $25 penalties were excessive, especially when others appearing in court on the same day were not assessed these penalties. Ms. Trimble appealed to a U.S. District Court Judge, who overruled her objection. Then, Ms. Trimble filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit over an amount in controversy of $75. Last Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit reversed the District Court. Judge Berzon, writing for the majority, wrote: "We reverse - demonstrating, again, that our Constitutional principles protect against monetary injuries large and small." In Ms. Trimble's case, the penalty fees were imposed on her arbitrarily based on the type of form on which the ticket was printed, and therefore the fees violated the equal protecton principles incorporated into the Fifth Amendment. As Judge Berzon observed, the imposition of the fees were arbitrary enough that it would be akin to this: people who were issued with tickets on Wednesdays or who were issued tickets with black ink had to pay the fees, but people who got blue-ink tickets or tickets on Fridays would not have to pay the fees. Such an abitrary imposition of fees is irrational, and violates an individual's Fifth Amendment protections. The case is United States v. Trimble, No. 06-30298, and the ruling in this case is one more reason why you should fight your traffic ticket!

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A new study that was released yesterday from the George Mason University Economics Department shows that out-of-towners are more likely to get a ticket during a traffic stop. The study was conducted in Massachusetts and showed that out-of-town drivers (this may mean out-of-state drivers) were at approximately 2/3 higher risk of getting a ticket. However, police officers in towns that are dependent on tourism dollars might write less citations to out-of-state drivers. I have not seen a similar study conducted in the State of Washington, but the moral of the story is this: be extra careful if you're an out-of-state driver and/or you have out-of-state plates, as your proximity to the courthouse and the officer's perceived ability of whether you will fight the ticket might weigh heavily on the officer's mind when deciding whether to issue you a traffic ticket.

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The Washington Traffic Safety Commission recently obtained a $600,000 federal grant, coupled with another $1.2 Million for police officers to cite drivers for seat belt violations at night, the Tacoma News Tribune reported. If we can't get money for bridges and roads, then at least the police can get money to issue drivers tickets. Beginning this past Monday night, that means more police officers issuing seat belt citations to occupants of vehicles at night and more traffic stops. And what's more, some officers will be working in groups of 8! Yes, you could be pulled over by a SWAT team! 75 law enforcement agencies around the state will be taking part in targeting drivers and passengers so that the police can issue tickets. These agencies include, but are not limited to, police in Federal Way, Lakewood, and Puyallup. What's important for drivers to remember is that unlike the cell-phone and text-messaging tickets that drivers will begin to receive in 2008 - which will be secondary offenses (see previous blog post) - a seat belt violation is considered a primary offense, so a law enforcement officer does not have to witness another violation in order to pull you over. Welcome to Washington, wear your seat belt.

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Earlier this month, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed legislation that will allow the police to issue drivers traffic infractions if a driver is talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving or the driver is text-messaging. These laws go into effect in 2008 in the State of Washington. But BEWARE! If you are stopped and cited, you will likely be cited for two traffic infractions instead of one. How can this be? The Legislature made these new traffic offenses "secondary" offenses, which means that an officer must observe another traffic offense - or primary offense - prior to citing you for the secondary offense. So if you are behind the wheel and doing what an officer believes is speeding or making an unsafe lane change, and you're holding your cell phone to your ear at the same time, you can then be cited for two traffic infractions. If you have a cell phone and wish to use it while driving, you may obtain a hands-free device to use while communicating and steering. Of course, if you are the unlucky recipient of a traffic infraction, give us a call (on your cell phone if you prefer).

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Some people have asked me how speeding tickets came to be. On a lighter note, speeding tickets in Seattle have been issued since 1879, ten years before Washington enjoyed statehood. Back then, it wasn't the automobile in which people were riding; rather, "drivers" were speeding on horseback.

Walt Crowley, a Seattle historian, writes about speeding, horses, and electric cars:

"Seattle's first speeding ticket was issued to two horsemen in July 1879, 21 years before Washington state welcomed its first automobile on July 23, 1900, when Ralph Hopkins, the owner of the Woods Electric -- yes, electric cars are not a new idea -- drove his vehicle west from Chicago to San Francisco and then north to Seattle (with lifts from trains helping out here and there). By 1904, there were enough cars in Washington to warrant creation of the state's first Auto Club and establishment of the original State Highway Board the following year." (Source: HistoryLink).

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Last month, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that the Chief of the Seattle Police Department, with the blessing of the Mayor, will not hire another sergeant this year to investigate officer misconduct even though the City Council allocated $120,000 for that purpose. You can read the full story by clicking here. So why should you care? Because the Seattle Police Department is proud to instead have purchased 6 new Dodge Charger vehicles (sticker price to a consumer is $22,000 per car) with which the SPD is bent on stopping people who speed. Officer misconduct? No big deal according to the police. Speeding? Priority! Apparently, a regular patrol vehicle is not good enough anymore for the police to apprehend people. On May 4, 2007, the Seattle Times reported that one police officer is actually getting compliments on the new cars (did he get any compliments for ticketing people?). As a result of the creation of the SPD's new aggressive-driving squad, those who drive in Seattle should take notice that the new squad is looking for speeders. Specifically, the squad is looking for drivers who honk their horns (very aggressive), cut in and out of traffic, weave, and anyone who might be speeding. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of tax dollars spent on the new sports cars for police and the salaries for the new squad's members, the SPD spent a mere $5,000 on marketing material to let the public know about the squad. But it's not only Seattle. Redmond and Monroe police, as well as the Washington State Patrol, are also using Dodge Chargers to apprehend those who are speeding. As the weather gets warmer, there are often more drivers and police on the roadways, and as the police need to justify the cost of spending your tax dollars on these expensive cars, expect to see a lot of people being issued speeding tickets.

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You just got off work, you're minding your own business, and as you're driving you're thinking about your evening's plans when suddenly you observe a police cruiser's lights flashing behind you. You safely pull over and the police officer, not pleased enough with your driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance, has decided to issue you a citation. Or maybe a couple citations! You politely take the ticket from the officer as you're now running late for the plans you have after a long day at work. So what do you do? First, don't lose the ticket! It's a piece of paper, like many other pieces of paper, but if you lose it you might forget about it, and this could cost you a lot of money later. When you get home, place the ticket in a place where you won't forget about it. You must respond to the ticket (or the Notice of Infraction in legal lingo) within 15 days from the day or evening you received it. Remember, courts and post offices are closed on Sundays and some major holidays, so it is possible that you could have even less than 15 days to respond. But how do I respond, you ask? Great question. You have three choices, all of which I will go over here: 1. You can admit that you committed the infraction and pay the fine amount on the ticket (this is box 1). This is the worst choice you could make, because the Department of Licensing will be notified that you committed an infraction; if you've been cited for a moving violation that doesn't fall under a statutory exemption, your insurance carriers will be able to find out about your citation for the next 3 years, and your insurance premiums can rise; and you end up paying the state, county and/or city a fine amount as outlined on the ticket. It's like one error in baseball that just resulted in the bases being loaded against you, with no outs. 2. You can check the second box on the back of the ticket, where you admit that you commited the infraction, but you wish to mitigate and beg a judge to reduce your fine. This choice *might* be better than #1 above, if you want to attempt to get the fine amount (what lawyers call a bail amount) reduced. The problem is that the court still finds you committed the infraction, the Department of Licensing still gets notice, and your insurance company can still find about most tickets and your premium can still rise. An additional problem is that you almost always have to go to court to take "advantage" of mitigation, and there's a chance that the judge might not reduce the bail amount because he/she doesn't want to, or because the Legislature has made the type of citation for which you were cited impossible for the judge to reduce the bail amount. 3. You can check the third box, and contest the ticket. This is the only choice that allows you, when you respond to a ticket, to challenge the citation(s) and get your ticket dismissed; to not pay a monetary penalty (bail amount); and to keep your driver's record clear of citations for insurance purposes. In my practice, I strongly support #3. People do not come to me for #1 or #2, and they shouldn't. Checking the third box on the back of the ticket is the only way to have the opportunity to avoid a monetary cost to the State AND to keep your insurance rates reasonable. Often, the cost of hiring me to represent you is much smaller than the potential increase in insurance costs that a driver could face if he or she is found to have committed the infraction. And sometimes, if you choose to have me represent you, you might not even have to come to court, which can save you the expense of taking time off work. In my practice, I can't guarantee that I'll win every time, but I can guarantee that we'll fight hard every time. Before you decide to pay a lot of money to the government and to your insurance company, call me for a free evaluation of your ticket.

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Being stopped by a police officer can be a painful and irritating experience. Many people ask me what they should do when they get a ticket. This is an important question for my next post, but first, what should drivers do when they are getting pulled over? First, pull over to a safe place. Nothing annoys a police officer more than a driver who places or even appears to place the officer or others in harm's way. Safely pulling over might actually allow an officer who thought about giving you a warning to do just that and not issue you a citation. If you are in a place where it is very unsafe to pull over, traveling to the next exit and pulling over when it is safe to do so is not a bad idea. Most officers would probably agree that it is reasonable for you to travel a short distance in order for you to safely pull over. Second, once your vehicle is safely stopped, take a deep breath and relax. Do not get out of the vehicle unless ordered by the police officer. Third, when the officer approaches your vehicle, roll down the window. The officer will most likely ask you for your driver's license, registration, and insurance. Often, these documents are not always located in the same place, so assure the officer that if your insurance or registration is in your glove compartment, tell the officer "It's in my glove compartment" so the officer knows why you are going in there. Fourth, don't apologize. The officer might ask you if you know why he or she stopped you. Many people think that you should just say what is on your mind or agree with the officer's reason. DON'T DO THAT! The officer can use your statement against you. If you're uncertain as to the reason of the stop, it is better to not say anything or express uncertainty by saying "I'm not sure, Officer," rather than argue or take a guess. You are not required to implicate yourself. Fifth, if the officer issues you a citation, remove the ticket from your vehicle when you return home and put the ticket in a place where you won't lose it (perhaps under a magnet on your fridge). A traffic ticket is money and you would not misplace your cash, so treat the ticket like cash and don't lose it. You have 15 days from the day the Officer hands you the ticket to send it back (if the ticket is mailed to you, the rules are a little different). Remember, post offices are closed on Sundays, so if you get a ticket on a Saturday or if the post office is closed because of a Monday holiday, you should not wait longer than 14 days to mail your ticket. Waiting longer than the time you are given to send in the ticket can result in you losing your case. Be prompt and you will preserve your opportunity to have a court allow you to fight your ticket. If you have received a citation, please read the next post about the steps you should follow when you get a ticket. Happy driving.

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