EVERETT — Beating a speeding ticket in Snohomish County may be harder than it used to be.
Fewer challenged tickets are being thrown out of court ever since the county hired a full-time deputy prosecutor to handle civil infractions in the county’s four district courts.
More people who fight traffic tickets are being forced to pay for violations, such as speeding or tailgating.
Proponents say the new program is putting a stop to a “game” some habitual traffic scofflaws were winning in the county’s traffic courts.
“There was a culture developing where if you were motivated enough to challenge a speeding ticket or wealthy enough to hire an attorney, you would discover one of the loopholes in the law to excuse you from the ticket,” Snohomish County Prosecutor Janice Ellis said. “Infractions were an ignored part of the law.”
One frequent path for tickets being dismissed has been all about process — not guilt or innocence.
Defense lawyers knew that without a prosecutor dedicated to handle civil infractions, a request for a police officer’s “declaration,” a written description of the events, likely would go unanswered. The case would be dismissed for failing to meet discovery requirements, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Jessica Ness said.
“There was no accountability for people driving badly in Snohomish County,” she said.
The County Council this year funded a full-time deputy prosecutor and secretary to handle civil infractions. The program costs about $136,000.
“Our goal is to enhance respect for the traffic laws,” Ellis said. “We know law enforcement doesn’t want to waste their time.”
As part of her job, Ness has spent time educating police officers about writing complete declarations that will hold up in court. Often tickets are dismissed on procedural matters, she said.
“We’re in the best position to help them understand what is going to be expected of them in court,” Ellis added.
Ness doesn’t prosecute all traffic infractions. Generally she becomes involved after someone, often a defense attorney, has requested the police affidavit.
During the first three months of 2009, prosecutors attended more than three times as many civil infraction hearings than during the same time last year.
The fines leveraged against offenders have more than tripled.
Between January and March, prosecutors attended 896 contested ticket hearings. Judges upheld 75 percent of those tickets and fined the defendants about $111,000. Prosecutors didn’t attend 143 contested ticket hearings, and about 70 percent of those were tossed out. Offenders were fined about $8,000 for the tickets that were upheld.
In comparison, between January and March 2008, a prosecutor attended 245 hearings. Of those, 190 tickets were upheld and people were fined about $30,940. During those same months, 293 hearings were held without a prosecutor. About 90 percent of those cases were dismissed and about $4,500 in fines was assessed.
Ness can’t get to every case in the county’s four district courts. She tries to focus on the more egregious offenders, including those who caused injury collisions, Ness said.
Before Ness came on board, people injured in crashes caused by traffic offenders often didn’t know the ticket was being contested.
“Ninety-nine percent want to come and testify and be heard,” Ness said.
Local defense attorneys say they have seen an increase in the number of tickets being upheld in court.
They disagree that their clients are trying to beat the system.
“Not every defendant is guilty or trying to get out of a ticket. They are entitled to their day in court,” said Arlington attorney James Mucklestone. “I don’t think they think it’s a game.”
People generally hire an attorney because they disagree with the police officer, he said. Part of that may be because there is limited communication between officers and the people they stop, Mucklestone said.
Tickets used to be handwritten and had to be signed by the driver. Now, drivers don’t have to sign the tickets. Some police departments have even gone to electronic tickets, Mucklestone said.
“A lot of defendants feel like they’re on a processing line,” he said. “They need their day in court to feel like they’ve been heard.”
There are some people who contest the violations because they feel like they’re being taxed with a police ticket book, Mucklestone said.
“Enforcement has gone through the roof. The number of police officers out there is staggering,” he said.
For most people, a traffic stop will be their only brush with law enforcement, Seattle-based defense attorney Lisa Donaldson said.
“They have a right to be represented just like the state has the right to have someone there,” she said.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.
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