What’s the secret to mitigate ticket?

In the midst of economic struggle, there is one organization that apparently has plenty of free cash. It is the Lynnwood Municipal

Court. I had the opportunity to witness this when I appeared before Justice Stephen Moore on May 11 to mitigate a ticket for what

I can only assume is the worst offense known to man: not wearing my seat belt.

To be sure, wearing of one’s safety harness is law and should be practiced by everyone. And, in complete disclosure, this was my second

ticket for this offense. With that said, the last one I received was over four years ago, and I’ve never received any driving

infraction except these two.

I am writing to inform the public that, should you want to save yourself some money when you mitigate a traffic infraction, perhaps your

best bet is to commit a less dangerous infraction such as speeding or backing into a police car. I drew this conclusion while sitting for a

half hour and listening to the other ticket-holders.

Forgive me for not knowing names, but since these are now a matter of public record, names should be easily attainable. First there was the

young woman whose driving record the judge called horrendous. Though she disputed the use of that word, after listening to a litany of past

infractions — many of which committed within the last few years — she correctly realized her record was, indeed “horrendous.” You can imagine

my surprise, then, when “Justice” Moore reduced her latest infraction a whopping 80 percent from $500 to only just over $100.

Next came a middle-aged woman who got in a small accident … with a police car. We all chuckled as she explained how she hit the wrong pedal and backed into the officer’s car. Well, I for one stopped laughing when her ticket was also reduced to under $100. I believe I can be forgiven for believing that my penalty would be reduced by a significant amount.

Unfortunately, Lynnwood Justice is apparently just a figment of my imagination. Though my penalty was reduced slightly from $124 to $86,

my faith in the Lynnwood Municipal Court was reduced greatly.

Let’s face it, if we’re going to pretend that the law is fair, let’s try something new and apply it equally.

Luke N. Determan

Lynnwood