Appealing a 2nd Degree Negligent Driving Infraction in Washington State (King County)

[NWPeopel]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington

So my husband got a 2nd degree negligent driving ticket... we were stunned! My mother, my children and I were in the car and witnessed it all. A little bit of background... my husband is a firefighter and is a very responsible person. We went to court today and the judge wouldn't even listen to him nor me. Found him guilty. Now we are in the process of appealing the court's decision, however, have no idea how to go about it so we want to have an attorney represent him. Any ideas, thoughts or suggestions?

We requested (twice) any information related to my husband's ticket from the state of which they replied by saying that they had no information, recordings, video footage or anything related to this ticket. We tried showing that to the judge and she wouldn't even look at it.

They supplied us with a short statement the officer wrote. It was frustrating because he was accused of speeding which it was in the middle of congested traffic and people were barely going the speed limit. The officer also wrote that my husband admitted to tailgating which is not true... my husband admitted to driving on all lanes of the freeway. The officer also said that he had my husband's driving recorded onto the hard drive in his patrol unit as well as the conversation being recorded and none of that was true either. We noticed that after we requested the discovery from the state trooper's office as well as the boxes not being marked on the statement from my husband's ticket. We follow the rules... that's just the kind of people we are. Now we don't know what to do. If my husband were driving the way he was accused of driving, believe me, either my mother or I, or even both of us would say something immediately! We had our two young children in the car with us... there is just no way!

Please help... I don't know what to do.

 

[Maestro64]

The officer lied to you what else is new, and guess what there is no law against him making any of those statement to get someone to admit something they might not otherwise state. Police will say the stop is being recorded when in fact it might not me and say the whole thing was being video recorded when it might not be just to get the person to state they were speeding or something else.

Next, tickets in Washington if I remember correctly are a civil matter so the state only has to prove you were more likely then not to have committed the violation, it is preponderance of the evidence not beyond a reasonable doubt.

Bases on your statements it sounds like the officer was not even there so your husband was found guilty based on the officer notes. If that was the case when you made your discovery request was it court ordered, because if it was not then the police may not have to comply. If it was did you ask for the notes and if so it sounds like they were not provided to you and that could be the grounds of appeal.

You can not appeal because you did not like the outcome you have to appeal on a legal matter like lack of complying with a discovery request, you can ask for the recordings but if they were not used against you then it is a mute point. However it the officers notes were used against him and were not supplied when asked then it could be grounds. If the officer was a no show could also be grounds, but again this depends on the state rules on this matter.

Unless you object to any of these in court you may not have any ground of appeal. If you asked the court clerk for the form for filling an appeal they should supply it to you. You will need to complete it and state what legal issue was not meet and how the court ignore your request or objections and why it did not meet the legal standard.

 

[racer72]

First lets clear up a few things.

So my husband got a 2nd degree negligent driving ticket

This is a nice catch all when an officer generally observes multiple violations.

Now we are in the process of appealing the court's decision, however, have no idea how to go about it so we want to have an attorney represent him. Any ideas, thoughts or suggestions?

Your husband should have done this to fight this ticket.

We requested (twice) any information related to my husband's ticket from the state

In which manner did you requrest this info? A request for discovery is the proper method.

they replied by saying that they had no information, recordings, video footage or anything related to this ticket.

Things such as recording and video footage would not be available to you. They are allowed in court only for DUI or felony driving arrests. Also, generally only the evidence to be used against you will be supplied.

Your husband needed an attorney a long time ago, tell him to see one soon.

 

[NWPeopel]

Not good news...

So I am consistently hearing that we should have gotten an attorney... we had no idea what we were in for!

The judge was rude, condescending, and has gotten in trouble twice over the past four years for being this way in court. She asked us to state our side of the story, however, we continually were interrupted and weren't allowed to speak. What is incredibly disappointing about the entire thing is that we play by the rules. I guess when you have three productive members of society, two of them which are witnesses, who say that in no way was my husband driving in the manner in which the officer claims he was and there is no proof when the discovery was requested into the state on two separate occasions, the police officer is right. My husband is a firefighter and frequently responds to MVA as a result of poor judgement or bad decisions. He understands the consequences of such actions. He just doesn't drive the way the officer claims he was driving. Not only that but he just plain did not drive the way he was accused of driving. My mother and my two young children were in the car. Plain and simple... the whole thing is wrong! Is there any hope for us? The combination of what the officer claims and the judge who was a "Judge Judy" want to be was a lose/lose situation for my husband. Most attorneys I spoke with today (I only spoke with 3) said that it would be difficult to win this after he has been found guilty. Is there really no hope?