Liberty Unchained

As I have noted previously, I have been working on a manual on tips and tricks to avoiding lawsuits. I am also working on a few other manuals which are focused upon providing a clear understanding of law to my fellow people in washington.

Notice: The following is what I believe from my study of law. It is not legal advice and I would not recommend doing it unless you understand law well enough to prosecute or defend your own lawsuit. No lawyer is going to do this for you as his first duty is to the state.

While doing some research into the nature of infractions, I came across the answer to a few questions that have been in my head for some time.

• What is the true nature of a speeding, parking, or traffic ticket?
• Is the court that you go to for tickets an administrative hearing, or an actual trial?
• Why is it that there is no prosecutor here in washington for non-criminal tickets?

The back of a ticket notes that you have three options once you receive one:

1. You can simply pay the local city some money ( their favorite ).
2. You can admit to the infraction and offer an explanation ( their second favorite ).
3. You can plead not guilty and request a court date ( my favorite ).

Of course, you do have the three options presented. However, as usual, they are not telling the whole story.

Traffic ticket = Infraction = Civil Procedure ( in washington )

You see, here in washington, infractions for things that do not cause harm to others are civil in nature. If you read the Civil Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (CRLJ) (washington), which are the rules that apply to municipal (city) courts and district courts, you will find the following under Rule 1 - Scope of Rules:

These rules govern the procedure in all trial courts of
limited jurisdiction in all suits of a civil nature, with the
exceptions stated in rule 81. They shall be construed and
administered to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive
determination of every action.

If you look at the exceptions in Rule 81 - Applicability in General you will find:

(a) To What Proceedings Applicable. These rules govern
all civil proceedings except as provided in this rule.
These rules do not apply where inconsistent with rules or
statutes applicable to special proceeding or infractions.
These rules do not apply to proceedings in small claims
court. In a court in which the proceedings are not recorded
and review is by a trial de novo, these rules apply to the
extent practicable; in these courts, rules referring to
recording or an appeal on the record should be disregarded.

(b) Conflicting Statutes and Rules. Subject to the
provisions of section (a) of this rule, these rules
supersede all procedural statutes and other rules that may
be in conflict.

An infraction follows civil practice unless the infraction process contradicts it.

When you put these two together, you will see that the CRLJ applies to traffic tickets except where it is inconsistent with the Infraction Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (IRLJ) (washington).

Looking into the IRLJ, one finds the following:

(a) Generally. A person who has been served with a notice of
infraction must respond to the notice within 15 days of the date
the notice is personally served or, if the notice is served by
mail, within 18 days of the date the notice is mailed.

(b) Alternatives. A person may respond to a notice of infraction by:
(1) Paying the amount of the monetary penalty in accordance
with applicable law, in which case the court shall enter a
judgment that the defendant has committed the infraction;
(2) Contesting the determination that an infraction occurred
by requesting a hearing in accordance with applicable law;
(3) Requesting a hearing to explain mitigating circumstances
surrounding the commission of the infraction in accordance with
applicable law; or
(4) Submitting a written statement either contesting the
infraction or explaining mitigating circumstances, if this
alternative is authorized by local court rule. The statement
shall contain the person’s promise to pay the monetary penalty
authorized by law if the infraction is found to be committed.
For contested hearing the statement shall be executed in
substantially the following form:

You can respond to a ticket with a motion or answer, the standard method in civil practice!

Look at that carefully and you will see that the options listed on the back of a ticker are alternatives to the normal civil process, which you can exercise if you so choose.

Do what the ticket tells you and you waive your rights.

By following the instructions on the back of the ticket, you are choosing to waive your right to due process and opting to do whichever thing you do instead of your own free will.

So, the process is not a violation of due process rights simply because we are being cleverly coerced into waiving our rights due to our own ignorance of lawful process.

Perhaps the simplest way to fight a traffic ticket is to file a motion or an answer instead of doing what the piece of paper the officer hands you claims you must do.

If the ticket is the complaint, then your signature agreeing to show up might be turning it into a summons.

Something tells me that city officials won’t much like this idea. Talk about losing a lucrative revenue stream.

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