Legal Question in Traffic Law in Washington

Re: Question about Hearing Date

IRLJ 2.6(a)(2) does require notice to be sent within 14 days fo receipt of the contested request. The rule uses the obligatory "shall," and IRLJ 2.6(e) provides that "An infraction not brought to hearing within the time period provided by this rule shall, upon motion, be dismissed with prejudice." You best argument is that the notice was not send in accordance with the IRLJ's and should be dismissed. The language of the rule is clear and the court only find that the notice was not mailed within the appropriate time line.

You might also want to check to see if the officer filed the infraction within two days of issuance as required by IRLJ 2.2(d). A failure to do this also allows the court to dismiss the infraction.

Make sure to check the local rules for the court to make sure that the locals are not inconsistent with the general IRLJs.

Good luck!

Re: Question about Hearing Date

You received the hearing notice on March 8th, but what was the postmark on the notice? Was it postmarked beyond the 14-day period? Also, how did the late notice prejudice you? Did it impact upon your abilities to request discovery, interview the citing police officer, or secure subpoenas? IRLJ 3.1(b), dealing with discovery, has time requirements too. Your chances of winning on the notice timing technicality will be much better if you can show that the late notice by the court has prevented you from exercising some of your representational or due process rights.