What Are The Options

Once a person is issued a citation, the person has four available options for resolving their case. These options are listed in the Revised Code of Washington, RCW 46.63.070.

The Infraction Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (IRLJ) dictate that you must exercise one of these four options within 15 days as indicated on the back of the ticket you receive from the officer. You must either: (1) admit you committed the infraction and pay the monetary penalty, (2) request a mitigation hearing at which you may present your viewpoint on the ticket to a judicial magistrate who will to consider whether to reduce the dollar penalty you must pay, (3) request a contested hearing at which to challenge the infraction, or (4) submit a written statement that contests the infraction or offers explanatory facts that could possibly allow a judicial officer to mitigate the amount of money you must pay if permitted by state law. If you fail to respond to the ticket, the court will automatically enter a default judgment of committed on the infraction, add additional monetary penalties, and report the failure to respond to the Department of Licensing, which could result in suspension of your drivers' license.

An option available for some, depending on their driving record, the nature of the alleged infraction, and the posture of the prosecutor and judicial officer, is a deferred finding for one moving violation and for one non-moving violation, every seven years. An individual is not eligible for a deferred finding if he has an active commercial drivers' license and/or was driving a commercial vehicle at the time of violation. The court imposes an administrative fee in lieu of the fine.

If a person enters into a deferred finding, the court defers the guilt or innocence determination for one year. During that time, the person must not have another violation of a similar nature and have no criminal traffic violations. The court will review the person's traffic history at the end of one year. If the person successfully meets the terms of the deferred finding at the one year mark, the court will dismiss the infraction. If the person fails to pay the administrative fee, or violates the terms of the deferral, the court will enter a committed, i.e. guilty finding, and issue the original fine amount against the person.