Agree with both stompah and beckdw...defer it.

I’ve gotten two tickets in the last 20 years. One deserved, one not.

the deserved ticket sounds similar to the original post. It was 0600 on a Saturday and I was on I-5 North of Lynnwood. Officer clocked me at 68 in a 60 (which I was doing). Wrote the ticket for 64 and explained that this would be the lowest fine. I did deferral on that one. Paid a $78 fine. In Lynnwood court at that time (2003), your probation lasts until you paid the fine (cash or check only), which I did on the spot. The judge pretty much said he thought the whole system was BS and it was his way or thumbing his once at the system.

Second ticket was on I-5 in the Olympia speed trap middle of the day during the week. I was doing 61 in a 60. Cop pulled me over and told me he clocked me at 71. I have a buddy who is an attorney in Olympia. He took care of everything, but his big trick was to request a list of the States witness and subpoena the officer and the radar tech. He filed for the subpoena on the day of the deadline in the afternoon. The State was time limited in its response and didn’t meet the deadline. At that time (2005) it was pretty much impossible for the State to meet the deadline as it only had about 5 working days. In court, my buddy made a motion that the State’s witness list be struck as we didn’t receive a copy of the witness list (make sure you get your time receipt stamp - the judge asked for it). Judge struck the States witness list. Motion to dismiss because there were no witnesses. Granted. There was no prosecutor. At that time, this must of been common as I saw two other attorneys do the same thing. I wouldn’t try it without an attorney.

Also, wear a suit to court. I guess generally, only attorneys wear suits, so all the other attorneys will keep coming up and asking you questions.

Good luck and YMMV.

Referral generally requires that you appear in person at the county courthouse in the area of jurisdiction

+1 more for getting it deferred, it's a good option for people who very rarely get tickets. Washington law allows you to defer one moving violation (e.g. speeding ticket) and one non-moving violation (e.g. no seatbelt) every seven years.

You were speeding, you admitted it. Instead of trying to get out of it, pay the ticket and drive slower. That’s the honorable thing to do. Nothing wrong with having it deferred if they have that option.

Yes, don't require that the state supports their case or adequately represents their position; laws and procedure only exist for citizens, the state owes no such obligation. If the state says you violated the law or you owe them money, just give it to them. In fact, if you were speeding you should just mail the state the $110 penalty you owe them regardless of whether you get stopped or not.

That's sweet, but I would never give this constituent humping state anything under the pretext of behaving honorably.

Looks like requesting a deferral is the best option, all I have to do is give up $175, take a traffic safety course (which will definitely cost money), and not get a ticket for one year.

This.

This --- it will be the cheapest out by both time and $$$, and I doubt your insurance will care if your record is clean for 15 years.... the key is to not start stacking more on. (I haven't had a ticket since '91 myself.... surprisingly)

Not to bash the OP, but this is one of my pet peeves --- people trying to get out of tickets when they were caught dead to rights, because..... they they can 'game the system' .... 'by their rules', even if it is 'just a little bit unethical or untrue' --- all it takes is questions that can't be answered or a bit of doubt - or just over burdening the system til they just throw it out. This is why the court system is so overwhelmed and ineffective. Just man up and face the consequences.... like your dad taught you to do.
It would be a different story if it were really a 'speed trap' where they were handing out tickets for 2,3,4 over the limit. And I doubt that there are cops and troopers out there writing questionable tickets just for quotas.... thats just tinfoil hat shit there. If they stopped you, it was for a reason --- DON'T give them a reason!
And I know it sucks to have to pay this money hungry state, but what good are laws if they aren't enforced?

And to add, the trooper actually did you a favor for writing it up for only 5 over when you admitted 10.... thats like a slap on the wrist. My last ticket in '91 I was doing 85+ in a 55 when I passed a cop heading the other way..... saw him turn around and light up.... I just pulled off on the shoulder and waited for him to roll up. He wrote me up for doing 69 in a 55 - 1 shy of the 15 over that puts it into reckless driving (back then in MN) --- much better than outcome than what he really clocked me at. I happily paid the ticket and moved on.

Another thing a lawyer can do is talk to the court clerk and get it changed to a non-moving violation then it won't effect your insurance. The fine will be the same but no insurance hit. Seen this happen a few times and no one has to go to court. The court just wants the money.

Not all insurance will raise your rate for 1 ticket, so that is another thing to consider.

Not legal advice. I'm not a lawyer. This is just an anecdote as to what has worked for me.

I've beaten 9/9 moving violations myself in a 14 year period (been awhile since I got one).
Never had a lawyer.

Cut off an unmarked trooper while I was exiting the Monroe gun show, 95 in a 65 on the way to Wenatchee with a box of loaded handuns on the passenger seat, speeding in front of a high school (no kids present), following too close resulting in accident, etc, etc.

If you have a basic knowledge of the law and don't mind putting in the work, they are easy to beat.

In a speeding violation you always want to subpoena the officer and the SMD log. Download a copy of the SMD user manual.
A lot of times the officer won't show up in court. "Judge, I subpoenaed the officer who I believe has exculpatory evidence that will prove that I did not commit the offense"
Often the log and manual will show that the SMD wasn't recently calibrated to WSP guidelines, or wasn't used properly.

Every ticket or officer testimony has an error on it. Every one.
Eye color, color of vehicle, location of officer in relation to vehicle, todays date, your birthdate, etc.
That won't in and of itself win your case, but it helps establish that the officer makes careless mistakes and perhaps he wasn't paying attention when he thought you committed the violation.

For example, I was pulled over in front of a closed high school and supposedly clocked at 42 in a 25 on the way to pick my mom up from the ferry dock.
Officer hides there daily writing speeding tickets so you would think he would know his location.

I did some research, used google maps to get some pics (street view, ariel view), download the SMD manual, and built my case.

Showed up in court, and the prosecutor offered me a half price ticket. Nope. Offered me a 75% off ticket, Nope. I'm beating this.

Started in with the calibration log (not properly calibrated), few errors in the ticket as to the date of offense and the location.
Officer didn't show.
5 minutes into my 35 minute presentation the prosecutor said he did not wish to continue.

I didn't get to the part about the locations being incorrect by a block.
If the officers information was correct, he would have shot me through a thicket of trees, which is not supported by that SMD.
I had pictures with arrows and everything. Hahaha

Got the following too close to a equipment failure (which he also declined to prosecute) on a used 5th wheel I had just bought. Had to backdoor the prosecutor half an hour before court started.
(They don't look at your ticket until minutes before court starts).

Last 7 I beat by just sending in a letter with some RCW sites, an interpretation, timeline, and a bit about me and my perfect driving record past 20 years.
I was more believable than the officer.

So, use a lawyer, do it yourself, go for deferment.
Just don't let it get on your driving record. 2 or more in 3 years, your insurance will go up.
At 3, some companies will drop you and you have to go to one of those SR22 Vern Fonk or The General places that specialize in DUI and reckless.
Insurance can get very expensive.

Remember that whole “trained professional held to a higher standard” thing?

As a CDL holder, with a clean driving record, I’m not allowed to defer a ticket. Must pay, or else fight it, and will lose, cuz class A CDL means held to higher standard.

Appreciate your luck.

It's not about manning up. Like most things in this state, it's about sidestepping a stupid revenue game.

Defending yourself doesn't mean being unethical or untrue.
It means making the prosecution PROVE that you committed the offense, which is their job.
Cops make mistakes. Just because they allege something doesn't mean you actually did it.

If that was directed at me, it's not luck.
I am held to a much higher standard than a paid ticket writer due to my history as an expert witness in superior court, and presently on the board of two LE associations.
Could be kicked out of my organizations for merely padding a resume let alone lying in court.
As such, I am believed over a traffic cop.

Besides, I never thought of a truck driver being held to a higher standard.
At Microsoft (MS Move) they were constantly losing CDL truck drivers for dirty UA's and wholesale stealing.