Full Answer
You must respond to the infraction within 15 days of the date of violation. You must respond in writing. Untimely hearing requests will not be processed and the risk the imposition of a statutory failure to respond fee.
If you wish to pay the infraction, pay online or mail the infraction along with your payment (check or money order) made payable to: SCDC 3000 Rockefeller Ave. M/S 508 Everett, WA 98201
If you were under 25 years of age at the time you were cited with your infraction (s), you may request permission from the judge to attend a four-hour in-person interactive class designed for young drivers in exchange for a dismissal of your infraction (s) upon completion. Information about the class is available at www.sdc.coursestorm.com.
Snohomish County will not re-open your case because you forgot to mail the ticket in time. Before mailing, make sure you mark "contested hearing" on the back of the speeding ticket and make two copies of each side of the speeding ticket.
Should I Subpoena the Officer?#N#It used to be a great strategy to subpoena the officer and when he or she didn't show up move for dismissal. This is not the case anymore. Most agencies are being more diligent about requiring their officers to appear on traffic tickets. If you have no technical defenses or you have an actual reason for calling the officer to the stand it may make sense to issue a subpoena. You only need to give the officer 7 days notice so you have time to review the reports and make an informed decision. The subpoena must be personally served on the officer with proof of service for it to be valid.
It frees you up from the hassle of having to appear in court, saves you time in dealing with all of the paperwork and greatly increases your chances of a favorable outcome. If you have one of the following circumstances, you could have a lot more at stake than just a simple one time ticket and you should strongly consider hiring an attorney to handle your speeding ticket case: (1) commercial driver's license, (2) preferred rate insurance, (3) multiple tickets, (4) deferral from another ticket, (5) probationary license, (6) intermediate license, or (7) on probation for a criminal driving offense. If you plan on mitigating or deferring the ticket a lawyer probably does not make sense (see link below on Mitigation and Deferrals).