Requirement of Properly Filed Complaint in Municipal Traffic Court

Authors

anon

Abstract

Defendant was tried and convicted in a town municipal court on a charge of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, in violation of a local ordinance. In the course of a trial de novo on appeal to superior court, the trial judge noted that there was no complaint in the case file. The town's counsel argued successfully that the arrest slip which had been entered into evidence served as the complaint under the new Traffic Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction. Again convicted, defendant appealed, contending his conviction was defective for want of compliance with certain provisions of the Traffic Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction. In a per curiam opinion, the Washington Supreme Court reversed. Held: In the absence of a complaint properly filed, a court has no jurisdiction to proceed against the defendant; admission into evidence of a traffic ticket does not satisfy the filing requirement prescribed by the Traffic Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction. Town of Orting v. Rucskner, 66 Wash. Dec. 2d 719, 404 P.2d 98 (1965).

First Page

543

Recommended Citation

anon, Annual Survey of Washington Law, Requirement of Properly Filed Complaint in Municipal Traffic Court, 41 Wash. L. Rev. 543 (1966).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol41/iss3/15