Municipal Court of Seattle

Joanna Whaley

Recently, I've needed to call SMC on a few separate occasions and every single time, I've had a positive experience. They're professional, kind and knowledgeable and have been helpful every time. My most recent experience with Courtney, who I appreciate for her patience with me as I fumbled for my words! She was so nice! Thank you! Also, for those who may be heading to the courthouse, before you do, check out the options SMC has available to hear your case that are NOT in person. You can do this by written statement and mailed 3 days ahead of your court date, or a written statement online, by video or by telephone. What a huge convenience this is! And for those of us who feel a bit intimidated by the courtroom setting, this is a sigh of relief.

Emily

What a scam. If you receive a parking ticket, don't expect evidence of your innocence to clear your name. They take the cop's word over your photos. The cop doesn't even have to have the address of your offense, they put down on the ticket whatever makes them look good. But don't expect the magistrate to be impartial or unbiased. What's right and true means nothing. They want your money, and will get it any way they can, no matter how shady or unlawful their practices are. Oh, and if you want to appeal your case, it'll cost you upwards of $300, not including the original fee and the time you would have to spend going through the process. They do not provide legal council for you. They do not provide instructions for your case. They steal your time, money, and trust. The city doesn't follow its own statutes. The court will mail you documents with contradictory instructions. Oh, and for fun, they won't tell you if your case can't be contested in writing, or why. My case followed all the rules for a written contest, but they forced me to come to court, wasting half my day, even though the officer doesn't have to show up. The rules during Covid are a mess, too, but they will NEVER admit their mistakes in your due process and will treat you like a criminal no matter how well dressed and professional you are. You can spend hours researching laws, collecting evidence, and traveling to court and they don't care about any of it. All they want is your money. They don't care if they waste your time, but they do care if they waste the cop's time. So heads up, if you contest your ticket, have an in-person hearing, and want the officer to be present in your case, you have to go IN PERSON to the court and request the officer's presence at least TWO WEEKS before your case. Tell me how that's fair. They do not treat you like a human. They do not care about what's right. They do not care about your evidence. If there is ANY WAY they can convict you, they will. THEY WANT YOUR MONEY. Never try to make a case for yourself based on what's fair. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU OR YOUR EVIDENCE. They interpret the law however they feel like, and if the judge is in a bad mood that day, you will have the pleasure of enduring their condescension, arrogance, and misconduct. I will never trust in the justice system again, and neither should you. Trust that they want your money and to feel powerful, and will do whatever it takes to make that happen for themselves without blinking an eye. You are nothing but a number to them. The people working in the system are clearly unhappy, jaded, biased and have not one humanitarian bone in their bodies. Your taxes pay their incomes and yet they feel entitled to your time, energy, and money as if you owe them something for being condescending, glorified "parents" who scold and correct without questioning the TRUTH. YOU ARE GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT HERE. I do not want to live in Seattle after experiencing what "justice" means to this city. The parking ticket system is a scam heavily abused by greedy, lazy officers. Better to live somewhere else, or to avoid owning a car altogether, because even without parking signs, painted curbs, working meters, or any other provisions outlined as requirements in the CITY'S statues, they are going to squeeze time and money out of you without a care in the world. Hypocritical, unethical, unfair, arrogant, and NOT FOR THE PEOPLE is how I would describe the Seattle Municipal Court, its magistrates, and traffic officers working here. THE BROKEN SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE REFORMED.

Samuel DuBose

Illegal impound and ticket. On January 30, 2020 my car was ticketed, impounded and towed while I was at work on 8th St, 98104 outside the senior living facility and my apartment at Bay Ridge Court. The most disgusting part is that I had an RPZ 7 parking pass so the city has already received their revenue from me. One of the construction companies failed to do their due diligence and placed no parking signs for an upcoming work day. I had not been parked for even 72 hours, per city parking guidelines, nor had signs been placed with a 72 hour notice. Even a representative from the city said the signs had been placed only 24 hrs prior to my impound. Furthermore the tow company did $500 worth of damage to my car, which I've rectified with the tow company. These [Degenerate bureaucrats] closed their courthouse the week of my hearing due to Covid-19, fine! Now all of a sudden after I've lost my job and had to move all the way across the country they've rescheduled me, only this time they will not accommodate zoom or telecourt hearings. They've shut the city down making it impossible for me to be present so they can steal my money. Come on Seattle, I thought this was supposed to be the city that helps those in need. Instead they are making it impossible for me to rectify their illegal mistake and telling me "oh well" when they have put forth every obstacle they possibly can. Ridiculous, if anyone wants to hit me up (Lawyers) or other residents who were illegally towed also, please do! A class action would be really awesome. ❤️ Seattle is trash bro.

Sabin Dimitrov (Shefe)

They said my wait was gonna be more then 15 minutes and it instead was around 10. I asked them what was going on about a penalty I had for sending in the municipal hearing. The really nice lady on the phone let me know the default penalty was waved. So I was extremely happy to hear that. She was very helpful and patient with me and allowed me to write down everything needed for the case. Let's hope the magistrate will be kind and knock down my penalty to a better amount.