SWEEETT --- car owner beats parking ticket rap

STEPHANIE RICE, Columbian staff writer
July 10, 2005; Page a1
Section: Front Page
Article ID: 2005191002 -- 801 words

The dog ate my homework.

Through an attorney, Tammy L. Kitterman, 41, successfully appealed her citation for partially blocking a disabled person's access aisle with her sports car. She took her case to Clark County Superior Court after losing in District Court, and her win means the city may have to take extra steps to prove ownership when tickets are contested.

On July 1, Judge Robert Lewis took a break from his usual does of felony criminal cases to consider Kitterman's ticket.

Specifically, Assistant City Attorney Jeff Riback and the defense attorney Bill Montecucco wanted Lewis to settle one thing: Whether the city's computer printout showing the name and address of a vehicle's registered owner can be accepted at face value.

No, Lewis said.

But since he's an "exceptional scholar of the law" (words then-Gov. Gary Locke used when he named Lewis to the bench), Lewis took five pages of legal jargon to say it.

Kitterman, who did not attned the court hearings or return a phone call seeking comments for this story, never denied owning the 2002 Lexus SC 430 found illegally parked the afternoon of Oct. 20 outside a Red Lobster restaurant.  Two volunteers with the city's disabled-parking patrol photographed the sleek convertible, which was correctly in a regular parking spot but incorrectly crossing the line into an access aisle.  Only a sliver of the aisle was covered by the Lexus.  Nevertheless, it was enough for a citation.

Kitterman hired Montecucco (for a "small flat fee," Monteuccco said). The attorney raised a few objections, including the sufficiency of the city's evidence that Kitterman was the car's owner.

"All the other issues were knocked down and that was the only one left standing, " said city attorney Riback.

It's an argument not often made, at least not by people who aren't lawyers.  The majority of the 375 motorists who contested parking tickets in District Court last year represented themselves.  Those caught blocking an access aisle typically said they were forced to park crooked because another car was sloppily parked, and so on.

Evidence comes up short

The city's evidence was a computer printout showing the date and location of the violation, the description of the vehicle and the name and address of the registered owner.  The city gets owner information from the Department of Licensing, something not noted on the page.

On Dec. 27, Judge Pro Tem Mary Kay Gaffney took what's called "judicial notice" of the computer printout and ruled against Kitterman.

Kitterman paid a $110 filing fee to appeal.  She was the only person last year to appeal a parking ticket to Superior Court.

Judge Lewis, whose legal wits are matched by patience, took time last week to explain to a reporter what it means to take "judicial notice": accepting a documenta or a bit of trivia as accurate.  The purpose is to cut down on the number of witnesses who would otherwise have to testiy about things everybody knows, Lewis said.  For example, he could be asked to take judicial notice of the fact that Vancouver is in Clark County or that Christine Gregoire is the governor of Washington.

Lewis ruled that it was improper for Gaffnet to take judicial notice on the city's computer printout, since, among other things, it was an unsworn document.

Montecucco did not charge Kitterman extra money for the appeal.

"I was curious to see how it would work out, " he said.

One person not surprised by the outcome was DIstrict Court Commissioner James Swanger, a veteran of parking ticket hearings who knows the ins and outs of parking law.  He said lawyers often successfully challenge the city's evidence of ownership when challenging their own tickets or on behalf of friends.  People who don't study the law, however, don't know to challenge the city's evidence.

The same evidence rules apply, Swanger said, whether the charge is murder or a parking infraction.

Riback acknowledged that it is an easy loophole to close.  For example, the city could certify that the information comes from the Department of Licensing.

If more people start using the Lexus defense, it's a step the city may have to take.

Riback never doubted, by the way, that Kitterman owns the Lexus, which bears vanity plates reading SWEEETT.

"Why would someone who wasn't the registered owner hir an attorney and contest (the ticket)?" he said.  Had Kittermand not been the owner, she could have called the city, explained the situation and the citation would have been dismissed.  For free.

Stephanie Rice covers the courts.  She can be reached at 360-759-8004 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.

Source: http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=VC&p_theme=vc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=tammy%20l.%20kitterman&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=2005&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22tammy%20l.%20kitterman%22)&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no