General Court Information
Bench Warrant
If a warrant has been issued for failure to appear or failure to comply with a court order, you must appear in person at the Granger Municipal Court office. For specific information regarding a warrant on your case, please have your ticket number available and contact Granger Municipal Court at 509-854-0238.
Bail Bonds
Bond Exoneration: Bail Bonds are released by the court upon final disposition of your case; or, as otherwise directed by the Judge. Specific questions regarding Bail Bonds may be directed to the Granger Municipal Court (509) 854-0238.
Bail Refunds: Bail refunds for Granger Municipal Court are completed in the Accounting Section at the Granger Municipal Court 102 Main Street, Granger WA. Cash bail posted could be applied to your court fine & obligations. Should there be a remaining balance of posted bail, a refund check will be mailed to the payer of said bail at the end of the accounting period.
Traffic Tickets
Mitigation Hearing
If you agree that you committed the violation, but would like to explain the circumstances to a Judge, check box number 2 on the lower right portion of your ticket. This is called a mitigation hearing & is a hearing to explain the circumstances only – not to argue that you did not commit the violation.
Mail or deliver in person the signed green copy to the court office within 15 days of the ticket issue date. Make sure that you have included your current mailing address on the back of the green and/or white copy. The court will set the case and notify you of the hearing date by mail.
Insurance Tickets Only
If a person who has been cited with a violation of RCW 46.30.020 presents to the court Clerk, evidence that the person had in effect at the time of the citation liability insurance as required by RCW 46.30.020, then upon payment of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) administrative costs, the case shall be dismissed and the court clerk shall be authorized to make appropriate notation of the dismissal in the court file.
Contested Hearing
If you believe that you did not commit the violation, check box number 3 on the lower right portion of your ticket. Mail or deliver in person, the signed green copy to the court office within 15 days of the ticket issue date. Make sure that you have included your current mailing address on the back of the green copy. The court will set the case & notify you of the hearing date by mail. If you wish to subpoena the police officer or other witnesses to testify at your hearing, you must submit a written request with names & addresses to the court as soon as possible. The court will fill out the subpoena(s); however, as the requesting party in a civil infraction hearing, you are required to provide service of the subpoena & to show proof of such service to the court. You must give at least 7 day notice to your witnesses.
Failure to Appear
If you cannot appear for your infraction court date, you must submit a written request to the court to reschedule the hearing. All written requests must be postmarked on or before the hearing date. If you do not reschedule in a timely manner, or, if the court denies your request, an additional penalty of $52.00 will be added to the original penalty on the ticket & the court will notify the Dept. of Licensing of your failure to appear. This will cause suspension of your driver’s license until you have paid the full amount due. The court may also refer the ticket to a Collection Agency & you will be responsible to pay all collections fees in addition to all court imposed penalties.
Deferred Finding
A deferred finding is when you what to defer your ticket for one year in order to keep the ticket off your driving record. If you do not have more than 5 moving violations in two years and you have not had a deferred in the past 7 years you may be eligible for this type of hearing. Bring the green copy of your ticket to the court office and ask if your case qualifies for a deferred finding. A court date will be set and you will be given the opportunity to speak with the judge. If a deferred is entered into a $200 (or face value of ticket whichever is less) administrative fee will be assessed, (non-refundable) you will be given a new court date one year from the time of judgment. A records check will be conducted at the conclusion of one year. If you have no new violations in that one year period your case will be dismissed. If there are new violations in that one year your ticket will be found committed and you will owe the face value of the ticket.
Unable to Renew License on Unpaid Ticket
If you have been advised by the Department of Licensing that you will be unable to renew your license, or, if your license has been suspended because of an unpaid traffic infraction, you must pay the balance in full before the court will release the hold on your driver’s license.
Criminal Traffic Citation
If you have received a gold copy of a criminal traffic or non-traffic ticket, you must appear in court. This is a Mandatory Court Appearance. The date to appear is written on the front of your ticket in the box marked Appearance Date on the month, day, year and time. If there’s not a date in the box please contact the court ASAP. Your first appearance in court is called an arraignment. If you plead not guilty to the charge, your case will be set for a pre-trial status conference hearing and thereafter may proceed to a bench trial or a jury trial.
Contact Us with Questions
For specific questions regarding your citation, please contact the Granger Municipal Court at 509-854-0238. Failure to appear on this type of citation may result in an arrest warrant.