Yup, I got stopped on my way to VA Beach with the kids in the back seat. They were singing they brains out, I was singing with them and wasn't paying attention. I was not driving my car but did have the registration. I have to go back on october 7 for court.
Do I need an atty? Any recommendations?
I have a completely clean record.
ETA: MD license
Quote from: dolci on August 26, 2009, 10:26:56 AM
Do I need an atty? Any recommendations?
I have a completely clean record.
ETA: MD license
How important is your clean record to you? An atty will help, but won't come cheap. If you don't make your living off of your license, I wouldn't bother with an atty. I would recommend you plead not guilty, then tell the judge what happened, mention your clean record, and ask him to drop it to simple speeding. Usually works.
Are you in the area now?
Wanna take a ride?
Thx. I only need to make certain that I don't lose my license. I don't have/need clearance. Not in the area now, I was only there Monday/Tuesday and had 2 10-year olds with me.....
Before you go without an attorney understand the risk you are taking. Reckless driving is a Class 1 Misdemeanor in VA. That is the highest level of crime short of a felony. You have to have large amounts or be caught multiple times before marijuana posession rises to Class 1. Public Masturbation is Class 1. Assault is Class 1. Breaking and Entering is Class 1 (if damage is less than $1000) etc. etc. If convicted of reckless driving you will have a criminal record for the rest of your life. It will come off of your driving record, but the crimimal record is permanent. Every time you are asked the question of whether or not you have a criminal record, you will have to say yes. Sure many employers will see that it was "just reckless driving/speeding" but maybe they'll wonder if you pled down to that and were actually drunk driving. Yes, they can look it up and see you didn't plea, but maybe they'll just move on. Maybe they will move on as soon as they see "yes" to the question of a criminal record.
I know it seems like "just a ticket" and I sound like I work in marketing for a traffic attorney, but you should know all of the facts before you casually choose to represent yourself. I have fought 4 tickets in 3 other states without an attorney and only lost once and that was in 1989. When I got a ticket for (alleged!) reckless driving, I hired a lawyer. The day I was in court, those with attorneys got deals and those without got screwed. I'm sure that was just a coincidence....
I should note that I am NOT an attorney and all of the views expressed in this thread are just my humble opinion...
^^^I agree with above except i dont think an employer asks if you have ANY record they they ask specifically if you have a felony. They dont generally ask about a misdemeaner.
Your results may differ.
Quote from: causeofkaos on August 26, 2009, 03:28:36 PM
^^^I agree with above except i dont think an employer asks if you have ANY record they they ask specifically if you have a felony. They dont generally ask about a misdemeaner.
Your results may differ.
I ask for criminal convictions. If you say no and I find anything (misdemeanor is still public record and searchable) you're not getting hired. I know of nobody who asks felonies only.
For me, the most upsetting thing is that from what you're all telling me, while the criminals that I investigate continue to rob and steal from people, I'll be forced to leave my industry if I ever leave my current employer. Well, that settles it.
Anyone wamna buy a duc? I don't have funds for an atty so it goes.
The reckless driving law in VA is assinine. It's main purpose is to ensure full employment for "esteemed members of the bar". Who would pay big $ for an attorney for a speeding case if there wasn't the threat of incarceration and a criminal record? When you have a nominally part-time legislature like VA, these are the sort of laws you get. I feel your pain. :( I paid $1500 for my attorney and that was the lowest I could find for someone experienced in Frederick County (Winchester). In some jurisdictions you might be able find someone for $1,000 or maybe even less. It's a lot of money. If you do hire an attorney, make sure you hire someone who is experienced in the court where your case will be heard. Relationships with the prosecutor and/or judge are key. One question is how fast exactly were you going? For what it's worth, the general rule of thumb my attorney gave me was that 80-85 gets knocked down most of the time, 86-89 is 50-50 and 90+ is unlikely to get knocked down and there is even a chance you will get some jail time.
Good luck.
I was doing 80 in a 55.
The law defines reckless as 80+ or 20+ over the limit. 80 in a 55 is bad in that you are meeting the definition under either measure. They seem to occasionally show some mercy for 80 in a 65 because it is only 15 over, but 25 over reportedly makes some judges go ballistic.
Conspiracy theories about bar associations and legislators crack me up.
Quote from: Statler on August 28, 2009, 09:10:33 AM
Conspiracy theories about bar associations and legislators crack me up.
do they drive you to wearing tin foil hats and evading direct satelite beams and whatnot?
Did we find an attorney in our midst? :o
No, bar associations do not have a "Special Committee on Revenue Enhancing Legislation" that secretly plans laws to make them money. The world is rarely that fun, interesting or honest. Bar associations do have very active and successful lobbyists. Shockingly, the items on their lobbying agenda are often related to their own interests. I am quite certain that all appearances of quid pro quo aside, this is merely coincidental. Of course they only lobby for the public good, which as luck would have it is highly correlated with their own financial gain. Oddly enough, this phenomena occurs with teachers, bankers and OMG the pharmaceutical industry as well as most other professions.
Setting aside the wholly altruistic actions of lobbying organizations, there has also never been an incidence of a much simpler scenario playing out: a person acting in their own interest. The fact that David Albo's practice includes "Serious Traffic Law" is simply yet another coincidence.
I'm glad we've cleared this up. I was beginning to think that there was some connection between money, access, influence and legislative process. Clearly I was on my way to becoming a total nut job. ;)
[laugh]
Glad to see you checked back in on the status of your provocation. Internet ranting, of course, is generally for one's own amusement, but if more are laughing, so much the better [beer].
I was at the court yesterday in leesburg for reckless driving ( 35/65 on the dulles greenway in front of the toll booth ).
I hired an atty, because my German insurance pays the bill. It ended with 35/44 and 150,-$ fine.
Good luck for you on Wednesday, I hope the judge will drop it to a speeding ticket.
Lars
thanks Lars. I did hire an atty; he requested a continuance at this point. I've taken a driving school as well as got the certified copy of the Maryland MVA of my record (only thing on it is a change of address).
I'm still hoping it goes smoothly
I guess it will go smoothly everyone with an atty got a deal. There were about 50 people with me in the courtroom for reckless driving :o and everyone had to pay 61 $ court cost.
Quote from: dolci on October 01, 2009, 10:55:28 AM
thanks Lars. I did hire an atty; he requested a continuance at this point. I've taken a driving school as well as got the certified copy of the Maryland MVA of my record (only thing on it is a change of address).
I'm still hoping it goes smoothly
Lisa,
I think you have good reason for hope. The first and most important part of beating a reckless driving rap in Virginia is to have a lawyer. You did that. The second is to have a clean driving record. Not only do you have that, but you go one better - you have a perfectly clean record. Not many people can claim that. The third thing is to take a pre-emptive driving improvement class, which is what most attorneys recommend. The next thing is to have ZERO violations between the Reckless summons and the court date for the reckless charge. Finally, showing up in court with your attorney and looking like a fine, upstanding, responsible citizen (even if by some WILD chance, you aren't) gives you the best odds. Best of luck; I've been there and it's no fun. Lawyers have WAY too much of my money these days. Still, I'd rather that they have it than the state have it in a huge fine and the insurance companies have it in grossly inflated premiums!
Tim
thanks Tim.
Isn't your court date coming up soon, Dolci?
Yup - 23rd of November is coming quickly.
PM me if you want a free place to stay, or want to get some dinner.
Jeff
Thanks Jeff. I haven't quite decided if I'll be coming down early Monday morning or on Sunday evening yet but I'll have a better idea toward the end of this week. I'm traveling for work and part of this depends on how tired I am by the time I get home.
Yikes! I talk to folks I work with in VA about this all the time and the opinions are all the same, ridiculous! Best of luck. [popcorn]
So, how'd it go?
she is currently pacing around at the courthouse awaiting her time as of this very moment of posting....
the Verdict is........<::insert drumroll sound::>
1 year of probation and $60 court costs!
I'll let Dolci fill in details when she gets back up yonder way!
taht sucks. 1 year of probation for speeding you have to be kidding me. i'm reading "probation" as in the type of probation that they hand out when you get busted for drugs or get out of jail as in reporting to a person every week or so.
that is pure redneck justice if there ever was any for a speeding ticket where nobody got killed or even an accident. geez.
Probation, does that mean you were convicted of something and your sentence is 1 year of probation, instead of jail time? Or is that some kind of "don't speed or you'll really be in trouble" traffic court incentive?
I'm guessing the latter, so it sounds like you made out ok. $60 isn't too bad.
In one year's time, I have to send the judge a new copy of my Maryland Driving record; assuming that there are no additional charges (and I had none other than what I was in court for), then everything gets dropped.
If there are charges, I'm not sure what happens if there charges; considering this is the first ticket EVER, I'm not too worried.
Quote from: dolci on November 23, 2009, 12:43:45 PM
In one year's time, I have to send the judge a new copy of my Maryland Driving record; assuming that there are no additional charges (and I had none other than what I was in court for), then everything gets dropped.
If there are charges, I'm not sure what happens if there charges; considering this is the first ticket EVER, I'm not too worried.
Excellent. Did you pop a wheelie as you left the courthouse parking lot?
I might have had I not been driving Zooom's car! [evil]
well that is a good deal then, zoom used the wrong word of "probation" then.
you just have to not get a ticket for another year.
well remember getting a ticket or such is not "a big deal" unless you make it a habit.
you can say this is your first ticket ever, but let's be honest, everyone speeds in the dc area you can't tell me you are going 55mph and not 1mph over on the 495 beltway ever. the only reason this is your first ticket ever is that this is teh first time you were caught not the first time you were speeding.
but sounds like all you got was 60$ ticket and just try not to get caught again for a year.
TECHNICALLY then - since we're going down that path, the case is considered to be "continued" for one year. At that point in time, it will be closed.
ok that is cool, just be careful out there and it will get wiped clean with no record of it, nice.
in alexandria, if its a first time offence they usually let you do a defensive driving course and if you do that within 60 days you get the ticket dismissed as if it never happened, never reported to dmv and never reported to insurance.
Quote from: sbrguy on November 25, 2009, 08:39:17 AM
in alexandria, if its a first time offence they usually let you do a defensive driving course and if you do that within 60 days you get the ticket dismissed as if it never happened, never reported to dmv and never reported to insurance.
Depends on the offense. 80 in a 55 is considered reckless driving, mandatory to show up for court even though I had a 100% clean record (and I've been driving for 30+ years). I also did a driving school prior to the court appearance.
Turn the driving school certificate in to your insurance company. Most will reduce your rates.
Glad you had a good outcome.
Jeff
Quote from: dolci on November 25, 2009, 08:42:30 AM
Depends on the offense. 80 in a 55 is considered reckless driving, mandatory to show up for court even though I had a 100% clean record (and I've been driving for 30+ years). I also did a driving school prior to the court appearance.
mine wasnt' reckless like that but i still went into court basically lost and when i mentioned the driving school thing he said hand it in in 60 days you don't have to come back. i think in my instance if i went to the school before the frist court date it wouldn't have helped as much. mainly because if you think about it, he has to make it "look like" he is making you take the course therefore there is a deterence effect, if i did that course before the day in court then he has "nothing to tell me to do" other than fine me and possibly say the same thing as you which is don't get a ticket for noather year and then come back.