Reckless - General-Help Needed Plz (lawyer, school, costs)

[gibrish]

Few days back i got a reckless general ticket for merging on to airport access road where there is no merge area form the main free way.
I followed few who already did the same.
I am new to this country and never had a ticket before.
Pl let me know what are the charges/cost does this reckless general costs and i need to appear in the court.
Should i say that i am guilty or not guilty.what will be the end result.
Please suggest, i am bit worried now,,help me

[Luke29]

You need a lawyer first. The whole process will probably end up costing you approx. $3500. Good luck.

[tarp]

You do not NEED a lawyer, and the process will not cost you approx $3500. If you don't have a helpful response, why post misinformation here?

Never plead guilty in court to a traffic offense. Pleading not guilty does not mean you are saying that you are "not guilty", but that you are asking for a trial to be conducted and for the state to prove that you are guilty. If the officer forgot his notes, or does not remember the details of the traffic stop, then you are off the hook. Not so if you plead guilty - you will always be found guilty. The judge has no option to find you not guilty if you plead guilty.

Also, on another note - Number one rule - just because you see other people doing something, it doesn't make it legal. That is not a defense. But if you plead not guilty, tell the judge you have a good driving record, and say something along the lines of "I was not familiar with the area, and I saw other cars going the same way and I was following them" the judge may have mercy on you and find you guilty of a lesser offense.

[Luke29]

Originally Posted by tarp

You do not NEED a lawyer, and the process will not cost you approx $3500. If you don't have a helpful response, why post misinformation here?

Never plead guilty in court to a traffic offense. Pleading not guilty does not mean you are saying that you are "not guilty", but that you are asking for a trial to be conducted and for the state to prove that you are guilty. If the officer forgot his notes, or does not remember the details of the traffic stop, then you are off the hook. Not so if you plead guilty - you will always be found guilty. The judge has no option to find you not guilty if you plead guilty.

Also, on another note - Number one rule - just because you see other people doing something, it doesn't make it legal. That is not a defense. But if you plead not guilty, tell the judge you have a good driving record, and say something along the lines of "I was not familiar with the area, and I saw other cars going the same way and I was following them" the judge may have mercy on you and find you guilty of a lesser offense.

Wreckless does avg about $ 3500 these days, if you manage to escape the actual conviction. A lawyer will pretty much cost $ 600+, plus state fines paid annually, that's another $ 1000+, plus court fees and other stuff, add another $ 500+. Driving school classes...another $ 150+. A friend of mine got his charges reduced but his total costs add up to approx. $ 3000. Things have changed! Can't expect a cop not to show up....just doesn't happen anymore here in VA. especially in greene and madison county.

[gibrish]

Thanks for the reply and support, i got pulled over on 11/08/07 and when i recently looked into the summon there is no case number.
I called the court and asked them about the case number giving the summon number, but still they could not find my record.
They said call them after 2 more weeks as the court date is 01/31/08, but when i look into the court's case information on the website with search option on the "hearing date" i see lot of cases logged in but could not see my case listed in the website.
What will be my fate of my summon....
Pl let me know,,,what should i do next....
Thanks in advance
Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

[New Hampshire]

My suggestion would be to call Virginia telephone information and ask for Legal Referral, or look in the Yellow Pages phone book. You will be referred to an attorney(s) who specializes in your area of need. Then make an appointment with the attorney for a free consultation (about half hour). Then decide what your next step is from there.

Good luck to you and Merry Christmas.