reckless driving in virginia- maryland resident (attorney, price, license)

[mdsoccerman101]

i have asked many ppl and alot of them are saying to hire an attorney and alot are saying not to...i may hire one but not for $900...but then again, since this is my first offence and im out-of-state i may just go to court nicely dressed, and just apologize the best i can...anyone else have any other suggestions whether i should hire an attorney or not? and what i should expect at court?

[tamitrail]

I don't have any suggestions because I believe you need to pay for the crime. I am a mom, so I will try to not sound so preachy...BUT..you say you had a perfect driving record, yet you are 18 so you have been driving for how long? Two years? If you said you were driving for 10 years and had a perfect record, that would be great, but in the scheme of things, you have a long life ahead of you (if you drive safely) so getting a reckless driving ticket so soon is, in my HUMBLE opinion, not so good. You could have been killed or killed or hurt someone else..something you and YOUR PARENTS would have to live with the rest of your life.

I say go to court respectfully, whether you hire an attorney or not, and face up to your crime. When I was 6 months pregnant, an 18 year old was driving recklessly on the highway and hit our right rear wheel going over 75. She almost flipped us over. My car was destroyed and I could have been seriously injured and maybe something could have happened to my baby. Luckily it didn't. I don't know what that girl is up to today, but I will never forget her. I hope she learned her lesson, but since she tried to lie her way out of it (unsuccessfully since what she did was perfectly obvious) and she did not own up to her mistake, I highly doubt it.

Please, for all of our sakes, from now on, drive safely..tomorrow, the next day, and 10 years from now. Some day, you'll have a teen who will be driving also. Good luck!

[dkf747]

He didn't clock you, so the cop has no proof of your speed. Therefore, fighting it is the best option.

[mdsoccerman101]

yea i definately wont speed again...but im still worried about whats going to happen at court?

[ALdriver]

Hey, I am an out of state driver from alabama with a maryland driver's license that was issued a reckless driving ticket as well (I am a student). I was issued a ticket to appear for going 86 in a 55 on I-66 (I didnt even realize the speed on the interstate dropped that low and was caught speeding going around a clump of cars going 50). Just wondering what i should do if i cant afford a $1000 attorney? Any help would be great

[Blondie4now]

Originally Posted by mdsoccerman101

i have asked many ppl and alot of them are saying to hire an attorney and alot are saying not to...i may hire one but not for $900...but then again, since this is my first offence and im out-of-state i may just go to court nicely dressed, and just apologize the best i can...anyone else have any other suggestions whether i should hire an attorney or not? and what i should expect at court?

LOL, Ummmmm did you read the other replies? Please get yourself a lawyer. A reckless driving charge is serious business here in Virginia. If you DON'T get yourself a lawyer you can end up with fines, court costs and possibly some other goodies too. They don't care if you come to court all nicely dressed and say "sorry" I just happened to be speeding through your state... LOL

Get a lawyer - a local lawyer, here in Viriginia, one who handles these types of traffic issues for a living. This lawyer will know the judges and be able to tell you what to expect! And like another poster said, the the lawyer to postpone your court date as long as possible.

And ALdriver, like I said yesterday, get yourself a lawyer too! Mom, Dad, family members must have some money if you are going to college. Geez... ya'll get caught speeding because you weren't paying attention, and then we tell ya what to do, how to handle it, and STILL all the whining.

[Espressoo]

Your best bet is to hire a lawyer. Reckless isn't something to be taken lightly and the money spent on a lawyer now can save you a lot later since you have a long ways to go before your insurance rates becomes lower. Dressing nice after having gone 20 over isn't going to impress any judge.

[Beenaroundabit]

You can be fined, have points assessed, whatever - whether you have a lawyer or not. This is not a magic bullet to "getting out of" something. I think the best bet is to go to court, admit you screwed up, and ask for driving school. Then SLOW DOWN.

Also, don't play "tag" or try to "catch up" to your friend on the highway. That fact in and of itself isn't exactly going to shine favorably upon you, because whether you meant to do this or not, police every day see young people speeding on the highway, 'racing' or following one another closely, cutting in front of other drivers, and just driving way too aggressively.

Again, not saying you were doing this, but that's the impression you gave by 'following' your speeding friend and that's why you were cited as well: because it stands to reason that if the two of you were travelling together and HE was speeding, you were speeding, too at some point. And this goes regardless of whether he "clocked" you or not. Whether radar is or isn't used, an officer can always state something along the lines of "I've stopped X number of speeders in my career and in my professional estimation, the subject was driving well over the posted speed limit..." The good thing is that if he or she relies on that, you'll probably get it reduced from "reckless" to just speeding.

I wouldn't waste money on an attorney - just my opinion. While dressing nice may not impress a judge, taking responisibility for your actions by admitting you made a mistake probably WILL, and taking the added action of requesting driving school will probably look even more favorable.

[slim04]

Originally Posted by Beenaroundabit

I wouldn't waste money on an attorney - just my opinion. While dressing nice may not impress a judge, taking responisibility for your actions by admitting you made a mistake probably WILL, and taking the added action of requesting driving school will probably look even more favorable.

You never know what kind a judge you are going to get. It may well be a person like tamitrail or a person that got into an accident caused by a MD teenager. I've personally seen judges bully defendants like you. It happens, not often (most are respectful to all), but it still happens. A lawyer will protect you and your rights and make them think twice in railroading you into a deal that isn't in your best interests.

Like I said in a previous message, hiring a lawyer can take the decision out of the hands of the judge if they properly deal with the police officer and/or prosecutor. Is that worth $900 (though $600 to $750 is a more reasonable quote)? Your call. I'm a 30 year old with a family and stable job. Not even a close call for me.

[Beenaroundabit]

You never know what kind a judge you are going to get.

This is very true. That said, though, I have an opportunity to sit in court quite a bit and view intial appearances for many different types of violations (not just traffic). More often than not, it seems as though people who take responsibility for their actions fare better than those who offer excuses or try to debunk or dispute an officer's sworn testimony. This is just my experience, of course.

I am also talking only about similar cases where the violation is egregious enough that there's not much possibility of error. What I mean to say is...if this person was going 5 MPH or less over the limit, then yes; I'd say hire an attorney, who's job will be to try and show some reasonable doubt that the violation occurred. And with only 5 MPH involved, it truly COULD be a mistake. But if it's as high as this person said - or even in that ballpark - the attorney's job gets tougher and becomes one of trying to make excuses, discredit people, or both. I.e. doing all those things that people like to point negative fingers at attorneys for doing. That can shine a negative light on the entire case; one that can even extend to the defendant, in many instances (seen it happen).

Conversely...I think showing up looking professional, admitting to the mistake, and then going even further by taking the proactive step of asking for driving instruction shows a positive, rectifying course of action being taken by a violator to fix his (or her) mistake. And no, not every judge may see it that way, but I would be surprised too see one mete out a harsh punishment for someone under these circumstances.

Again, this is only in my experience and is not Virginia judge-specific, which may or may not be an issue but is something I can't speak to.

So I don't think it will go away comepletely, but I think there's a better-than-average chance that this will get knocked down from RD to speeding simply because there was no radar involved - no "measuring device." easier for the officer to look at a speeding car and know it's over the limit than to gauge an exact speed and come to the conclusion that it was a "reckless" offense. But trying to prove that there was no speeding and no violation at all is going to be an uphill battle, and not one I'd want to spend more money (and time) trying to show, especially when I knew I was speeding excessively to begin with.