How to handle section 46.2-852 in VA

[Ra one]

Hi,
While passing through VA with my family on vacation and i had encountered an incident near harrisonburg VA. I was on the left lane and my car crossed the yellow line and at that moment my tire burst and threw my vehicle off the the road and further i could not control it and the vehicle was damaged as it got scraped on the driving side but all of us are safe. The police officer handed over summons to me charged under section 46.2-852 asking to appear in the Augusta county court. This was really unfortunate as i had planned for night stay in Harrisonburg and this incident occured just 22 miles before my destination. I was not even speeding and there is no other vehicle involved in this. So can anyone tell me...
1. How seriously will this be treated?
2. I am from Arozona. Do i need to personally appear in court or a letter to the judge explaining him the details would be suficient?
2. Will my appearance in the court would make any difference or do i necessarily need to hire a lawyer?
3. How costly option it would be to hire a lawyer?

Plase help with these questions. Quick responses are appreciated as my court date is in another 2 weeks.

Thanks in advance
Ra oneWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[FlyingRon]

Reckless Driving in Virginia is very serious it is a crime.
Unless you got a waiver allowing you to be tried in absentia (which some of the speed trap municipalities do), you must appear. A letter isn't going to cut it.

You 100% percent need a lawyer. First, a lawyer can most likely fix it so you don't have to appear. That would save you money. Second, a lawyer will work on getting this charged reduced or dismissed before trial. You don't need a misdemeanor on your record.

 

[Ra one]

Thank you. I wanted to know how much it will cost me if i hire a lawyer?
If i end up paying too much i might consider travelling in person and appearing in court

Thanks,
ra one

 

[Zigner]

Thank you. I wanted to know how much it will cost me if i hire a lawyer?
If i end up paying too much i might consider travelling in person and appearing in court

Thanks,
ra one

You should call some lawyers and ask them...

 

[FlyingRon]

Zig is right. A lawyer can give you a pretty good estimate based on the situation and what he knows of the particular court you're up against. I'd ballpark it at $400-500 based on what people have reported here previously (and my wife paid $400 down in Christiansburg to get out of a 81 MPH reckless a few years ago).

 

[antrc170]

First off you don't NEED a lawyer for court in VA even with the RD ticket. If you don't appear, you'll be found guilty in your absense and issued the standard fine for the court (it varies depending on the judge, Stafford Co. was at one time about $250 for a single vehicle accident with no injury). A letter will be mailed to the address listed on the summons on the fine amount, how to pay, etc.

If you want to hire a lawyer it should run about $300 - $600 for a competent attorney familiar with the jurisdictional court. The attorney will ask the officer/trooper if there were injuries, other cars involved, excessive speed, etc. Then the lawyer can ask the judge to reduce the charge to improper driving (which is a charge that only a judge can impose in VA). It will cost more up front, but may help reduce insurance costs in the long run.

 

[xylene]

FIf you don't appear, you'll be found guilty in your absense and issued the standard fine for the court (it varies depending on the judge, Stafford Co. was at one time about $250 for a single vehicle accident with no injury).

Advising a motorist not to appear on a summons is not good.

You don't know all of the posters facts. What if he has a bad driving record?

Your advice could cost someone their driving privilege.

 

[antrc170]

Advising a motorist not to appear on a summons is not good.

You don't know all of the posters facts. What if he has a bad driving record?

Your advice could cost someone their driving privilege.

I think you misunderstood the premise of my post. I'm not advising the OP on the appearance, only providing some basic information on what the proceedings entail with or without an attorney.

 

[Ra one]

Thanks for providing some insight into how things are handled at the court. I have been driving for 5 years and my driving record is clean without any points/accidents/speeding tickets. Will it be of any help? In fact this is my first traffice incident in my entire driving history and so i have so many questions. When i called up the court, one of the option they gave me was to write a letter to the judge explaining all the details if i cannot appear personally. I can attach my driving record along with the letter if it will be of any help. But some say that letters are not even looked at most of the time. If that is the case why do courts even suggest that as an option? Is it possible to ask for an adjournment of court date if i have to appear personlly? I got some advertisement material from couple of law firms and thay are quoting amounts ranging from $900 - $1500 which i feel is exhorbitantly high for my case. I have two small kids and definitely it is a huge pinch on my pocket. Can anyone also point to some cost effective attorneys just in case if i take that up as an option?
Thanks a lot in advance

 

[FlyingRon]

First off you don't NEED a lawyer for court in VA even with the RD ticket. If you don't appear, you'll be found guilty in your absense and issued the standard fine for the court (it varies depending on the judge, Stafford Co. was at one time about $250 for a single vehicle accident with no injury). A letter will be mailed to the address listed on the summons on the fine amount, how to pay, etc.

Bad advice. Unless you were given a notice that you can waive appearance and be tried in absentia (meaning the CA has waived the jail sentence, etc..), you must arrange an appearance (either in person or have a lawyer represent you).

If you no show, you'll have a warrant issued for your arrest just like for any other misdemeanor.

The 862 80+/20over tickets are often handled a bit differently than other reckless incidents. Do not just go NO SHOWING unless you've talked to the court/CA about this.

 

[FlyingRon]

A clean record will help, but UNLESS the Commonwealth's Attorney agrees to allow trial in absentia, you won't get the appearance waived. While some of the SPEED TRAP jusisdictions (like Montgomery County on I-81 and Stafford on I-95) will issue you a 81 MPH speeding ticket complete with the appearance waiver, other Reckless Driving charges will result in the judge wanting to see your butt in the court room.

Your BEST strategy is still to talk to an attorney. Frankly, I think the charge against you is weak to begin with and you should fight it, which you can't do without either appearing or having a lawyer appear for you.

 

[antrc170]

If you no show, you'll have a warrant issued for your arrest just like for any other misdemeanor.

That is just not true at all. I've been to hundreds of court appearances with RD charges and I have never seen a warrant issued for failing to appear for an RD ticket alone.

Can the judge issue a bench warrant? Sure.

Is it likely to happen? No.

If you don't believe me then please go to the VA General District Court website. I searched Stafford County (because that is the court I'm most familiar with) under "S". The very first entry is a RD for speeding where the person was found guilty in absentia and given a $500 fine. As are all the following (public records so you can look it up yourself):
SABATINELLI, EDWARD ALDO
SABLER, JOHN A
SABO, JOSE M

That was just a quick check under the letter "S" and only for RD tickets. You'll note that there are many instances of people being found guilty in their absence with a fine listed.

You will not automatically be subject to a warrant, etc. Please stop using scare tactics when dealing with VA courts.

 

[FlyingRon]

You have a very limited view of the state court system. LIke I said, the speed trap courts on the interstates dealing with the low level speeders are a far cry from regular RD cases. I've been in both Loudoun and Fairfax and seen warrants issued and I've seen people JAILED over 852.

 

[Ra one]

Dear All,
I am happy to tell you that the final disposition of my case was "DISMISSED". I did not hire any attorney. I wrote a letter to the judge stating the facts and provided documentation supporting the facts including my clean driving record. One important thing was i talked to the officer over phone to understand his view point about this incident and what i am up against. He sounded positive and also suggested to take continuance for the case if i needed more time to get my driving records from the DMV. Two days before the trial date i called the court to confirm if all the documents have been included in my case file or not. I think the Judge has read the letter and finally dismissed the case without any charges or fine. My suggestion would be always to first talk to the officer and find out the seriousness of the case before proceeding further.


Thanks,
Ra one

 

[HighwayMan]

Dear All,
My suggestion would be always to first talk to the officer and find out the seriousness of the case before proceeding further.

Good for you but what you suggest isn't possible many times. Maybe most of the time.

And I doubt that your driving record had anything to do with it. Maybe that would lessen a penalty, but it should have no bearing on the legitimacy of the charge.