RECENT BLOG POSTS
Virginia’s Reckless Driving Threshold Increased to Above 85 mph
Photo by Ludovic Charlet on UnsplashAfter his fifth year of sponsoring a bill, Sen. David Suetterlein of Roanoke County was successful in increasing Virginia's reckless driving by speed threshold to driving above 85 mph, instead of above 80 mph. (On a side note, I noticed that Sen. Suetterlein went to Grove City College and we probably shared some of the same professors since our time there overlapped. I'm glad to see a fellow Grover making an equitable change in the law. I'll explain why it this is equitable below.) Starting July 1, 2020, reckless driving by speed in Virginia will be defined as driving in excess of 85 mph (instead of in excess of 80 mph which is the current law) or driving at a speed of 20 miles per hour or more in excess of the speed limit. You can still get a reckless...
Eluding the Police in Chesapeake, Norfolk, and on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
Photo by Alessio Lin on UnsplashOur traffic defense attorneys regularly defend clients against eluding the police charges. For drivers caught eluding the police in the Hampton Roads area, it is not uncommon that the pursuit ends after a crash. Most judges give increased jail time when a crash occurs. Eluding can be a misdemeanor or a felony, even when no actual harm or crash has occurred. Where a crash has actually occurred, it is likely the eluding charge will be brought as a felony and the driver will also be charged with reckless driving for the accident. Here are some recent examples of eluding the police in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Northampton: On Sunday, it was reported that a vehicle was involved in a pursuit with the State police in Chesapeake. According to Wavy,...
How to Get a Speedometer Calibration Done Properly
Photo by Chris Liverani on UnsplashIn Virginia, courts allow a defendant in a speeding case or reckless driving by speed case to present evidence (known as a speedometer calibration) showing that his speedometer was not working properly. While a speedometer calibration test may be helpful in certain situations, the speedometer calibration report needs to be in proper form to be accepted in court. Virginia Code § 46.2-942 states that "the court shall receive as evidence a sworn report of the results of a calibration test of the accuracy of the speedometer in the motor vehicle operated by the defendant... at the time of the alleged offense." Properly authenticated calibration test results are admissible in court and the technician who performed the test does not have to be in court with...
Is Eluding the Police a Misdemeanor or Felony in Virginia?
Photo by Matt Popovich on UnsplashOne major factor in whether eluding the police in violation of Va. Code § 46.2-817 is classified as a a misdemeanor or felony is whether there is proof of endangerment. This endangerment of a person can refer to either the police officer or a member of the public. Courts in Virginia have indicated that the potential harm need not be actual harm or even be imminent! In Jones v. Commonwealth (Va. App. 2015), the Court of Appeals explains: "To 'endanger' is to 'expose to danger, harm, or loss.'" Coleman v. Commonwealth, 52 Va. App. 19, 24, 660 S.E.2d 687, 690 (2008) (quoting Webster's New World Dictionary 448 (3d coll. ed. 1988); The American Heritage Dictionary 452 (2d coll. ed. 1982)). "The object of the endangerment can be the driver himself, the police...
The Limit of Emergency Powers in Fighting Covid-19
Photo by Aaron Burden on UnsplashI recently wrote about how I thought the Constitution and Bill of Rights were being trampled on during the coronavirus crisis. This raised the question of whether or not I believed in the executive branch's use of "Emergency Powers." Are there special circumstances and times to restrict civil liberties? Yes, I do believe in Emergency Powers. In law school, we discussed how special powers are given to the executive branch in times of war or other exigent circumstances to give the executive branch a boost to temporarily address an emergency, until the legislature can convene or until an emergency passes. During these times we allow the government, led by the executive branch, more liberty to trample on individual rights for the sake of the public health...
Covid-19 and Constitutional Rights
Photo by Joshua Sukoff on UnsplashHow do you view the Bill of Rights? Is it essential or non-essential to America's health? In a report from the Atlantic, it is mentioned that most Americans support the taking away of freedoms granted in our constitution (also known as constitutional rights) in order to give government more control to combat the coronavirus epidemic. Most respondents in a survey were willing to force health-care professionals to work despite risks to their own health, allow forced quarantines in government facilities, criminalize speech based on content, suspend all religious services, and allow the government to seize businesses. If we learn anything from the Japanese internment camps during WWII, it is that unconstitutional violations of liberty are often made when the...
February-March 2020 Case Results: Involuntary Manslaughter and Hit and Run Avoided
DISCLAIMER – EACH CASE IS UNIQUE AND CASE RESULTS DEPEND ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL SITUATION. CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY THE LAWYER Below we feature a sampling of case results for February and March of 2020. We avoided convictions for a number of felonies, such as hit and run and involuntary manslaughter. We avoided convictions for misdemeanors such as hit and run, reckless driving by speed, reckless driving for passing a stopped school bus, possession of marijuana, driving on a suspended license, tunnel height violation, no city hauling permit, aggressive driving and no insurance. Reckless driving dismissals occurred in cities such as Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, Newport News, Hampton, and Accomack. Reckless...
September 2019 Case Results: Racing, DUI, and Reckless Driving Charges Avoided
DISCLAIMER – EACH CASE IS UNIQUE AND CASE RESULTS DEPEND ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL SITUATION. CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY THE LAWYER Below we feature a sampling of case results for September of 2019. We avoided convictions for a number of misdemeanors, such as reckless driving, driving under a suspended license, no insurance, no personal flotation device, DUI and RD RACING. Reckless driving dismissals occurred in cities such as Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Hampton, and Accomack. Notable speed related cases: Reckless driving by speed at 97 mph in a 45 mph zone in Accomack GDC was dismissed, reckless driving for 90 mph in a 55 mph zone in Northampton GDC reduced to speeding, and reckless driving for 94 mph in a 65 mph zone in...
Reckless Driving for Failing to Move Over for Emergency Vehicle
Photo by Ethan Hoover on UnsplashEffective July 1, 2019, Virginia Code § 46.2-861.1 (known as the "Move Over" law) increases the penalties for failing to move over for an emergency vehicle that is displaying flashing, blinking, or alternating red, blue or amber lights. The change in law makes the offense a reckless driving charge, a class 1 misdemeanor, when applied to most emergency vehicles, which means that penalties now include the possibility of jail time, a license suspension of up to 6 months (or more in certain situations of injury or death), and a fine of up to $2,500. The law requires proof of certain elements which I will explain below, but the safe thing to do when you see an emergency vehicle with flashing lights is to move over one lane when passing or slow down if it is...
Mid February 2019 to April 2019 Case Results: Felony DUI (3rd offense) Avoided and More
DISCLAIMER – EACH CASE IS UNIQUE AND CASE RESULTS DEPEND ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL SITUATION. CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY THE LAWYER. Below we feature a sampling of case results from mid-February of 2019 to April 2019. On February 15, 2019, we represented nine clients: eight charged with reckless driving and one charged with DUI 3rd (felony). All eight clients avoided reckless driving convictions and the DUI client avoided a felony DUI conviction. Of those eight reckless driving charges, four were dismissed while the others were reduced to traffic infractions. Some of the screenshots are below. Clients avoided convictions for driving on a suspended license, DUI, eluding, reckless driving, fictitious tags, no license, contributing to...