I was sitting in Fairfax County traffic court today waiting to resolve a motion and I watched three drivers in a row get hammered for reckless driving because they did not have an attorney.
One driver was an older woman who was going 78 mph inĀ a 55 mph zone and she had a perfect driving record. She walked out with a criminal conviction for reckless driving on her permanent criminal record. I hope she doesn’t need security clearance.
A young man with a good driving record lost his driver’s license for 60 days, got a criminal conviction and a $500 fine for driving 83 mph/55 mph. The poor guy had no idea what was happening when the deputy ordered him to turn over his license. He just sat their stunned.
Another man going 85 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone got a $1000 fine, 12 months of probation, 180 days of suspended jail time, a criminal conviction, and a loss of license.
Every day, dozens of drivers show up to court with reckless driving tickets, thinking they are just traffic tickets and then they find out the hard way how wrong they are. Other people show up to traffic court incorrectly thinking that their years of perfect driving will protect them from a criminal conviction. Always talk to an attorney first, since most attorneys do free consultations, there is no reason not to.
Luke J. Nichols
The law firm of Nichols & Green pllc
www.nicholsgreen.com
(703) 383-9222
lnichols@nicholsgreen.com