You’ve gotten a reckless driving ticket in Gloucester County and aren’t really sure what’s going to happen next. The problem is you’re surrounded by advertisements from lawyers trying to scare you into hiring them.
Don’t call a lawyer just yet. You may not even need one at all. Instead, you should learn about reckless driving and the legal procedures involved. You can do that with my free book.
What is Gloucester County reckless driving?
Most people get reckless driving tickets for speed, but as you can read in chapter 1, you can also get them for other offenses such as passing in a no pass zone. You can even get a ticket for no particular offense under Virginia’s catch-all statute. This means that even if you didn’t violate any specific traffic law, you can still get a ticket if your driving was considered dangerous.
In Virginia, reckless driving is considered a class 1 misdemeanor. This puts it on the same level as driving under the influence or possession of marijuana.
What possibilities might there be in Gloucester County for reckless driving?
Chapter 2 talks about the different penalties that come from a reckless driving conviction such as fines or even jail time. Before penalties are even discussed, though, you must be convicted of reckless driving. This means that the Commonwealth must prove that you were guilty of your charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
You have the option of defending yourself against these charges. Chapter 3 gives you different defenses that you can use in court and why they might help you. For example, reckless driving laws don’t apply to every road. If you can prove that the road you were driving on is one of those roads that isn’t under the reckless driving laws, you can get your case dismissed.
You should, however, be cautious about the defenses you use. As chapter 4 will show you, not all work in the courtroom. For example, “I was following the flow of traffic” isn’t an adequate defense.
What other possibilities are there in Gloucester County?
Don’t worry if you feel like none of these defenses can help you because you have other options, which are discussed in chapter 5. You can work to get your charges reduced. Some judges will use community service or driver improvement clinics to reduce your charges.
If you still don’t like the outcome of your case, though, you can always appeal, which will get you a new trial with a different judge. The appeals process can be found in chapter 7.
Do I need to hire a Gloucester County reckless driving lawyer?
You don’t have to get a lawyer, but only you can make the decision as to whether or not you need or want one. If you do decide to hire an attorney, make sure you read chapter 8, which will help you choose the best lawyer to hire. It provides you with questions you should ask an attorney before hiring, such as how much of their practice is devoted to traffic law.
If you’ve read the overview and want to get more information about reckless driving, all you need to do is fill out the form below. A free copy of my book will be emailed to you within seconds.