Reckless driving charges in Alexandria are taken seriously. They are class 1 misdemeanors which means they are considered crimes, not just traffic infractions. They are punishable by up to 12 months in jail, a $2500-dollar fine and a 6-month loss of license. They also carry 6 demerit points from the DMV, which stay on your record for 11 years. An Alexandria reckless driving attorney should have experience with the various ways that reckless driving is charged and know how the statutes are interpreted by the courts and the potential defenses to the charges.
Because it is a crime and not a traffic infraction, this type of charge can affect future employment and any security clearances. Additionally, any time you apply for anything in which they ask you if you’ve ever been convicted of a crime, you’ll have to answer yes. That will stay on your record permanently. So, it is a very serious offense in Alexandria and one that warrants the attention of an experienced Alexandria reckless driving lawyer.
Alexandria, Virginia is just across the river from Washington DC. It’s about 5 miles away at its closest point. It’s next to Arlington County and surrounded by Fairfax County. It’s about an hour and a half away from Richmond, Virginia.
There are a lot of highways in and around Alexandria. The Beltway runs through Alexandria. That’s a major highway in the DC area. That surrounds DC and goes into Maryland and Virginia. Interstate 95, that goes up and down the east coast, runs through Alexandria. 395, which is another major highway, runs through Alexandria and to DC. All these roads make for a lot of highway area in a pretty small city.
An Alexandria reckless driving attorney can help in several ways.
One, they can discuss possible defenses with you and can bring those to the prosecutor or the judge if there’s a trial. They also can speak with the trooper or officer who gave you the ticket to determine the strength of their case against you and help you make a determination on whether to go to trial or to plea to a lesser offense.
Additionally, a reckless driving lawyer can advise you on certain things you can do to put yourself in a better position to help convince the prosecutor or judge to reduce the charge to something less severe than reckless driving, such as a simple traffic infraction.
By recommending things like driving school, getting your car calibrated, community service, whatever it may be, your attorney can advise you of the best course of action to put you in the best possible position to help fight your charge or mitigate your sentence.
Local reckless driving lawyers who practice in Alexandria know how to defend reckless driving charges either by attacking the device used to measure someone’s speed, by making successful legal arguments or by cross-examining the officers as to their potential lack of memory of events or lack of ability to observe what they believed they observed.
Additionally, attorneys know what are the possible outcomes based upon experience handling similar charges. They know what judges will do, which arguments will affect what prosecutors, and which legal arguments have the best chance of being successful. They know how to speak to judges, how to try cases, how to make objections, and how to put a person charged with reckless driving in the best possible position to have a successful outcome at trial or in court.