Northampton Reckless Driving Attorney
The attorneys at our law firm are a constant presence in the Northampton traffic courtroom as we handle a large number of reckless driving and speeding cases there. For example, one of our lawyers was in Northampton General District Court handling 3 reckless driving cases on the same day, and all 3 of our clients were able to avoid a criminal conviction for Reckless Driving (Disclaimer: all cases are based on their own unique facts, any prior case results are not a guarantee nor a prediction of what may happen in your particular case). Northampton Court is located in Eastville Virginia on the Eastern Shore.
A good number of traffic cases in Northampton are either reckless driving or regular speeding charges. The main reason for this is that the roads tend to be pretty clear and wide and so drivers tend to pick up speed either because there is not a lot of traffic or because they have been driving for a long time and start to become less aware of the speed they are going.
Also a large portion of those getting traffic charges, tend to be from out of state who are passing through Eastern Shore as a quicker route instead of having to drive through the DC area.
Northampton is a unique jurisdiction as you have several different law enforcement agencies that operate traffic patrols in that area. These agencies include, state troopers, local police like Eastville and Cape Charles police and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Police.
The court in Northampton consists of one traffic judge. The good thing about this, is that every time we appear in the courtroom, we are in front of the same judge.
For reckless driving cases, normally a prosecutor is not involved. However, at high speeds, the policy of the prosecutor’s office, also known as the Commonwealth Attorney, is to get involved.
3 Clients, Same Court Day, Same Charge — 3 Favorable Outcomes
All three clients were from out of state (2 from New Jersey and 1 from New York). our traffic attorney was able to get a favorable outcome for all 3 clients without any of them having to travel back to Virginia to be present in the court. Reckless Driving is a class 1 criminal misdemeanor in Virginia, punishable up to 1 year in jail, fines of $2,500, loss of driving privileges for 6 months. A conviction for reckless driving will result in a permanent criminal conviction that will never go away.
All 3 clients faced the above risks in the event of a conviction. Instead, the judge to reduce the criminal charge of reckless driving to a non criminal traffic infraction (e.g. speeding) for all 3 clients. All the reckless driving charges involved speed, ranging from 83 miles an hour to 76 miles an hour in a 55 mile speed limit zone. The three clients consisted of a commercial licensed driver, an active duty marine with a security clearance, and an office manager.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge Reckless Driving
Have you been charged with a traffic violation while traveling on the Chesapeake Bay bridge? You should make sure you look at the summons carefully. Did you get a regular speeding ticket or reckless driving? If its reckless driving charge, then you are now facing a criminal charge that carries a possibility of jail time, license suspension, and a large court fine and you should speak to an experienced reckless driving attorney who regularly has cases with the Police Department of Chesapeake Bay Bridge (Yes, the Bridge has their own police department).
When giving out summons for violations on the bridge, the police have the option of either putting down the city of Virginia Beach or Northampton as the court that your case will be tried.