Fairfax County General :
Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Run of the mill speeding ticket
Posted by:
MrSmithers
()
Date: May 22, 2007 03:39PM
I see a lot of people post here trying to figure out of they need a lawyer to fight tickets like reckless driving, etc..
What if you have a normal speeding ticket for say, 15 over?
I've been a ffx resident for over a decade and I've not been pulled over here once up until a few weeks ago. I was rushing to get somewhere and got a legit ticket for 60 in a 45. No big deal. I can pay my fine like a big boy.
When I was a younger man growing up in New York State and more prone to lead foot syndrome I gat snagged a few times. The surest way to get out of a ticket was to show up to court. Most of the time the cop didn't show up and the ticket was dismissed on the spot. The one time he did show, I asked the judge to attend school and not assign points. He did and the ticket never showed up on my insurance.
Does the same stuff work down here? I'd rather just pay my fine if it's likely that I'll end up with the same by showing up to court, especially since I have no legitimate defense. But if there is a decent chance of actually having the thing dismissed I might just take the day off and participate in the judicial process. (Lets call it selfish civic duty.)
Anyone have any run of the mill ticket tips for Fairfax court?
What if you have a normal speeding ticket for say, 15 over?
I've been a ffx resident for over a decade and I've not been pulled over here once up until a few weeks ago. I was rushing to get somewhere and got a legit ticket for 60 in a 45. No big deal. I can pay my fine like a big boy.
When I was a younger man growing up in New York State and more prone to lead foot syndrome I gat snagged a few times. The surest way to get out of a ticket was to show up to court. Most of the time the cop didn't show up and the ticket was dismissed on the spot. The one time he did show, I asked the judge to attend school and not assign points. He did and the ticket never showed up on my insurance.
Does the same stuff work down here? I'd rather just pay my fine if it's likely that I'll end up with the same by showing up to court, especially since I have no legitimate defense. But if there is a decent chance of actually having the thing dismissed I might just take the day off and participate in the judicial process. (Lets call it selfish civic duty.)
Anyone have any run of the mill ticket tips for Fairfax court?
Re: Run of the mill speeding ticket
Posted by:
.
()
Date: May 22, 2007 04:03PM
Doubtful that the officer won't show up in court. If a Fairfax officer doesn't show up that is investigated internally by the department.
A judge in Virginia has no authority to waive points, or, in most cases, even assign you to traffic school. That stuff won't work here. The points are assigned by DMV and the judge has nothing to do with it. The clerk will even give a speech in the beginning of the court docket saying the same thing.
You can voluntarily go to traffic school, and at the completion you will be given a test. Successfully complete the test and you would get 5 positive points back on your record, all but nullifying the -4 you'll get for 15 MPH over the limit. Depending on your current point balance, you may want to pay the ticket and THEN enroll in the class to get the full benefit of the positive points.
A judge in Virginia has no authority to waive points, or, in most cases, even assign you to traffic school. That stuff won't work here. The points are assigned by DMV and the judge has nothing to do with it. The clerk will even give a speech in the beginning of the court docket saying the same thing.
You can voluntarily go to traffic school, and at the completion you will be given a test. Successfully complete the test and you would get 5 positive points back on your record, all but nullifying the -4 you'll get for 15 MPH over the limit. Depending on your current point balance, you may want to pay the ticket and THEN enroll in the class to get the full benefit of the positive points.
Re: Run of the mill speeding ticket
Posted by:
trogdor!
()
Date: May 22, 2007 04:55PM
. Wrote:
> A judge in Virginia has no authority to waive
> points, or, in most cases, even assign you to
> traffic school. That stuff won't work here. The
> points are assigned by DMV and the judge has
> nothing to do with it. The clerk will even give a
> speech in the beginning of the court docket saying
> the same thing.
While this is true, a judge does have the ability to dismiss the case. This can happen, because it happened to me (in Henrico county) Showed up to court, I plead guilty. The judge looked at my record and saw that I never had a ticket. He then told me told me that he would continue my court date for 2 months, and that if I showed the court before the new date with proof I completed a VA DMV certified driver's improvement clinic, he would dismiss the case. Which is exactly what he did. The DMV doesn't know about it because I was never found guilty. I did have to pay $60 in court costs, as well as the cost of the clinic.
I have heard from good sources, that the FFX county judges don't like to do this though. They are apparently not happy if you 'waste' their time by coming in and pleading guilty. You can try it if you have a good record and have the time, otherwise, I'd just pay it.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2007 04:58PM by trogdor!.
> A judge in Virginia has no authority to waive
> points, or, in most cases, even assign you to
> traffic school. That stuff won't work here. The
> points are assigned by DMV and the judge has
> nothing to do with it. The clerk will even give a
> speech in the beginning of the court docket saying
> the same thing.
While this is true, a judge does have the ability to dismiss the case. This can happen, because it happened to me (in Henrico county) Showed up to court, I plead guilty. The judge looked at my record and saw that I never had a ticket. He then told me told me that he would continue my court date for 2 months, and that if I showed the court before the new date with proof I completed a VA DMV certified driver's improvement clinic, he would dismiss the case. Which is exactly what he did. The DMV doesn't know about it because I was never found guilty. I did have to pay $60 in court costs, as well as the cost of the clinic.
I have heard from good sources, that the FFX county judges don't like to do this though. They are apparently not happy if you 'waste' their time by coming in and pleading guilty. You can try it if you have a good record and have the time, otherwise, I'd just pay it.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2007 04:58PM by trogdor!.
Re: Run of the mill speeding ticket
Posted by:
duh
()
Date: May 22, 2007 07:37PM
Yeah, the cop not showing up is extremely unlikely...I think they have a special days in their schedules just for court.
Years ago, I got a ticket and before the court date the Trooper got killed. I read about his death in the paper and went to court for just that reason, and it was dismissed. Always felt funny about it, though.
If the OP has had a Va license and no tickets for 5 calendar years, he ALREADY has the maximum allowed 5 safe driving points. So taking the Driver Improvement course would be pointless (pun intended!)....especially since you can only take once in a 2 year period.
I'd also say just pay it.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2007 07:38PM by duh.
Years ago, I got a ticket and before the court date the Trooper got killed. I read about his death in the paper and went to court for just that reason, and it was dismissed. Always felt funny about it, though.
If the OP has had a Va license and no tickets for 5 calendar years, he ALREADY has the maximum allowed 5 safe driving points. So taking the Driver Improvement course would be pointless (pun intended!)....especially since you can only take once in a 2 year period.
I'd also say just pay it.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2007 07:38PM by duh.
Re: Run of the mill speeding ticket
Posted by:
KeepOnTruckin
()
Date: May 22, 2007 09:22PM
Cary wrote an essay on this in teh articles section.
ah here it is:
all ppl read this
http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/forum/read/6/269.html
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2007 09:24PM by KeepOnTruckin.
ah here it is:
all ppl read this
http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/forum/read/6/269.html
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2007 09:24PM by KeepOnTruckin.
Re: Run of the mill speeding ticket
Posted by:
SpeedTrap
()
Date: May 22, 2007 10:28PM
> While this is true, a judge does have the ability
> to dismiss the case. This can happen, because
> it happened to me (in Henrico county) Showed up to
> court, I plead guilty. The judge looked at my
> record and saw that I never had a ticket. He then
> told me told me that he would continue my court
> date for 2 months, and that if I showed the court
> before the new date with proof I completed a VA
> DMV certified driver's improvement clinic, he
> would dismiss the case. Which is exactly what he
> did. The DMV doesn't know about it because I was
> never found guilty. I did have to pay $60 in
> court costs, as well as the cost of the clinic.
>
> I have heard from good sources, that the FFX
> county judges don't like to do this though. They
> are apparently not happy if you 'waste' their time
> by coming in and pleading guilty. You can try it
> if you have a good record and have the time,
> otherwise, I'd just pay it.
The policy of the Fairfax General District Traffic Court does not allow judges to defer sentencing for the defendant to attend driving school. This is done by most jurisdictions, but you will not see it in Fairfax.
> to dismiss the case. This can happen, because
> it happened to me (in Henrico county) Showed up to
> court, I plead guilty. The judge looked at my
> record and saw that I never had a ticket. He then
> told me told me that he would continue my court
> date for 2 months, and that if I showed the court
> before the new date with proof I completed a VA
> DMV certified driver's improvement clinic, he
> would dismiss the case. Which is exactly what he
> did. The DMV doesn't know about it because I was
> never found guilty. I did have to pay $60 in
> court costs, as well as the cost of the clinic.
>
> I have heard from good sources, that the FFX
> county judges don't like to do this though. They
> are apparently not happy if you 'waste' their time
> by coming in and pleading guilty. You can try it
> if you have a good record and have the time,
> otherwise, I'd just pay it.
The policy of the Fairfax General District Traffic Court does not allow judges to defer sentencing for the defendant to attend driving school. This is done by most jurisdictions, but you will not see it in Fairfax.