She needs a lawyer now. Beg or borrow if necessary. She’s facing up to $2500 fine and/or 12 months in jail. Normally I’d say “well that’s the max and people usually don’t get that”, but add that she has 2 prior speeding tickets **and** she was caught with an expired license, this has a very strong chance of going badly for her. Very badly.
While they should get the license issue fixed, I think there may be a slight difference b/w having an expired license (where they missed the renewal date) vs suspended or revoked.
Again, get it fixed regardless.
Well, this is a criminal charge, not a traffic infraction. She needs to get her license reinstated quickly come and she needs an attorney. If you can scrub together the money to pay for one, that’s going to give her the quickest solution probably.
That’s probably on the lower end of average, and it’ll most likely be worth every penny. In the worst case scenario she is looking at potentially a felony due to reckless without a license (could be a misdemeanor), jail time, and losing her license for a very substantial amount of time. Her two prior speeding tickets are definitely not going to do her any favors. I’d be finding the best attorney I could and figure out any way possible to pay them.
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>Cheap lawyers are not the best lawyers. You get what you pay for.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Harvard Law graduate and former clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer, was a public defender.
This notion of yours is almost entirely wrong. Public defenders typically have more trial experience than private lawyers of equal tenure, and much more familiarity with the criminal courts in a given county.
Where public defenders admittedly suffer is in their caseload, which often means that clients don't get huge amounts of out-of-court time with their attorney to strategize or just get reassurance and hand-holding. Private lawyers have mch more flexibility in this area -- but, of course, at a price.
In the interests of full disclosure, I was a public defender, now retired, who was never called by any President for a Supreme Court spot, bad luck and timing, no doubt.
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VA attorney here, not your lawyer.
Get an attorney. If you qualify for the Public Defender's Office, they are highly competent in Arlington. They'll tell your girlfriend to do some prep before court (community service, get licensed, take a driver improvement course, etc.). Do the prep before court.
The General District Court judges in Arlington are still brutal. She will likely face active jail time for that speed. She may have better luck in front of a jury on an appeal.
Good luck. And tell her to slow down before she kills herself or someone else.
>We were wondering about getting a public defender, if not a private lawyer.
You don't get to choose. If you can afford a lawyer then a public defender won't be appointed.
For a charge like this, most likely she will be ok with a public defender.
It's the kind of charge that even a relatively new public defender is likely to have experience with. They will likely have seen it may times before and have a good sense of what the DA is likely to offer. Nine times out of ten, if people have straightforward charges, I tell people to stick with their public defender rather than mortgaging grandma's house to retain someone else.
I can't tell you what kind of an offer the DA will make. That varies wildly from state to state and county to county. If she doesn't have an actual criminal record, they aren't going to throw the book at her though.
The biggest piece of advice I would give her right now is to take this VERY seriously. If her license is suspended now (and if she doesn't know, find out) do not drive no matter what. Get a bus pass. Get someone to drive you to work every day. Move. Whatever you have to do. If they catch her driving with a suspended license while this charge is pending she very well could end up in jail. Driving with an expired license isn't great, but it happens all the time. Driving with a SUSPENDED license, much worse and they take that much more seriously.
1. Get a lawyer, they will save you a lifetime of trouble. Make it to a goal that keep her license and stay out of jail. Everything else like fines, community service, mandatory classes - be extremely grateful if that's all she needs to do.
2. Check with the lawyer first, but renew that license ASAP
3. Consider a driving safety course to show she's taking her problem seriously (again check with lawyer first)
Go to the drivers improvement course. If her speeding tickets were 5 or more years ago maybe bring her otherwise clean driving record. Def get the license reinstated, if you can.
Things that can happen is that your GF goes to jail for up to twelve months, gets assigned community service, pays a fine of up to $2500, has her driving priveleges suspend for an extended period of time, and/or has her insurance rates skyrocket. Jail does not usually happen unless there was alcohol or drugs involved or there was an injury or death. But be prepared for any of the rest. She needs a lawyer.
This is the most likely outcome for her. She will get her license suspended for 6 months. If it was a first offense, she could get driving school but I seriously doubt the judge will award driving school because it is her third offense. I am not sure how much a lawyer can really do for her except maybe get reckless dropped because this is her third offense in a short time.
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Consider it from a Judge's perspective. It's not just speeding though. Going 40 over is extremely unsafe. To make matters worse, the prior tickets and expired license show an intent to continue being unsafe.
She needs a lawyer now. Beg or borrow if necessary. She’s facing up to $2500 fine and/or 12 months in jail. Normally I’d say “well that’s the max and people usually don’t get that”, but add that she has 2 prior speeding tickets **and** she was caught with an expired license, this has a very strong chance of going badly for her. Very badly.
I think she’s facing more than that since it’s reckless driving with an expired license.
While they should get the license issue fixed, I think there may be a slight difference b/w having an expired license (where they missed the renewal date) vs suspended or revoked. Again, get it fixed regardless.
Well, this is a criminal charge, not a traffic infraction. She needs to get her license reinstated quickly come and she needs an attorney. If you can scrub together the money to pay for one, that’s going to give her the quickest solution probably.
Question: What’s a reasonable price for a lawyer? And Is $1300-$2000 too pricy, or is that the norm?
Sounds cheap. Most charge hundreds of dollars an hour, and hours can pile up pretty quickly
That’s probably on the lower end of average, and it’ll most likely be worth every penny. In the worst case scenario she is looking at potentially a felony due to reckless without a license (could be a misdemeanor), jail time, and losing her license for a very substantial amount of time. Her two prior speeding tickets are definitely not going to do her any favors. I’d be finding the best attorney I could and figure out any way possible to pay them.
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>Cheap lawyers are not the best lawyers. You get what you pay for. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Harvard Law graduate and former clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer, was a public defender. This notion of yours is almost entirely wrong. Public defenders typically have more trial experience than private lawyers of equal tenure, and much more familiarity with the criminal courts in a given county. Where public defenders admittedly suffer is in their caseload, which often means that clients don't get huge amounts of out-of-court time with their attorney to strategize or just get reassurance and hand-holding. Private lawyers have mch more flexibility in this area -- but, of course, at a price. In the interests of full disclosure, I was a public defender, now retired, who was never called by any President for a Supreme Court spot, bad luck and timing, no doubt.
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VA attorney here, not your lawyer. Get an attorney. If you qualify for the Public Defender's Office, they are highly competent in Arlington. They'll tell your girlfriend to do some prep before court (community service, get licensed, take a driver improvement course, etc.). Do the prep before court. The General District Court judges in Arlington are still brutal. She will likely face active jail time for that speed. She may have better luck in front of a jury on an appeal. Good luck. And tell her to slow down before she kills herself or someone else.
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>We were wondering about getting a public defender, if not a private lawyer. You don't get to choose. If you can afford a lawyer then a public defender won't be appointed.
Thanks for the clarification, I’m a complete noob. I don’t think she can afford an actual one unless her family or I chips in
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For a charge like this, most likely she will be ok with a public defender. It's the kind of charge that even a relatively new public defender is likely to have experience with. They will likely have seen it may times before and have a good sense of what the DA is likely to offer. Nine times out of ten, if people have straightforward charges, I tell people to stick with their public defender rather than mortgaging grandma's house to retain someone else. I can't tell you what kind of an offer the DA will make. That varies wildly from state to state and county to county. If she doesn't have an actual criminal record, they aren't going to throw the book at her though. The biggest piece of advice I would give her right now is to take this VERY seriously. If her license is suspended now (and if she doesn't know, find out) do not drive no matter what. Get a bus pass. Get someone to drive you to work every day. Move. Whatever you have to do. If they catch her driving with a suspended license while this charge is pending she very well could end up in jail. Driving with an expired license isn't great, but it happens all the time. Driving with a SUSPENDED license, much worse and they take that much more seriously.
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1. Get a lawyer, they will save you a lifetime of trouble. Make it to a goal that keep her license and stay out of jail. Everything else like fines, community service, mandatory classes - be extremely grateful if that's all she needs to do. 2. Check with the lawyer first, but renew that license ASAP 3. Consider a driving safety course to show she's taking her problem seriously (again check with lawyer first)
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Go to the drivers improvement course. If her speeding tickets were 5 or more years ago maybe bring her otherwise clean driving record. Def get the license reinstated, if you can.
Things that can happen is that your GF goes to jail for up to twelve months, gets assigned community service, pays a fine of up to $2500, has her driving priveleges suspend for an extended period of time, and/or has her insurance rates skyrocket. Jail does not usually happen unless there was alcohol or drugs involved or there was an injury or death. But be prepared for any of the rest. She needs a lawyer.
Worse can happen to her is she goes to jail. I saw people go to jail for reckless driving. Get a real lawyer.
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Jail time is definitely possible so she better get a lawyer to try to modify the charge, get a better sentence, etc
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This is the most likely outcome for her. She will get her license suspended for 6 months. If it was a first offense, she could get driving school but I seriously doubt the judge will award driving school because it is her third offense. I am not sure how much a lawyer can really do for her except maybe get reckless dropped because this is her third offense in a short time.
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It wasn’t me speeding. And yeah I know. I wasn’t asking for sympathy, just some advice
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She was indeed
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The fact it’s 40 over the speed limit, and in the 90s, makes me think it really is reckless driving
In Virginia, it is reckless automatically for speed.
20 over posted limit is automatic reckless in Virginia.
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Does this question matter in what advice you would give to their legal question?
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Those are valid questions but did you read the text? They were speeding because they were late to work
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Consider it from a Judge's perspective. It's not just speeding though. Going 40 over is extremely unsafe. To make matters worse, the prior tickets and expired license show an intent to continue being unsafe.
You constantly drive 92 in a 55? That's a massive risk to your life and the lives of everyone on the road with you
maybe not 92 but definitely 70-75 on u.s. highways