Any VA (and/or OH) lawyers out there?

[RawleyD]

Sorry to hear this happened. The traffic pull overs are getting out of control.. It has nothing to do with safety,, just a huge money grab.
I can't help you out. Unfortunately your kid picked the wrong place to let loose. I saw a half dozen police out today just on a short trip into town.

[recycledsixtie]

Try Pelican Parts Forum - Off topic discussions. Probably get more help there....

[Frodo]

Yeah, we drove down I-71S to Columbus (from the Akron area--about 2 hrs) on Saturday to go to the OSU football opening game. It was unbelievable---it seemed like every 3-5 miles there was somebody pulled over. Labor Day weekend is definitely NOT the time to be doing more than 5-10 over the posted limit.

[thom4782]

Couple of thoughts...

If your son does hire a lawyer, he should hire one who practices before the court where your son must appear. Often the lawyer can appear on your son's behalf allowing your son to avoid traveling. The lawyer will know if this is possible.

Visit the Virgina state bar website. It may have lawyer referrals there by specialty area. If it doesn't, you might call the Bar directly and ask for advice. If you do get some referrals, check their Martindale-Hubbard ratings. It will give you a sense for their skill sets.

There's also a website called Just Answer Traffic Law. You can describe the circumstances and ask for some advice on what defenses are available to the citation. It costs about $35 bucks to get a lawyer to provide some guidance. I recently used this for a minor traffic accident to reduce my liability. The lawyer / expert may also suggest how to get the charge reduced

Hopefully a forum member in VA will have some recommendations. It would be helpful to mention the town where the court is so a really local forum member might suggest a lawyer in that town.

My sense is that it's best for a lawyer talk to the prosecutor about pleading to a lesser offense.

No idea whether the local court can compel Ohio to revoke your son's license or add points to it. Again, the local lawyer should know this.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by RawleyD

Sorry to hear this happened. The traffic pull overs are getting out of control.. It has nothing to do with safety,, just a huge money grab.

Yeah, no kiddin'. I've had that point driven home time after time by an organization called the National Motorists Association. Familiar with them? I'm on their email mailing list and regularly get some pretty interesting articles and viewpoints. Check out: National Motorists Association Website


BTW, the ticket was written on I-95 a few miles south of Fredericksburg. It was close to a town named Spotsylvania, which is where the hearing is scheduled to take place. I've known for years about that interstate being a favorite for VA speed traps. Via a internet search he found and got a hold of a lawyer who apparently does a lot of this kind of work. The NMA that I referred to above lists attorneys that specialize in such cases. The website they have for that particular area (Spotsylvania Traffic Attorneys | Virginia Traffic Ticket Lawyers) lists 3 recommendations: 1) Yeargan Law Office; 2) Miller - Cerasuolo; and, 3) Andrew Flusche. The kid has actually made contact with one of them, and seems favorably impressed. I don't really want to get into rating specific lawyers right here in the thread (especially if there's any bad reviews! They ARE lawyers after all!), but if anyone wants to pm me any opinions or other insight on any of the three, feel free. Of course, if you have favorable things to say about any of them, I'm sure they'd not mind that showing up in the thread itself.

Originally Posted by tonycarreon

we were going south on 95 thursday evening and there was a nice little speed trap set up. all 5 state troopers had picked off someone and were writing tickets within a mile-long stretch.

the worse part was it was right after a huge clog so they knew people were going to be pushing it when it thinned out some.

That's the EXACT scenario the kid fell into, except it was Monday not Thursday.

[jsceash]

A question off subject but really in the same topic. How much leway do they allow. I go through there 6 time a year both ways. I've been passed dozens of State Police trap. In PA you generaly get up to 10 over on the highway and 5 over in local zones. I've toned that down in my travels in MD, WVA and VA to 5 over no more. A lot of 81 is 70 so I don't realy push that.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by jsceash

A question off subject but really in the same topic. How much leway do they allow. I go through there 6 time a year both ways. I've been passed dozens of State Police trap. In PA you generaly get up to 10 over on the highway and 5 over in local zones. I've toned that down in my travels in MD, WVA and VA to 5 over no more. A lot of 81 is 70 so I don't realy push that.

I've always tended to go with up to 10 over the posted limit as my general rule of thumb as to what's safe. But I always look to what's going on around me, my fellow travelers. Never really put numbers to it, but I tend to set my pace such that I'm passin' maybe 85% of the vehicles out there, and allowing the other 15% to pass me. There are exceptions, of course, where I'll wind things out a bit--temporarily--especially if by doing so I can put myself into open areas with few cars around me. I don't mind drivin' in a crowd here and there but, by and large, I'd prefer to have some space and visibility around me.