When sever weather strikes Prince William County and you are wondering whether the courts are closed, go to www.pwcgov.org and any traffic court or other court closures will be listed on the Prince William County home page.

Cases that are canceled because of sever weather will be rescheduled about a month or more down the road and continuance notices will be sent to all parties. However, go to the Virginia Supreme Court website to find out the date and time of your new court date.

Luke J. Nichols

Nichols & Green pllc

www.nicholsgreen.com

Posted in Defending Yourself in Traffic Court, Driving on Suspended License, DUI/DWI, Misc. Traffic Tickets, Reckless Driving, Speeding Tickets | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

How to Tell If Fairfax County Courts are Closed Because of Weather

If you want to know if the Fairfax County Traffic Court, General District Court (GDC), Juvenile and Domestic relations Court (JDR), or Circuit Court are closed because sever weather, storms, or other emergencies call 703-246-2377 and an automated message will notify you of any closures.

You can also go online to the Fairfax County Court Emergency Information web page http://fairfaxcountyemergency.wordpress.com/ and see any emergency closures or updates for the Fairfax County courts.

If the Fairfax County court systems are closed because of weather of other emergencies all the cases that were scheduled for that day will be assigned to a new court date and new court time. The new court date will usually be a month later. Anyone, can go online to the Virginia Supreme Court system and see the new date and time online or they can call the clerks office and find out their new court date and time.

Luke J. Nichols

The Law Firm of Nichols and Green pllc

703-383-9222

www.nicholsgreen.com

Posted in Defending Yourself in Traffic Court, Driving on Suspended License, DUI/DWI, Misc. Traffic Tickets, Reckless Driving, Speeding Tickets | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

I was sitting in Fairfax County traffic court today waiting to resolve a motion and I watched three drivers in a row get hammered for reckless driving because they did not have an attorney.

One driver was an older woman who was going 78 mph inĀ  a 55 mph zone and she had a perfect driving record. She walked out with a criminal conviction for reckless driving on her permanent criminal record. I hope she doesn’t need security clearance.

A young man with a good driving record lost his driver’s license for 60 days, got a criminal conviction and a $500 fine for driving 83 mph/55 mph. The poor guy had no idea what was happening when the deputy ordered him to turn over his license. He just sat their stunned.

Another man going 85 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone got a $1000 fine, 12 months of probation, 180 days of suspended jail time, a criminal conviction, and a loss of license.

Every day, dozens of drivers show up to court with reckless driving tickets, thinking they are just traffic tickets and then they find out the hard way how wrong they are. Other people show up to traffic court incorrectly thinking that their years of perfect driving will protect them from a criminal conviction. Always talk to an attorney first, since most attorneys do free consultations, there is no reason not to.

Luke J. Nichols

The law firm of Nichols & Green pllc

www.nicholsgreen.com

(703) 383-9222

lnichols@nicholsgreen.com

Posted in Defending Yourself in Traffic Court, Reckless Driving | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Most reckless driving statutes in Virginia only apply on public roads. 46.2-852 (Reckless Driving general), 46.2-862 (Reckless Driving by speed), and 46.2-853 (Reckless Driving for failure to maintained proper control) all require that the driver commit the reckless act on a public roadway.

These laws do not apply on private property, namely parking lots. However, there is a special statute for reckless driving general on parking lots (46.2-864). There is no reckless driving statute for reckless driving by speed on private property or improper control on private property.

The following forms of reckless driving can be charged on private property. 46.2-855, 46.2-859 (passing a school bus-but only on certain types of private property), 46.2-860 and 46.2-861.

If you have been ticketed for reckless driving on private property, contact an attorney to find out whether the place you were ticketed qualifies as private property under Virginia traffic law and whether your form of reckless driving can be charged on private property.

Luke J. Nichols

The law firm of Nichols & Green pllc

www.nicholsgreen.com

(703) 383-9222

lnichols@nicholsgreen.com

Posted in Reckless Driving | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off