Legal Question in Traffic Law in Virginia

prayer for judgement in va

ok so here is the deal, i was clocked at 80 in a 65, i swore to my self i wassent going that fast, so i had my spedo checked, the results were (where a=actual, s=spedometer reading) a20,s19-a45,s43-a65,s62 and a75,s71 so at around a80 i thought i was doing s74 if the trend contues.

so i was going to pleade guilty to 8 or nine over and then prhaps see about prayer for judgement to knock that last one down for inshurance records,

my driving record is pretty clean, only other thing on there is a failure to yeild on a lef hand turn, that was an accident, and perhaps a smal fender bender when i was 15- i am almost 20 now, i was on my permit then,

so anway i was wondering if that was a good plan, im open to new ideas i have the spedometer certificate with noteary stamp.

so any help would be greatley apreicated, i am willing to take new approach if better,

and am i correct in thinking that 1-9 is one point 10-19 is two and 20+ is reckless,,

also my ticket says ''speeding 80/65 12'' what is that 12.. am i 15 over or 12 any clairfacation would be marviolus.. thanks


Asked on 3/24/05, 5:33 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathon Moseley Jonathon A. Moseley

Re: prayer for judgement in va

Pleading to ANYTHING less than 80 would be a good idea, because going 80 is a CRIME -- punishable by 1 year in jail. Your # 1 concern should not be the number of points but to make sure you are not charged or convicted of "reckless driving."

If necessary to ensure that you are not charged wtih "reckless driving" you should plead to 79 miles per hour.

You SHOULD bring in very convincing, hard evidence of the malfunction of your speedometer.

However, be careful that this discussion does not sound like you are ADMITTING to going 80.

You should start by disputing that you were going 80. You have a bit of a problem because if you use the evidence that your speedometer is wrong, it sounds like you are ADMITTING that you were in fact going 80, but didn't realize it at the time.

So I would go to the prosecutor BEFORE court starts, get there very eary and look for him and tell the judge you want to talk to the prosecutor if you fail to find him before court. Then dispute the 80 and plead to anything he will accept less than that. Then if you have to go to a whole trial, THEN whip out your evidence that the speedometer was malfunctioning.

Your good driving record will be VERY helpful in this. Make sure you get an official copy from the DMV and bring it with you to court. Show it to the prosecutor before court starts, and also show it to the judge.

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Answered on 3/25/05, 9:27 am


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