Reckless Driving in Virginia – Dismissal!

Did you know that a charge of reckless driving in Virginia could be dismissed if the officer doesn’t appear in court?

Last week I was in Stafford County General District Court (the traffic court), and the judge called several defendants’ names. She then said that the ticketing officer did not come to court. The only defendant who was actually there had his charge dismissed!

The law behind this is simple: the Commonwealth of Virginia has to prove that you committed the crime that you are charged with. For traffic offenses (like reckless driving), the Commonwealth relies upon the ticketing officer to testify about the charge in question. If the officer doesn’t appear in court on time, the Commonwealth has essentially dropped the charge against you.

For reckless driving in Virginia, you don’t have a choice whether or not you appear in court. If you don’t appear (or hire a traffic attorney to appear for you), you will also face charges of “failure to appear.”

You should definitely appear in court on time for your reckless driving charge. And, if you’re lucky, it might be dismissed for the failure of the officer to appear.

But your best solution is to hire a traffic attorney like myself to defend your Virginia reckless driving ticket.