Virginia Reckless Driving Cases Can Be Complex, Only an Experienced Fairfax & Northern Virginia Reckless Driving and Traffic Defense Attorney Can Help
It is important to understand that if you have been issued a summons or arrested for reckless driving in Fairfax County or Northern Virginia, you should meet with an experienced reckless driving and traffic defense lawyer to review the facts and circumstances of your case. Based upon the facts of your case, an experienced Virginia reckless driving attorney at Manikas Law LLC will examine the technical, factual, and legal issues that might affect your Virginia reckless driving case.
At Manikas Law LLC, former Northern Virginia prosecutor Kyle G. Manikas will look for weaknesses in your reckless driving case. As we prepare for your hearing in Fairfax County General District Court or Circuit Court, or other city, town, or county court in Northern Virginia, we will be ready to present all legal and factual arguments to the prosecutor (Commonwealth’s Attorney). If necessary, we will take the case to a judge or jury. Depending upon the facts, an attorney at Manikas Law LLC may be able to persuade the prosecutor to reduce the charges or minimize the amount of fines, license suspension or jail time. If this proves unsuccessful, we will be ready to go to trial. The following defense information is of a fairly technical nature. If you are looking for more general information about reckless driving, including Frequently Asked Questions and Reckless Driving Penalties and Punishments, please visit our main Reckless Driving page.
Issues To Examine In Every Virginia Reckless Driving Case
This section is not intended to provide a comprehensive list of every issue or defense that can or should be explored in defending a reckless driving case. Every case is different and has different facts. Therefore, there is no all inclusive list of defenses to “beat” a reckless driving charge. Any good Fairfax and Northern Virginia reckless driving and traffic defense attorney must be on the lookout for unique defense based upon the particular circumstances of each case.
- The Radar or Laser Unit Must be Tested to Ensure its Accuracy BOTH before AND After the Officer’s shift
There are reported decisions from the Virginia Court of Appeals that absolutely require this be done and that the prosecutor establish this fact during the government’s case in chief.
- Calibration – Statutory Compliance Issues
In any case in which speed is at issue, the prosecutor has to offer some proof of the defendant’s speed. While in theory they could offer the officer’s visual estimation of the defendant’s speed, this will rarely be enough to sustain the government's burden at the beyond a reasonable doubt standard. Instead, the prosecutor must officer a calibration certificate for the radar or laser unit used to determine the defendant’s speed. Virginia Code Section 46.2-882, in part, governs the admissibility of such certificates. A calibration certificate complies with this code section if: (1) it is an original or “true copy” (see below); (2) it shows when and by whom it was made; and (3) the testing certified to was conducted within the 6 months prior to the date of the offense. These are issues that should be examined in every reckless driving case. Failure to comply with each of the foregoing requirements means the officer’s calibration is not admissible. As a result, he may not be unable to prove what speed you were travelling at. Even if the certificate of calibration complies with these requirements, it may still be inadmissible for other technical reasons.
- Calibration – Issues as to the Form of the Calibration
There are many issues that can and do arise within this category. Let me give you an example. You probably noticed the reference to “true copy” in number 2 above. What this means is that if the calibration is a copy of the original, it must be a “true copy.” This seems simple enough on its face, but the phrase “true copy” is actually a term of art that is defined by the Virginia Code. If you look this portion of the Virginia Code, you will see a variety of documents that constitute a true copy. One document that cannot be a true copy is a copy made by a police department of an original document that the department itself did not create. This is important because certain police departments do not self-calibrate. They hire outside, private companies to calibrate their radar and laser machines. They receive a small number of originals of the calibration – far too few to be given to all the officers who use those units and need a calibration to take to court. Therefore, the department makes photocopies of the calibrations and gives the photocopies to the officers to take to court. While they attempt to certify the copies, the fact that the copies are of a document the department itself did not create means that the photocopy is not a true copy under the statute. Therefore, with a properly articulated objection, this type of calibration should not come into evidence. This is but one example of calibration issues that can arise. There is no comprehensive list of such potential problems. Instead, the calibration should be examined in every case by a Fairfax and Northern Virginia traffic defense attorney experienced in dealing with Virginia reckless rriving cases.
- Issues with Accuracy or Range of Accuracy
Many times lawyers ask for the calibration sheet because they feel they should, but they never actually examine (or do not understand) what it actually says. Often times, the calibration sheet will show that the officer’s speedometer (in a PACE case) is off by one or two miles per hour. Moreover, certain RADAR calibrations state that they are only accurate within one or two miles per hour. That means the speed stated on your ticket is overstated, or possibly overstated, by one or two miles per hour. This may not mean much if you are far in excess of any statutory limit; but, for example, if you are recorded at 75 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone, you will be charged with reckless driving under Va. Code 46.2-862 because you are driving at least 20 miles per hour over the limit. However, if the calibration is off by just 1 mile per hour, that may get you out of the criminal reckless driving grade offense and into a simple speeding charge, which is a much stronger position to begin negotiating from.
- Improper PACE
The term “PACE” refers to a procedure police officers use to determine the speed of a vehicle without using a radar or laser unit. An officer initiates a PACE of another vehicle by either positioning himself directly behind the other vehicle or slightly in back of the vehicle in the second lane over. The officer then attempts to keep himself equidistant from the other vehicle, neither gaining nor losing ground. As the officer does this, he looks at his speedometer to determine the speed of the other vehicle. The officer must have a properly calibrated speedometer for this method to be admissible in court. This is probably the procedure people charged with reckless driving find most controversial. Most people are shocked to learn that a PACE is a very commonly used, and regularly accepted, method of determining speed in court. However, it is also fertile ground for cross-examination in a reckless driving case.
- Heavy Traffic and User Error
This is an issue that pertains to the relevancy of the result of the radar or laser unit. Vehicles often group together as they travel on a highway. On a fairly regular basis, particularly with laser units, officers position themselves at a great distance from the vehicles being targeted so as to ensure that they are not seen. As a prosecutor, I would find that it was not uncommon for officers to be over 1000 feet away when they operated their laser (LIDAR) units. This is relevant because just a slight movement in the LIDAR unit by the officer can result in a 10 to 20 foot difference in a target location that is 1000 feet way. This could very easily mean that a result from the wrong car was obtained.
- Improperly Posted Signs
In order to be convicted of a form of reckless driving that is based on violating the speed limit, you must have had notice of the speed limited you are charged with violating. This does not mean actual notice (i.e., that you actually knew what it was), but objective or constructive notice. That is, a reasonable person driving on that roadway, in light of the signs that were posted, would have known what the speed limit was. The prosecutor shows this by asking the officer whether the speed limit was posted and having him describe the signage. To the extent that there are issues with the signage, it is very important to take photographs and document this immediately as signs are often changed, trees and bushes cut back, lights repaired, etc.
- Problems with the Officer’s Memory
Some officers write hundreds of speeding and reckless driving tickets each year. Many times, they forget the facts of a particular case. Of course, if you were argumentative or belligerent, you can be sure they made extra notes on your case and will not forget. However, for those that were cooperative and polite, they may be one of the cases for which the officer cannot remember the details. If this is this case, it can result in a more favorable outcome for you.
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Melendez-Diaz
In mid 2009, in a 5-4 ruling in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, the United States Supreme Court determined that prosecutors are responsible for having crime lab experts on hand for trials so that the defense can challenge their findings. While the case itself did not deal with reckless driving or traffic matters, the legal principle at issue was whether the state could use affidavits as part of the evidence at trial without having the author of the affidavit appear as a live witness at trial. Attorneys have sought to extend this ruling to calibration certificates, as they are often completed and attested to by a person other than the officer that appears at trial. To date, some judges have ruled that the decision does not apply to calibration certificates and others have held that it does. Where it has been held to apply, the certificate is excluded from evidence. Opinions on the applicability and circumstances under which this ruling applies will undoubtedly continue to evolve and may be of use in your case
At Manikas Law LLC, former prosecutor Kyle G. Manikas prosecuted thousands of reckless driving cases. Mr. Manikas would be happy to speak with your about your reckless driving charge in Fairfax County or Northern Virginia. To learn more about reckless driving, FAQs, and penalties associated with reckless driving in Fairfax and other counties in Northern Virginia, visit our main Reckless Driving page, and our FAQs page.
Schedule a Free Consultation Today
To speak with a Fairfax and Northern Virginia reckless driving and traffic defense lawyer about your reckless driving charge, contact Kyle G. Manikas at Manikas Law LLC by calling 703-873-7473, or contact us by e-mail. For toll-free assistance, call 888-503-8075. We are located in Fairfax, Virginia.
