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Out of State Drivers Facing Newport News Reckless Driving Charges

A Newport News reckless driving charge can have a very significant impact on an out of state driver. Because it is a criminal charge, the out of state driver will still be required to come back to Newport News and be present in court or they will have to make arrangements to appear regardless of their out of state status. If you are an out of state driver and you have been charged, a reckless driving lawyer in Newport News is able to assist with all legal needs.

An out of state driver will be treated the same way as a local driver would be regardless of whether they were aware of Virginia’s reckless driving laws or not. The conviction, if they are found guilty, will then be forwarded to their home state, which has the option of imposing its own penalties. So it is possible for an out of state driver to actually be charged with the same offense in two different ways.

Do Out of State Drivers Need to Appear in Court?

Out of state drivers are still required to appear in court for the reckless driving charges. In very rare circumstances it may be possible for an attorney to appear in your place, as discussed below. Out of state driver’s licenses will be impacted by Newport News reckless driving charges by whatever consequences their home state decides to impose on it.

Then, your home state will make a determination on how they are going to treat that conviction. They might put the conviction on your record, but not assess any type of demerit points against your driver’s license. Some states however will decide to do that.

Can An Attorney Appear in Your Place for a Reckless Driving Court Date?

Sometimes, for reckless driving charges that are very close to being speeding, such as that someone was going 21 miles per hour over the speed limit instead of 20, then rarely but occasionally the court will allow the defendant to have an attorney appear for them instead. However, for the most part it is not possible for attorneys to appear for out of state driver charged with reckless driving.

Can You Prepay a Ticket for Reckless Driving in Newport News?

This is not a possibility because reckless driving is not just a traffic violation, which would be pre-payable. It is a criminal violation, which carries a requirement of a court appearance along with harsher consequences than a simple traffic infraction.

Even if it were possible to just pre-pay the ticket to get it over with, it would still not a good idea because this would be in essence admitting guilt to a criminal offense. Criminal offenses are very serious, especially class 1 misdemeanors, which is the most serious class of misdemeanors and it can have a negative impact on somebody’s future for the rest of their lives. For this reason, it is better to go and attempt to fight the ticket rather than just throwing away the fight and admitting guilt.

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