You want a lawyer’s advice for this? Pay for it.
[Dale Gribble]
I do not recognize the authority of a court that hangs the gold-fringed flag. A flag with gilded edges is the flag of an admirality court. An admirality court signifies a naval court-martial. I cannot be court-martialled twice. That is all.
[/Dale Gribble]
Actually his post should have said, “So, no one who thinks I got away with it and that they didn’t take away my Virginia driving priviledges and so this ticket was totally bogus commented yet, huh?”
Oh and I think few lawyer have commented with basically:
- What you think the scenerio is isn’t reality.
- You fucked yourself over years ago and you need to get out of it.
- Get a lawyer that specializes in this.
Why do I get the feeling that the OP is going to start a new thread soon:
Bogus Arrest by Virginia Cops for Driving on an NC License
You can call the court clerk of wherever your tickets were and they can look up your court costs and fines. I dunno why I’m feeling helpful, but you can also look up your cases, and pay the fines via the web. Then print out your receipts, and take those to the VA DMV (plus your re-instatement fee/tax) and go get your license.
http://epwsgdp1.courts.state.va.us/gdcourts/captchaVerification.do?landing=landing
The parent site is here:
Regards,
-Bouncer-
Hey this may be important so the OP doesn’t write the thread I joked about. If he shows up to the courthouse and there is still a warrant for his arrest, would (or could) the clerk just call over a deputy to arrest him? Maybe he should get the information by phone.
As a Virginian who has had a goodly share of traffic court experience this is most likely what will happen.
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You can throw the statue of limitations out the window. Pay the lady for the 2002 ticket. (I just cleared up s/o’s ticket from 2004 which she hoped would ‘go away.’) Virginia does not forget.
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Get your VA license and take it and your NCDL to court. The “driving without a license” will likely be dismissed.
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Pay the 49/35 fine.
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Save your lawyer money. A lawyer is not going to get you off of any of these charges.
One thing you might possibly avoid is the 49/35 ticket. By pleading Not Guilty you will be able to explain to the judge that it is down hill and that one can be speeding down that hill by simply coasting, and that the cops know that and are taking advantage of the situation unfairly (in your opinion). The key here is to plead not guilty. Do not under any circumstance plead guilty with a reason. Because it won’t matter what reason when you plead guilty.
Finally… what county were you in?
I think he needs to talk to a lawyer, and here’s why:
He doesn’t appear to believe the advice given in this thread is accurate. (He said that he still believes some kind of Statute of Limitations applies to an old ticket or arrest warrant.) He may also believe that the “system” (court & cops) is going to try and screw him over, so he won’t believe them whatever they tell him in court. (He thinks his ticket is “bogus”, for example.)
So he needs to talk to someone he’ll trust to give him the info he needs to get himself out of the legal mess he’s in.
Statute of limitations for speeding ticket in VA.
Answer: there is no Statute of limitations. Probably because (my WAG) is that driving is a privilege, not a right.
Which doesn’t seem possible, given that he would only accept someone as being trustworthy if they agreed with him thta the ticket was ‘bogus’ - and that would not be who I wanted to take to court with me.
He can bring a team of lawyers… it won’t do any good. Seriously… I’m a bona fide card carrying leadfoot… been there done that and have several dozen tee shirts.
Plead not guilty and you might get off, or you might (as one judge did to me) be offered the opportunity to take a fresh driver’s exam (which will cost ~$60 bucks), and be worth five plus points to your license and dropped charges.
The 2002 ticket is too late and the OP will have to pay it. They won’t toss you in jail but they will make payment options if the OP requests.
Reckless advice.
If the driving without a license charge is Va Code § 46.2-301(B), that’s a Class 1 Misdemeanor, the penalty for which is a possible $2,500 fine and a year in jail.
The judge won’t let him stand trial unless he either has a lawyer or engages in a full colloquy to waive his rights to a lawyer, because the possible penalty includes jail.
I assume you’re not going to serve his time for him if the worst happens?
OP, get a lawyer.
Okay to be clear (and I certainly don’t want to be reckless) if the charge is simply ‘driving without possession of a valid drivers license’ then show up to court with valid license that was issued before the date on the ticket the judge will most likely dismiss the charge. However, if the driving without charge is for something other than not having it on your possession then yes it could be more serious. For example, suspended or revoked, etc. The ticket should indicate which code of law was violated.
And this is why he needs a lawyer.
We all think his priviledge to drive was revoked and if “license” means “permission to drive in our Commonwealth” then indeed he was driving without a license. If “license” means “a piece of laminated cardstock showing permission to drive in a state that we have a compact with” then he did not violate the law. Plus there may be a different code for driving on a suspended/revoked license as opposed to driving without a license and he may be clear of that charge. Most of us could probably look at out state’s traffic laws and figure it out but the OP has shown such a fundamental misunderstanding of the law and court process that he shouldn’t trust his own judgement.
Y’all need to stop hatin.
If you try to do this without the assistance of a lawyer, a good thing to bear in mind is that the judge will probably be less tolerant/forgiving if you characterize the charge as “bogus”. Haughtiness is rather frowned upon from the bench. You can plead ignorance and try to come up with a reason for not paying the ticket (remember, there is no SoL on having your driving privilege taken away) and the judge will most likely be fairly lenient if she thinks you are duly chastened by he experience. Do not try to fight this (claim innocence) on your own, you will lose, and you will be punished.
The OP could look at his copy the the Virginia Uniform Summons that he was issued for the offense, and report back on what section of the Va Code is listed there.
Am I the only one that wants to hear what the outcome would be if the OP goes to court unrepresented and declares the ticket and the charge of ‘driving without a license’ bogus?
Locally, we have a fellow that managed to work an unpaid speeding ticket up to driving without a license, then evading arrest. In the end, he was into it for over $5k and 3yo suspended license. I can’t seem to find any of the news articles, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. I’m just curious if the OP can beat our local guy’s record.
BTW, golf carts and farm quads are okay to drive when you’re license has been suspended.
The best thing the OP can do right now is pay the 2002 ticket. Find out who wants the money and how much and pay it.
Then, when the OP goes to court, be remorseful, apologize to the judge and tell the court that the issue has been resolved, and bring all the appropriate paperwork.
Then, possibly, if done correctly, pleading not guilty to the downhill speeding ticket the judge might dismiss the 49/35.
It’s all about the money… if there was a warrant the OP would have already been served.
Only if as mentioned before, he actually says the word “bogus” to the judge.
Was it just one ticket? Sounds like my brother-in-law who managed to get arrested and 7 days in lockup for parking tickets.