Virginia Prince William County DUI Reckless Driving Speeding Lawyers Attorneys

by

Atchuthan Sriskandarajah

Charles v. Commonwealth of Virginia

Facts:

Charles was convicted in the Circuit Court of Prince William County of DUI in violation of Va. Code Ann. 18.2-266. He had previously pled guilty to speeding in violation of Va. Code Ann. 46.2-870. Both charges arose from the same course of driving. He asserted that the DUI conviction was barred by Va. Code Ann. 19.2-294.1 because the speeding conviction constituted a conviction for reckless driving.

Issue:

Whether the DUI prosecution and conviction were barred by the speeding conviction because, under Code 46.2-862, the speeding conviction constituted a conviction for reckless driving?

Discussion:

The Court held that

reckless driving

and speeding were separate and distinct offenses. If the legislature had intended to foreclose a person from being convicted for both DUI and another offense that might also constitute reckless driving, as argued by defendant, it would have expressed that intent in the language of Va. Code Ann. 19.2-294.1. Under the express provisions of 19.2-294.1, only a conviction for reckless driving barred a prosecution for DUI. A conviction for speeding, even if premised on an underlying act that may have warranted a conviction for reckless driving, did not implicate the bar of the statute. Defendant was charged and convicted for speeding under a town ordinance incorporating Va. Code Ann. 46.2-870. He was not convicted of

reckless driving

. Although the Commonwealth could have prosecuted defendant for reckless driving for that offense, it chose instead to prosecute him for the offense of speeding.

Disclaimer:

These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm s unofficial views of the Justices opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content

Atchuthan Sriskandarajah is a Virginia lawyer and owner of the SRIS Law Group. The SRIS Law Group has offices in

Virginia

, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina & California. The firm handles criminal/traffic defense, family law, immigration & bankruptcy cases.

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