LAWYER RECOMMENDATION IN THE SALEM CITY, VA. AREA

that is such crap...85 is wreckless...


Im sure someone will be able to help your friend out.

 

Doesn't sound good.
Reckless driving is as serious as a DUI arrest up here in Northern Virginia.
IMHO this type of speeding violation on an open, major interstate highway should not require a personal appearance in court.

General info:
Salem City is near Exit 137 & 140 on Interstate 81.
The city's website is: http://www.ci.salem.va.us/about/about.html

I found a list of attorneys near Salem City on this website:
http://www.statelawyers.com/Cities/City_Detail.cfm/CityID:7835
I searched on "DUI/DWI" for type of attorneys since I didn't see any better search choice.

Here are some of the contact info listings for 2 of those attorneys.

Attorney: H. Morgan Griffith
Firm: H. Morgan Griffith
Address: 113 East Main Street, Salem, Virginia 24153
Phone: 540-389-4498
Areas of Practice: Criminal Law, DUI/DWI, Personal Injury, Traffic Violations

Attorney: C. Gregory Phillips or Charles B. Phillips
Firm: Phillips and Phillips
Address: 111 East Clay Street, Salem, Virginia 24153
Phone: 540-389-5439
Areas of Practice: Child Custody & Visitation, Criminal Law, Divorce, DUI/DWI, Family Law, Juvenile Law, Personal Injury , Traffic Violations, Wrongful Death

Good luck.

 

Out of state...at least he is not subject to the effing "fees" that our state government has levied on it's own citizens...yah, go Kaine and VA legislature...jes lookin' after the subjects..

 

Va is tough on reckless driving. Your friend was maybe doing 85 while everyone around him was doing 75. Have him get a lawyer, plead to 19 over the speed limit, pay the lawyer, pay the fines.

Va sucks. Its a revenue thing. It used to be that EVERY MORNING, I would get passed on 295 by the same cop at the same time. I was doing 70 and he had to be doing at least 90. I'm cool with a cop being allowed to speed a bit. No problem here. But blowing by traffic with no lights every morning at the exact same time? Come on.

 

Virginia sucks! As far as the speeding police officers goes.... well I guess it's just a perk of the job. Too bad that most only see the one or two jackasses out there doing stuff like that and don't focus on the majority who follow the rules like the rest of us.

Wish your friend the best of luck Bruce. They tend to throw the book at you in Virginia.

 

Hey Everybody!! Happy New Year to everybody!!

Thanks to BRUCE for starting this thread!!

Thanks to TOGGIE for the info he posted !!


I am the friend who got pinched for 85 in a 60 in Salem, VA on highway 81. Cop was ahead of me in an unmarked silver Dodge Charger, and was driving about 45 mph in a weaving manner (I thought as I closed in on him that he was a drunk driver. Not an uncommon thing on the roads at 3:45 am...). Anyhoo, cop wrote me up for 85 in a 60, which is deemed reckless driving (speed), and I have a mandatory court appearance on January 25 at 9:00 am. I'm still looking for an attorney, so if anyone knows a kick-ass traffic attorney in the Roanoke area, please let me know!! Salem isn't too far from Roanoke, but it's a 2 1/2 hour drive from Charlotte so if I could avoid making that trip, I'd be quite happy!!

I also got written up for "illegal radar detector" which is a $40 fine, but there is a $51 processing fee, and a $10 local fee. That all adds up to a $101.00 fine for a radar detector, which I stated was not in use (unplugged ), but the cop didn't give that any merit. I'm also gonna fight this ticket, but I doubt I'll win.

Stay tuned to the same bat channel for the results in a few weeks fellas!! And wish me luck!!!

 

From personal experainace, although about ten years old experiance, going over 80 mph or 20 over the speed limit in Virginia is an automatic reckless charge. Most judges hate that fact. I got pulled for 86 in a 65 headed south about a quarter mile before the VA/NC stateline on I-95 . Went to court without a lawyer, the judge asked the officer what the weather was like and if the reckless was due strictly to the speed I was driving or if I was driving in an otherwise reckless manner. The officer told him it was strictly due to the speed, that there were no other cars around and that I was not otherwise driving unsafely, and that it was a clear night. The Judge knocked the speed down to 79mph for the record, and adjusted the court fee to give me the same fine that 21 over would have cost without a reckless attached. I thanked him for his leniency and made a sightseeing trip out of my visit to southern Virginia, the Lipton Tea plant gives free samples and so does the cotton gin down there in Great Dismal Swamp.

You need to have the detector "put away" in Virginia to avoid the ticket. Might be able to fight it though if the cop has no proof it was not plugged in.

Are you trying to get out of the ticket all together or just avoid the larger fine and points that come with a reckless on your record? I see no way of you getting out of the court appearance and I don't see you getting totally out of the ticket this unless the cop does not show up to court. The continuance game might work though, athough the lawyer fees for them showing up requesting the continuance might be costlier in the short run than the tickets.
Good Luck in court!

 

Try calling Beverly Davis (Bev for short) of Davis and Davis in Radford Va. which is down the road from Salem county. I do not have a number as I am actually in another court in Va. as I type this. Bev and I went to law school together, and he has handled some major stuff in the area and is a mover and shaker out in that part of the state. He got that Va. Tech quarterback off those rape charges a few years ago. He may be able to keep you from coming and the charges reduced if you can get your NC driving record sent to him. That's the way we do it with out of staters in this area. good luck

 

Very cool!!! Thanks for the info !!! I will look up Beverly Davis tomorrow and put a call in to his office. I like hearing that he has a good chance of getting this ticket resolved!!

My NC license is 100% clean, sort of . I got a ticket in July for 81 in a 55, but hired an attorney who got it knocked down to "improper equipment" (a non moving violation, and no record of it on my license ). Prior to that, I had gone over 4 1/2 years without a ticket . So, in essence, my license is 100% clean !!

I'll let you know how it goes.... And THANKS AGAIN !!!

 

you can probably just google "davis and davis radford" By the way, his old man was a Judge and wrote the book on holdem poker years back in the 80's before all this poker contest trash was considered a sport. The book may still be in print. Bev's car in law school had HOLDEM as a personalized plate because his dad seemed to win a new car every other weekend

 

**** UPDATE ****


1st off - Many HUGE THANKS to FOU for his recommendation of Beverly Davis!! Thanks FOU !!!!

I spoke with Bev Davis on Friday, and he told me that he knew an attorney in Salem who could handle the case, and that he would fax over my info to that attorney (Chris Clemens of Clemens & Clemens). Well, I spoke with Chris Clemens a few hours ago, and he is quite certain that he can get the reckless driving charge dropped, but I will incur a ticket for 74 in a 60 which is only speeding and a fine (no points!! WOO-HOO!!). It also looks like I am going to have to pay the radar detector ticket as well ($40 fine + $51 processing fee (that is a total flat fee for any & all charges) + $10 local fees), not worth fighting it because I couldn't win . So, tomorrow I will send Mr. Clemens (via Fed-Ex ) a check for $750 as well as the summons and the ticket. I then have to find a garage that will do up a "speedometer calibration check" and find that my speedometer was "off its proper calibration " and fax that paperwork up to Mr. Clemens. Then I should be in the clear .... hopefully .... Keep your fingers crossed for me fellas, I appreciate it !!!

Thanks again FOU !!!!

 

Chris and I were in school together as well. He is an all around great guy. He was the quarterback on our intra-mural football team that won the championship. I think I am correct in remembering that he has a really hot wife too. Good luck. If you ever get pinched in central Va. give me a buzz. I really do mostly murders, rapes, drugs, and white collar, but traffic is easy

 

Yeah, Chris mentioned that he went to school with Bev Davis, and I asked him if he knew you by your screen name, fou, or if he knew anyone who had a red 575 Maranello because the three of you were in school together. He said he'd look it up in the yearbook !! He seemed like a great guy over the phone and actually knows the trooper who pinched me, so that's definitely a good thing !!!

Hopefully I won't get pinched in VA ever again!!! But if I do, I'll call ya up!!! Thanks again!!! I sincerely appreciate the hookup !!!!

You da man !!!!

 

Yea, last time I saw Chris was probably almost 20 years ago. I think I had a Saab 99 back then.