A businesswoman in her mid-40s was recently charged not once, but twice, with failure to obey a traffic sign – in the same location. Because she has teenaged children insured on her policy, she was concerned that her charges would greatly impact their auto premiums or potentially cause them to lose coverage. She was also worried because she had prior speeding tickets and a prior out-of-state reckless driving charge. She reached out to Copenhaver, Ellett & Derrico for our well-known experience in handling everything from traffic infractions to federal indictment charges.
The intersection where our client was charged is quirky. Where it should require merely a yield, it requires a full stop. The first time our client was cited, she had yielded through the intersection; the second time, she had been sure it was a yellow light and yielded once again. We attended one court date in Roanoke City General District Court to defend our client, arguing that there were no aggravations from the offense like accidents, swerving, or traffic disruption. Our client had also proactively taken the driver improvement course prior to the court date. We also argued that our client is a dedicated Roanoke citizen who volunteers and gives back to the community.
The Commonwealth agreed to nolle prosse (not prosecute) the first citation. The second charge was taken under advisement for six months with credit to our client for completing the driver improvement class. At the end of the six months, our client’s second failure to obey traffic sign citation will be dismissed so long as she doesn’t have any new moving violations charged before then.
Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.