The VLW Blog

In what appears to be the first ruling in Hampton Roads on civil remedial fees, Virginia Beach General District Judge Calvin Depew Jr. has found them to be constitutional.
The Virginian-Pilot reports that Depew heard arguments Friday in a misdemeanor aggressive driving case and issued an opinion late Tuesday.
General district judges in Hanover and Henrico counties […]

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A second circuit judge has upheld the constitutionality of Virginia’s civil remedial fees.
Westmoreland Circuit Judge George Mason III reversed last week a ruling by Hanover General District Judge Peter L. Trible that the fees violate the Virginia and U.S. constitutions’ guarantee of equal protection under the law.
Mason heard the case after Hanover Circuit Judge John […]

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Northern Virginia will have to wait a while longer for a ruling on the constitutionality of the state’s civil remedial fees.
Thaddeus Furlong, an attorney for a Centreveille man charged with reckless driving for traveling 75 mph in a 55 mph zone, had challenged the statute.
However, Arlington General District Judge Thomas J. Kelly Jr. ruled on […]

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A second Virginia Circuit Court judge was asked today to overrule a lower court decision holding the state’s civil remedial fees unconstitutional.
Richmond Circuit Judge Walter W. Stout III told traffic defense attorney G. Barton Chucker and Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring at the end of a 30-minute hearing, “I’m not going to give you an […]

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Two judicial proceedings were conducted at the same time today. In one, a defendant pleaded guilty to a felony with a maximum punishment of five years, and the government will be asking for a fifth of that.
In the other, high-powered lawyers argued about the constitutionality of Virginia’s $3 billion transportation plan, which includes projects, taxes […]

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The controversy over Virginia’s new “civil remedial fees” for “abusive drivers” has generated a lot of ink in the last two months.
The Washington Post has made the brouhaha a little personal for the commonwealth’s lawmakers.
Quite a few public officials, from Gov. Tim Kaine to Speaker Bill Howell to other members of the General […]

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Attorneys for an 81-year-old woman filed suit today in Roanoke County Circuit Court to block enforcement of Virginia’s civil remedial fees.
The attorneys—John P. Fishwick Jr. and John E. Lichtenstein of Roanoke and Charles Van Hoback of Salem—contend that Virginia Code § 46.2-206.1 violates the U.S. Constitution by applying to Virginia residents but excluding non-residents […]

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In Commonwealth v. Price, an opinion released this afternoon, Henrico County Circuit Judge L.A. Harris Jr. upheld the civil remedial fees for “dangerous drivers” under Virginia Code § 46.2-206.1.
Defendant Anthony O. Price argued the fees are unconstitutional, in that they are levied against Virginia drivers, but not against drivers from other states traveling through Virginia […]

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The next battleground for the fight over the commonwealth’s new scheme of “civil remedial fees” for “abusive drivers” will be Arlington.
Maybe.
Charles Mason, a Navy veteran, has been charged with driving 75 mph in a 55 mph zone. He could be hit for a fee of $1,050 if convicted. He is scheduled to appear […]

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The first circuit judge to consider the constitutionality of Virginia’s civil remedial fees said he hopes to rule next week.
Henrico Judge L.A. Harris Jr. heard brief arguments today from prosecutor Duncan P. Reid and from defense attorney Craig S. Cooley, who is representing Anthony O. Price along with Esther J. Windmueller.
General District Judge Archer L. […]

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