Dear jkrech17-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.
The simple answer to your question is YES. The points will follow you
to Florida “IF” you are convicted of the offense and “IF” the
conviction is reported to Florida DMV. You see, the location where you
get the ticket is irrelevant. It’s the “license” itself that bears the
driving history. Wherever you use it you are subject to the rules in
that jurisdiction. So, regardless of where you happened to be at the
time, if you presented your Florida license to a police officer and
received a moving violation, in time, you will likely see derogatory
points appear on that Florida license. This “sharing of information”
between states is called the “Interstate Compact Agreement” program
and most states participate in it, including both Florida and
Virginia. What a non-resident driver does in one state is reported to
the DMV in that driver’s home state by whom he is licensed to drive.
So, YES, the points you accumulate in Virginia will most likely be
reported to Florida and recorded on your Florida driver’s license
history. If you do not appear in court on your Virginia court date,
Florida, in keeping with it’s agreement with Virginia will probably
suspend your license for “failure to appear” (FTA).
As for the probable outcome of your court appearance and whether or
not you should hire an attorney, keep in mind that by policy we cannot
give legal advice in this forum. However, as someone who has spent the
past 20+ years in law enforcement I can tell you that NO ONE (no
matter if they agreed or disagreed with your version of the incident)
can accurately predict what a court will actually do in a given
situation, so any answer you might have gotten here with regard to
this particular part of your question would have been as reliable (or
as unreliable) as the next. My guess is that a consultation with an
attorney, even a Florida attorney, is in order and would definitely be
your best approach to this part of your inquiry.
I hope you find that that my research exceeds your expectations. If
you have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
INFORMATION SOURCES
INTERSTATE COMPACTS
http://www.criminaldefensedenver.com/interstatecompact.htm
DEFINING COMPACTS: JURISDICTIONAL AGREEMENTS
http://www.aamva.org/drivers/mnu_drvCompacts.asp
DRIVER LICENSE COMPACT (DLC)
http://www.aamva.org/drivers/drv_compactsDLC.asp
NONRESIDENT VIOLATOR COMPACT (NRVC)
http://www.aamva.org/drivers/drv_compactsNRVC.asp
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
TRAFFIC COMPACT AGREEMENTS STATES
COMPACT AGREEMENT FLORIDA
COMPACT AGREEMENT VIRGINIA |
Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
07 Aug 2003 17:45 PDT
In my experience a person "can" get a case dismissed prior to going to
court in some instances. In legal jargon this is called a "nolle
prosequi", or "nol pros" for short.
NOLLE PROSEQUI
http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/n061.htm
This usually done at the discretion of the prosecutor (district
attorney). You may be able to make your case in writing to the DA that
you have never had a violation and that returning to Virginia to
appear in court would present an undue financial hardship on you. If
your letter is writtin in such a way that you show contrition (how
sorry you are for breaking the law) and you offer somethign in return
(such as attending an 8 hr defensive driving course in your hometown
and refrain from violating the law for 6 months), the chances are
fairly good that you might convince him to "nol pros" your case. The
nice thing about this (aside from the obvious) is that in the majority
of nol pros'd cases, the violation is "forgiven" after the 6 months
with proof that you have attended the 8 hr class and is usually not
reported to DMV and doesn't hurt your insurance premiums any.
As for appearing in court and not liking what is handed to you and
having the option to obtain a lawyer in order to "get a better deal" -
it doesn't happen. Whatever the court decides will be binding, of
course you can always appeal (requiring an appeal fee or bond, another
return trip to Virginia, probably the guidance of a lawyer, and of
course the risk of getting the same sentence anyway in the end if your
appeal fails).
My NON-LEGAL OPINION BASED SOLELY UPON EXPERIENCE is that your best
bet (in this order) is to:
Try to convince the DA to nol pros the case with a nicely written
letter and documentation. Be brief and polite. Long winded letters
don't get much attention. Keep in mind that the prosecutor does not
"hear" cases through the mail so too many details could do more harm
than good. You don't HAVE to apoplogize for something you feel you
didn't do but I'll give you a friendly heads-up here: Guilty or not,
it would make more of an impact if you expressed how unfortunate the
whole situation is and how you are sorry to have been the source
of...blah, blah, blah - you know what I mean? This can go a long way
toward showing remorse if you are so inclined.
~or~
Appear in court and appeal to the court for leniency with your
agreement to attend the course and refrain from violating the law -
hoping to accomplish the same thing, but in person.
~or~
Appaar in court with a lawyer and hope he can help you win the case
~or~
Appear in court and plead guilty and take your lumps
~or~
Don't appear in court, get a suspended license and have a bench
warrant issued for your arrest for failure to appear.
Regards;
tutuzdad-ga
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