Building a Defense For a Reckless Driving By Accident Case in Newport News

If you are charged with reckless driving by accident you are facing a criminal misdemeanor that could potentially stay on your criminal record forever. As a result it is important you take your case as seriously as possible and put forth the strongest defense possible for your case. Below, a Newport News reckless driving by accident lawyer discusses what goes into building a defense for these types of charges and what an attorney can do to help. To learn more call and schedule a consultation today.

What Goes In To Building a Defense For Reckless Driving By Accident Charges?

Defending a reckless driving by accident charge is a little bit different than it would be in a civil accident case. For instance, during a civil accident case both of the people that were involved are likely going to be present to testify because they’re on opposing sides. So, if the collision occurred between two different drivers, both drivers will be there in court.

In a criminal case, it’s the government, not the other driver, that’s charging the person. As a result of this, only the driver charged is generally required to be there, unless the officer subpoena’s the other driver. This also means that the amount of evidence tends to be a lot less in depth than it would be in civil accident cases. Generally, the defense entails either providing an ultimate explanation for the accident caused other than that the driver was recklessly operating their vehicle. Sometimes the defense is basically just saying that the officer doesn’t have enough evidence and they don’t really say much more than that.

Sometimes with these cases, case law comes in to play to prove that whatever the officer’s alleging occurred doesn’t amount to breaking the law. The overall defense can depend on the specifics of the case.

How Can An Attorney Help You With This Type of Case?

Your attorney can help you sort through all of the facts and determine if there is any evidence that suggests that you’re guilty aside from just the fact that an accident occurred. Your attorney can help you understand what it is the officer needs to prove and can explain the law that’s on your side or against you. This way you can both work together to figure out what the best strategy is going to be on your court date and build the strongest defense possible given your specific set of circumstances.

Is Reckless By Accident Treated Differently Than Reckless By Speed in Court?

Reckless driving by accident is different from reckless driving by speed in court because of the type of evidence that’s going to be presented. They can be really similar, especially if the accident was due to excessive speeding, but generally the officer will not have witnessed the accident occur, so, their testimony can only provide but so much evidence for who was at fault.

In speeding cases, almost all of the evidence comes directly from the officer’s firsthand witnessing of the event. In accident reckless, the evidence comes from all over the place. There will sometimes be multiple witnesses or photographs of the scene. There will be different versions of what happened based on who the version comes from, whether it was the driver alleged to be at fault, or the victim of the accident, or someone who happened to be on the side of the street.