In the next few weeks, a Judge in Arlington County will be asked to join colleagues from Richmond and Henrico in declaring Virginia’s abuser fees unconstiutional:
A U.S. Navy veteran has filed what lawyers say is the first legal challenge in Northern Virginia to the state’s new so-called abusive driver fees.
Charles Mason was in full uniform and en route to weekend drill duty with the Navy Reserve when he was stopped on northbound Interstate 395 near the Pentagon on July 8, his lawyer said yesterday. Ticketed for driving 75 mph in a 55 mph zone, Mason, of Centreville, will owe $1,050 if convicted of reckless driving.
In a motion filed Tuesday in Arlington County General District Court, Mason is seeking a ruling that the new fees are unconstitutional. Proponents of the fees have argued that they apply to only the worst of the state’s drivers. Mason’s attorney disagrees.
“This guy is right out of central casting. He’s a veteran, in uniform, with a perfect driving record,” said Kyle M. Courtnall, the attorney. “Obviously a lot of people are upset about this law and want to challenge it, but you have to wait for the right guy to come along.”
Although Courtnall said Mason’s driving record is spotless, court records show that Mason was issued a speeding ticket last year in Annandale and paid a $90 fine. Reached later, Courtnall said Mason is still the perfect person to challenge the law. Mason said, “I wouldn’t say my driving record is perfect, but I’m hardly a menace on the road.”
The motion further escalates the battle over the fees, which took effect July 1 and have triggered public outrage. More than 170,000 people have signed online petitions opposing the fees, which range from $750 to $3,000 for serious traffic offenses, and a growing number of legislators have called for repealing them. The fees were enacted to help finance a massive transportation bill and are expected to raise $65 million a year.
One of the bill’s chief proponents, though, says that Mason and his lawyer are blowing smoke:
Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax), who has supported the fees, said Mason’s attorneys are “grandstanding, just trying to get their names in the paper” because a judge would probably end up reducing Mason’s charge to improper driving, a minor ticket that does not carry the fees.
“There has not been a single person in Virginia, in my 19 years of practicing law, who had a 75 in a 55 zone with a perfect driving record who ever got convicted of reckless driving,” said Albo, a former traffic court prosecutor who now defends clients in traffic court. Albo has drafted legislation to expand the law to out-of-state drivers when the legislature convenes in January.
Albo may or may not be right that Mason isn’t really at risk of being convicted of reckless driving, but that misses the point. The problem is with the fact the fees are not being applied equally, and, based on the highlighted portion above, it would seem Albo recognizes that as well.
August 9th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
It is interesting that the reckless drivers lobby is alive, well, and active.
Finally, our state government attempts to do somethiung about the reckless endangerment driving jerks on the highway, even though the new law doesn’t go far enough. Fines should be much higher then $1,000, driving licenses should be revoked, automobiles should be confiscated, and prison terms should be applied.
And what happens? Lawyers such as Kyle Courtnall, seeking to fatten their sorry reputations, seek to overturn a good law. His client, Charles Mason, should be penalized to the full extent of the new law, his “from central casting” image notwithstanding. Maybe that will set an example that will help return our highways to the careful and safe motorists.
Philip M. John
Arlington, VA
August 9th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Absolutely ridiculous. Whenever the government can’t find a way to pay for things they up the fees on citizens. The driving law says nothing about where the offense occurred. Did this happen in a school zone? Was he going 40 in a 20? Was it on the highway in the middle of nowhere? What was the traffic like at the time, were there many other drivers around, what was the risk to the general public?
August 14th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Mr. Whitmyer hits the nail on the head. State legislators didn’t want to risk voters’ ire by raising taxes for highway improvements. So, they used a technique that is becoming ever more popular: create a class of evildoers (”driving jerks” as Mr. John calls them), demonize them, and then levy unfair fines on them. This is the sort of approach I would expect from a Third World country.
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:23 pm
I drove to West Virginia resently, when I passed the border I felt like I was getting out of old East Germany, escaping the communist state. Felt represted when I came back.
September 13th, 2007 at 1:20 am
OK so we all should have known how this was going to end…man gets charged with a crime, man hires pitbulls, an gets off (when others who cannot hire high price moutpieces get hammered by unfair fees).
The only thing the ending of this saga proves is that in Virginia you can hire people and bulldoze your way through the courts.
If you drive like a moron on the roads, pay your dues and be held accountable. Law abiding people do not expect the Johnny Cochrans and Thaddeus Furlongs of the world to save them - they take responsibility!
Furlong, it seems is a former police officer from Fairfax County working now for a team of police officers and prosecutors turned high price attorneys. What a world we live in when those who are taught to uphold the laws use their knowledge and experience to navigate guilty people around a system laden with cracks and loopholes! A disgrace to justice and fairness.