Legal Question in Traffic Law in Florida

Re: Reckless Driving and Speeding

Reckless Driving is a criminal offense, so I would recommend that you and your son consult with an experienced Criminal Attorney. The Statute Number for this offense is 316.092 which states that this offense is punishable by up to 90 days in Jail and up to a $500 fine for the first offense. If you would like me to review the charging affidavit in detail, my office offers free consultations.

Re: Reckless Driving and Speeding

Hello: I just read your question and saw an atty. has provided an answer. I can supplement that ans. Also, the post does not state what city you live in, so another response won't hurt!

One thing I believe in is making sure clients know how the system works and what is going to likely happen in their case. As such, the first time in court is arraignment. The court tells the defendant the charge and def. enters a plea of not guilty or pleads no contest or guilty. We often plead not guilty and ask the judge to pass the case for a pre-trial. A pre-trial is a status update for the court. In Northeast Fla., Judges will pass cases for a couple of weeks or a month for a few pre-trials. We use this time to look into the case, file any motions and negotiate with the State atty. After a while, the court sets the case for a trial.

One may plead to the charge at arraignment if he/she doesn't think they can win. Also, the State usually makes a fairly reasonable offer at arraign. to encourage the def, to plea early and get a case off the calendar. This is especially true with fairly minor crimes (such as reckless driving).

As to the substance of the charge, the State and the court will not get very worked up over this charge. A big factor in the disposition of this is the def.'s prior record. If he has no priors, he wil get a reas. offer to plead to. You can ask the State to recommend a WITHHOLD OF ADJUDICATION OF GUILT and for def. to pay court costs. A withhold means it is not a conviction which is important for filling out future applications. One usually can get a withhold on a first time in the system.

The State may offer as a sentence that def. attend driving school, perhaps being placed on probation. He may get a slight lecture from the judge. Again, this is a minor charge and he will come out of this ok. 'Hope this helps. If my office can be of assistance on this or others matters in the future, please contact me. Tom Rosenblum