Loudoun County Reckless Driving Speeding Virginia 46.2-862 Eighty Mile Per Hour 46.2-869 Improper Driving

Loudoun County Reckless Driving Speeding Virginia 46.2-862 Eighty Mile Per Hour 46.2-869 Improper Driving

DORIS S. CHIBIKOM v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA

54 Va. App. 422

August 4, 2009, Decided

A jury in the Circuit Court of Loudoun County (Virginia) convicted defendant of reckless driving by speed, in violation of Va. Code Ann. 46.2-862. Defendant argued that the trial court erred in denying her proposed jury instruction that improper driving, an offense set forth in Va. Code Ann. 46.2-869, was a lesser-included offense of reckless driving by speed.

Issue:

Whether the trial court erred by denying the defendant's proposed jury instruction that improper driving is a lesser-included offense of reckless driving by speed?

The Court held that "upon considering our review of Code 46.2-869, it is clear that improper driving is not a lesser-included offense of reckless driving by speed. Every commission of reckless driving by speed does not also constitute a commission of improper driving. In addition, improper driving is not composed entirely of the elements of reckless driving by speed. Improper driving requires an additional finding of slight culpability, an element excluded from the reckless driving by speed statute. Thus, we conclude that improper driving is not a lesser-included offense of reckless driving by speed. Thus that improper driving is not a lesser-included offense of reckless driving by speed."

Reckless driving convictions in Virginia can be based on speeding in excess of eighty miles per hour.

Disclaimer:

These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm's unofficial views of the Justices' opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content.

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