Source: http://lawyersinrichmondvirginia.blogspot.in/2014/02/reckless-driving-in-virginia-lawyers_21.html
Timestamp: 2017-12-15 21:24:22
Document Index: 575900622

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 46', '§ 19', '§ 46', '§ 18', '§ 18', '§ 18', '§ 18']

8:12 PM | Posted by Atchuthan Sris | Edit Post
Defendant was convicted of eluding a police officer and driving while intoxicated (DWI). Defendant argued that his conviction for eluding a police officer constituted a conviction for reckless driving in violation of Code § 46.2-852, thereby requiring the trial court, in obedience to Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-294.1, to have dismissed a driving while intoxicated charge against him which arose out of the "same acts." On appeal, the court affirmed the convictions. The court held that, because the offense of eluding a police officer was not reckless driving on the date of the offense, did not pose a statutory bar to defendant's conviction for driving while intoxicated. The court held that the 1984 amendment to Va. Code Ann. § 46.1-192.1 changed the offense of eluding a police officer so that it no longer constituted the offense of reckless driving because it deleted the language designating violations of the statute as reckless driving.
Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-269 specifies that its presumptions apply in any prosecution for a violation of Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-36.1 or Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-266(ii), 18.2-266(iii) or 18.2-266(iv) or any similar ordinance. Reckless driving is not among those enumerated statutes. Nevertheless, § 18.2-269(A)(1) represents a legislative determination that an individual with a 0.05 or lower blood alcohol level is presumed not to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the offense. Once the Commonwealth introduces evidence of a defendant's blood alcohol level in a trial for reckless driving to establish that the defendant was driving recklessly, the defendant's intoxication, i.e. whether he was operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol intoxicants becomes an issue for the jury. In that situation, the determination by the people's elected representatives that a person with a blood alcohol level at or below 0.05 is presumed not to be under the influence of alcohol is a relevant consideration for the jury.