Traffic tickets issued in the City of Fairfax are heard in the Fairfax City General District Court at City Hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Fairfax City General District Court is located at 10455 Armstrong Street, Room 100, Fairfax, VA 22030. There is only one courtroom. All cases are heard by a Fairfax County General District Court Judge. The Fairfax City Prosecutor handles the prosecution of these cases. We routinely handle Fairfax City traffic cases and offer a free consultation to discuss your case. In many cases we can appear for court on your behalf and obtain a favorable outcome without you needing to appear. Feel free to give us a call at 703-273-4100 or use the contact form.
How a Traffic Lawyer Can Help with your Fairfax City Ticket
When we receive a call from a client that has received a traffic ticket in Fairfax City, our first question is what the charge is. Most traffic tickets carry DMV points and can affect insurance rates. Some traffic charges are misdemeanor charges and carry additional consequences. However, not every ticket needs to be contested. Sometimes, the Fairfax City Police Officer will write a ticket for a reduced offense and prepayment may be the best course of action depending on the charge. Prepaying a traffic ticket is essentially a guilty plea to the charge so it is important to talk to a traffic lawyer before prepaying the ticket. For example, if you are stopped for speeding but charged with Failure to Pay Full Time and Attention under the Fairfax City Code, in most cases, this should be prepaid because the offense does not go on the DMV record. However, a failure to obey a highway sign charge stemming from an illegal U-turn does carry DMV points and may be worth contesting. Our traffic lawyer has handled thousands of traffic tickets and will help you understand your charge and how we can help.
In those cases where we believe we can help, we will want to get some more information. If, for example, you have received a ticket for speeding, it will be important to know the speed alleged, your driving record, and any information about where you were headed and traffic conditions. Any conversation with the police officer should be discussed as well. After speaking about the case we will then want to discuss whether a trial is appropriate or putting together a mitigation package for court. In most cases, traffic tickets in Fairfax City are resolved by plea agreement for a reduced offense with the Fairfax City Prosecutor.
Preparing for your Hearing in Fairfax City
Whenever our clients have a traffic ticket, we always prepare them for court whether or not they plan to appear with us. In most cases, we want to prepare a mitigation package for the court date. Case preparation depends on the charge but, many times, will involve our client taking a defensive driving course before court either in-person or online. In some cases, a speedometer calibration may be important to check for the accuracy of the speedometer. In some cases involving young drivers, there are some Judges that believe that a person's youth works against them due to their inexperience in driving so we may recommend that some community service be done for court.
In addition, to our so-called "legal mitigation," we like to have background information about our client if possible as well. This may mean getting a copy of a high-school or college transcript to show our client is in school, has a license to teach, has a license to practice medicine, or showing that our client has a security clearance. In other cases our client may be a stay-at-home mom with children they care for and were simply running family errands on the day they were ticketed. In either case, it is important to humanize our clients before the court so that they're not simply another "defendant." In any case, we will have our clients thoroughly prepared for court so that they can obtain the best result possible.
Talk to a Traffic Lawyer about your Fairfax City Ticket
Do not hesitate to reach out to us if you simply have questions or want help for your case. All consultations are free. You can give us a call anytime Monday through Friday or simply use the "contact our firm" form and we will quickly get in touch with you.