Posted on 09/27/2007 9:32:18 PM PDT by freespirited
An Arlington General District Court judge declared Virginia's abusive-driver fees unconstitutional Tuesday, the first such ruling in Northern Virginia and the third in the state since the fees took effect.
The fees, which range from $750 to $3,000 for such infractions as reckless driving, are levied in addition to fines and court costs. Oscar Reyes Hernandez was convicted of failing to obey a traffic signal and driving without a license and faced fees of up to $750. Instead he was fined $100 and must pay court costs of $140 for the July 7 incident.
The attorney general's office will appeal the decision to Arlington's Circuit Court, spokesman David Clementson said. Hernandez’s attorney, public defender Doug Wham, did not return a call seeking comment by press time.
Out-of-state drivers are exempt from the fees, and General District Court judges in Hanover and Henrico counties have declared the fees unconstitutional on the basis that they do not apply equally to all drivers. The judges' rulings, issued earlier this year, have been overturned by their higher circuit courts.
Challenges to the fees have also been raised in traffic courts in Charlottesville, Virginia Beach and Albemarle, Chesterfield, Greene and Halifax counties. The General District Court judges in these areas found the fees constitutional, Clementson said.
The General Assembly exempted out-of-state drivers from the fees because it didn't think it could force non-residents to pay a civil penalty. Legislators and Gov. Tim Kaine agreed on the fees in April to raise $65 million annually for road maintenance.
Attorney General Bob McDonnell disagrees with exempting out-of-state drivers but is defending the cases because his office is required to defend Virginia laws, Clementson said.
Kaine and leading legislators have committed to changing the legislation to include out-of-state residents when the General Assembly meets next year, regardless of the outcomes of the court cases.
May they be voted out of office before then.
Any bets on the citizenship of Mr. Hernandez?
Common sense from the bench?
The fees, which range from $750 to $3,000 for such infractions as reckless driving, are levied in addition to fines and court costs.
It would be one thing for a lay person to offer the opinion that fines of $750 to $3,000 are excessive, or even unwise. But unconstitutional?
According to what principle, pray tell?
Because the punishments are different for residents?
Two people can commit the same infraction, but receive vastly different punishments.
Call it what it is -- road taxes
“It would be one thing for a lay person to offer the opinion that fines of $750 to $3,000 are excessive, or even unwise. But unconstitutional?
According to what principle, pray tell?”
Because it doesn’t meet the principle of equal justice under the law, when two American citizens who commit the same crime receive vastly different financial penalties, based on their home address.
They exempted folks from out of state because they fear the backlash of people deciding that Virgina is not the place to visit. And, they are right. Ultimately, this should translate into some changes in representation that passed this horror.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority has the authority to tax, impose fees, and add tolls.
Once again, Democrats line up in opposition to Amendment XIV.
The principle is equality under the law; non-residents are exempt from these “fees”.
The abuser fees legislation was advocated and passed by the Republican majority state house and senate.
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
It is interesting to note that the judge imposed both a fine and a fee (court fees) of $100 and $140 respectively. So I guess in principle the court doesn't have any problem with fees in addition to fines to cover the costs of the judicial system.
Also, the article doesn't point out that the fees are assessed annually for 3 years. e.g., $750 = 3 payments of $250.
Amendment VIII: "...nor excessive fines imposed..."
A rare commodity today
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Somewhat like the Massachusetts system where non-competitive insurance rates are set based on point system. Minor infractions: turn signal/broken tail lens etc count toward higher insurance rate. The $50 traffic ticket turns into $600 over the 5 years it stays on your record.
True. But if you look at the roll call, you see that virtually all the Democrats were happy to vote yea, whereas most of the nay votes were Republicans. We still have a few principled legislators among us.
The RATS think they will take over the Senate after the November election, I assume because of this debacle.
I am afraid not. I lived in Northern Virginia for the past four years and I have watched it deteriorate. I escaped Virginia last month and am grateful for it.
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