Is Reckless Driving A Misdemeanor Virginia

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Isaac v. Commonwealth

Facts:

Defendant was convicted for a misdemeanor offense by the circuit court for reckless driving and feloniously driving after having been adjudicated an habitual offender in violation of Va. Code Ann. §§ 46.2-852 and 46.2-357(B)(2), respectively, and he appealed. The court reversed defendant's convictions, holding that the essence of the offense of reckless driving under Va. Code Ann. 46.2-852, lied not in the act of operating a vehicle, but in the manner and circumstances of its operation. The record did not disclose the time of the accident, the manner in which defendant drove the car, his blood alcohol level, the road condition, weather, traffic controls, or other circumstances probative of such a violation. Reckless driving was not a status offense, and defendant could not be convicted upon speculation as to what caused him to lose control of the car, therefore, the court held that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. The court also found the evidence to be insufficient to support a finding of felonious habitual offender endangerment and reversed that conviction, but remanded the case for further proceedings regarding the misdemeanor offense under Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-357(B)(1).

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Holdings:

The Virginia Court made the following holding:

· Evidence of intoxication is a factor that might bear upon proof of dangerousness or reckless driving in a given case, but does not, of itself, prove what is reckless driving. One may be both drunk and reckless, or reckless though not drunk, or under the influence of intoxicants and yet drive carefully. Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-357(B)(2) elevates driving by an habitual offender from a misdemeanor to a felony when such driving of itself endangers the life, limb, or property of another, Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-357, language virtually identical to that found in the statute defining reckless driving.

Is Reckless Driving A Misdemeanor Virginia

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