Friday, August 10, 2007

Arlington is next venue for 'fees' challenge

The next battleground for the fight over the commonwealth's new scheme of "civil remedial fees" for "abusive drivers" will be Arlington.

Maybe.

Charles Mason, a Navy veteran, has been charged with driving 75 mph in a 55 mph zone. He could be hit for a fee of $1,050 if convicted. He is scheduled to appear in Arlington General District Court on Monday, and his lawyer, Kyle Courtnall, has filed a motion testing the constitutionality of the fees.

The Washington Times had an item Wednesday and the Washington Post has the story this morning.

So why the "maybe" above? As Del. Dave Albo, a former traffic court prosecutor, told both Washington newspapers, and as other traffic lawyers told us for our story in this coming Monday's edition, in many if not most traffic courts, standard practice would be to knock this charge down to improper driving or speeding, offenses not impacted by the new fee scheme.

Courtnall vows to press forward. Stay tuned.

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