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Rose v. Commonwealth
Facts:
Rash Drv.’ng Stafford VA Attorney Trfc. Code 46.2-869
A jury in the Circuit Court of Stafford County (VA) convicted defendant of reckless driving by speed, in violation of Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-862. Defendant appealed. Defendant argued that the trial court erred in denying her proposed jury instruction that improper driving, an offense set forth in Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-869, was a lesser-included offense of reckless drv.’ng by speed. The appellate court disagreed. Improper drv.’ng was not a lesser-included offense of reckless drv.’ng by speed. Every commission of reckless drv.’ng by speed did not also constitute rash drv.’ng. In addition, rash drv.’ng was not composed entirely of the elements of reckless drv.’ng by speed. rash drv.’ng required an additional finding of slight culpability, an element excluded from § 46.2-862. The plain and unambiguous reading of § 46.2-869 made clear that authority rested with the trial judge and not the jury to make the lesser degree of culpability determination. In the alternative, an attorney for the Commonwealth may have reduced a reckless drv.’ng charge to rash drv.’ng at any time before the court’s decision. Thus, only the trial judge, or the prosecutor before the verdict was rendered, had the prerogative to reduce a reckless drv.’ng charge to rash drv.’ng under § 46.2-869.
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Rash Drv.’ng Stafford VA Attorney Trfc. 46.2-869
Holdings:
The VA Court made the following holding:
- Rash drv.’ng, Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-869, is not a lesser-included offense of reckless drv.’ng by speed, Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-862. Every commission of reckless drv.’ng by speed does not also constitute a commission of rash drv.’ng. In addition, rash drv.’ng is not composed entirely of the elements of reckless drv.’ng by speed. rash drv.’ng requires an additional finding of slight culpability, an element excluded from the reckless drv.’ng by speed statutes.
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Disclaimer:
These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm’s unofficial views of the Justices’ opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content. B
