Eluding police is a Virginia offense, here addressed by a Fairfax criminal lawyer

Eluding poiice (EP) is taken very seriously by Virginia law enforcement officers and judges. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that regardless of whether you think police have no lawful right to stop you, you will thank yourself for complying, to the point of stopping in your tracks even if that might cause a collision. (That is not advice, as none of my website’s content is advice.) When in doubt about whether police are trying to stop you rather than someone else, the ideal approach is simply to stop, and to see whether the police really wanted you to stop.

What does Virginia’s eluding law say?

In pertinent part, Virginia’s eluding law says: “Any person who, having received a visible or audible signal from any law-enforcement officer to bring his motor vehicle to a stop, drives such motor vehicle in a willful and wanton disregard of such signal or who attempts to escape or elude such law-enforcement officer whether on foot, in the vehicle, or by any other means, is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. It shall bpe an affirmative defense to a charge of a violation of this subsection if the defendant shows he reasonably believed he was being pursued by a person other than a law-enforcement officer.. Any person who, having received a visible or audible signal from any law-enforcement officer to bring his motor vehicle to a stop, drives such motor vehicle in a willful and wanton disregard of such signal so as to interfere with or endanger the operation of the law-enforcement vehicle or endanger a person is guilty of a Class 6 felony. It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of a violation of this subsection if the defendant shows he reasonably believed he was being pursued by a person other than a law-enforcement officer.” Virginia Code § 46.2-817.What this means for you is to stop  in your tracks whenever a Virginia police officer.

Can one ever expect to obtain a dismissal or appellate relief for an EP charge, where the defendant has driven as fast as 100 miles per hour ran stop signs and almost caused a crash?

Maurice Williams did the opposite of stopping his car when police in an unmarked police car repeatedly tried to stop him, including risking having LEO risk a collision from his eluding. Williams v. Commonwealth of Virginia, ___ Va. App. ___ (Nov. 19, 2024). As one reads about  Williams’s eluding — even if one is a criminal defense stalwart — it seems impossible to side with Williams at all for his convicted behavior (versus having compassion for what should have been his court outcome). Nobody wants to be int he path of a person acting in that way. Williams makes clear that Williams came not even close to a favorable decision about whether he should have only been exposed to a misdemeanor prosecution, versus felony prosecution.

Police must not be vindictive in charging for eluding

Police must not be vindictive in charging for EP or any other possible crime. One day, I won a Virginia DUI  bench trial in a Virginia District Court but lost the refusal charge. We appealed the refusal conviction, and soon after that I was informed that the prosecution was proceeding to seek to indict my client for felony eluding of police, where the evidence only showed that he was waiting for a safe location to pull his car into (while I think  it is best to stop in one’s tracks when police are trying to stop you.) Wonder of wonders the grand jury declined to indict my client, which seems to be very rare.

What self improvement steps can I take for seeking to reduce my conviction and sentencing exposure for a Virginia eluding police prosecution?

As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, commonly I advise my clients charged with eluding the police to complete a driver improvement class (usually an excellent local in person program), complete dozens of hours of meaningful onsight voluntary community service, attend several meaningful mental health counseling sessions to address self control and not letting fear of police amount to such avoidance, and even to seek a prognosis from a psychologist (hopefully positive) about the extent to which the defendant is not likely to commit future EP crimes. My clients and potential clients can get further details on that by contacting me. My contact information is below.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz knows that when he defends an accused person, that person is never alone during the pendency of his or her case. Secure your free in-person initial confidential consultation with Jon Katz about your court pending prosecution at 703-383-1100, info@BeatTheProsecution.com, and text at 571-406-7268.