Reckless Driving Lawyer In Arlington VA

Where when and how to meet your lawyer in Arlington General District Court.

If you have been charged with a Criminal or serious Traffic Offense charge in the Arlington County General District Court, you are most likely at the very least quite nervous.  The Criminal – DUI / DWI – Reckless Driving Lawyer Arlington VA you choose, should have a system on where to meet at the Court and at what time.

Arlington Court location.  The Arlington County Courthouse sits on Courthouse Rd. at 1425 Courthouse Rd., Arlington, Virginia.  Parking is difficult.  There is only one open air lot in front of the Courthouse.  Otherwise, you will have to find metered street parking or park under office buildings that have public parking.  The good news is that the Metro “Courthouse” stop is right by the Courthouse.   If you are putting money in a meter, plan on at least two hours, but probably 3 hours.  If you are in Traffic Court and need to “feed the meter” you can sign out on a clip board which rests on the railing in the front of court room between the gallery and the public seating.  If you are not there, the Judge will ask if you have signed out.  If so, they will set your case aside until you come back.  For some reason, they don’t have that system on the criminal side.

Courthouse Entrance and Security.  Arlington does NOT allow cell phones.  Only attorneys can have cell phones and they must present an ID and an Attorney “bar card.”  If you cannot leave your phone in the car, then bring some quarters.  You can use a locker in the jail lobby, but you must deposit some quarters in it.  The jail lobby is located on the opposite side of the court yard from the doors of the courthouse.  Once through the magnometers, you can proceed to the third floor.  The courtroom at the back your right is generally for traffic offenses.  The courtroom at the back left is for criminal cases.  Sometimes the courtroom in the front left is used for trials.  Arlington only has three General District Court Judges. So, there will generally only be three courtrooms in use at one time.

Where and when to meet your attorney.   Usually, a Criminal – DUI / DWI – Reckless Driving Lawyer Arlington VA, will meet his/her clients in the hallway in front of the Court room door.  We ask our clients to meet us 15 minutes before the start of the Court.  In Arlington, the Judges use segmented dockets, so your court case could be at 9, 9:30, 10, 10:30 or even 11 a.m.  If your attorney is not there prior to the Court, he / she may be in one of the side rooms talking to Prosecutors.  Unfortunately, some attorneys (Not us, we always meet our clients prior to court) may not be there.  This is because some cheaper lawyers charge low fees but then, to make enough money to live, take on multiple clients each day.  Thus, if they are not there, they may be in another courtroom or court house.  Just go sit in the court room when your designated time arrives and your attorney should eventually show up.

How do I know which court room to go to?  On the third floor, there are four sets of t.v. screens.  One set in front of each court room door.  Your name will listed alphabetically.  If it is on that screen, then you know that your case is in that court room adjacent to the screen.   If you don’t see your name on any screen, go to the Clerk’s office on the second floor and ask them to look up your case.  If you have hired a lawyer and you are running late, then you can call or text your Criminal – DUI / DWI – Reckless Driving Lawyer Arlington VA from Dave Albo, and they will inform the judge that you are on your way and just running late.  But one warning about Arlington.  Things move fast there!  So leave your house early, or if you are coming in from out of town, get a hotel.