Dave Albo Charges $4,500 Per DWI

When will that make it into a story?

Comments

[Doug]

Huh? What are you talking about?

[Not Jack Herrity]

Doesn't this cut against your argument that the legislation will benefit his practice? The abusive driver fee for DWI is $2250, and Albo charges $4500 to get a driver out of paying that fee. Since the abusive driver fee is about half Albo's retainer, why not just pay the tax and end the game there?

The reason people hire lawyers for DUI is because they don't want a criminal conviction on their record and they don't want to go to jail. The money they will pay for an abusive driver fee is not what they are worried about. The criminal conviction and their fear of dropping the soap in the shower is what they are worried about.

NJH

[novamiddleman]

Also note this is for DWI which is even more serious than a DUI

Lawyers can go into the details but there is a huge difference

[Not Harry F. Byrd, Sr.]

So for $4500 do you think Del. Albo will zealously and aggressively advocate that his legislation is unconstitutional?

[Not Larry Sabato]

NJH, I was wondering where a weird number like $2,250 came from, but you just made me realize it.

Are all the Abuser Fees 1/2 of Albo's rate?

[Doug Mataconis]

What's the big deal ?

A DUI/DWI is a serious offense even without taking into account the abuser fees.

1. It's a Class 1 Misdomeanor, which means there's a potential for up to a year in jail.

2. For some DUI offenses (where the BAC level is above a certain point or when you've been convicted of the charge more than one within a certain period of time), there is mandatory jail time.

3. Mandatory loss of driving privilege for one year.

4. Increased Insurance rates.

Given all of this, and taking into account the work, skill, and experience it takes to represent people in cases like this, charging $ 4,500 to defend someone on a DUI is not unreasonable.

I'm not a fan of the abuser fees, but I don't think it matters how much Albo, or anyone else, charges.

Does anyone know whether or not the fee for getting caught by the red light cameras (coming back July 1st) has increased also? They used to be like $25 or something, right?

[Not Jack Herrity]

NHFB: No more than Brian Moran would argue that any of his own bills are unconstitutional. Everyone here talks about Albo and traffic fines, but no one talks about Moran and all of his bills that benefit lawyers.

NLS: I don't know what Albo's fees are. You'd have to ask him.

NJH

[Not Harry F. Byrd, Sr.]

Show me a bill that Brian Moran introduced that drove more clients to his law practice with bigger problems. Here's what he sponsored last session:

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+mbr+H106C

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+mbr+H106S

I don't see any changes to criminal law - unless you're talking about his bill making it a crime to leave unattended kids locked in cars (which was Albo's bill actually).

Remember that Albo led the charge against DWI's 3 years ago that made Virginia's DWI laws the harshest in the country. I bet he wasn't charging $4500/case before that.

$4500/case is a lot of money.

Not Jack and Not Harry got me thinking about something...

Technically, Albo charges $4500 as his fee - which doesn't automatically mean the accused avoids the $2250 fee. They're not paying a legal fee to "get out of" paying the civil fee, they are merely hiring a lawyer in hopes of not paying a civil fee.

So if Albo loses the case, Albo the Lawyer profits from his service fee and Albo the Legislator (i.e. Virginia) profits from the civil fee. Win-win, right? Not exactly, a lose is bad for Albo the Lawyer because he'll get less business being a losing lawyer. But if Albo the Lawyer wins then Albo the Legislator loses, which is bad for Virginia but good for business. Makes the head spin thinking about the predicament our Lawyer/Legislator friend has crafted for himself.

Seriously, does anyone know Albo's track record on these cases? Or, an even more interesting angle (as per Not Harry's comment), what arguments is Albo using in court to defend his clients? That might make for an enlightening comparison - his court arguments vs his legislative arguments.

[James Young]

Might wanna rethink this one, Ben. I'm trying to figure out what the problem is here. A lawyer charging a fee?

[Not Jack Herrity]

NHFB: Brian's firm doesn't just do criminal work. They are a general practice firm that specializes in domestic relations, contracts, wills, etc. They even dabble in traffic court. Go back and look at some of his legislation on those issues. Go back a couple years, too.

NJH

[Albo Must Go]

The problem is this James:

http://albomustgo.blogspot.com/2007/04/cash-booze-and-albo-cycle.html
http://albomustgo.blogspot.com/2007/03/albo-oblon-pllc-abuser-fee-plan-part-ii.html
http://albomustgo.blogspot.com/2006/04/albo-oblon-llc-abuser-fees-plan.html

We've been talking about this for over a year on Albo Must Go.

[Chris]

NJH,

You make a heroic effort to defend Albo with your point about Albo's fees for DWI being much higher than the abuser free. Great try. However, you are missing the point. Actually two points.

First, you are right. The reason someone pays that much is to prevent the ramifications of a criminal conviction. RAMIFICATIONS THAT DAVE ALBO CRAFTED IN EARLIER LEGISLATION.

Second, back to the abuser fees. DWI is not a good example. People WILL now pay much smaller fees to Albo's firm for much more minor offenses to avoid smaller (but still signifcant) abuser fees. More clients = more money even if the fees per case do not average $4,500.

[Chris]

I have said it before, and I'll say it again, Dave Albo is corrupt.

[Not Jack Herrity]

Look, guys. I'm not Albo's chief defender. He can take care of himself. But I call it like I see it, and I don't see Albo doing anything differently from any other lawyer down there. Creigh Deeds tried to change an entire ethics law just to suit his own situation. If that means they are all corrupt, so be it.

Chris, I know a little about how much it takes to get a lawyer to defend a traffic case. The average lawyer's fee for defending misdemeanor and felony criminal infractions is higher than the abuser fees will be for a reckless conviction. That is why few people will hire an attorney solely because of the fees.

Use reckless driving as an example. The average retainer for reckless is in the neighborhood of $1500. Some are higher, some are lower. If someone tells you the abuser fee is $1050, will that statement alone cause you to hire a lawyer at a price of $1500 to POSSIBLY avoid the abuser fee? No way. That's cutting off your nose to spite your face. It's not worth it.

Now look at it the other way. If someone tells you you might get a up to a $2500 fine, a year in jail, a criminal record, and a suspension of your license, THAT will make you hire a lawyer. Because the average person will do anything to avoid having a criminal record.

Most people hire lawyers for these crimes already because they are just that - crimes. Adding another fee does not create a massive tipping point. Adding another year in jail probably would.

NJH

That sounds like a pretty good deal for that part of the state. I would have thought it would have been more than that.

[Sam]

I have to agree with NJH here... I would love to see Albo go down myself, but this abuser fee issue is such a non-starter it isn't even funny... It is NOT for speeding, NO cop charges reckless for under 20 over (and even those who do in the few instances where they even can are typically thrown out by the judge), and more than 20 over is NEVER necessary. I've lived and driven in Northern Virginia for 6 years, and have driven on most every highway in the state and have not once ever found a necessity of going more than 20 over...

Plus, as NJH pointed out, the fees are lower than lawyer fees, so the higher abuser fees really won't get Albo more business, and the DWI and other criminal stuff where people want to avoid the criminal conviction, these were crimes BEFORE the abuser fees and the abuser fees don't change anything there, so I really don't get the argument.

I will root for any Democrat challenging Albo, but not for this stupid reason.

[Not Harry F. Byrd, Sr.]

1 - Abuser fees now apparently apply if you get more than 8 points on your records (some $ per point or something). That will drive more people to get attorneys (for the sake of simplicity, I'm going to call attorney's Albos) for the stupidest little violations around - e.g. turn signals, stop signs, etc. where before you'd never get an Albo. Points on your record now have more meaning.

2 - My lawyer friends tell me that not everyone gets an Albo on reckless drivings, now they will if there are $1,000 of fees.

3 - I bet Del. Albo's fee is on the high end - with so much more in fines at risk, it more justifiable to pay big money to Albo or other Albos on these charges.

4 - Why does every solution Del. Albo propose to some problem involve him making more money? He introduced another bill this year giving a cause of action to a fired employee if their employer employed an undocumented worker (aka illegal immigrant).

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB2687H1

Albo's firm also does employment law.

Why do many of Del. Albo's legislative solutions to our problems seem to put more money in his pocket?

[Sam]

I still don't see how Albo makes more money... his fee are still higher than the abuser fees... people are no more likely to pay $1500 to get rid of a $1000 fine than they were to get rid of a $250 fine

Do you know how hard it is to get 8 points on your license? Reckless Driving isn't even 8 points (I believe it's 6).... If you've got 8 points, again, you probably deserve the fines.

[Isophorone]

So what do other lawyers charge to defend DWI? Have you done a suyrvey? Do other legislators who happen to be lawyers charge a higher than average feecompared with other local lawyers? Do they deserve it?

Sounds like "lawmaking is wasted on lawyers," right?

Let's remember this when you defend all kinds of left-wing legislation (e.g., food nanny, global warming) that drives business to Democrat-supporting trial lawyers. I'm waiting. And waiting. And waiting . . .

[GinterParked]

Sam: Here's exactly how hard it is to get 8 points on your record:

Get convicted of speeding 55 in a 45 zone on January 1. Get convicted of speeding 55 in a 45 zone on December 31.

[Sam]

GinterParked - And how many places do you get pulled over for just doing 10 over? And then what's the likelihood an intelligent, responsible driver happens to get pulled over twice in less than a year in those spots for doing just 10 over? I'm not buying it.

Isophorone - There are plenty of Republican trial lawyers who benefit from all of those things too... it's called working for their clients. I don't buy into any argument of "this is a bad law because it gives lawyers more business" no matter what party it's from (I would note as I defend this bill, I am an active and staunch Democrat)

[Not Jack Herrity]

Ginter: Your hypothetical assumes a newly licensed driver. You get a +1 on your license for every year you don't get a ticket for a maximum of +5. You can also get 5 positive points by taking a driver safety course.

In addition to all that, demerit points only stay on your license for two years after the offense, so even if you've had a couple tickets the points tend to drop pretty quickly.

I'm willing to bet there aren't many people driving around with a -8 on their license. Not many who can get insurance, anyway.

NJH

[Sam]

NJH - and considering a newly licensed driver, unless they're over 20, has to take a driver safety course anyways after that first offense, that makes it even harder.