Quick answer: Upper Marlboro is the county seat of Prince George’s County, so it is where the county’s reckless driving docket is heard — the District Court sits here, the Circuit Court sits here, and so does the State’s Attorney’s Office. Where you were stopped matters less, because reckless driving under Md. Code, Transp. § 21-901.1(a) is a must-appear charge: the District Court’s fine schedule marks it “MA,” 6 points, no preset amount. There is nothing to mail in. You may have been stopped in Bowie or Clinton; you answer here.
I’m David Waranch, and I’ve handled thousands of Maryland traffic cases, including reckless driving on the Prince George’s docket.
A citation with no dollar figure on it is the one you cannot ignore. A blank fine box does not mean nothing is due — it means the court sets the number. Skip the Upper Marlboro date and Transp. § 26-204(c) lets the court issue an arrest warrant, or notify the MVA after 5 days; § 26-204(d) then gives you 15 days from that notice before your driving privilege is suspended. A bench warrant and a suspension, stacked on a charge you had not yet lost.
A Courthouse Town Before It Is a Stop Location
Upper Marlboro is small — a few thousand people. Almost nobody searching for a reckless driving lawyer here was stopped on Main Street; they were stopped somewhere in a county of nearly a million and handed a summons pointing here. It is simply where the county’s judges, clerks and prosecutors work.
One caution, and the most common Prince George’s mistake: the District Court has two locations in this county, Upper Marlboro and Hyattsville, and which one hears your case is printed on the citation and on the summons. Do not infer it from a map: showing up at the wrong building is treated as not showing up. For the county docket as a whole, start with Prince George’s County reckless driving defense.
Must-Appear Changes What Your Options Even Are
A payable Maryland citation gives you 30 days and four choices: pay and plead guilty, a payment plan, a waiver hearing, or a trial. Reckless driving gives you none of them. There is no amount to send; the court mails a trial notice.
One wrinkle: § 26-204(b)(1) lets you comply with a notice to appear in person or by counsel. On a jailable offense the court usually wants you there, but ask — can my lawyer appear without me.
| Charge | Preset fine on the citation | Points | Statutory maximum on conviction |
|---|---|---|---|
| § 21-901.1(a) — reckless driving | Must appear; none | 6 | 60 days and/or $1,000 |
| § 21-901.1(b) — negligent driving | $350 payable ($390 if it contributed to an accident) | 2 (3 with accident) | $750, no jail |
| § 21-901.2 — aggressive driving | $500 payable | 5 | $1,000, no jail |
No Jury Downstairs — but the Circuit Court Is in the Same Town
Both Prince George’s trial courts sit here, which invites a correction: you cannot choose the Circuit Court by demanding a jury.
“unless the penalty for the offense with which the defendant is charged permits imprisonment for a period in excess of 90 days, a defendant is not entitled to a jury trial in a criminal case.” — Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 4-302(e)(2)(i)
Reckless driving tops out at 60 days — under 90, so no jury right, and under § 4-302(e)(1) nothing removes the case from the District Court. One judge decides guilt and sentence. The Circuit Court still matters, though — the second reason this town is where your case lives: Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 12-401 gives you 30 days to note an appeal, (f) makes it a trial de novo, not a review of transcripts, and (g)(1) supplies a jury right where the offense “is subject to a penalty of imprisonment.” Reckless driving is. The jury you could not demand downstairs is available upstairs — an option and a risk, since the Circuit Court sentences fresh: when appealing a traffic case makes sense.
Which Prong You Were Charged Under Decides the Case
Reckless driving is not one offense but three, proved very differently.
“A person is guilty of reckless driving if the person drives a motor vehicle: (1) In wanton or willful disregard for the safety of persons or property; (2) In a manner that indicates a wanton or willful disregard for the safety of persons or property; or (3) At a speed at least 30 miles per hour above the posted speed limit.” — Md. Code, Transp. § 21-901.1(a)
Prongs (1) and (2) require the State to prove wanton or willful disregard — a state of mind well above ordinary carelessness. Bad driving is not automatically reckless driving. They turn on the officer’s narrative, the conditions, whether anyone had to take evasive action, and whether the conduct is really more than negligent driving.
Prong (3) is nothing like them: 30 or more miles per hour over the posted limit, no state of mind required. The defense moves to the number — how it was measured, whether the unit was calibrated and the operator certified, whether pacing covered enough distance. Find out which prong they charged. The statewide reckless driving page has the offense in full, whether jail is realistic is answered separately, and reckless versus aggressive takes the charge that sounds worse but is fine-only. Aggressive driving takes three or more offenses from a closed list of nineteen, in a single continuous period of driving — two is not enough, and anything off the list does not count toward three.
The Outcome That Is Actually Negotiated Here
The realistic target in most cases is not acquittal but a reduction from reckless to negligent driving: a jailable, must-appear, 6-point charge becomes a payable 2-point one. Six points is no technicality: under Transp. § 16-404(a)(3)(i) the MVA suspends at 8 points in two years, so one conviction leaves you three-quarters of the way there.
If a negligent driving citation is what you end up holding, do not just mail the $350. Paying a preset Maryland fine is a guilty plea and convicts you as surely as losing at trial. Requesting a waiver hearing or a trial keeps a non-conviction disposition open, including probation before judgment under Crim. Proc. § 6-220 — the court stays entry of judgment and puts you on probation instead. Paying forecloses it. The trade-off is real — the Judiciary warns your fine can be increased at a hearing or trial, up to a maximum of $500 — so choose deliberately: why a negligent driving charge is not as bad as it sounds.
It protects the back end, too. Under Crim. Proc. § 10-105(a)(3), a probation before judgment on a Transportation Article charge carrying possible imprisonment can later be expunged; a conviction cannot. If a job or clearance is in play, that distinction is the case: Prince George’s County expungement.
What Else Lands on the Same Docket
Reckless driving rarely travels alone. The same stop often produces speeding, unsafe lane changes, following too closely, or a traffic control device or stop sign count, which move the point total even if the reckless charge goes away. Commercial drivers face CDL consequences no District Court plea can undo — a PBJ does not shield a CDL the way it shields a private license.
I take the citation as a whole: speed defenses at Maryland speeding tickets, the rest at Maryland traffic violations, county practice at Prince George’s County traffic defense. I also handle reckless driving in Silver Spring, Towson, Baltimore City, Catonsville, Essex, Ellicott City and Glen Burnie.
Common Questions
Because Upper Marlboro is the county seat and one of the two District Court locations serving Prince George’s County. Venue follows the county where the stop happened, not the town, so a stop anywhere in Prince George’s County is a Prince George’s County case. The court then assigns it to either the Upper Marlboro location or the Hyattsville location, and the one you are due at is printed on your citation and on the trial notice the court mails you. Read that line rather than guessing from a map. Appearing at the wrong location is treated as a failure to appear.
No. Reckless driving under Transportation Article 21-901.1(a) is a must-appear offense. The District Court’s preset fine schedule lists it as MA with 6 points and no dollar amount, which means there is no prepayment option and no way to dispose of it by mail. The court will mail you a trial notice. If you fail to comply with it, Transportation Article 26-204 allows the court to issue a warrant for your arrest or to notify the MVA of your noncompliance, after which the MVA will move to suspend your driving privilege.
Not in the District Court. Under Courts and Judicial Proceedings 4-302(e)(2)(i) a defendant is not entitled to a jury trial unless the offense permits imprisonment for more than 90 days, and reckless driving carries a maximum of 60 days, so a judge decides the case. A jury can still become available afterward. Under Courts and Judicial Proceedings 12-401 you have 30 days to note an appeal to the Circuit Court, that appeal is tried de novo as a brand new trial, and subsection (g)(1) gives a right to a jury where the offense is subject to a penalty of imprisonment. The Circuit Court for Prince George’s County also sits in Upper Marlboro.
Law Offices of David R. Waranch — 301-563-9575 · toll-free 1-877-566-2408. Hablamos Español.
Last updated: August 2026. Statutory references: Md. Code, Transp. §§ 16-404, 21-901.1, 21-901.2, 26-204; Cts. & Jud. Proc. §§ 4-302, 12-401; Crim. Proc. §§ 6-220, 10-105. This page is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.