Not Knowing the Judge Can Cost – BIG TIME
Last Friday we had a substitute judge in Stafford General District Court. It wasn’t a judge I was familiar with. I quickly began inquiring to find out his name and anything I could about him.
As I sat through the traffic docket, I learned that he was quite reasonable and fair. He gave many people the opportunity to attend driving school to reduce or dismiss their case. Most people seemed to walk away satisfied, at least as satisfied as you can be after getting a ticket.
Then a defendant came up who was charged with 91 in a 65 mph zone. I don’t know all the facts of the case of course, but it seemed like he had a good driving record. And he had completed a driving school prior to appearing in court with his attorney.
Of course the attorney asked for the case to be reduced to improper driving or speeding, anything other than reckless driving.
The judge then explained that nobody has any business driving over 90 mph, and that it means jail to him. He convicted the driver of reckless driving, imposed suspended jail time, and suspended his driver’s license.
Wow!
That’s highly unusual in Fredericksburg-area cases. As I’ve talked about before, the normal rule of thumb for jail in our area is 100 mph. It could be 95 mph, depending upon the judge, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 91/65 case get even suspended jail time here.
The regular judges in this area wouldn’t even normally suspend a driver’s license at that speed with a decent driving record.
Of course no attorney can ever guarantee what will happen in court. But knowing the key players provides a good indicator of possible outcomes.
Photo by afsart
