by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
“All rise.”
With that, traffic court on Beach Boulevard was in session.
Longtime attorney Lacey Mahon took the bench as the court-appointed hearing officer with a full docket. Seventy people scattered about a well-lit courtroom, all facing various traffic charges.
The group was a microcosm of Jacksonville: men, women, black, white, some older, some with their parents. Some dressed as if they respected the court and the environment they found themselves in. Others looked as if they just rolled out of bed — baggy jeans, shorts, flip flops, bling, T-shirts, plenty of bad hair. Most obviously showered; some may have.
Some plainly understood the seriousness of the situation, while others sat with looks of sheer disgust and contempt on their faces. Nothing could be a bigger waste of their time, their faces screamed. Almost all looked utterly bored.
Some had anxious looks as if they were missing valuable work time. Seems they shouldn’t have been speeding.
Some looked almost scared.
No one looked happy.
Tiffany Strickland was in traffic court for the first time ever thanks to a first-time-ever ticket. The 27-year-old stay-home mother was clocked going 60 mph in a 45 mph zone. She intended to plead no contest. She wanted no part of a $187 speeding fine and didn’t want to attend traffic school. Tiffany said she had no idea what to expect, didn’t get any advice from anyone and, yes, the ticket and traffic court were both likely deterrents to future speeding.
The docket is alphabetical. Tiffany will be there a while.
Mahon greeted everyone and explained the two options in layman’s terms.
“You will be reminded of the offense and you will enter a plea,” explained Mahon, who’s been practicing for 58 years and retired from full-time work shortly after his son Mark left the State Legislature thanks to a Circuit Court appointment from Gov. Charlie Crist.
Mahon said there are two options: a plea of not guilty or a plea of no contest. Not guilty, and Mahon will assign a trial date. No contest, and your fate is in Mahon’s hands and judgment. Not guilty, and you get to bring a lawyer, witnesses, evidence, testimonies and it’s basically your word against the cop’s. No contest, and you may have to pay the ticket or tickets and accompanying fines and court costs.
Mahon will examine your record, number of offenses and their severity and recent driving record. Mahon is fair, but he explains where he has little tolerance. If the offense involves children — speeding in a school zone or passing a stopped school bus — or excessive speed, like going 90 in a 35, and it’s likely he’ll be as tough as permissible by law.
“You can pay today, we have a cashier on hand, or you can take 60 days to pay the traffic fines or the court costs,” he said. “You can ask for more, but I’ll decide.”
Andrew is first. He’s a no-show, but he had legal representation and gets a court date. Mahon assigns April 16 in Courtroom B-2 at 1:30 p.m.
The next person on the docket is another no-show. They are ruled “failure to appear.” No plea for them. No trial. They must pay.
Bruce is next. He was going 44 in a 35 and he pleads no contest. Mahon withholds adjudication and fines Bruce $87 worth of court costs. Exit stage left, literally.
Gerald is next. He was busted for driving without a license.
“Do you have a driver’s license?” said Mahon.
“Yes, sir,” replied Gerald, who showed the valid license to Mahon.
“I’ll dismiss the charges.”
Aaron was ticketed for double parking on a highway. Aaron insists the ticket says he blocked an intersection. Aaron will roll the dice April 16.
Felice is the first big offender. There’s 49 in a 40, failure to yield and running a stop sign. Remember the looks of contempt? That’s Felice. The no-contest pleas leave Felice with $303 worth of fines. She’s quiet, but not happy.
Vaso is from an Eastern European country and aside from not quite understanding the traffic laws of the United States, his command of the English language is OK at best. Vaso got tagged for speeding and not wearing a seat belt. He had an excuse for both, but neither alibi was flying with Mahon.
“You shouldn’t have taken the seat belt off,” said Mahon, who hit Vaso with a fine of $158 in court costs and dismissed the seat belt charge.
Heather is 17 and was accompanied by her mother. Her careless driving charge and no contest plea still cost her $122 in court costs. Luckily for her, the accident she caused didn’t leave any injuries or fatalities.
Daniel is 17 also. He was going 72 in a 55. He’ll owe dad $158. Both thanked Mahon.
Monica may have had the most interesting day in court. During her first appearance, Monica pleaded no contest to driving a defaced vehicle, but adamantly protested a previous citation for driving without wearing a seat belt. She pled no contest on the first charge, set a court date for the second and headed next door to the Division of Motor Vehicles to straighten out the seat belt charges from last year. Seems Monica can’t afford the points on her license.
After Mahon wrapped up the docket, Monica was back.
“I am sorry to be a pest again,” she said, still adamant about the seat belt ticket. “I’m a taxi cab driver and I’m concerned about the points.”
Mahon explained the only way to avoid points on her license was for Monica to set a trial date and make her best case. She’ll be back April 16.
There were two more with careless driving charges causing an accident, neither of which caused injuries or death. Most pleaded no contest and Mahon handed out well over $1,000 in fines.
Several skipped court and two paid an attorney to represent them. A handful pleaded not guilty and will be in court either April 16 or 17.
An hour and 15 minutes, 70 items on the docket and traffic court on a Friday morning is over.
Oh yeah, Tiffany. She left with $158 in court costs and no points. And, she got her picture taken.