Andrew Flusche is an attorney, so his motto may sound self-serving: “He who represents himself has a fool for a client.” But his tale of a Ford F-150 driver who insisted on representing himself in a Virginia courtroom is the ultimate cautionary tale. The driver, Patrick Jones, faced a reckless driving charge that any lawyer could have gotten dismissed. Instead, he walked into court without legal help, confirmed the reckless driving charge, and opened himself up to extra trouble.

Here’s how it went down. We’ll start with the sheriff’s deputy’s statement in court.

“Judge, I was told about some reckless driving. I went to the scene where I observed some muddy tire tracks running through the grassy median. A witness told me that a blue Ford pickup truck had driven through that median a few minutes before, slinging mud all over everything, making a mess of my road. The witness gave me the license plate of the blue Ford pickup truck. I ran the license plate through dispatch, and it came back with an address. I went to that home, and I located Mr. Jones to be the registered owner of the blue Ford pickup. I issued him a summons for reckless driving. He is the same individual who you see seated right over there at the defense table.”

Sounds airtight? Not quite.

This case was all circumstantial evidence. The police deputy couldn’t prove Jones had been behind the wheel. With no witness in court identifying him as the driver, there wasn’t enough evidence to move forward. A competent attorney would have filed a motion to strike, arguing the evidence didn’t connect Jones to the alleged offense. Any judge would’ve likely tossed the case.

How driver’s defense against reckless driving charge went sideways

But instead of lawyering up, Jones went it alone. And then he testified:

“I was driving in that area, and the road was wet. I applied the brakes, and my truck began to slide. I lost traction and slid over into the median. I didn’t hit anything, so I didn’t think that I needed to stop at all. There was no damage; I just went into the mud.”

To a regular person, Jones’ statement might seem like a calm explanation. But in court, it’s a legal faceplant. First, he confirmed the reckless driving charge the deputy couldn’t prove. Losing control and sliding into the median fits Virginia’s definition of reckless driving. Second, Jones made himself vulnerable to “leaving the scene of an accident” if the deputy wanted to tack on extra charges for the damage to public property.

Jones ignored a basic courtroom principle: the right against self-incrimination. He didn’t have to testify or answer any questions. Flusche notes that a lawyer would have advised him to stay quiet. Without his testimony, there was no direct evidence he was the driver.

“If Patrick had kept his mouth shut and properly moved for a dismissal of his case, the judge would have been forced to dismiss the charge. Nothing would go on his driving record, no money owed, and Patrick goes home to have a great lunch,” Flusche said.

For Flusche’s full account of this case, and his explanation of how he would’ve handled it, watch his video embedded below: