At least one more person got out of a traffic ticket due to the issue with an Augusta County sheriff’s deputy “not properly displaying the badge of authority at the time the summonses were issued” that we first wrote about in November.
A reader wrote in this week to tell us about the case of a Joseph Daniel Farris, who was charged with speeding on July 28, 2025, had a Sept. 18, 2025, hearing, got a deferred deposition – a plea agreement where the defendant can avoid conviction if they successfully complete specific conditions.
This was a few weeks before Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith appeared in Augusta County General District Court , on Oct. 27, to ask that approximately 600 traffic violations be dismissed due to the issue with the missing “badge of authority” on the deputy writing tickets.
ICYMI
Somehow, the issue with the ticket issued to Farris in July, and his deferred deposition in September, fell through the cracks, which he only discovered when he happened, a couple of weeks ago, upon an online article on the move by Smith to drop the charges.
Farris reviewed video taken by a passenger in his vehicle during his traffic stop, went to the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office, then to the General District Court, and after some more back-and-forth involving the authorities, the charge was dismissed – the court website lists the charge as having been dismissed on Jan. 23.
I wrote to the sheriff’s office to ask if the agency has found any additional cases that needed to be resolved due to the error?
The answer, from Lt. Leslie Snyder, the administrative lieutenant at the ACSO:
“This case does not predate the dates that were provided to the court.
“There are no other cases that we are aware of that will need to be resolved.”
I might still recommend that anyone who got a traffic ticket from the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office last year review whatever they can review, just in case.
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Chris Graham
