Vroom vroom

Just like the football program, the quality of legal support in Gainesville, Florida is on the decline.

A judge on Wednesday gave a homework assignment to Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson – an essay explaining his reason for speeding 105 mph and what he learned after spending 12 hours in traffic school.

Alachua County Court Judge Meshon Rawls also fined Richardson $349 after his lawyer entered a plea of no contest to a charge of speeding at least 30 mph over the limit.

The judge appeared dissatisfied with Richardson’s explanation about why he was driving so fast, that he wasn’t paying attention when a sheriff’s deputy stopped him at 4:11 a.m. on April 4.

“I just remember driving home that night,” Richardson said during his court hearing. “I was putting in my maps, and I didn’t realize I was going that fast because I looked up and seen blue lights, and that’s pretty much all I remember.”

Richardson’s lawyer, Joshua Houston, asked the judge not to assess points against the player’s driver’s license. The judge balked after she learned that just weeks before Richardson was ticketed for 105 mph in Florida, he was also ticketed for driving 90 mph on an interstate in Georgia in a 70 mph zone.

“I don’t think there is a compelling circumstance or explanation for 105 mph,” Rawls said.

It wasn’t clear why Richardson’s lawyers didn’t better prepare the player to explicitly apologize, express regret or offer a fuller, more credible explanation for driving so fast.

Shit, Huntley Johnson would have had this matter wrapped up before breakfast, without a pesky hearing in front of a skeptical judge.  So much for the Gator Standard.  I tells ‘ya, there’s no way Corch would have tolerated this kind of sloppy criminal defense work.

Still, there is some good news for AR15.  He should be able to cover that fine amount in the near future.

The judge said she would reconsider whether to assess points against Richardson’s license if he submitted an essay, which Houston promised would happen within one week. Richardson – whose agent has been pursuing six- and seven-figure endorsement deals under new NCAA rules allowing athletes to earn money from their name, image and likeness – was given 60 days to pay the $349 fine.

NIL to the rescue!