Lovingston
Nelson County, Virginia
Over the last few days WSET ABC-13 in Lynchburg has been airing promotions regarding a story planned for Friday evening on their channel. It centers around a traffic stop involving, then candidate, Jessica Ligon. Ligon ran for, and successfully won the South District BOS slot in the November 2023 election.
Apparently, officer body cam video from the September traffic stop by the Nelson County Sheriff’s Department was obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request. It has been shown and linked in a YouTube Channel. It’s being aired in promos on WSET as well. The two don’t overly appear to be related.
Today BRL, along with numerous other news outlets, received the following news release from the Stanley Law Group in Moneta, Virginia. Ligon has retained former Virginia Attorney General Tony Troy and lawyer VA Senator Bill Stanley to assist in responding to the video release and news inquiries.
Below is their release verbatim:
“Nelson, Virginia – “On September 9th, I was stopped for speeding by the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, during the course of the traffic stop, I was asked questions regarding if I was impaired in my driving, however, I was not charged with Driving while under the influence. I answered all questions and fully cooperated with the Sherrif Deputies.
On November 28th, post-election, a YouTube video was made using the deputies’ body camera footage, but it was highly doctored; while the body camera footage shows that I voluntarily subjected to a preliminary breath test (PBT), and the results noted that I was at 0.083, and subsequently at 0.80, it was the officer’s discretion not to charge me with DWI.
The doctored video attempts to advocate that I should have been charged with a DUI, solely due to the PBT. However, these results would not be admissible in a court of law, because PBTs have been shown to be unreliable, and prone to inaccurate readings; and the field sobriety tests that were administered are subjective based testing and are solely based on the officer’s observations.
The real question is not what I was charged with, which was speeding, but rather who is it, and for what reason is there an attempt to disrupt my productivity and stifle my voice on the Nelson County Board of Supervisors.
I will not allow this to disrupt my service to the citizens of Nelson County—I look forward to serving, will address the key issues facing the County and will have no further comment on this matter.”
Her attorney’s Senator Bill Stanley and former Attorney General Tony Troy of the Stanley Law Group, made the following joint statement. “It is apparent to us both that whoever posted this video does not understand the judicial system as it pertains to traffic stops. And it is also apparent that the real motivation of the author of this altered video is, in our opinion, a blatant attempt to impugn the character of Ms. Ligon. As trial attorneys, we have defended people charged with DUI, and it is clear to us that Ms. Ligon was not intoxicated at the time: there was no slurred speech, she was cogent and alert in her responses to the officers, she was not unsteady on her feet, she did not have bloodshot watery eyes, and she passed the field sobriety tests on the side of the road. While the preliminary breath test (PBT) registered just at the legal limit, all of us in the legal community know that those machines are notoriously unreliable, and that is why they are not admissible in a court of law to prove guilt.
The deputies there at the scene performed their duties with the utmost professionalism, and did not show any favoritism towards Ms. Ligon because she was a candidate for a position in local governemnt. She has since been elected, and it is now questionable why these allegations are now being presented. It is clear that Ms. Ligon was not under the influence, and that the only thing that she was properly charged with was speeding.”
