Latest on Taylor
 

From the WPost:

[QUOTE]Yesterday, the Miami-Dade state attorney's office held a pre-filing conference to begin determining whether to prosecute safety Sean Taylor for two felony counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and one misdemeanor charge of battery. The procedure was closed to the public and Taylor's defense lawyer. The process is expected to last a few days. If the police's evidence is judged insufficient, the charges will be dropped. A decision isn't expected to be revealed until Taylor's arraignment June 24.[/QUOTE]

Re: Latest on Taylor
 

Love to see the charges dropped but at the same time this kid needs to be taught a lesson. It may be the best thing for him and our team. Thoughts?

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Mike Doss was suspended two games for firing a gun into the air. FIRING A GUN.

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[QUOTE=dirtbag2112]Mike Doss was suspended two games for firing a gun into the air. FIRING A GUN.[/QUOTE]

Firing a gun into the air would represent recklessness and general public disturbance, and perhaps inciting panic. Since he didn't fire it at anybody, it's not a felony.

What Taylor did was way worse. He allegedly pointed a gun at somebody, as if to threaten them. That's felony assault. If Taylor is convicted of a felony the NFL will hit him with a 4 game suspension, per the NFLs criminal conduct policy.

Hopefully the facts surrounding the situation are unclear enough for him to have the charges dropped. I'm just guessing here, but maybe if the other guys actually shot at Taylor later in the night, the police might be lacking in concrete eyewitness accounts of what happened. It's possible that the guys who fired at Taylor were the only ones who really saw what happened, and maybe they don't want to talk so much because they stole his ATVs. I dunno, I'm no lawyer, so I don't know the chances of the charges being dropped. But hopefully the facts are too fuzzy to charge him with anything.

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To bad it happened in Florida and not California. You can molest and kill people in California and not get jail. But in all seriousness, I don't think he'll do any time at all. But I agree he needs his head straightened out.

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Taylor sounds like a thug, an extremely talented thug, but a thug nonetheless. If I'm in Taylor's position and my pops is the Chief of Police, then the last thing I do when my ATV's are stolen is run up on the guys with a gun and threaten them. Maybe Taylor does need to be charged and tried, perhaps the threat of prison time will slap some sense into him. But the only thing that is clear is that Mr. Taylor just doesn't get it.

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Oh he'll do time all right! Florida has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. I am a lawyer, and this whole thing is gonna come down to the credibility of the witnesses against Taylor. IF the only State witnesses are the thugs that he pointed the gun at, then the State's case could be pretty weak, unless of course Einstein gave a statement to the cops. If the state's case is weak, look for a plea to a misdemeanor and some jail time.

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If the charges are dropped I don't see how we could punish him. Doesn't the league only allow you to punish a player who's actually been charged with a crime?

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Matty is correct, no charges=no punishment

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[QUOTE=Mattyk72]If the charges are dropped I don't see how we could punish him. Doesn't the league only allow you to punish a player who's actually been charged with a crime?[/QUOTE]

I think it requires conviction, not just being charged.

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[QUOTE=Schneed10]I think it requires conviction, not just being charged.[/QUOTE]

I wasn't sure which it was, bottom line is once the charges are dropped the team can't punish him. If he misses some mandatory practices that's another story.

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Again, I think it's the people he hangs out with in Florida. I trust Marcus Washington's judgement that Taylor is a good kid when he is with the team. I can see Taylor hanging around a bunch of thugs that didn't make it as pro football players and just hang out in the streets and cause trouble.

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ya never know it may be a bunch of "he said, she said" shit to destroy his image.

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The fact still remains that he pulled a gun on someone...

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"allegedly" pulled a gun on someone.........always use "allegedly". ;)

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Thank you good lawyer. :biggthump

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I think the Redskins need to work with Sean Taylor. I think he needs help. He needs help dealing with the life he has been thrown into. Adapting to being filthy rich isn't easy. Niether is being famous. I think he had some problems before he joined the team and I think if Joe Gibbs cares about his players as much as he says he does he will help Sean Taylor get some help to work these problems out.

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Only problem is you can't help people that don't want your help or anybody else's. It's not like Gibbs hasn't tried talking to ST. How do you help someone who doesn't return your calls or show up when the rest of the team is there?
I'm all for supporting your players, but the first person that has to help ST is ST. Nobody else is responsible for his jackassery (not a word....but I like it anyway). Once ST shows that he's ready to stop spitting in the coaches faces, then, by all means, offer him a helping hand.

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[QUOTE=dirtbag2112]Mike Doss was suspended two games for firing a gun into the air. FIRING A GUN.[/QUOTE]

Air-shmair. The fucking moron should never have fired a gun in a city. What goes up always comes back down. He is lucky for only getting 2 games.

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[QUOTE=PSUSkinsFan21] Nobody else is responsible for his jackassery (not a word....but I like it anyway).[/QUOTE]




jackassery , just saying it is fun. jackassery..........jackassery...........jackassery:laughing2

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[QUOTE=wolfeskins]jackassery , just saying it is fun. jackassery..........jackassery...........jackassery:laughing2[/QUOTE]

:lol:

It's my new favorite.

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[QUOTE=Mattyk72]If the charges are dropped I don't see how we could punish him. Doesn't the league only allow you to punish a player who's actually been charged with a crime?[/QUOTE]

It's not just criminal activity it's also any player engaged in "Violent or threatening conduct" also "possession or distribution of a weapon in violation of state or federal law"............Any of these violations could lead to discipline by the league.

FROM THE NFPLA website:
Conduct Policy
General Policy

Engaging in violent and/or criminal activity is unacceptable and constitutes conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the National Football League. Such conduct alienates the fans on whom the success of the League depends and has negative and sometimes tragic consequences for both the victim and the perpetrator. The League is committed to promoting and encouraging lawful conduct and to providing a safe and professional workplace for its employees.

Prohibited Conduct


It will be considered conduct detrimental for Covered Persons to engage in (or to aid, abet or conspire to engage in or to incite) violent and/or criminal activity. Examples of such Prohibited Conduct include, without limitation: any crime involving the use or threat of physical violence to a person or persons; the use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a crime; possession or distribution of a weapon in violation of state or federal law; involvement in "hate crimes" or crimes of domestic violence; theft, larceny or other property crimes; sex offenses; racketeering; money laundering; obstruction of justice; resisting arrest; fraud; and violent or threatening conduct. Additionally, Covered Persons shall not by their words or conduct suggest that criminal activity is acceptable or condoned within the NFL.

Persons Charged With Criminal Activity

Any Covered Person arrested for or charged with conduct prohibited by this policy will be required to undergo an immediate, mandatory clinical evaluation and, if directed, appropriate counseling. Such evaluation and counseling must be performed under the direction and supervision of the NFL Vice President of Player and Employee Development. Failure to cooperate with evaluation and counseling (including being arrested for or charged with additional criminal activity during the evaluation and counseling period) shall itself be conduct detrimental to the National Football League and shall be punishable by fine or suspension at the discretion of the Commissioner.

Persons Convicted of Criminal Activity


Any Covered Person convicted of or admitting to a criminal violation (including a plea to a lesser included offense; a plea of nob contendere or no contest; or the acceptance of a diversionary program, deferred adjudication, disposition of supervision, or similar arrangement) will be subject to discipline as determined by the Commissioner. Such discipline may include a fine, suspension without pay and/or banishment from the League. Any Covered Person convicted of or admitting to a second criminal violation will be suspended without pay or banished for a period of time to be determined by the Commissioner.


Updated: 05/25/00

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[QUOTE=manicd]To bad it happened in Florida and not California. You can molest and kill people in California and not get jail. [/QUOTE]


You have to be rich and [I]famous[/I] to really get away with shit. We do seem to have the lowest national IQ when it comes to jury service.

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You guys really need to shut up or I hear that Seans going to come and kick your a@s!.

:)

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BAsed on the rules the NFL has established, shouldn't Jamal Lewis be suspended for a few games this year?

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[QUOTE=CRT3]BAsed on the rules the NFL has established, shouldn't Jamal Lewis be suspended for a few games this year?[/QUOTE]

I think he served a four-game suspension last year.

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I did some web searching and found out he was suspended for 2 games and fined a additional 2 games worth of salary.

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yeah, so i expect st to get at least some sort of suspension from the league. haha his jackassery (lol saying it is fun) is also causing bad publicity for the team. just what we need.

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Is this the ONLY picture they can ever find of him?

[img]http://img71.echo.cx/img71/2418/ph20050606010988iz.jpg[/img] DUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.

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Seems like a lot of us are assuming a lot about the facts of this case. All we know is based on a few obligatory police statements and conjecture. I think it is telling that as soon as anything that would mitigate his implicity in the situation started filtering out the reporting on it died. I hope this all works out but I hope even more that this starightens his dumb ass out. What the heck is wrong with this guy I keep asking myself.

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FRPLG, look at the picture above and ask yourself that question again.. LOL

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Well, if the charges are dropped in a few days he needs to get his butt up to Washington ASAP! No more wanting a new contract....

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[QUOTE=paulskinsfan]Oh he'll do time all right! Florida has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. I am a lawyer, and this whole thing is gonna come down to the credibility of the witnesses against Taylor. IF the only State witnesses are the thugs that he pointed the gun at, then the State's case could be pretty weak, unless of course Einstein gave a statement to the cops. If the state's case is weak, look for a plea to a misdemeanor and some jail time.[/QUOTE]

Well, as a lawyer, I'm sure you are aware of how rare it is for the commission of a misdemeanor offense to lead to incarceration, particularly for a first-time offender, and particularly in a case with such mitigating circumstances.

Also, I'm sure you are aware of how flimsy a case can be when it is based on solely eyewitness accounts, as these are incredibly easy to discredit, especially by the crack defense team Taylor will assuredly retain.

And of course, tough or not, Florida's gun laws really won't end up applying once Taylor cops his plea, except perhaps as some sort of leverage on the part of the DA in the bargaining process. As you mention, he will plead to a misdemeanor (probably simple battery, which is the lesser of the charges, obviously), and the gun laws in Florida do not apply to misdemeanors; they only apply to certain felonies.

The end result is that he will almost certainly be serving no jail time. If he does, it will be something meaningless like a weekend, which would be part of the disposition only as a sort of "Scared Straight" ploy and a concession to the State for the purposes of PR.

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Simple assault is also probably on the table as it is likely a lesser-included-offense of aggravated assault.

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i heard that the prosecution office does have enough evidence to convict him.

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The prosecutor's office probably has enough evidence to convict him, but that doesn't mean that they will get a conviction. Juries are funny, you can't predict how they'll vote. So, prosecutors often reach plea agreements to get something.

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The thing that matters the most is the credibility of witnesses. For ‘Skins sake I hope the witnesses are shady characters with a past.