I spoke with a friend of mine who has been a lawyer for the last 15 years. He basically said the assault and riot charges are kind of a fancy way of saying the players got into a fight. Here is some more of what we talked about:
"Prosecutors usually present the Cadillac of charges, looking for settlement of lesser charges. Also, the standard for charges is probable cause, meaning a sniff of a possibility. They only get one shot for charges on an incident. So they throw it all against the wall and see what sticks. They get no second cracks. For example, they can't do murder and lose and then go back for conspiracy. They have to do it all at once."
He elaborated a bit more:
"My reckless driving gets bumped to speeding 2. I pay a fine and leave. Reckless carries jail time. Just because they have the sniff to bring charges, people are still guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If the glove doesn't fit...you get off."
I then asked if the players with the assault charges will just get a slap on the wrist. Here is what he said:
"As with any crime, it's all about what can be proven. But it is about all aspects of the crime. Assault has to prove intent just as much as the actual punch to face."
That prompted me to deduce that Boggs is in a lot more trouble for his robbery charges. And this was his response:
"Not necessarily. Again it depends on circumstances. If there is an aggravating factor like a girl got smacked or a racial slur used. Drugs could also be an aggravating circumstance."
Just wanted to share that with you all...
"Prosecutors usually present the Cadillac of charges, looking for settlement of lesser charges. Also, the standard for charges is probable cause, meaning a sniff of a possibility. They only get one shot for charges on an incident. So they throw it all against the wall and see what sticks. They get no second cracks. For example, they can't do murder and lose and then go back for conspiracy. They have to do it all at once."
He elaborated a bit more:
"My reckless driving gets bumped to speeding 2. I pay a fine and leave. Reckless carries jail time. Just because they have the sniff to bring charges, people are still guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If the glove doesn't fit...you get off."
I then asked if the players with the assault charges will just get a slap on the wrist. Here is what he said:
"As with any crime, it's all about what can be proven. But it is about all aspects of the crime. Assault has to prove intent just as much as the actual punch to face."
That prompted me to deduce that Boggs is in a lot more trouble for his robbery charges. And this was his response:
"Not necessarily. Again it depends on circumstances. If there is an aggravating factor like a girl got smacked or a racial slur used. Drugs could also be an aggravating circumstance."
Just wanted to share that with you all...
