(Not) Judge writes sample opinion in favor of NFL

Interesting take. Judge Melkonian writes a sample opinion in favor of the NFL.

The thing that's interesting about this judge is he believes Brady was railroaded, but feels CBA may really allow Goodell to do anything he wants.

http://circuitfive.blogspot.com/2015/08/ive-finally-caught-up-with-all-writing.html

IF it turns out that Berman feels I has to rule for the NFL, I hope he excoriates the NFL in his ruling. Talking about lies, fraud, bad faith, maliciousness and downright badness would harm the NFL in that when this case is talked about 20 years from now, it would be remembered as an abuse of power, not a cheating scandal.

Actually, my best hope is Berman rules for the NFLPA and puts all that stuff in there anyway.

I question if that was really a judge that wrote that.

I am a firfighter. You get fired if you use the department letterhead with ANY personal opinion. I doubt this is true

My wife and I have been discussing from the legal perspective and we also think that Berman, more probable than not, will have no choice but to rule in favor of the NFL. We hope we're wrong. We're hoping for that interception from the 1 yard line.

MagicMarker said:

Interesting take. Judge Melkonian writes a sample opinion in favor of the NFL.

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Ya just looked, that isn't a judge at all, it's some appellate lawyer from houston.


Raffi Melkonian ‏@RMFifthCircuit 1h1 hour ago
I've written the opinion J. Berman could write if he wanted to go with the NFL. http://circuitfive.blogspot.com/2015/08/ive-finally-caught-up-with-all-writing.html…

Not even a good fake.

JMC00 said:

Ya just looked that isn't a judge at all, it's some appellate lawyer from houston.


Raffi Melkonian ‏@RMFifthCircuit 1h1 hour ago
I've written the opinion J. Berman could write if he wanted to go with the NFL. http://circuitfive.blogspot.com/2015/08/ive-finally-caught-up-with-all-writing.html…

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My mistake. I thought he was a judge. His twitter handle confused me. Thanks for catching that.

His view is that Article 46 lets Goodell do whatever we wants to do and if the NFLPA doesn't like they should fix it in the next CBA. Well then why do we need courts and lawyers?

RunAmok said:

His view is that Article 46 lets Goodell do whatever we wants to do and if the NFLPA doesn't like they should fix it in the next CBA. Well then why do we need courts and lawyers?

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Yup and how about the countless other vacated suspensions? I would be very surprised to see Berman rule that article 46 gives goodell free reign to do what he did

Early in the opinion, the "judge" states:

I guess this would make Article 46 bullet proof as long as Scheisskopf is commissioner since he has clearly demonstrated time and time again that he is incapable of understanding the CBA. So he is trying and just doesn't get it. Because otherwise he is blatantly disregarding it. Would you rather the omnipotent commissioner of the entire NFL be stupid or dishonest? (Ed. note - nothing said above should be construed as ruling out the most likely scenario, i.e.. that Scheisskopf is indeed both irredeemably stupid and maliciously dishonest.)

We're pretty far removed from any concern about what actually happened or about doing the right thing. I understand that in part this is what Brady's appeal has to be about, especially since the NFL effectively denied him the opportunity to mount a defense.

Scheisskopf needs to be right because that's what best suits his purposes and that's what will allow him to continue his crusade to subjugate the NFL's hired help under his iron fist.

Nice process.

Melkonian is a serious guy. He's so back and forth with Steph Stradley on Twitter I sometimes wonder whether he's her husband. (Which he probably isn't from the first sentence of that piece.)

Intriguing...

Michael McCann‏@McCannSportsLaw
@beachbumsports @SInow Thanks. Attorney @amilst44 has said he thinks there's a good chance Judge Berman does make ruling from the bench.

(IOW, Alan Milstein thinks Berman will likely announce his decision Monday morning, assuming no settlement by then.)

Without clicking the link just curious, is this a parallel universe where Roger is smart and everyone else is an idiot?

QuantumMechanic said:

Intriguing...

Michael McCann‏@McCannSportsLaw
@beachbumsports @SInow Thanks. Attorney @amilst44 has said he thinks there's a good chance Judge Berman does make ruling from the bench.

(IOW, Alan Milstein thinks Berman will likely announce his decision Monday morning, assuming no settlement by then.)

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One last ditch shot at settlement before he drops the hammer?

RunAmok said:

His view is that Article 46 lets Goodell do whatever we wants to do and if the NFLPA doesn't like they should fix it in the next CBA. Well then why do we need courts and lawyers?

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Or why do we need arbitration or "independent" investigations. If it the article 46 power is so omnipotent then Goodell doesn't need most of that except a few perfunctory CBA show pieces. He can just send out the copy repair guy from the office to measure the air pressure after the game or two weeks after the game, decide what the air pressure must have been for every Brady game in the last 5 years, decide if it was a harm to the integrity of the game, then decide level of guilt and how much punishment to dole out. Voila, whole thing is over in a couple of days at the cost of a plane ticket, a few sheets of paper and a printer. Goodell has little paper trail to be called on and just says "Article 46 *****es! Like it or take a flying leap!".

As I said before, if this is allowed to stand this should send a shiver down the spine of every employee. Your lifeblood can be used against you/held over your head to get you to sign a paper that says it is perfectly legal for 'the power' to sham you and bone you 5 different ways til Sunday, and the court endorses (and by extension now promotes) it being done.
I don't know the law but I know when something is being setup as a path to allowing clear injustice and abuse to be done by those who have power over you to force you into a system like that.

Zeus said:

One last ditch shot at settlement before he drops the hammer?

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Possibly. I'm tired of the BS people stating the NFL will win. Goodell and the NFL lied and violated the CBA multiple times. If Berman rules in their favor, he is not ruling based on law. Period. There is no more discussion needed.

RunAmok said:

His view is that Article 46 lets Goodell do whatever we wants to do and if the NFLPA doesn't like they should fix it in the next CBA. Well then why do we need courts and lawyers?

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Froob said:

Without clicking the link just curious, is this a parallel universe where Roger is smart and everyone else is an idiot?

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ViperGTS said:

Possibly. I'm tired of the BS people stating the NFL will win. Goodell and the NFL lied and violated the CBA multiple times. If Berman rules in their favor, he is not ruling based on law. Period. There is no more discussion needed.

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Melkonian is a Federalist and ergo believes in a strict reading of the law so he does personally believe that from a legal perspective the CBA pretty much gives Goodell unchecked power even though he believes Brady got railroaded.

That being said this was just a thought experiment for him, he thinks Berman is going to rule for Brady based off the transcripts.

hypotherion said:

Melkonian is a Federalist and ergo believes in a strict reading of the law so he does personally believe that from a legal perspective the CBA pretty much gives Goodell unchecked power even though he believes Brady got railroaded.

That being said this was just a thought experiment for him, he thinks Berman is going to rule for Brady based off the transcripts.

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Unchecked power, thats true. However, he could have suspended Brady for life and that would fit that CBA theory. Once he lied, that went out the window. And he lied multiple times. Overrides the CBA. Period.

The guy's opinion DOES make me a bit worried. I felt better when I found out he was just another lawyer looking for some "air time", but not much better. But in the end, I don't give a ****. Maybe losing the Federal case on such narrow and technical grounds, is JUST the thing to push Brady into taking on the defamation case, which would be judged on the merits of the evidence and actions of the parties.

I'm getting to the point where I'd rather start 0-4 and get to tear down the corrupt and pustulent entity that the league office has become in open court, than to win the case and let it die.

To what extent will appeals (initiated by either NFL or NFLPA) lead to further discovery?