NYT about Berman

[Fencer]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/s...e-who-is-capable-of-resolving-it-quickly.html

tl;dr

• It's not just this case. He's emphatic about getting things settled in general.
• He cares about justice.
• He stays calm and in control.
• He used to be general counsel of a couple of big media companies -- Comcast and MTV .
• He calls himself a news/TV junkie.

 

[Hoodie]

"He understands people and the pressures on people, and he’s always calm himself, never ruffled.”

-- sounds like Brady.

 

[XLIX]

"if we have to make a ruling, often it’s with a meat cleaver"

I just hope Brady isn't the one getting butchered.

 

[Fencer]

"if we have to make a ruling, often it’s with a meat cleaver"

I just hope Brady isn't the one getting butchered.

A negative spin on all this could be that he thinks doing his job involves following the letter of the law in a way that often leads to injustice.

But actually, on the whole I'm encouraged by the article.

 

[Silver Blue&Red]

Another worry, for me, is his knack for quick "settlements". Meaning he may want TB to compromise. That would suck. I hope TB doesn't get forced to accept any admission of guilt.

 

[Fencer]

Another worry, for me, is his knack for quick "settlements". Meaning he may want TB to compromise. That would suck. I hope TB doesn't get forced to accept any admission of guilt.

The judge can't force a particular settlement.

At most, he can force a style of negotiation. E.g.:

Brady's side:

• We're not compromising on admission of guilt. Brady is totally innocent, and that's that.
• We're not accepting any suspension, as that would be construed as an admission of guilt.

Judge Berman's side (maybe the assisting magistrate):

• OK, then. What ARE you willing to accept? "Nothing" is not a very wise answer.

Brady's side:

• A re-hearing by a neutral arbitrator could resolve everything.

Judge Berman's side:

• You WANT this to go on longer?? Don't you want to get this drama over with?

Brady's side:

• A fine would be completely unjust, even if it would save money vs. legal fees. How about a charitable donation in lieu of a fine? That's what would happen to the money anyway. We could fund a Roger Goodell lookalike contest at the next Best Buddies event.

Judge Berman's side:

• That is QUITE enough!

 

[MagicMarker]

Just heard Dan Wetzel on CBS Sports Radio -- he went on and on about how flabbergasted he is about why the NFL kept pushing this case. He doesn't totally discount that something happened, but said a responsible prosecutor early one would have recognized they don't have anything and dropped it.

If Berman wants "swift and just", he will probably push the NFL to answer why they are pushing this. And, for the "just" part, why did the NFL lie about Brady's conversations with Jastremski? If Goodell says he made a mistake, he was confused, etc, I hope Berman will tell him that is not believable. They took five weeks to write the ruling and it was vetted by NFL lawyers. There is NO WAY that's a mistake.

If Berman believes in "just", I'll take that.

 

[XLIX]

Another worry, for me, is his knack for quick "settlements". Meaning he may want TB to compromise. That would suck. I hope TB doesn't get forced to accept any admission of guilt.

This is just wild speculation on my part, but I have to think that a judge will not force an admission of guilt on Brady or force that to be a part of any settlement since Brady's guilt (or lack thereof) is not the primary basis of this appeal.

If the league says "we refuse any settlement without an admission of guilt" and Brady say "I refuse to admit guilt under any circumstances because I am innocent" then my sincere belief (and hope) is the judge sees that as the league being the arses.

 

[DarrylS]

Brady's side:

• We're not compromising on admission of guilt. Brady is totally innocent, and that's that.
• We're not accepting any suspension, as that would be construed as an admission of guilt.

Judge Berman's side (maybe the assisting magistrate):

• OK, then. What ARE you willing to accept? "Nothing" is not a very wise answer.

Brady's side:

• How about a longitudinal study during the upcoming year and measure the effect of environment and use of footballs to assess the science of football air pressure under real, atmospheric and game conditions.

Judge Berman's side:

• You WANT this to go on longer?? Don't you want to get this drama over with?

Brady's side:

• We would like to prove that there were no football shenanigans and what happened during the Colts game happens to every football when there are differing environmental conditions.

Judge Berman's side:

• Mr. Goodell strongly advise you to withhold all penalties for the Patriots or the NEP pending the outcome of this study, we will meet again in February to assess these outcomes. If not proven then we will deal with whether or not Mr. Brady had any involvement in these events.

NFL Office Side:

• But, but, but Judge Berman, McNally went into the bathroom for 1:40, Mike Kensil said so and Exponent said___________

Judge Berman's Side:

• We have moved beyond the suggestion stage, it is ordered that a season long longitudinal study of all NFL footballs be so ordered to assess the effects of play and environment on said footballs, and any penalties against the NEP or Mr. Brady be held in abeyance. And the NFL is ordered to cease and desist divulging any information regarding this case, regarding Mr. Brady or the NEP.
• Be prepared that if this information is disproven to issue a public policy to the NEP for falsely accusing them of these events.

 

[XLIX]

I decided to do a little research on what a federal judge can consider when forming a decision. This is not like a criminal proceeding where members of the jury must not know much about the case going in and have to turn the TV off every time it gets mentioned in the news or something like that.

There seems to be no clear cut consensus regarding how far a judge can look into things on his own. Some circuits seem to allow it more than others.

IMHO, the more this judge knows the facts - the true facts - of this case, the better off we are. He could be following Stradley or Florio for all we know. Of course, he could be following the NY Daily News or the Boston Globe instead.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Brady's side:

• We're not compromising on admission of guilt. Brady is totally innocent, and that's that.
• We're not accepting any suspension, as that would be construed as an admission of guilt.

Judge Berman's side (maybe the assisting magistrate):

• OK, then. What ARE you willing to accept? "Nothing" is not a very wise answer.

Brady's side:

• How about a longitudinal study during the upcoming year and measure the effect of environment and use of footballs to assess the science of football air pressure under real, atmospheric and game conditions.

Judge Berman's side:

• You WANT this to go on longer?? Don't you want to get this drama over with?

Brady's side:

• We would like to prove that there were no football shenanigans and what happened during the Colts game happens to every football when there are differing environmental conditions.

Judge Berman's side:

• Mr. Goodell strongly advise you to withhold all penalties for the Patriots or the NEP pending the outcome of this study, we will meet again in February to assess these outcomes. If not proven then we will deal with whether or not Mr. Brady had any involvement in these events.

NFL Office Side:

• But, but, but Judge Berman, McNally went into the bathroom for 1:40, Mike Kensil said so and Exponent said___________

Judge Berman's Side:

• We have moved beyond the suggestion stage, it is ordered that a season long longitudinal study of all NFL footballs be so ordered to assess the effects of play and environment on said footballs, and any penalties against the NEP or Mr. Brady be held in abeyance. And the NFL is ordered to cease and desist divulging any information regarding this case, regarding Mr. Brady or the NEP.
• Be prepared that if this information is disproven to issue a public policy to the NEP for falsely accusing them of these events.

Nice, but the NFL and NFLPA would have to co-direct the investigation. Can't leave the NFL to do an effective and fair job of gathering and disseminating data. Neutral eyes and procedure need to be adhered to.

 

[reneluar]

Nice, but the NFL and NFLPA would have to co-direct the investigation. Can't leave the NFL to do an effective and fair job of gathering and disseminating data. Neutral eyes and procedure need to be adhered to.

I reccomend an independent and fiable investigator

 

[Peachhead]

Just a reminder: Judge Berman's decision will have exactly ZERO to do with Brady's innocence or guilt. That isn't the issue before the court. The decision will totally be about the procedure. In the court view does Goodell have too much disciplinary power? Did he use that power improperly? Should the procedure be changed and how?

If the NFLPA/Brady wins I don't think the decision from Judge Berman will say anything about Brady's innocence. The judge will probably change the disciplinary procedures going forward. Then just vacate the punishment and send it to a different arbitrator to look over the Wells report and decide if it's safe to use as toilet paper...err, I mean, what, if any punishment Brady should get. The decision of an independent arbitrator is where Brady and by extension the Pats could clear their name. Not that it would effect the team penalties.

I think the only ways this could end quickly would both be bad news for us. Either the NFL wins (the judge OKs the NFL head office being prosecutor, jury, judge and appellate judge) or there's a settlement that would probably reduce or illuminate Brady's suspension but likely allows Goodell to keep most or of all his current power.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Just a reminder: Judge Berman's decision will have exactly ZERO to do with Brady's innocence or guilt. That isn't the issue before the court. The decision will totally be about the procedure. In the court view does Goodell have too much disciplinary power? Did he use that power improperly? Should the procedure be changed and how?
.

I think, I hope, that this forum is well aware of this salient point.
No matter how it resolves, TFB is a cheetah to most of the country.
Suck it, fans of the 31!

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Confirms what I've thought and posted, this is the exactly the guy I thought he was, though as I clearly state, I do not know him

He is no nonsense. Grandstanding lawyers will perish. I'd even heard those stories around town this week of his handing out his pens to parties that settle and demolishing the party that loses if they don't settle, so I'm more confident than ever of my read on this guy. I hadn't registered, frankly, that he was the judge in the (tragic) Cameron Douglas case, but I am close to someone who lived through the process with the parties and this is the picture that was painted for me of the Judge in that case...now I realize that it was Berman.

The most interesting thing in the article to me is that Judge Loretta Preska, the Chief Judge of the SDNY, is quoted often. It makes me wonder, did someone close to Judge Berman plant this article to let each side know that it had better try to settle and get on that road before Wednesday?

The most interesting new information for me was his description of himself as a "somewhat of a news/TV junkie," though he's silent on whether he follows sports. It would be consistent with the profile of folks like him that I know that they devour the news but ignore the sports page. But, this has crossed over from the sports sections to the news sections, so I think that works in our favor given the drubbing the NFL has taken in recent days.

The entire piece also makes it incomprehensible to me that the NFL has dug in its heels and has not visibly participated in any settlement talks; there's also no report of Brady or the NFLPA getting involved in talks either....

The most telling quote came from the Judge Preska: “On the one hand, there’s just the fight,” she said. “But also, if we have to make a ruling, often it’s with a meat cleaver. They can craft a settlement with a scalpel, a much more nuanced settlement that will make everybody happy.”

I think she's telling each side that the Judge will use his meat cleaver if they don't settle. And I doubt it's an accident.

 

[Ivan]

Suck it is all I have to say to the 31.

 

[ChoWZa]

Perhaps Brady will sue and win some 100 million for defamation, and in turn the NFL will sue Ted Wells for the 100 million they lost to Brady for the garbage investigation he did.

(and Brady will donate a few million to us hard working forum goers for our support)

 

[JMC00]

Another worry, for me, is his knack for quick "settlements". Meaning he may want TB to compromise. That would suck. I hope TB doesn't get forced to accept any admission of guilt.

****dell just went on record yesterday and said he isn't compromising from 4 games. So that's not gonna happen. It's either gonna 0 games or 4 games.

 

[Bobsyouruncle]

Berman doesn't impress, hopefully he manages to not **** this up.

 

[MagicMarker]

It seems to me (and hopefully Judge Berman) that Goodell can't claim impartiality in this case. If Brady proposes an independent arbitrator approved by both sides, that seems like a fair and reasonable proposal for settlement.

Even asking for it to occur after the season when data is collected does not seem to be unfair or unreasonable.