OT: Burress not playing this year?

[JR4]

NFL | Burress' case adjourned
Comment (0) Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:05:45 -0700 Updating a previous report, ESPN.com reports Benjamin Brafman, attorney for unrestricted free-agent WR Plaxico Burress (Giants), said Burress' felony gun charge as been adjourned until sometime in September.



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Does this mean he probably won't play this year for any team?
If convicted how many mandatory years does he get?

 

[supafly]

Actually he turned down a plea of 2 months in jail to a lesser charge, so you can forget about the justice of the mandatory minimum. He already turned down a deal (plea to lesser charge) to have him serve 2 months this summer, and be out in time for training camp.

By the latest info, it looks like he'll be able to play this season--which was his lawyers intent the entire time. By postponing the outcome until after the season, he will probably be able to avoid suspension too, because he isn't guilty yet. The case of Pacman Jones could come into play where he still gets suspended, even though he isn't found guilty yet.

Even if he gets suspended before his court date next yr, it looks like he'll be playing this yr--minus maybe 4 games or so (approx.suspension)

He also said he wants to stay in New York, to 'stick it to the Giants.'

Since the NY Jets have been interested since day 1, and are looking for a toy for their new 50 million dollar QB, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he ends up on Rex Ryan's club of idiots this yr. The good news is that he MAY end up being suspended by the league, meaning he'd miss the week 2 game vs. New England.

 

[Rob0729]

I heard that Burress does not want to go to jail for any amount of time. Yet the prosecutor will not let him off with no jail time. Burress may take his chances in court and may end up with a three year sentence.

 

[supafly]

I heard that Burress does not want to go to jail for any amount of time. Yet the prosecutor will not let him off with no jail time. Burress may take his chances in court and may end up with a three year sentence.

Yes, I guess that's why he refused the plea agreement, etc.

In theory, he could end up rolling the dice whenever his day in court comes, or he could come to terms with the reality of his options sometime between now and then too. With his lack of a criminal record, it's pretty doubtful that he'd ever be prosecuted on the 3 1/2 to 5 yr mandatory minimum--even if he rolled the dice and were found guilty. I guess the fact that his gun was licensed in another state somehow helps him, he 'claims' he was going to finish the paperwork to register it in NY.

I think I saw a stat where only about 20% of perps with the same exact charge were actually prosecuted with the mandatory minimum in the city of NY. My question is, what are the mandatory minimums for then exactly?

Regardless, it sickens me to realize that he gets off the hook--at least for a while, and will probably be playing this season.

 

[spacecrime]

I think I saw a stat where only about 20% of perps with the same exact charge were actually prosecuted with the mandatory minimum in the city of NY. My question is, what are the mandatory minimums for then exactly?

They get the charge lowered, which brings with it different jail time. Allows leniency where some poor sap did something stupid, while still be able to use it to put away seriously bad people.

Hard to believe he'll get off without any jail time, though.

 

[supafly]

They get the charge lowered, which brings with it different jail time. Allows leniency where some poor sap did something stupid, while still be able to use it to put away seriously bad people.

Hard to believe he'll get off without any jail time, though.

I think he'll get jail time, but it'll either be what he pleas to, such as the deal that was offered--or on a high end maybe a year or something. I just doubt he'll end up getting the mandatory minimum, which seems to be something that's been able to get around anyway, if you want to plea to a lesser charge etc.

I don't want to make this too political, but I had a friend who was busted at a Phish show selling weed. He was given a mandatory minimum in the state of Indiana of almost 2 years. The laws were obviously too harsh, but the prosecutor claimed that because of the mandatory minimum--it was written in stone basically. They claimed the judge had no discretion, it was obviously too harsh.

If others are stuck with the black/white world of mandatory minimum sentences, then people such as Plaxico Burress should be too--despite the celebrity status. He was caught discharging a concealed, unlicensed weapon in the state of NY. Case closed, IMO. He should have to do the 'mandatory minimum,' or else--what was the point of passing these laws?

Maybe I'm just too dense, but it kind of ticks me off that Burress falls under the category of the MM, and is getting pleas such as 2 months time thrown around.

 

[JR4]

...

By the latest info, it looks like he'll be able to play this season--which was his lawyers intent the entire time. By postponing the outcome until after the season, he will probably be able to avoid suspension too, because he isn't guilty yet. The case of Pacman Jones could come into play where he still gets suspended, even though he isn't found guilty yet.

........

but if his court case is in September of this year he could end up in court
and a disruption to his team.
would a team take a chance not knowing how this thing is going to work out?

I mean to acquire his service will require significant CAP dollars to be used.
Anyone know the JETs CAP situation?

 

[Rob0729]

but if his court case is in September of this year he could end up in court
and a disruption to his team.
would a team take a chance not knowing how this thing is going to work out?

I mean to acquire his service will require significant CAP dollars to be used.
Anyone know the JETs CAP situation?

The Jets have cap money. They freed up a lot, probably too much since they pushed so many bonuses back that if there is a new CBA and they slow the growth of the cap, they could be in trouble in a few years.

 

[spacecrime]

I think he'll get jail time, but it'll either be what he pleas to, such as the deal that was offered--or on a high end maybe a year or something. I just doubt he'll end up getting the mandatory minimum, which seems to be something that's been able to get around anyway, if you want to plea to a lesser charge etc.

I don't want to make this too political, but I had a friend who was busted at a Phish show selling weed. He was given a mandatory minimum in the state of Indiana of almost 2 years. The laws were obviously too harsh, but the prosecutor claimed that because of the mandatory minimum--it was written in stone basically. They claimed the judge had no discretion, it was obviously too harsh.

If others are stuck with the black/white world of mandatory minimum sentences, then people such as Plaxico Burress should be too--despite the celebrity status. He was caught discharging a concealed, unlicensed weapon in the state of NY. Case closed, IMO. He should have to do the 'mandatory minimum,' or else--what was the point of passing these laws?

Maybe I'm just too dense, but it kind of ticks me off that Burress falls under the category of the MM, and is getting pleas such as 2 months time thrown around.

I lived in Indiana, and without making this to religious, it's the capitol state of the Bible Belt. Very, very conservative. The judge was most likely sincere because he truly believed that if there was a minimum sentence it MUST be given because that is the law.

NYC isn't like that.

Think of it as the difference between carrying drugs in the Netherlands vs Turkey.

I agree with you that he shouldn't be a special case, but I also think the minimum sentence law about unregistered weapons is as bad as a minimum sentence for marijuana. It's a unnatural cross-over of authority between legislative and judicial authority. But that's a story for another forum. Here, I just wish, if he going to shoot himself in the leg anyway, he would have had the decency to do it BEFORE the superbowl.

 

[Jimke]

I heard that Burress does not want to go to jail for any amount of time. Yet the prosecutor will not let him off with no jail time. Burress may take his chances in court and may end up with a three year sentence.

The prosecuter will drop all charges for a couple of free Jets tickets.

 

[Patjew]

The Jets have cap money. They freed up a lot, probably too much since they pushed so many bonuses back that if there is a new CBA and they slow the growth of the cap, they could be in trouble in a few years.

The thought of Plaxico going to the Jets scares me. Should it? I'm thinking he'll make whoever plays QB look alot better a la Eli.

 

[Jimke]

The thought of Plaxico going to the Jets scares me. Should it? I'm thinking he'll make whoever plays QB look alot better a la Eli.

The addition of Sanchez and Burress would make the Jets

quite competitive.

 

[JR4]

The thought of Plaxico going to the Jets scares me. Should it? I'm thinking he'll make whoever plays QB look alot better a la Eli.

I'm hoping all the changes PATs have made in their secondary will
allow them to cope very well with a Burress/Cotchery/Stucky threat.
Burress is not Moss.
He's had one real good year others years above average.
I wonder if Shawn has a notebook on Burress like does with TO?

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

I'm hoping all the changes PATs have made in their secondary will
allow them to cope very well with a Burress/Cotchery/Stucky threat.
Burress is not Moss.
He's had one real good year others years above average.
I wonder if Shawn has a notebook on Burress like does with TO?

He probably does!!

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Yes, I guess that's why he refused the plea agreement, etc.

In theory, he could end up rolling the dice whenever his day in court comes, or he could come to terms with the reality of his options sometime between now and then too. With his lack of a criminal record, it's pretty doubtful that he'd ever be prosecuted on the 3 1/2 to 5 yr mandatory minimum--even if he rolled the dice and were found guilty. I guess the fact that his gun was licensed in another state somehow helps him, he 'claims' he was going to finish the paperwork to register it in NY.

I think I saw a stat where only about 20% of perps with the same exact charge were actually prosecuted with the mandatory minimum in the city of NY. My question is, what are the mandatory minimums for then exactly?

.

The other 80% are probably smart enough to take the plea deal with the lesser jail time. There's a reason that they call it a mandatory minimum because the judges have no discretion and that's the sentence if convicted on that charge. If he wants to take the risk, good luck to him but two months seems like a great deal relative to the alternative.....
If he thinks celebrities don't go to jail, tell him to look up Mike Tyson, Vick, Martha Stewart or Leona Helmsley.....

 

[supafly]

The other 80% are probably smart enough to take the plea deal with the lesser jail time. There's a reason that they call it a mandatory minimum because the judges have no discretion and that's the sentence if convicted on that charge. If he wants to take the risk, good luck to him but two months seems like a great deal relative to the alternative.....
If he thinks celebrities don't go to jail, tell him to look up Mike Tyson, Vick, Martha Stewart or Leona Helmsley.....

I agree absolutely. If a person in his situation had any brains, and were in his situation, they'd certainly have taken the 2 months. It would have been way more beneficial in the long term for him to have gotten everything over with. I think he's still thinking in the shorter term of simply wanting to play this year, and trying to run from his problems.

Hopefully he ends up getting burnt on this one, many would love to see him behind bars for a while--even if it's not until next spring or so.

 

[Jimke]

I agree absolutely. If a person in his situation had any brains, and were in his situation, they'd certainly have taken the 2 months. It would have been way more beneficial in the long term for him to have gotten everything over with. I think he's still thinking in the shorter term of simply wanting to play this year, and trying to run from his problems.

Hopefully he ends up getting burnt on this one, many would love to see him behind bars for a while--even if it's not until next spring or so.

I believe Burress should get away with no jail time if he agrees to

teach gun safety to the street gangs.

 

[matt9071]

Geez if I was plax I would take the two months then play ball.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I don't want to make this too political, but I had a friend who was busted at a Phish show selling weed. He was given a mandatory minimum in the state of Indiana of almost 2 years. The laws were obviously too harsh, but the prosecutor claimed that because of the mandatory minimum--it was written in stone basically. They claimed the judge had no discretion, it was obviously too harsh.

If others are stuck with the black/white world of mandatory minimum sentences, then people such as Plaxico Burress should be too--despite the celebrity status. He was caught discharging a concealed, unlicensed weapon in the state of NY. Case closed, IMO. He should have to do the 'mandatory minimum,' or else--what was the point of passing these laws?

Maybe I'm just too dense, but it kind of ticks me off that Burress falls under the category of the MM, and is getting pleas such as 2 months time thrown around.

Although I did very well in the English SATs and liberal arts courses in college, I'm glad I never became a lawyer. Terms like "mandatory minimum" obviously mean different things to me a layperson vs a NYC prosecutor. I've always been confused by the apparent strange interpretation of the "equal protection" clause in the Constitution.

Do I believe that Plax 'deserves' years in jail for his offense? No. But then how can prosecutors rationalize the fairness of prosecuting the 20% or so of citizens they DO throw the MM at?

 

[spacecrime]

I believe Burress should get away with no jail time if he agrees to

teach gun safety to the street gangs.

That would be awesome! After all the gang members shoot themselves in the leg, the crime rate in NYC should go down.