Posted on 08/14/2007 5:04:37 AM PDT by libstripper
With two more co-defendants distancing themselves from Michael Vick, the embattled Falcons quarterback was considering on Monday whether to accept a plea agreement for his alleged role in a dogfighting operation.
Sources told ESPN's Kelly Naqi that Vick attorneys Larry Woodward and Billy Martin met with federal prosecutor Michael Gill and the investigators on Monday afternoon. The attorneys planned to speak with the quarterback in the evening to see what direction he wants to go in.
That comes on the heels of news that co-defendants Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips are scheduled to appear in federal court in Richmond at the end of the week and are expected to accept their own plea agreements. Peace's hearing is at 9 a.m. (ET) on Thursday, while Phillips will appear on Friday at the same time. Plea agreements would clear them to testify against Vick.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
Two guesses:
1) A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush. A plea deal avoids the chance of getting an OJ juror or two and losing the whole thing.
2) This is the larger one: the information Vick probably can provide about the whole eastern US dog fighting racket along with its associated gun and drug crimes. As the evidence is stacking up it looks more and more like Vick was a godfather of the racket, going so far as to create a dog fighter's Disney World. If so, he knows the racket and the people in it just about as well as Al Capone knew the Chicago Mafia, and could provide enough information to break the whole thing wide open.
I mean here in Atlanta.
‘In addition, with the exception of D.C. you cannot get a inner city jury because the pool is from the entire federal judicial district, which includes the suburbs and rural areas.’
Yep.
Just try to pick a jury that doesn’t have a person who has a family dog, or vivid memories of a family dog from their childhood.
All you need as a prosecutor is a video of what actually takes place in this sick, disgusting, horrific ‘activity’.
In the Indictment witnesses put Vick AT Several dog fights.
Witnesses also give EXACT amounts of money changing hands, including the $26,000 fight in Which VICK himself has to go out to his car to get the cash.
The indictment also charges Vick with PERSONALLY helping in the execution of several dogs.
With a sharp attorney Vick can go to a jury and win. All he needs is a sympathetic OJ jury.
Due to the size of federal districts, its very difficult to get an “OJ” jury in federal court. Its one of a few reasons that personal injury defendants usually attempt to use removal jurisdiction from state to federal court. Moreover, its doubtful that the trial will last as long as OJ’s..Thereby allowing those with actual productive lives the opportunity to serve on the jury. Even if there is one or two holdouts in the case, most federal judges are biased in favor of the US Attorneys and do not like a hung jury and will make them sit in the jury room for days before a verdict is reached.
Not my quote, you and I are on the same page here.
Another reprieve for Joey Harrington.
It shouldn't be too hard to get at least one juror out of the twelve that will believe this is all a big white conspiracy to bring a successful black man down. In order to get a hung jury, do you need more than one juror that refuses to go along with the rest?
When your jury is hopelessly racist and stupid, even the most open-and-shut case can seem "bungled" by the prosecution in the face of a slick race-baiting defense team.
It wouldn't break my heart if Leonard Little never played in the NFL again, but like you said, what he did was an accident. Michael Vick intentionally raised and killed those dogs with unspeakable cruelty. It isn't a simple comparison of human victim vs animal victim.
Vick better hope they let him wear his red practice jersey in prison.
‘Moreover, its doubtful that the trial will last as long as OJs..Thereby allowing those with actual productive lives the opportunity to serve on the jury.’
Not my quote.
‘They don’t call it “The Rocket Docket” for nothing. There’s a reason Moussaoui and Lindh were tried there.’
Yep.
There is a corollary to the rule which states, "If, in the course of not snitching you find yourself at risk of being sent to prison, it is then ok to snitch, snitch, SNITCH!!!!"
All it takes is one. That’s one reason why the Feds are trying to get him to cop a plea.
Your perspective is incorrect. It’s not that Vick thought he could “get away with” anything; it’s that he doesn’t believe dogfighting is wrong, thus there’s nothing to worry about. He’s going through the motions of someone who says he’s innocent, but Vick doesn’t really understand what the big deal is.
I do not know if he did it himself but he is complicit in the killing of dogs. Yeah - I know - they are only animals. But to kill dogs by hanging, drowning, or electrocution, just because they can’t fight - this smacks of evil.
I don’t care if he goes to jail or not - I just don’t want him in the NFL.
Vick, You screwed the pooch....
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