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An attorney's perspective: What will likely happen to Hardy from a legal standpoint :(


top dawg

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Good writeup, sad that Hardy is in a position to be punished because the league didn't punish Rice enough. 

 

If he receives a 6 game suspension, he should appeal to the NFLPA and take the league to court - there is absolutely no basis for that kind of suspension in his case and it's causing him irreparable harm (missing playing time during the prime years of his career).

 

You can keep mentioning the guilty verdict in the bench trial, but with the way the system is setup a guilty verdict is really just a way for the judge to take a pass and refer the case to a jury trial. The court doesn't deem the bench trial important enough to have someone transcribe it. 

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"Many following the Hardy case, including attorneys such as myself, have learned about an oddity of the criminal justice system in North Carolina."

 

That is lawyer speak for "I am speaking out my arse."

 

Once you read that line, you know the article is worthless. This 'oddity' he speaks of is called a 'Trial de Novo'.

 

There is no conviction no matter how you spin it. Once more... There is no conviction. A conviction can be obtained in a district court bench trial for misdemeanors only if the defendant agrees to the ruling - a.k.a. admits guilt.

 

And please make sure to note that this is about a misdemeanor and not a felony. There is a big difference. If the justice system had any evidence of physical harm perpetrated by Greg Hardy, then this would be tried as a felony. Why do people just glaze over this very important detail.

 

And since the lawyer in the article failed to identify the actual legal event and left out any citation of a legal case, I will leave you with these eye opening legal decisions regarding the guilty verdict that does not exist or hold any weight.

 

“it is as if the case had been brought there originally and there had been no previous trial.

“The judgment appealed from is completely annulled and is not thereafter available for any purpose.”

- State v. Sparrow, 276 N.C. 499, 507 (1970)

 

The United States Supreme Court defines a district court's guilty conviction in a trial de novo system as “no more than an offer in settlement.”

Colten v. Kentucky, 407 U.S. 104, 119 (1972)

 

The North Carolina Supreme Court states, "The purpose of our de novo procedure is to provide all criminal defendants charged with misdemeanor violations the right to a ‘speedy trial’ in the District Court and to offer them an opportunity to learn about the State’s case without revealing their own. In the latter sense, this procedure can be viewed as a method of ‘free’ criminal discovery."

- Brooks, 287 N.C. at 406.

But, the trial did happen and the evidence presented is out there and discoverable....even though the verdict is nulified and a trial by jury ordered.

 

You are also confusing legal requirements and those of the NFL CBA...that are NOT mutually exclusive.

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"Many following the Hardy case, including attorneys such as myself, have learned about an oddity of the criminal justice system in North Carolina."

That is lawyer speak for "I am speaking out my arse."

Once you read that line, you know the article is worthless. This 'oddity' he speaks of is called a 'Trial de Novo'.

There is no conviction no matter how you spin it. Once more... There is no conviction. A conviction can be obtained in a district court bench trial for misdemeanors only if the defendant agrees to the ruling - a.k.a. admits guilt.

And please make sure to note that this is about a misdemeanor and not a felony. There is a big difference. If the justice system had any evidence of physical harm perpetrated by Greg Hardy, then this would be tried as a felony. Why do people just glaze over this very important detail.

And since the lawyer in the article failed to identify the actual legal event and left out any citation of a legal case, I will leave you with these eye opening legal decisions regarding the guilty verdict that does not exist or hold any weight.

“it is as if the case had been brought there originally and there had been no previous trial.

“The judgment appealed from is completely annulled and is not thereafter available for any purpose.”

- State v. Sparrow, 276 N.C. 499, 507 (1970)

The United States Supreme Court defines a district court's guilty conviction in a trial de novo system as “no more than an offer in settlement.”

- Colten v. Kentucky, 407 U.S. 104, 119 (1972)

The North Carolina Supreme Court states, "The purpose of our de novo procedure is to provide all criminal defendants charged with misdemeanor violations the right to a ‘speedy trial’ in the District Court and to offer them an opportunity to learn about the State’s case without revealing their own. In the latter sense, this procedure can be viewed as a method of ‘free’ criminal discovery."

- Brooks, 287 N.C. at 406.

Legally correct if you are a judge or lawyer in a North Carolina courtroom. The NFL is governed by a collective bargaining agreement which gives Roger Goodell the power to do basically whatever the hell he wants to regardless of any judicial outcome. The only reason they wait out the judicial process is to determine the strength of the evidence for their own investigation. In this case, I have a feeling they will find enough "evidence" to satisfy the standard of the CBA and suspend Hardy despite the dismsissal of his charges.
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I think he only gets 2 games from the jump. The new 6 game punishment is the max punishment for domestic violence. He wasn't dound guilty and wasnt even facing the most serious version of the charge. Hit Greg with the full punishment and then it would be considered a light punsihment if they gave the same to someone convicted of a felony DV charge

Actually I heard on TV that 6 games is the minimum punishment for domestic violence under the new rules. I figure that's why the NFLPA would intervene and try to get the suspension reduced.

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There is one certainty in the pending penalty of Hardy, which is also true with the Adrian Peterson case: His four months on the commissioner’s exempt list will not be seen as discipline or “time served.”

this is correct.

 

hardy wasn't punished. the panthers were. hardy got $13mil for playing in one game and then disappearing. it was a 4 month paid vacation and we got stuck with the tab. we were screwed out of $13mil and a top DE in the league.

 

of hardy had better judgment and a bit more control of his life, we wouldn't be in this situation.

 

but we shouldn't have been in this situation in the first place. over 20% of our cap was spent on two players playing the same position last year. 50% of the cam spent on defense went to hardy and johnson. that's just obscene and poor judgment, imo. no one came close to spending as much at DE as we did. it was an incredibly risky gamble that came back and bit us on the ass. i didn't like it when we did it, but i had no idea how badly it would blow up in our faces.

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Actually I heard on TV that 6 games is the minimum punishment for domestic violence under the new rules. I figure that's why the NFLPA would intervene and try to get the suspension reduced.

Even if so....

If you hit Greg with 6....then a 6 game punishment would be light for someone actually convicted. Means you really couldn't justify punishing anyone convicted with 6 bc people only accused get 6

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The legal case doesn't mean a lot for Hardy any more, it's all about the court of public opinion.  And with all these DV commercials and "1 in 5 women are raped" stats being thrown around, Goodell will want to make some sort of statement.  Does anyone here seriously think that the concept of "fair" outweighs the NFL's public relations?

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but we shouldn't have been in this situation in the first place. over 20% of our cap was spent on two players playing the same position last year. 50% of the cam spent on defense went to hardy and johnson. that's just obscene and poor judgment, imo. no one came close to spending as much at DE as we did. it was an incredibly risky gamble that came back and bit us on the ass. i didn't like it when we did it, but i had no idea how badly it would blow up in our faces.

You know, you get what you pay for. I guess that G-man said "fug it" and figured that he may as well run with it for at least another year. I mean it can be justified if you get the commensurate production (not that I agree with it). Some here have said that G-man never intended to re-sign Hardy. Well I've thought about it, and it seems like I distinctly remember something about Hardy turning his nose up to 8 mil per year (although I don't know if that was official). In any event, if Hardy was tagged to essentially be rented for a year, that was an ill-advised, head-scratching move. Even still, I would have liked to have seen us work out some type of sign and trade deal with the Raiders to acquire Jared Veldheer (along with the possibility of Denarius Moore). If that didn't work, I would have let Hardy walk and tried to sign Veldheer anyway. I believe the team would have been way more balanced, as the offense would have been much more efficient.

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What I got from that is Hardy may be on the list for awhile. Got to love how the NFL punishes innocent players because gold diggers make them look bad. In reality this is like getting charged with DUI, the case being dropped, and getting fired from your job because of it. That would be a lawsuit anywhere but the NFL.

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I think he only gets 2 games from the jump. The new 6 game punishment is the max punishment for domestic violence. He wasn't dound guilty and wasnt even facing the most serious version of the charge. Hit Greg with the full punishment and then it would be considered a light punsihment if they gave the same to someone convicted of a felony DV charge

 

Whew! I was thinking this entire time that the punishment was at least six games.

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Even if so....

If you hit Greg with 6....then a 6 game punishment would be light for someone actually convicted. Means you really couldn't justify punishing anyone convicted with 6 bc people only accused get 6

With a case like Hardy's its all about he said, she said and no physical evidence. That's what makes it complex if your the NFL. The NFL has made it clear that they value media opinion over the fans and justice system. That stance was taken when the list was made. Now whatever you do to Hardy as you said sets a standard. If you suspend him 3 games it says guilty or not you miss three game. If your guilty you get three more? Punishment does not fit the crime IMO. If you let him off without a suspension you tell players to settle out of court no matter guilty or not.

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