Vick indicted

[tony hipchest]

mike vicks actions have organized crime or "gangsta" written all over it. its more than just killing dogs. sure he is rich, but what if he didnt have millions of dollars and still couldnt curb his gambling addiction?

he would be throwing games to be paying off debts. everyone assumes winning the ring means the most to these atheletes. vick could care less about a ring. he is all about the scrilla $$$


congratulations vick. nancy grace is spendin a whole hour to rip you a new *******. youve hit the bigtime now and are barely a step above those who kill their wives or murder their children (if you buy into graces shtick)

[OneForTheToe]

Originally Posted by ChronoCross

Well you can blame the prosecution and local police on the OJ case, making mistakes, mishandling evidence and so forth. And even in the Duke case were the prosecution played more to the media then they to the case and was not pre paired and made mistakes and then later got OJ to pay over 33 mil when another court found him responsible for the deaths. What it shows is how bad in some areas were the prosecution is not educated enough and makes dumb mistakes and allows people to walk like OJ and the Duke boys. Best thing about this case is the Federal prosecution will be pre paired and we should see the right out come because normally when the Feds come after you they are very ready and have the evidence needed and dig and dig for more to make sure that there case is secure.

We see every day sports people and celebs get off and not even go to trial because they pay the victums off. But in this case since Feds are involve there is no pay off and Vick will see the courts regardless.

A little defense of local prosecutions

I somewhat agree about the OJ case being messed up (although the 33 million was awarded in a civil case, so that's not really the same thing as the crimminal phase), but the Duke boys were railroaded, IMO. The DNA evidence, and lack thereof, exonorated the boys and the prosecuter withheld that information, but that is off topic so I will stop. I somehow think the evidence in the Vick case will be clearer.

Remember that the Feds mostly have the advantage of selecting the cases they want to prosecute. The local prosecuter might have a turkey of a case (IOW, they believe the person guilty, but don't have great evidence), and if he/she declines to prosecute will they face the wrath of the voters. They simply can't say, oh will throw that into the lap of the feds

Finally remember not every local court messes up celebrity high profile prosecutions. Mike Tyson didn't get much love in his trial. Either did the bafoons who wacked Nancy Kerrigan in the knee, and spent time in jail.

[Atlanta Dan]

[QUOTE=ChronoCross;266342] What it shows is how bad in some areas were the prosecution is not educated enough and makes dumb mistakes and allows people to walk like OJ and the Duke boys. QUOTE]

The "Duke boys" did not "walk." The Duke boys were no more guilty of assaulting that stripper than you or me.

Unlike Marcia Clark & Chris Darden making a hash of the OJ case, Durham DA Nifong did not screw up that prosecution - he made it up and has been disbarred as a result. It was not incompetence - it arguably was a criminal miscarriage of justice.

[fansince'76]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

sure he is rich, but what if he didnt have millions of dollars and still couldnt curb his gambling addiction?

It wouldn't be receiving any attention whatsoever.

[ChronoCross]

POINDEXTER GETTING IN ON THE ACT?

As we suggested on Wednesday, the federal conspiracy charges against Mike Vick could be the tip of the legal iceberg into which his NFL career (and liberty) have rammed.

The Virginian-Pilot reports that Surry County, Virginia prosecutor Gerald Poindexter has now said that Vick will "more than likely" be prosecuted by local officials.

"[W]e're very moved by the idea of animals being executed,” Poindexter said, which is a refernce to allegations in the federal indictment that Vick was involved in the killing of canines as recently as April 2007.

Meanwhile, there are some unfortunate racial tensions emerging in Surry County. John Seward, the chairman of the Surry County Board of Supervisors, told the Virginia-Pilot that he and "the few people I have talked with" believe Vick will never face charges in Surry County. Seward claims that Poindexter, who is African-American, has been reluctant in the past to prosecute black suspects.

"I don't know where Mr. Seward is coming from, and I am very disappointed in his remarks," Poindexter said.

Frankly, we believe that Poindexter had been dragging his feet because he knew that prosecuting Vick would require this 60-something part-time prosecutor to devote most if not all of his professional time and attention over a one-year period (or longer) to one case and one case only. And with an O.J.-style dream team descending on town and flooding Poindexter with motions and letters and faxes and e-mails, it would have been a very unpleasant experience for a lawyer who otherwise is at or approaching retirement age.

Now that Vick's resources will be consumed by the federal prosecution, Poindexter might think that a local prosecution will be easier to engineer and execute.

As a result, Vick could be indicted as soon as next week by a Surry County grand jury on charges of dog fighting and animal cruelty. To do so, however, Poindexter will need access to much of the federal evidence, since Poindexter refused to execute on a search warrant that would have unearthed the dead dogs, and thereafter seemingly pulled the plug on his investigation after the feds were on the case.

But if/when Poindexter asks the feds to cooperate, the answer he might get is "hell no." Poindexter has a bad habit of running his mouth to the press, as evidenced by the fact that he felt compelled to proclaim on Wednesday that Vick is "more than likely" to face charges in Surry County. If Poindexter gets access to the evidence, he can significantly undermine the federal prosecution by leaking some of it to the press.

Then again, the feds surely would like to see Vick prosecuted for cruelty to animals under Virginia law, if (as we can assume based on the plain language of the indictment) the feds believe that Vick participated in the killing of dogs deemed not "game" enough to fight. The feds have no jurisdiction over such matters, and Vick could be facing at least eight counts that carry a potential sentence of one to five years each.

Still, the feds might choose to freeze Poindexter out until after the conspiracy charges are resolved, forcing Poindexter to monitor the federal prosecution (and attend the trial) in order to evaluate the evidence that is available regarding the dead dogs, and how it is that they came to be in that condition.

[steelpride12]

Who's Surprised here bout alll this??? not me...

[Atlanta Dan]

Poindexter is a complete fool. He refused to execute search warrants and stated several weeks ago he though #7 was being singled out due to his race and fame.

Since I doubt Poindexter only figured out in the last 48 hours this invovved brutal acts of animal cruelty, its appers he now recognizes there is a big downside to looking as if he sat on this case. But according to this Atlanta Journal-Constitutoon story, Poindexter's current "investigation" seems to be pretty sketchy:

A county prosecutor in Virginia said it is "more than likely" that Vick will face local as well as federal charges. Surry County, Va. prosecutor Gerald Poindexter's comment was reported in the Virginian-Pilot newspaper. Poindexter did not indicate to the paper what charges would be filed or what evidence local authorities had in the case.

Poindexter had told the AJC on Monday, the day before Vick was indicted, that he had not received one investigative report in the case....

Poindexter, the county prosecutor, has been criticized for moving slowly on a local investigation into the Vick dogfighting allegations, the Virginian-Pilot reported.

Poindexter said he was not sure which crime Vick would be charged with and that any indictment by a local grand jury could be two months away.

"But we're very moved by the idea of animals being executed," he said, according to the paper.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...719vickap.html

The feds presumably will tell him in no uncertain terms to have a seat in the lobby while they do their jobs.

[ChronoCross]

Originally Posted by Atlanta Dan

Poindexter is a complete fool. He refused to execute search warrants and stated several weeks ago he though #7 was being singled out due to his race and fame.

Since I doubt Poindexter only figured out in the last 48 hours this invovved brutal acts of animal cruelty, its appers he now recognizes there is a big downside to looking as if he sat on this case.

The feds will tell him in no uncertain terms to have a seat in the lobby while they do their jobs.

After it is all said and done. PoinDexter hand is being forced to file some type of charges(like on the killing of the dead dogs found), other wise he is putting his job on the line on such a high profile case by trying not to do anything and most likely he was trying to sweep it under the table at first(Feds have pushed his hand here to do the right thing hopefully).

[The Duke]

I just can't wait to hear when Goodell talk to Vick

[Livinginthe past]

I think, with Poindexter involved, we should wait for tomorrow's statement - it will likely be a 180 from todays - something along the lines of 'the evidence being inconclusive' and a probably smear on the strength of the case being built by the FBI.