K-9

This is often the nature of civil litigation before settlements are reached, if they are reached at all. I doubt Araiza’s lawyer would be seeking the publicity had the plaintiff’s attorney not already fired the first salvo in the court of public opinion.

Not if Goodell allows them to place him on the reserve/suspended list. I’d be surprised if the team isn’t pursuing that permission.

That article only makes brief mention of the notion of mistaken age. California’s “Mistake of Facts” provision allows a defendant the opportunity to present evidence that he had a “reasonable and actual belief” the victim was 18 or older. This evidence may include appearance, attire, where you met the victim i.e the venue, adult party, etc.

Which is precisely why states have provisions to address legal gray areas.

The usual answer is that the DA’s investigation didn’t find enough evidence to bring criminal charges.

What is the logic behind this statement? Lying about your age has nothing to do with your level of promiscuity one way or the other. From a legal standpoint, I think it’s interesting that many states have exemptions for statutory rape defendants if there is a reasonable expectation for the defendant to have believed the victim was of legal age. For example and as I mentioned yesterday, California has the “Mistake of Facts” provision allowing defendants to present evidence that there was a “reasonable and actual belief” that the victim was 18 or older. Things like attire, appearance, presence at an adult party are all elements a defendant may use to prove he believed the victim was of legal age. So Araiza’s lawyer has some legal arrows in his quiver when it comes to the allegation that he had sex with a minor. But participating in a gang rape is an entirely different matter. If it can be proved that he participated, he deserves to be punished to the fullest extent.

Not available.

Fugly.

I didn’t think that was possible.

Piss poor safety and LB play on that TD.

That screen was the perfect play for the blitz that Frazier dialed up.

Haha. Elam rejecting Mayfield’s attempt at sportsmanship. Would be great if Elam can get a pick off him.

Sideline looked pretty happy after that Barkley punt.

That’s not necessarily true as California has a “mistake of facts” defense which allows defendants to present evidence that there was “a reasonable and actual belief” that the victim was 18 or older.

Again, we can’t presume that nobody in the room cares about the punter. That’s just more projection. I can project the opposite, that there are players who might rally behind the idea of a teammate being convicted in the court of public opinion. As for the coaches and front office, after the first 50 responses of “no comment” or “can’t comment” the questions will ebb and eventually die out.

He’s certainly a distraction for fans and media, but I wouldn’t presume to know what the feeling is inside the building among players, coaches, and other staff. But we fans are really good at projecting.

Is the reserve/suspended list not an option?

He’s the punter for the Browns, so I’m thinking they might not agree.

We have a lot of self-righteous indignation to indulge.

The plaintiff’s lawyer is contending that the SDPD stalled efforts to investigate. After reading his incessant tweets about the case, I’m taking everything he says with a huge boulder of salt. It’s just as likely that the DA’s office did investigate the complaint and felt there wasn’t sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.

This is an interesting thought as California law requires the consent of both parties when it comes to recording phone conversations. Unless California law excludes recordings made by law enforcement agencies and if Araiza did not consent, then it was illegally obtained.

Not at all. I was piggybacking on your response to Buffaloflash who suggested her parents were somehow lacking by “letting” their teenager get piercings, etc. Buffaloflash’s comment was the one out of touch.

Do you really think this is about our punter?

It’s modern culture. I’d bet that this young girl’s parents have some piercings of their own, too. Regardless, suggesting the parents are somehow lacking because of it is a really out of touch comment.

I’m not here to argue gray areas of legal statutes. Just thought you’d be interested to know he was actually 21 at the time.