Lynch to be charged with 3 misdemeanors

[keepthefaith]

As opposed to the minority party, which ran the govt into the ground in the 8 years it was effectively in power. Give us all a break--in November the "tribe has spoken".....

 

You can't win that argument because even the righties know Bush was asleep at the switch and handcuffed by a leftist Congress. Yeah, I know this is the wrong board for this, but really, throw ideology aside and lets get things right.

 

As for Lynch, he'll end up guilty on one of them, sit for a few games and all this will be forgotten by week 6 or so. Jauron will be in the center of the scope way before then.

[VOR]

Actually I believe in tough love. I really hope he gets more than a rap on the knuckles this time. Else this would be the second incidence of irresponsible behavior where he would get off lightly. I realize that the law is the law but a moderate punishment this time may help curtail the nature of his extra-curricular activities and reduce the possibility of a future big crime.

Maybe he needs a stiff penalty. Maybe he'll learn from it regardless of whether he gets one or gets off, who knows?

 

I still want to know what the charges are. I know the gun was loaded and somewhere in the car. Was it registered? Did he have a license? Was it in the trunk or on one of his friends?

[Peevo]

You can't win that argument because even the righties know Bush was asleep at the switch and handcuffed by a leftist Congress. Yeah, I know this is the wrong board for this, but really, throw ideology aside and lets get things right.

 

As for Lynch, he'll end up guilty on one of them, sit for a few games and all this will be forgotten by week 6 or so. Jauron will be in the center of the scope way before then.

 

As for Lynch, I hope he gets what he deserves. As far as everything I've read, he's only been charged with 3 misdemeanors relating to the gun possession/armament/concealment. California is notoriously lenient on marijuana, as far as I understand it is legally "decriminalized." It can become a Catch-22. It was described in my state politics class as it is illegal to "purchase" yet legal to be in "possession" of. How do you have one without the other? Regardless, he's a hard, pipe hittin' dude from Oakland. He happens to play football well. The sad thing about all this is the fact that most fans, myself included, are so starved for ANY relevency in the league, all we want is for him to be slapped on the wrist, shut up and hit the field hard in September. Is this not the problem? Shouldn't we as fans want some accountability?

 

Am I simply naive to want athletes, like other human beings, to have a sense of true moral worth and know what is right and wrong, and act accordingly? The answer to this question, sadly, is no. The weed honestly doesn't bother me much. Cannabinoids are NOT performance enhancing drugs. There's no debate about that. We look at juicing baseball players as some unfortunate, stereotyped victims of profiling or institutionalized racism, which is completely infallable. I'm left frustrated because I think the entire situation is absolutely abhorrable. You can't tell me "it doesn't make you hit a baseball better." Quite simply, if that statement is true, then why do it? It MUST provide some advantage.

 

The economy tanked due to a perfect storm of circumstances. An economist, truly, I am not, but at the turn of the new century, critical legislation was signed into law (Glass-Steagul Act revocation), Greenspan raising interest rates at the pinnacle of our economic growth late '99, and rampant speculation of our financial markets and lending institutions. Couple this with millions of Americans signing sub-prime mortages on houses they can never afford, live beyond our means, and spending TRILLIONS of dollars on credit we as Americans dont have, and the whole thing eventually is gonna burst. Sorry, fat ass, ignorant, indebted American populace, but yes, we are also to blame for this. Maybe we should pay with our debit cards and not our credit cards on things that have tangible value, like equity. But thats just me.

[2003Contenders]

If the charges against Lynch are indeed true, the absolute worst thing that could happen is that he get off with another slap on the wrist and no suspension from the league. I like the kid, and I want him around for the long haul. But if he keeps "getting away" with the bad decisions he is making, he's not going to change this sort of behavior.

[Thoner7]

Detective Ryan Thompson tells 2-On-Your-Side's Adam Benigni that he presented the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney Thursday morning, and that Lynch will be charged with three misdemeanors.

 

A spokesperson for the DA could not outline the charges, saying the paperwork had yet to be filed and they were not ready release any information. Lynch's attorney M. Gerald Schwartzbach says he believes it to be three misdemeanors all on gun possession

 

What this typically means is that two charges will be dropped and only one will be pursued, it has just not been decided yet as to which charge he will face. You cannot "officailly" be charged with the same crime three times, the circumstances of the case will help the DA to decide which charge to attack. The three charges are most likely three levels of severity of punishment.

 

This is similiar to drunk driving law in NY.... You can get DUI, DWI, or DWAI - all drunk driving tickets, but with diff penalties.

[Magox]

2 game suspension then it will be over.

[Poland]

They should add a 4th for being stupid. Wait a minute....that would only be a violation and wouldn't go on his record.

Don't worry he's on record as being stupid.

[Poland]

I still say no suspension. First time offense/offender and the gun wasn't on him, but in the trunk.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

If we charged people for being stupid...

[Poland]

Amazing what a good lawyer can do for a troubled Bills RB

A troubled Bills RB ?

 

Amazing what a good lawyer can do for a punk.

[Poland]

The question is can the NFL immediately order a drug test for Marshawn with these allegations?

I hope so.

[VOR]

2 game suspension then it will be over.

At best I can see 1 game, like what Brandon Marshall ultimately got for his long history of domestic assault charges. But I'm still sticking with no suspension and a stiff fine.

[Mr. WEO]

At best I can see 1 game, like what Brandon Marshall ultimately got for his long history of domestic assault charges. But I'm still sticking with no suspension and a stiff fine.

 

Yeah. that'll teach him.......

 

.......that there's nothing he can do that can't be dropped down to a misdemeanor.

 

 

Hit n' runs, smokin' blunz, loaded guns------I'M MARSHAWN LYNCH!

[Lori]

Do you have any examples of players ending up in Stage 1 of drug testing, without testing positive for drugs or having been proven to be involved with them? The point being, the cops claiming that they smelled and saw pot in the car, yet not charging Lynch with anything, sounds highly suspicious. I guess a good example would be to see whether Matt Leinart ended-up in Stage 1 after photos of him surfaced at that party where everyone was drinking.

 

No, because none of that information is publicized until a player has already been disciplined (and, by default, advanced to Stage 2). Remember hearing about Bruce Smith failing any drug tests before his four-game suspension was announced in Sept. 1988? Me neither, because nothing was made public until the NFL announced the suspension. In fact, there's a pretty strict confidentiality section -- with fines of up to $500,000 for anyone who violates the privacy of a player in the treatment program -- on Pages 4-6 of the league's substance abuse policy.

 

Here's some of the boilerplate. At this point, with no formal drug charges against Lynch, I believe it would be left to Commissioner Goodell's discretion as to whether his "behavior" raises enough red flags to trigger Stage 1. This, of course, assumes there aren't any other skeletons lurking in his closet. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on that ... for now.

 

Oh, and one more thing. Leinart's situation doesn't apply, because alcohol isn't on the list of banned substances:

Before entering an Intervention Stage, players shall be tested only for

benzoylecognine (cocaine); delta 9-THC-carboxylic acid (marijuana); amphetamine and

its analogs; opiates (total morphine and codeine); phencyclidine (PCP); and

methylenedioxymethamphetamine ("MDMA") and its analogues (the "NFL Drug

Panel"). After a player enters any stage of the Intervention Program, Testing for

substances of abuse, in addition to the NFL Drug Panel, shall be at the discretion of the

Medical Director in accordance with the terms of this Intervention Program.

 

D. Entrance Into the Intervention Stages.

1. Entrance.

All NFL players shall be eligible for entrance into the Intervention Stages. Such

eligibility will not be affected by termination or expiration of a player's contract

subsequent to entry into the Intervention Stages. Players enter Stage One of the

Intervention Program by a Positive Test, Behavior or Self-Referral more fully

described as follows:

a. Positive Test: Urine or blood toxicology Tests that meet the

concentration levels set forth in Article I, Section C.3.c.

 

b. Behavior: Behavior, including

but not limited to

an arrest related

to an alleged misuse of substances of abuse, which, in the

judgment of the Medical Director, exhibits physical, behavioral, or

psychological signs or symptoms of misuse of substances of abuse.

 

c. Self-Referral: A player, who personally notifies the Medical

Director of his desire to enter voluntarily Stage One of the

Intervention Program prior to his being notified to provide a

specimen leading to a Positive Test, or prior to behavior of the type

described in Section D.l.b., above, becoming known to the

Medical Director from a source other than the player, shall be a

participant in Stage One as a Self-Referred player. Rather than

notifying the Medical Director personally, the player may initiate

such notice by first contacting a Club Physician for the purpose of

Self Referral to Stage One of the Intervention Program. In order to

effectuate a valid Self-Referral, the Club Physician must establish

personal contact between the self-referring player and the Medical

Director as soon as possible after being contacted by the player.

Any information provided to the Club Physician by the player and

disclosed by the Club Physician to the Medical Director for the

purpose of establishing such contact wil not be considered

information from "a source other than the player" as described in

subsection c(2) below. A Club Physician may not provide

substance abuse treatment for any player or facilitate substance

abuse treatment which is not provided by a Treating Clinician.

Substance abuse treatment shall be provided only by a Treating

Clinician in accordance with this Policy. A Self-Referred player

wil always remain in Stage One; however, a player wil no longer

be considered a Self-Referred player, but rather as a mandatory

entrant into Stage One if:

(1) the player has a Positive Test (other than a Positive

Test conducted pursuant to a Self-Referred player's

Treatment Plan); or

 

(2) if the Medical Director is informed by a source

other than the player that the player has engaged in

behavior of the type described in Section D.1.b.,

above, regardless of the fact that the player has

previously informed the Medical Director of this

behavior; or

 

(3) the fact of a player's Self-Referral becomes public

knowledge.

A Self-Referred player may not be fined under this Intervention

Program prior to the time of his mandatory entrance into the

Intervention Stages. Self-Referred players wil be advised when

the Medical Director determines that notification to the Team

Substance Abuse Physician (if not previously notified by the

player) is medically advisable, and the player wil be given the

option either to permit such notification or to withdraw from the

Intervention Stages without such notification.

E. Intervention Stages.

1. Stage One.

a. Procedures.

(1) Intervention Evaluation: A player entering Stage One of

the Intervention Program wil be referred to a Regional

Team which shall evaluate the player promptly. After

receipt of the Regional Team's evaluation, the Medical

Director, in his discretion, shall determine whether the

player should be referred for appropriate clinical

intervention and/or treatment (including inpatient treatment

at a Treatment Facility selected by the Medical Director as

being qualified to treat the player's particular needs) and

subsequent development of a Treatment Plan. The Medical

Director's determination is not dependent upon a finding

that the player carries a diagnosis of substance abuse or

dependence, but rather is dependent upon whether, in the

Medical Director's judgment, participation in the

Intervention Program may assist in preventing the player's

potential future misuse of substances of abuse.

 

(2) Treatment Plans: If the Medical Director determines that

a player should be referred for appropriate clinical

intervention and/or treatment, the player shall be referred to

a Treating Clinician. If the Treating Clinician determines

the player requires a Treatment Plan, one shall be

developed. The Medical Director shall determine whether

the proposed Treatment Plan is an acceptable Treatment

Plan for the purpose of affording the player the benefits of

the Intervention Program.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Treating Clinician is

solely responsible for the care of the player. A player who

fails to adhere to his Treatment Plan approved by the

Medical Director or fails to execute a Consent to Exchange

Intervention Program Information shall be subject to the

disciplinary and stage advancement provisions set forth

below.

 

If the Medical Director determines that a player does not

require clinical intervention and/or treatment, but should

remain in the Intervention Program, the player will be

subject to testing but wil not have a Treatment Plan.

However, if the Medical Director decides at any time while

a player is in any stage of the Intervention Program that the

player should be referred for clinical intervention and/or

treatment, a Treatment Plan shall be developed, if

indicated.

 

(3) Testing: In Stage One, the Medical Director may require

the player to submit to as many Tests for substances of

abuse as, in his discretion, are required to adequately

evaluate the player, and those Tests shall be administered

under the direction of the Medical Advisor.

b. Duration.

(1) Time Limitation: Players wil remain in Stage One for a

period not to exceed 90 days; provided, however, that the

Medical Director, in verbal consultation with the Medical

Advisor, may extend the total time a player is in Stage One

up to six months. If, due to unusual and compellng

circumstances, the Medical Director determines that a

period in excess of six months is required, the six-month

period may be extended with the concurrence of the

Medical Advisor.

 

(2) Advancement to Stage Two: Subject to the time

limitations set forth in subsection (1) above, the Medical

Director will determine how long a player will remain in

Stage One. No player will be either advanced from Stage

One to Stage Two or dismissed from the Intervention

Stages without notification to the player by the Medical

Director.

(a) Behavior Evaluation: A player who is referred to

Stage One solely for Behavior and who upon

evaluation in Stage One is deemed by the Medical

Director not to require specific clinical intervention

and/or treatment will immediately be released from

any further obligations to participate in the

Intervention Stages and will thereafter assume the

same status as players who have never been referred

to the Intervention Stages. However, a player who is

referred to Stage One solely for Behavior, and who

upon evaluation in Stage One, is deemed by the

Medical Director to require specific clinical

intervention and/or treatment, will be advanced to

Stage Two upon notification to the player by the

Medical Director. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a

player who has a Positive Test while in Stage One

shall be automatically advanced to Stage Two.

 

(b) Positive Test Evaluation: A player who is referred

to Stage One by reason of a Positive Test, and who,

upon evaluation in Stage One is deemed by the

Medical Director not to require specific clinical

intervention and/or treatment will advance to Stage

Two upon notification to the player by the Medical

Director, and will be subject to Stage Two Testing

by the Medical Advisor but will not have a

Treatment Plan. However, a player who is referred

to Stage One by reason of a Positive Test and is

deemed by the Medical Director to require specific

clinical intervention and/or treatment, wil be

advanced to Stage Two upon notification to the

player by the Medical Director.

 

(c ) Discipline: If the Medical Director, after

consultation with the Medical Advisor, determines

in his discretion that a player in Stage One has

failed to cooperate with the evaluation process or

fails to comply with his Treatment Plan, both the

NFL Management Council and the NFLP A shall be

notified and the player wil be subject to an

immediate fine equal to three-seventeenths (3/17) of

the amount in Paragraph 5 of the NFL Player

Contract, and he wil be placed in Stage Two upon

notification by the Medical Director.

[Magox]

Yeah. that'll teach him.......

 

.......that there's nothing he can do that can't be dropped down to a misdemeanor.

 

 

Hit n' runs, smokin' blunz, loaded guns------I'M MARSHAWN LYNCH!

before you crucify and judge him like half of the rest of the board, don't you think we should get all the details first.

 

You wouln't want to be put in the same category as a Nancy Grace would you?

 

All those prosecutors on tv are too extreme. According to them you would think that no one is in this world is innocent

[VOR]

Yeah. that'll teach him.......

Yeah, about as well as the 1 game suspension will teach Brandon Marshall to not beat his girlfriend, or the Giants' self-imposed 4 game suspension for Burress for the games he would have missed anyway will teach him. It is what it is.

.......that there's nothing he can do that can't be dropped down to a misdemeanor.

The accident last year was a traffic ticket. Reduced from an alleged felony. Now hw does that happen?

Hit n' runs, smokin' blunz, loaded guns------I'M MARSHAWN LYNCH!

Don't quit your day job, whatever that may be.

[VOR]

No, because none of that information is publicized until a player has already been disciplined (and, by default, advanced to Stage 2). Remember hearing about Bruce Smith failing any drug tests before his four-game suspension was announced in Sept. 1988? Me neither, because nothing was made public until the NFL announced the suspension. In fact, there's a pretty strict confidentiality section -- with fines of up to $500,000 for anyone who violates the privacy of a player in the treatment program -- on Pages 4-6 of the league's substance abuse policy.

 

Here's some of the boilerplate. At this point, with no formal drug charges against Lynch, I believe it would be left to Commissioner Goodell's discretion as to whether his "behavior" raises enough red flags to trigger Stage 1. This, of course, assumes there aren't any other skeletons lurking in his closet. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on that ... for now.

Lynch wasn't charged with possession or even just smoking pot. Without proof, it's baseless allegations. The NFL can order a drug test, but without him failing it or actually getting busted, they can't do anything further.

 

Oh, and one more thing. Leinart's situation doesn't apply, because alcohol isn't on the list of banned substances:

Alcohol used to be banned. I guess that went away with the last CBA.

 

http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/sports/d...ball/index.html

[Lori]

Lynch wasn't charged with possession or even just smoking pot. Without proof, it's baseless allegations. The NFL can order a drug test, but without him failing it or actually getting busted, they can't do anything further.

 

Wrong. Even without an arrest, Goodell could still invoke the personal conduct policy. And once he's reminded of his comments regarding Lynch last summer, the commish is not likely to be in a good mood.

 

I have mixed feelings about this. One one hand, I don't think it's a huge deal -- if anything, Ko's deal showed worse judgment. But on the other, would a ruler across the knuckles make Lynch think twice about continuing to put himself in questionable situations? I wonder ...

[Lori]

Tim Graham, in a conversation on the Brad Riter Radio Network: "I think Roger Goodell is going to take a very dim look at this."

He pointed out that Goodell is not bound by the courts, and "can take a very broad look at things," including considering the hit-and-run as a prior offense.

 

Not worth banishment from the league, obviously, but it could be anything from a fine to a suspension of anywhere from 1-to-4 games ... and Marshawn had better hope that Goodell doesn't wake up in a rotten mood on the day he makes his decision.

[VOR]

Wrong. Even without an arrest, Goodell could still invoke the personal conduct policy. And once he's reminded of his comments regarding Lynch last summer, the commish is not likely to be in a good mood.

I'm not disagreeing that Goodell would like to enroll him in Stage 1, I'm saying the NFLPA would fight it. Otherwise it would allow Goodell to enroll whoever he wants, whenever he wants.

 

I have mixed feelings about this. One one hand, I don't think it's a huge deal -- if anything, Ko's deal showed worse judgment. But on the other, would a ruler across the knuckles make Lynch think twice about continuing to put himself in questionable situations? I wonder ...

I wish the cops had retrieved the blunts and tested them. I don't care if "it's a hassle because of the paperwork, costs money, and any charge(s) would get dropped anyway." That along with the "no one admitted it was his" excuses are ludicrous and don't provide any proof that there was indeed pot in the car. That way we would know definitively, instead of merely believing there was pot.

[lets_go_bills]

Actually, if the gun is indeed unlicensed, he'll probably get in more trouble for that. The weed allegations might -- might -- put him into Step 1 of the treatment program, but "unlawful possession of a gun outside the workplace" is directly mentioned as cause for discipline in the Personal Conduct Policy.

 

Sorry, the context I meant was that while he did have an unlicensed gun (as wrong as it was), it was more or less for his protection as a young, rich athlete hanging out in SoCal. But that being around drugs seemed worse because it was a lot more obvious and is what directly led to the cops searching for and finding the gun.

 

at this point in time, we don't have Freddy--they need give him an offer to keep him

 

Yeah we do. He's a restricted free agent. He's going to play in Buffalo next year for sure.