Coach Bud trial happening now (update: NOT GUILTY of DUI!)

[Watchman]

Redness around the eyes???  Is coach smokin' wacky tobacky too?

[Thomas]

5 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

"DUI LESS SAFE WAS THE CASE THAT THEY GAVE ME..."

One of the good things about ATL (only in situations like this one) is we don't have TimeWarner-style 24-hour Local News outlets, or multiple competing newspapers, or round-the-clock hoops-obsessed local TV channels. Otherwise we'd probably have hyper-coverage and multiple panels of "experts" dissecting every legal maneuver. The local sports radio stations aren't chatting this thing up at all, although they certainly will if the jury comes back with a certain finding.

~lw3

They'll get the info they need from Hawksquawk.

[Duff_Man]

Since when do DUIs go to a jury trial? I've never heard of that in my life. My god that's a great way to get more people out of them.

[AHF]

6 minutes ago, Duff_Man said:

Since when do DUIs go to a jury trial? I've never heard of that in my life. My god that's a great way to get more people out of them.

If you are tested and over the legal limit, there isn't much reason for a defense attorney to take that to an actual trial.  The DUI less safe being much more subjective is a better case to take forward.  The DUIs where people test over the legal limit are usually settled on plea deals if not a guilty plea.

[lethalweapon3]

1 hour ago, Watchman said:

And was it MD 20-20?

Related: Bud mentioned he drank Pinot Noir at trial today. Ferry's receipt (from last week's WSB-TV video) included 4 glasses of "Adelscheim PN" at $16.00 each, so that's apparently the smoking Pinot Noir.

Ferry's order also included a bottle of Roederer Estate Brut, priced at $49.03, and a bottle of craft beer called "Single Intent" (locally brewed here in Decatur) costing $7.03. According to the restaurant receipt, there were 5 guests in total, and the bill with the meals included totaled $270 (FWIW: Danny tipped an additional 20%).

Ferry said under oath today that Bud didn't drink any champagne during the dinner, so it's possible the Roederer Brut sparkling wine was purchased as a gift for Bud, or for someone else in the dinner party.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

"I'M TOLD... NOT GUILTY!"

 

~lw3

[AHF]

Sounds like the right result based on the tweeted evidence.

[lethalweapon3]

Did Bud hit Prosecutors with the Bud Wave? lol

~lw3

[Thomas]

5 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

"I'M TOLD... NOT GUILTY!"

 

~lw3

One less BC powder required tonight. Very happy this won't be an ongoing legal mess. 

[lethalweapon3]

Worth every penny.

~lw3

[Dnice]

Won't He do it??

 

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2016 by Dnice

[Thomas]

Defense is Bud's gift to himself as well as all us Hawk's fans.

[Lurker]

Seems like the right call, from what I read at most he should have gotten a watered down penalty. Didn't seem like much at all to me.

[lethalweapon3]

Bud and Danny be like...

"Just one mug, though!"

~lw3

[turnermx]

I wonder if jury selection pool was asked the question, "Did you visit Hawksquawk.net recently?"

[Thomas]

2 minutes ago, turnermx said:

I wonder if jury selection pool was asked the question, "Did you visit Hawksquawk.net recently?"

If they knew better maybe they would have. Great post turnermx.  

[capstone21]

What money and good lawyers can do for you ... how can you pull off a not guilty????   Crazy

[Guest]

Only took 3 years.

[AHF]

6 minutes ago, capstone21 said:

What money and good lawyers can do for you ... how can you pull off a not guilty????   Crazy

Without any exceptional lawyering on either side, it sounds like the right result.  It is up to the prosecution to prove he was impaired and unsafe beyond a reasonable doubt.  Everyone who saw him that night other than the officer testified he was not impaired.  The officer was inexperienced and Bud had good explanations for why some of the tell-tale signs of impairment are misleading in his case (red eyes, etc.).  Plenty of reasonable doubt (if not good evidence to actively disprove the allegation).  Drinking 1.3 glasses of wine over an hour long dinner will not significantly impair a normal adult.

[lethalweapon3]

Now that the trial's over, as an upstanding Jawjah taxpayer, I would like to see the prosecution rate for breathalyzer refusals (going to trial w/o a guilty plea), following arrests by the state's specialized Nighthawks DUI force. I'm not going so far as to imply the unit is totally useless, but I do wonder whether they're any more capable of ID'ing people committing DUI than the cops in local jurisdictions. They definitely can help locals in busy metro areas arrest more people. But does their investigatory process result in significantly more involuntary convictions?

Like cap suggested, it's likely the majority of people, particularly those without re$ource$, simply take whatever plea deals (reduced jail time/fines/DUI classes/probation) prosecutors throw at them, rather than risk challenging the charges in front of an unknown jury.

~lw3