Delusional Bills Optimist

I get that things might be done differently in different jurisdictions, but I find it unfathomable that the prosecution would not keep their complainant apprised of the status of the investigation, since their case completely hinges on this individual. Something is just very, very odd here.

Three competing issues: 1. Team has exculpatory information that it would be EXTREMELY inappropriate to address now. 2. Bad PR, regardless of MA’s guilt or innocence, might prevent team from keeping him as they “search for truth.” 3. Team received extremely damning information 24 hours ago. I think number three is unlikely; if it was the case, he would’ve been cut by sun up. Number one would be brutal, as it would suck to stand up there and take those questions, knowing you can’t fully explain your position. IMO, number two is most likely. That’s a lot of pressure bubbling up right before the start of the season of highest expectations in a generation

Wow, what autocorrected from “align”. Yikes. And I hope she’s recovering from this stinker of a game.

Good question. I wish I was admitted in CA and could speak with more specificity. Generally, evidence collected in a criminal investigation is admissible in a civil proceeding, but there could be some fruit of the poisonous tree issues that would probably be state-specific and controlling with regard to the crossover. However, evidence from the criminal investigation would need to be admitted through the testimony of the criminal investigators. This would expose them to examination about why they declined to press charges (assuming charges do not hereafter get pressed).

I hate that it seems like I’m trying to beat up on a potential sexual assault victim, but it I would question the weight that should be afforded to what could easily be a self-serving document created by a claimant. If there were other indicia of reliability surrounding the journal, or other contemporaneous statements made that laugh with what’s in the journal, then, in my opinion, it becomes more relevant.

controlled phone calls can be admissible and are typical tactics in sex abuse/assault cases. However, I think CA is a two-party consent state when it comes to recording. Could be problematic. And illegal

As a lawyer who prosecutes civil/administrative sex abuse cases against minors (and thus is privy to the frequent companion criminal cases), my thoughts are as follows: 1. Of the alleged perpetrators, he is obviously the candidate with the deepest pockets (or at least the highest potential earning capacity at present). The entity with the deepest pockets in the situation would be the state university. The university no doubt carries a significant insurance policy. It is noteworthy to me that it is not more of a focus, especially if there are allegations that they slow-walked or obfuscated the investigation. Leads me to believe there must be a big impediment to pursuing a case against it. 2. I infer that there aren’t going to be charges forthcoming against MA, which is interesting because so-called statutory rape is practically a strict liability crime, and the proffering of an affirmative defense doesn’t usually dissuade a prosecutor from levying charges. The accuser’s/victim’s attorney would be in the loop regarding the charging decision, and the likely decision not to charge resulted in the filing of the civil suit. In a case like this, a prosecutor is not going to want to expose their complainant to adverse examination in a civil arena, either at trial or in depositions. You don’t want your witness pinned down under oath in advance of your trial, especially given the much higher criminal burden of proof. 3. If the accuser’s attorney was practicing in WNY, he’d be a pariah within the legal community immediately. You don’t ever publicly disclose settlement discussions. They are inadmissible in court for a reason. The ONLY reason you would do that would’ve to prejudice a lay audience, to whom the desire to settle a case usually implies guilt or liability. Also, the specificity of the allegations are noteworthy to me. Usually, in civil matters, you plead broadly, as it gives you the most leeway when it comes down to proving up your case. In my experience, when I am drafting an accusatory instrument, if I lather up the allegations more than necessary to provide the defendant with notice of the claims, it’s usually because I am intending to force a resolution short of a trial. To me, in a contest where money damages are the relief sought, that tells me that the instrument is designed to bring a swift settlement. Just my opinion. Situation is not a good look for the Bills, but there’s only so much the team can do. Hiring an investigator was a solid move. The accuser is not going to be allowed to talk with the team. You gather the information you can and act prudently. There is a lot here that is concerning to me and most of it is driven by the lack of criminal charges and the…unusual…tactics of the woman’s lawyer. If anyone has a copy of the pleadings, I’d love to take a look. Enjoy the game everyone, as best you can with this day’s developments.

If you get a chance to watch Cover 1’s film breakdown of the game, they show some representative instances where the Pats induced us into running into certain gaps that initially appeared open, but we’re designed to be quickly plugged by an off defender. What the tape shows is that there were actual alleys that resulted from the design of the “trap gap” that would have lead to some big gains, but we’re MUCH more difficult to spot for a back, particularly when right next door is an obvious gaping void. That’s some next level run D…

Patriots, apparently. Nope, wrong Bryant. My bad.

I get it, and normally I tend to avoid speculation about injuries, but the first thing that came to mind for me was Victor Cruz. I think he had a patellar tendon injury and I don't think he ever came back all the way afterwards.

I did the same thing when I couldn't get the link to work. The game's been so bad, I went back to my google search and read one of the articles about returning to sports after a patella dislocation. According to this paper, 6 weeks seems like it would be a miracle...https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4169614/ Return to sport after nonsurgical treatment "A safe return to sport implies that lesions of the knee have healed and the injured lower limb has adequately recovered to face the demands of sporting activities. Successful return to sport implies: (1) no early re-injury; (2) no further damage to the knee; (3) return to the preinjury or higher level; (4) no limiting pain; (5) still playing after 5 years; and (6) no early osteoarthrosis. A comprehensive return to sport decision-making process should be based upon: (1) clinical examination; (2) evaluation of laxity; (3) strength measurement; (4) neuromuscular evaluation; and (5) counselling with the physical conditioner and coach for professional athletes. As regards the patellofemoral joint, the challenge is that the patella is a sesamoid bone enclosed within the extensor mechanism of the lower limb. Its function is closely associated with dynamic muscle activity while retaining its osseous and soft tissue static elements [26]. Atkin et al. [3] followed 74 patients (37 men, 37 women) after a first dislocation that was treated conservatively. Preinjury sports activity was similar to that of patients with primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury [10]. Patients were authorized to return to sports after they regained full passive range of motion, had no effusion, and when quadriceps muscle strength was at least 80 % of the noninjured limb. Patients regained range of motion after 6 weeks. Sports participation was limited during the first 6 months after injury, with difficulties in squatting and kneeling. At 6 months, 58 % of patients noted limitations in strenuous activity, but no recurrence was recorded. Sillampaa et al. [32] reported that the return to preinjury activity level varied between 44 % and 60 % regardless of the modality of treatment after the first dislocation." Also... "Patellofemoral instability may occur in a young population as a result of injury during sporting activities. This review focuses on return to sport after one episode of dislocation treated no[n]-operatively and as well after surgery for chronic patellofemoral instability. With or without surgery, only two-thirds of patients return to sports at the same level as prior to injury." Scary stuff for a relatively uncommon injury...

Thanks for the confirmation. Good to know for future TNF games.

Happened to me, too. Although, I was trying to watch on the Spectrum app on a Roku TV. Maybe they're playing these mundane Top Ten List shows because it's technically streaming, and there may be some sort of exclusive streaming rights thing going on? That said, the game sounded like a dud...but I'd still watch an NFL dud over anything else on a Thursday night.

Correct. A plaintiff must plead they’ve sustained damages in excess of $75,000 in order to satisfy the diversity jurisdiction requirement for filing a civil action in federal court. Otherwise, she would be limited to filing in state court. The amount of damages sought at trial will be FAR in excess of that, if it gets to that point.

I think we had him in around Christmas time. I wonder if he turned down the futures contract from us.