Hmmmmmm....I Really Wonder........

[BigFish]

How much time Michael Vick will have to serve in jail???? Can you say....."House Arrest"????

[fishaholic18]

I say 18 months.
back to the ghetto for him...

[BigBo]

Pretty safe to say his NFL career is over and done? He'll probably be playing Stadium Football. That's about it.

[The Dad Fisherman]

When he gets out he's scheduled for a Pay-Per-View Match against Mike Tyson.

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by BigFish

Can you say....."House Arrest"????

No, I can't, because although I don't practice Federally, I'd be shocked if such a sentence is available for him after a conviction, under the Federal sentencing guidelnes.

[BigFish]

Not convicted though Mike....he plead guilty! Your the lawyer but these hardly seem to me to mean the same thing! If he went to a jury trial what was the worst he was going to see if found guilty??? I bet no more than the 18 months they are talking about because he is a first time offender......so he pleads out.....6 months suspended and community service......we shall see! I have "ZERO" faith in this judicial system!!!

[Mike P]

A conviction is a conviction--regardless whether a jury finds a defendant guilty, whether a judge finds him guilty after waiver of a jury trial, or whether the defendant convicts himself with his own words in a guilty plea. There is no such thing as a "no contest" plea or an "admission to sufficient facts" in Federal court.

The Federal sentencing guidelines were supposedly designed to bring uniformity and eliminate much of a judge's sentencing discretion which often resulted in a great disparity in sentences imposed for the same crime by different judges, and in a way, to eliminate the so-called "trial penalty" some judges would slam onto a sentence for "wasting their time" by insisting on a trial. There is a range of minimium and maximum terms set forth, which a judge is pretty much going to choose from. He has to justify a so-called "downward departure"--ie a sentence less than the minimum called for in the guidelines--in writing, and unless it is an agreed upon departure, the Government can appeal it. Federal courts don't have suspended sentences, either. You serve 85% of the sentence actually imposed. If there is such a thing as community service in Federal sentencing, it's reserved for the most trivial federal misdemeanors, or imposed as something to be performed after service of the prison sentence.

Don't think that the run of the mill Massachusetts District Court dispositions that you read in the court report section of your local paper reflect what happens in a Federal District Court It's a different ballgame, with professional, and often career, prosecutors, smarter and more qualified (and often tougher) judges, with rules of evidence designed to facilitate convicting people, and where the Government rarely loses.

[justplugit]

The Federal Judge he is going before is known to give out stiff penalties .

In addition i read last week that Virginia may prosecute him on state charges that would not be double jeopardy to the Fed charges.
Article said state charges ,if convicted ,could call for upto 8-10 years.

[BigFish]

I'll betcha.....he does not serve more than 6 months!

[UserRemoved1]

I just saw an article on Drudge that said "HE FOUND GOD"

[Karl F]

Originally Posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&

I just saw an article on Drudge that said "HE FOUND GOD"

Oh Well, God is Dog, spelt backward, after all...

[The Dad Fisherman]

He'll get at least a year....I'd love to see the judge give him the 5. The judge also made it a point to let him knoe he doesn't have to give him the recommended....that he could be harsher. I wonder if he is a dog owner

[The Dad Fisherman]

Prosecutors have asked the judge to sentence Vick to between 12 and 18 months in prison. But Hudson reminded Vick that he was not bound by the suggested sentence.

"I place a lot of importance on the government recommendation but I want it understood that I am not bound by that part of the plea agreement," Hudson said in court. "The decision is mine in regard to sentencing."

"If I decide you deserve five years, you'll get five years and you can't appeal that. Do you understand that?" Hudson asked.

"Yes, Sir," Vick responded.