Johnny Jolly gets probation

[Patler]

yeah i guess i can agree with all that

but would the average guy on the street get the same treatment? or is this one of those athletes getting special treatment deal?

I think this might have been a situation in which he was treated MORE harshly because he was "famous". If you recall, there were 2 or 3 others in the car with him the first time, and at least one was found with drugs on his person. Jolly was charged for the open container in a cup holder. The others were given slaps on the wrists and let go, while Jolly was charged, maybe even overcharged. They seemed out to get him to show they weren't playing favorites. The prosecutor dragged it on and on, dismissed and refiled. It took a couple years, with the prosecutor mostly being the cause of the delay. The seemed to want the biggest hammer possible to hold over him.

Now, suddenly with a second charge facing him, its flipped around. A very quick resolution. Mandatory inhouse rehab, and the second charge is dismissed. I think rational heads realized that they were potentially destroying this guy when they really needed to try to help him. By many accounts he is a good guy with a drug problem, not a hardened criminal.

The first incident should have been handled more like this from the start, mandating that he get the help he needs.

He's an idiot for sure, but the source of his idiocy might be his addiction.

[MadtownPacker]

Bullshit in a way, in how they aren't doing what they say, but personally, I think it's dumb to waste tons of taxpayer money on long prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenses anyway.

What did Jolly really do? Get fucked up on cough syrup with his buddies. Probably got an addiction going, and possibly distributed the "drank" to his hoodrat buddies. So instead of this guy making money as a football player in the NFL, or at least the UFL or AFL, he's gonna be locked up for years on the taxpayers' dime, probably costing a hundred thousand dollars or more over his long sentence, and then releasing him later in his life as a convict with no real prospects. Why? In an attempt at making prescription cough syrup slightly less easily available on the black market. Yay. Great use of taxpayer money. The War on Drugs continues, forty years later.

Maybe youre not such a POS after all. Excellent post.

He doesnt deserve to go to prison or even jail. He also doesnt deserve to play in the NFL if he cant control his habits just like any other job.

[Pugger]

I have a hard time thinking Goodell is gonna lift Jolly's suspension any time soon after we get a new CBA.

[th87]

Football keeps him off the streets of Houston, so if Goodell's really interested in his rehabilitation, he'd allow him to reconnect with the team.

[Tarlam!]

Football keeps him off the streets of Houston, so if Goodell's really interested in his rehabilitation, he'd allow him to reconnect with the team.

Good thoughts, TH, but Goodell has morphed into a meglamaniac. He's not interested in helping anyone but himself.

[red]

question, i thought originally they were getting himfor distribution because of the amount he had

is this not correct? if he's just having a good time with his friends, well thats one thing. but if he's selling, thats another

[SkinBasket]

Jolly should be executed right next to Vick. Disgusting human beings.

[Tarlam!]

Apparently, the plea bargin is dropping the newest charges and he plead guilty to the original charge, agreed to therapy and 5 years probation. So, despite being caught a second time, he's being re-sentenced for the first offense.

It is a wonderous legal system that sometimes has me scratching my head. FYI, there are no jury trials in Germany....

[Patler]

question, i thought originally they were getting himfor distribution because of the amount he had

is this not correct? if he's just having a good time with his friends, well thats one thing. but if he's selling, thats another

That was part of what was screwed up in his first case, I think. Remember that they dismissed the first charge to allow time to train their analysts in a new testing procedure to determine how much was in the mixture. Then they determined that he had a high amount already mixed with Dr. Pepper in an open glass in the vehicle.

His attorney argued over and over that the charge was excessive, and if they insisted on it he would take it to trial.

[Patler]

Apparently, the plea bargin is dropping the newest charges and he plead guilty to the original charge, agreed to therapy and 5 years probation. So, despite being caught a second time, he's being re-sentenced for the first offense.

It is a wonderous legal system that sometimes has me scratching my head. FYI, there are no jury trials in Germany....

Which makes me think all the more that their first case was not very solid, perhaps not the second one either.

[Tarlam!]

Based on what you've revealed, Patler, I believe Goodell, too, was most excessive.

[Fritz]

This is all so confusing. But it's hard to imagine the Pack wanting him back now. Will he be suspended again by Goodell - can Goodell suspend him if this happened when there was a work stoppage?

[get louder at lambeau]

That was part of what was screwed up in his first case, I think. Remember that they dismissed the first charge to allow time to train their analysts in a new testing procedure to determine how much was in the mixture. Then they determined that he had a high amount already mixed with Dr. Pepper in an open glass in the vehicle.

His attorney argued over and over that the charge was excessive, and if they insisted on it he would take it to trial.

Yeah, I don't think it was ever really clear if he had a realistic distribution quantity or a large personal use dose. It sounded like a major gray area, which favors Jolly. Also in question at trial probably would have been whether it was really his, or one of his buddies' who was with him in the car. All they have to do is generate reasonable doubt, and he'd be found not guilty.

Jolly and his lawyers were probably looking at the first case as winnable, until dumbshit Johnny went and got busted for the same shit again. At that point they would have two cases with similar evidence, reducing their odds significantly, so they made a deal. The DA gets a felony conviction, and Jolly gets a chance at probation and rehab. And the taxpayers aren't paying to feed a 325 lb millionaire for the next five years.

[Patler]

Lots of interesting aspects to Jolly's situation and the NFL:

- other agents/players have already raised the question if acts committed during the lockout are subject to NFL conduct policies or not. Some "in the know" have said yes, others have said no.

- the second case has been dropped, so it both occurred and was dropped during the lockout.

- even if there wasn't a lockout, how severe of a penalty should a player receive for a charge that was ultimately dropped?

- the legal penalty from the first one is very mild, even following his guilty plea and the second incident. Jolly has been suspended for a year for an incident that netted him probation and mandatory rehab?

- if the first one case hadn't dragged on for three years, and if he had gotten probation and rehab right after it happened, I doubt he would have gotten a full year suspension. Players have gotten less than a year for incidents committed against others and for the use of performance enhancing drugs.

Jolly starts rehab on Monday. He will be done before the start of training camp, even if it starts on time. My guess is that if he completes rehab and has a solid post-treatment report, he will be re-instated as a player. To tack on yet more time would throw his suspension way out of wack with what has been given to players who committed acts against others or against the game.

Michael Vick was suspended while he was in prison and for 2 games after.
Roethlisberger did whatever he did and was suspended for 4(?) games.
Jolly has been suspended for 16 games, and counting.

The legal system said enough is enough and is trying to help Jolly start over. The NFL should too, unless they intend to treat the Michael Vicks and Ben Roethlisbergers much, much more severely in the future.

[sharpe1027]

- even if there wasn't a lockout, how severe of a penalty should a player receive for a charge that was ultimately dropped?

Right or wrong, the league has made it clear that it makes its own determinations irrespective of the legal outcome.

Michael Vick was suspended while he was in prison and for 2 games after.
Roethlisberger did whatever he did and was suspended for 4(?) games.
Jolly has been suspended for 16 games, and counting.

True, but before his NFL suspension Jolly violated his parole making it two separate offenses, the second negating any chance he had at arguing that he learned his lesson. Also, I thought it wasn't clear whether there could have also been in view of a failed drug test (which might not have been reported for the first offense).