McCollough Assault Case not Done

[Kristy*]

This kid that was punched is still having issues and hasn’t been able to return to work since the injury.

Show a little compassion, he wasn’t a threat, and was assaulted. He’s had multiple doctor visits, MRI’s and still can’t work this long after the attack.

*According to him.*

You don't know he wasn't a threat. He entered the wrong apartment. According to witnesses, he refused to leave and threatened to re-enter after they finally got him out the door.

The guy is so drunk that he doesn't remember what building he just left, but he can give a reliable account of the interaction?

To call it an attack is disingenuous.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I learned a lot of things from this preliminary hearing video (and a bit of research it caused me to undertake). Things like:

• The charges are at the county level -- not city, not state, not federal. Knox County.
• The District Attorney, Charme Allen, is an elected official. She just won re-election, and has started her second 8-year term.
• As an elected official, she must balance the interests of many different constituent groups. This prevents her from being either pro- or anti-Volunteers.
• Consequently, the prosecutors are probably just playing it "by the book" in this (and most other) cases. They would probably tell us they're just "following the evidence, wherever it leads."

So that was interesting. But I learned more than just that:

• The Grand Jury exists to keep innocent people from being railroaded. The citizens of the 13 original colonies demanded Grand Juries to serve as a shield between the people and the Crown. We've had them ever since. Though at some point they became a rubber stamp to the extent that the "grand jury would indict a ham sandwich if the prosecutor wanted it to." That's a pity; it should go back to being a shield on behalf of the people.
• In Tennessee, at least in Knox County, there is sometimes a screening of cases even BEFORE the screening done by the Grand Jury. This pre-screening is called a preliminary hearing. That's what happened this week for McCollough.
• The preliminary hearing is functionally sort of like a pre-grand jury. It filters out cases that don't even merit being heard by the GJ.
• Witnesses can be called in preliminary hearings. And the defense attorney is allowed to be present (I don't think they can in a Grand Jury sitting). The judge decides on his own, after hearing both sides, whether there is enough possibility of a crime that the Grand Jury ought to consider it.
• In McCollough's case this week, the judge decided yes, this one should be determined by the Grand Jury. So that will be the next step, some point in the future.

A lot of stuff I didn't know before now. Appreciate the video!

 

[kcvols1]

Almost 100% of Grand Jury cases are indicted it’s a joke. I was on Grand Jury for 3 months, once a week . Heard 103 case indicted all but one. At the end of our service the judge came in and chastised us for not indicting that one. It’s basically a money thing. They come up read the charge and show of hands to or not indict. They might as well say you get arrested you’re indicted but this way it makes it look legal.

Your reasoning is inductive and thus flawed.

That’s not how it works everywhere.

 

[Jax_Vol]

If I catch you exiting my house, I will run you down and use whatever means are required to get you under control.

Seems like that should be my right. You came into my house. I don't know what you stole.

 

[kcvols1]

From what I've seen, GJ are little more than kangaroo courts. Especially when certain ethnic, regional people, or even in some cases familial targets are a factor.

Depends on the jurisdiction and the individuals involved, as do nearly all legal matters.

 

[VOLfrombama]

But he won't - if they indict him, he is likely to be kicked off the team, or suspended at the very least. The criminal system will take months to arrive at the same conclusion the university did already. Meanwhile, the team is deprived of a great player and his life is basically destroyed during that time and who knows how long till it gets right again. I mean do I have to actually invoke the AJ Johnson comparison here or are you familiar with it already?

Exactly

 

[WoodsmanVol]

Depends on the jurisdiction and the individuals involved, as do nearly all legal matters.

All I can say about that is, I know better, and some folks refuse to know better.

 

[Sandman 423]

This kid that was punched is still having issues and hasn’t been able to return to work since the injury.

Show a little compassion, he wasn’t a threat, and was assaulted. He’s had multiple doctor visits, MRI’s and still can’t work this long after the attack.

Who is responsible for the kids situation?

 

[DynaLo]

This kid that was punched is still having issues and hasn’t been able to return to work since the injury.

Show a little compassion, he wasn’t a threat, and was assaulted. He’s had multiple doctor visits, MRI’s and still can’t work this long after the attack.

Ways to avoid long term issues; don’t get so drunk you don’t know where you are, don’t walk in to a strangers home and if you do so, don’t be a belligerent a-hole and just quickly leave without fuss or running your mouth.

 

[wrangler]

I learned a lot of things from this preliminary hearing video (and a bit of research it caused me to undertake). Things like:

• The charges are at the county level -- not city, not state, not federal. Knox County.
• The District Attorney, Charme Allen, is an elected official. She just won re-election, and has started her second 8-year term.
• As an elected official, she must balance the interests of many different constituent groups. This prevents her from being either pro- or anti-Volunteers.
• Consequently, the prosecutors are probably just playing it "by the book" in this (and most other) cases. They would probably tell us they're just "following the evidence, wherever it leads."

So that was interesting. But I learned more than just that:

• The Grand Jury exists to keep innocent people from being railroaded. The citizens of the 13 original colonies demanded Grand Juries to serve as a shield between the people and the Crown. We've had them ever since. Though at some point they became a rubber stamp to the extent that the "grand jury would indict a ham sandwich if the prosecutor wanted it to." That's a pity; it should go back to being a shield on behalf of the people.
• In Tennessee, at least in Knox County, there is sometimes a screening of cases even BEFORE the screening done by the Grand Jury. This pre-screening is called a preliminary hearing. That's what happened this week for McCollough.
• The preliminary hearing is functionally sort of like a pre-grand jury. It filters out cases that don't even merit being heard by the GJ.
• Witnesses can be called in preliminary hearings. And the defense attorney is allowed to be present (I don't think they can in a Grand Jury sitting). The judge decides on his own, after hearing both sides, whether there is enough possibility of a crime that the Grand Jury ought to consider it.
• In McCollough's case this week, the judge decided yes, this one should be determined by the Grand Jury. So that will be the next step, some point in the future.

A lot of stuff I didn't know before now. Appreciate the video!

Trial courts are generally county courts, which are part of a state court system.

I don't know TN law specifically, but that sounds unusual. Generally, there are two routes to a criminal trial. One is a grand jury indictment. The other is a preliminary hearing, where the prosecution attempts to present enough of its evidence to establish probable cause. A defense can be presented, but often isn't, as a tactical decision by the accused. If the judge decides that probable cause has been shown, the defendant is bound over for trial.

On occasion, a prosecutor will be unsuccessful with one of these routes, and then try the other one, hoping for better luck with it.

 

[bpalmer28]

Tank has helped us and I wish him the best but he’s not a critical part of the defense. We need an upgrade at safety, so maybe allowing a younger guy to finish out the regular season wouldn’t be so bad. Why not give them more reps, coach them up a little bit and get a better grasp on what we have at that position.

 

[Sudden Impact]

How many crimes did the victim commit in this process? It appears that he admitted to several. DUI? Public Intoxication? Aggressive behavior under the Influence? His Attempt to reenter the Apartment vs a Stand your Ground. Providing a False Statement to Police? Open bottle? Yet here we sit.

The fact that zero charges rendered against the victim would indicate that there is a hidden agenda. I think that there is more, the DA maybe on an agenda as well as the judge.

Grand Jury's decision to indict will be interesting. I guess the question will surface is why was the victim not arrested or given a BAT after the fact that the victim admitted to the commission of several crimes. Another question is what witnesses were questioned on the behalf of victim. Who was he visiting and can they verify his condition.

Wow, just a lot of BS.

 

[ProudVOLfan]

An indictment isn’t too difficult to obtain as the DA doesn’t have to provide much evidence. In this case, McCollough (allegedly) assaulted someone when there was not a threat to him being harmed. I’m not saying I agree but stating what the DA will say.

I would use the Jermaine Burton defense! Seems to work for his weak ass

 

[Pump Guy]

This kid that was punched is still having issues and hasn’t been able to return to work since the injury.

Show a little compassion, he wasn’t a threat, and was assaulted. He’s had multiple doctor visits, MRI’s and still can’t work this long after the attack.

His statement from the police report is that he left immediately, got hit in the face, and fell backwards down the stairs.

Not sure how you get hit directly in the face if you are leaving, and definitely not sure how you fall "backwards" down stairs, but land face first on the second step, from the top (maybe he did a gainer). But I understand your compassion for the drunk guy who didn't remember where he was going but remembers all these other details.

 

[ButchPlz]

His statement from the police report is that he left immediately, got hit in the face, and fell backwards down the stairs.

Not sure how you get hit directly in the face if you are leaving, and definitely not sure how you fall "backwards" down stairs, but land face first on the second step, from the top (maybe he did a gainer). But I understand your compassion for the drunk guy who didn't remember where he was going but remembers all these other details.

Don't forget, he also gave his statement with a handle of vodka in hand.

 

[DynaLo]

Warren said he couldn’t understand what the guy was mumbling in the front area of the apartment from just outside his bedroom at the back of the apartment. Jalen said the guy kept going on about his phone needing charged as he was repeatedly telling the guy to get out.

You would get hammered drunk taking a shot for every time the guy mentioned his dead cell phone needing charged during his statement and cross examination.

Even the judge questioned the credibility of the guy’s statements due to inconsistencies.

 

[livefaith]

In my opinion this should continue to go on. The grand jury should convene and find a way to give J. McCullough the key to the city for his actions of bravery and his contributions to Justice in Knox county. Just my $.02

 

[iuvol]

Honest question, has anyone read anything about the man who entered their apartment being charged, mistake or not you just can't walk into someone's home.

 

[ButchPlz]

Honest question, has anyone read anything about the man who entered their apartment being charged, mistake or not you just can't walk into someone's home.

He hasn't been. Which, again, shows how absolutely stupid the local justice system is in the Knoxville area.

 

[bpalmer28]

Yeah I don’t care how drunk you are or how stupid you are, there’s consequences for a stranger to come into my house uninvited and refusing to leave promptly. I’m not responsible for your drunkenness. That’s on you.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Honest question, has anyone read anything about the man who entered their apartment being charged, mistake or not you just can't walk into someone's home.

The DA's office probably feels no need to rush the issue. They can pursue charges against McCollough, and THEN after that concludes, however it concludes, they can press charges against the intruder.

The statute of limitations on criminal trespass is 3 years in Tennessee. So plenty of time.

The benefit of doing it this way is, should the case go to trial, and should a jury decide the intruder is a victim, the DA can avoid the bad optics of pushing charges against a proven victim. The other benefit of taking the cases sequentially is, they get a TON of discovery during prosecution of the first case that can then be used in the second case. Including the sworn testimony of the intruder during depositions, preliminary hearings, grand jury, and perhaps trial.

So yeah, I wouldn't think they'd pull that trigger yet. But it remains entirely capable of being pulled, far as I can tell.

 

[iuvol]

The DA's office probably feels no need to rush the issue. They can pursue charges against McCollough, and THEN after that concludes, however it concludes, they can press charges against the intruder.

The statute of limitations on criminal trespass is 3 years in Tennessee. So plenty of time.

The benefit of doing it this way is, should the case go to trial, and should a jury decide the intruder is a victim, the DA can avoid the bad optics of pushing charges against a proven victim. The other benefit of taking the cases sequentially is, they get a TON of discovery during prosecution of the first case that can then be used in the second case. Including the sworn testimony of the intruder during depositions, preliminary hearings, grand jury, and perhaps trial.

So yeah, I wouldn't think they'd pull that trigger yet. But it remains entirely capable of being pulled, far as I can tell.

Thanks for the answer, makes sense.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

The DA's office probably feels no need to rush the issue. They can pursue charges against McCollough, and THEN after that concludes, however it concludes, they can press charges against the intruder.

The statute of limitations on criminal trespass is 3 years in Tennessee. So plenty of time.

The benefit of doing it this way is, should the case go to trial, and should a jury decide the intruder is a victim, the DA can avoid the bad optics of pushing charges against a proven victim. The other benefit of taking the cases sequentially is, they get a TON of discovery during prosecution of the first case that can then be used in the second case. Including the sworn testimony of the intruder during depositions, preliminary hearings, grand jury, and perhaps trial.

So yeah, I wouldn't think they'd pull that trigger yet. But it remains entirely capable of being pulled, far as I can tell.

Assuming we make it to trial, is his blood alcohol level in play by the defense? Surely that was established during the investigation and medical care.

 

[EZE]

Wait. Is discipline really going to be the best thing here? I say we apply the Saban Rehabilitation Method, and handle this internally.

After all, if this had happened in Tuscaloosa, that is exactly how it would have gone.

Well, it would be worth asking the DA why the Alabama player isn’t being brought before the same Grand Jury for assaulting a woman and others?

 

[EZE]

Assuming we make it to trial, is his blood alcohol level in play by the defense? Surely that was established during the investigation and medical care.

Maybe. It’s questionable and here’s why. The intruder isn’t being charged with a crime, so his sobriety is essentially irrelevant to the case.

The player likely will use defenses like self defense, Tennessee’s version of the Castle Doctrine. Etc., but none of these involve the intruder’s sobriety, either.

It will be interesting to see what the judge would rule on this issue.