Jaylon Tate's case dismissed

[Illinoy]

I'm not saying this is the case in this situation; however my biggest issue with false accusations are how it makes it so much more difficult for real victims of domestic abuse. Those victims become scared to tell anyone due to a fear that no one will believe them. I believe over 90% of domestic violence situations go unreported. The only recourse the State has for liars of domestic violence is nothing because they don't want to produce a greater chilling effect for those who are abused due to fears of not only a lack of support from the system, but also due to the possibility of adverse legal repercussions for not bringing forth a strong enough case.

All in all, I hope this doesn't cause irreparable harm to the future of any of these U of I students regardless of any transgressions that might have occurred on their end.

 

[Deleted member 556108]

Wow this is wrong on so many levels. Really interested to hear the full story when it comes out. Kicked out of a party for being intoxicated alone is.... Weird. Perhaps beligerent, got in a fight on the walk home? Just crazy, incredibly messed up situation.

 

[whovous]

It is also worth keeping in mind that the news business is a very hard business. Just because "facts" are stated in an article does not make them so. The media gets all sorts of things wrong all the time, not out of malice, but because getting a story straight is just real hard work.

I want to read these latest stories as proving JT is innocent because I like JT. Still, we have a ways to go yet. Let's see if the charges are actually dropped before we start calling for the girl's head.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

My biggest issue with false accusations are how it makes it so much more difficult for real victims of domestic abuse. Those victims become scared to tell anyone due to a fear that no one will believe them. I believe over 90% of domestic violence situations go unreported. The only recourse the State has for liars of domestic violence is nothing because they don't want to produce a greater chilling effect for those who are abused due to fears of not only a lack of support from the system, but also due to the possibility of adverse legal repercussions for not bringing forth a strong enough case.

It's a very, very difficult situation that the legal system is frankly ill-equipped to handle.

A bedrock principle of Anglo-American criminal law is that "it is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer". That idea is weaved through the libertarian ethos of our country and enshrined in the idea of "innocent until proven guilty" with all the procedural protections that surround that.

And, to be totally frank, those principles left a predominantly just, well-managed society, in which certain men in certain circumstances have nonetheless been able to abuse women with virtual impunity.

So it's a question of abrogating core philosophical beliefs balanced against a moral and public policy imperative of protecting women from violent crime against them. Those are really hard, thankless trade-offs to make. Not stuff for the faint of heart.

 

[AutoPoster 3000]

I would also strongly urge folks to stop inferring anything either way about this situation. It is unseemly and reflects poorly on us as a fan community. It's just as bad to accuse someone of making false accusations as it is to accuse them of domestic violence. And the fear that they will not be believed is the reason many victims back off or don't come forward at all. Let's not contribute to that problem.

I can only speak generally here because I, like all of you, know nothing firsthand about this case. But a couple of things to keep in mind. First, after-the-fact recantations are viewed skeptically in the legal system. So much so that appellate courts have found them to be presumptively unreliable. People recant for a lot of reasons, both good and bad. (Not wanting to be the center of a media firestorm and have your personal life picked apart in a public forum is a pretty good reason.) Second, while it is hardly unheard of for someone to make false allegations, the motivation is usually to gain the upper hand in divorce or child custody proceedings or inflict revenge on the other party in a contentious relationship. It doesn't fit the fact pattern for a false allegation case for someone who fell down while drunk to accuse her boyfriend of domestic battery. Third, prosecutors aren't stupid. They're going to look for independent evidence that can verify what happened outside the framework of he-said/she-said. Maybe an unbiased observer saw how the young woman was injured, or maybe the police can locate surveillance video. Give them the chance to do their job.

 

[Shane Walsh]

While I know nothing about this case other than what has been printed in the News Gazoo it would seem as if we have a bit of a discipline problem with our women's softball program. Drinking leading to menorah vandalism and now drinking leading to,... whatever this fiasco ends up being. Hopefully JFW looks into what is going on.

 

[unimaroon]

It's a very, very difficult situation that the legal system is frankly ill-equipped to handle.

A bedrock principle of Anglo-American criminal law is that "it is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer". That idea is weaved through the libertarian ethos of our country and enshrined in the idea of "innocent until proven guilty" with all the procedural protections that surround that.

And, to be totally frank, those principles left a predominantly just, well-managed society, in which certain men in certain circumstances have nonetheless been able to abuse women with virtual impunity.

So it's a question of abrogating core philosophical beliefs balanced against a moral and public policy imperative of protecting women from violent crime against them. Those are really hard, thankless trade-offs to make. Not stuff for the faint of heart.

Well said. Speaking as an oldster with a fair amount of "life turbulence" in my younger days, both personal and societal, I am strongly of the belief that things are far better now than they ever were. And they still have room to improve even more going forward. (.02 remitted)

 

[Snyder005]

This has more twists than an M. Night Shyamalan movie.

Wish it were a movie, as the media circus around this case has a large chance of damaging someone's reputation regardless of the outcome.

 

[EthanM]

Well that disappeared quickly. I'm just going to wait and see what happens with the legal system before holding judgement on either party, but it does sound as if Tate is innocent, as the presumption should have been quickly. IF the female in question did knowingly lie to the police, I do hope there are consequences for her, either legally or through the university system.

 

[joe4304]

Has Hailey Pieruccini been suspended indefinitely from the softball team? If she truly sent emails that admit to making false acquisitions then I don't think either party should be allowed to represent the University until this is completely cleared up.

In the 1 1/2 seasons she's been on the softball team she's never played in a game. Oddly, her bio said she lettered last year.

 

[Adnarel]

... FIFY

Read the post, anticipated the correction.

 

[Stevegarbs]

In the 1 1/2 seasons she's been on the softball team she's never played in a game. Oddly, her bio said she lettered last year.

That struck me as odd- guess earning a letter doesn't mean what it used to?

 

[Love My Alma Mater]

I hope for the best for both parties in this case. Jaylen is cleared if true, and hailey gets help needs if also warranted.

 

[geneseo]

"But at this point, the evidence that we have is sufficient for us to proceed, so we're going to do that because we believe that's what's appropriate and in the best interest of the community." - Rietz

Link to article

 

[Shuttlesworth]

Well that doesn't sound good but I guess it's still early. I expected it to be dropped after she recanted, and it still might be.

 

[Adnarel]

That sounds like a sensible State's Attorney. Her comments sound pretty impartial to me, at least. I am actually glad they just didn't immediately throw out the case once the recant went public. I'm sure that what she said is true: that women recant after domestic abuse cases to protect the man they may have a complicated relationship with, or because of fear, whatever.

As for me, I'm going to let the proceedings of the case decide whether or not JT is guilty.

 

[haasi]

McColley's confusing post about Tate - http://illinireport.info/2016/03/jaylon-tate-exoneration-why-the-delay/


He says he knows conclusively that Tate did nothing wrong. His theory is that Rietz is keeping this going to keep it under FOIA because she doesn't want police report coming out. McColley strongly implies that he knows who actually punched the victim in the face but doesn't come out and say who it is.

 

[Berg88]

Well Rob certainly doesn't mince any words about it. I hope he's right.

 

[AutoPoster 3000]

McColley's confusing post about Tate - http://illinireport.info/2016/03/jaylon-tate-exoneration-why-the-delay/


He says he knows conclusively that Tate did nothing wrong. His theory is that Rietz is keeping this going to keep it under FOIA because she doesn't want police report coming out. McColley strongly implies that he knows who actually punched the victim in the face but doesn't come out and say who it is.

This is the problem when people that don't practice criminal law write and speculate about things they don't really get. If the Tate case is dismissed, the record will be sealed by operation of law which is a FOIA exclusion. Also, what McColley is alleging would be a breach of the ethics rules that could get people in the State's Attorney's Office disbarred. Nobody is risking their career so they can delay the release of a misdemeanor arrest report for a few months. Reitz's comments are 100% consistent with the manner that prosecutors all around the country would handle a situation like this. As I posted previously, recantations in domestic violence cases are extremely common. The ASA is still going to do his/her due dilligence before dismissing a case or proceeding and that takes a few months. Very much SOP here.

 

[MadSeason]

So if the victim tells the DA's office that Tate did not hit her and that she would testify to that effect if they proceeded to prosecute him. But in addition to that she also states that she will not reveal who the perp was. What then?

You could theoretically impeach her with previous inconsistent statements or ask to have her held in contempt for not answering truthfully under oath.

It gets more complicated since she can invoke the 5th because she could be charged criminally with filing false police report.

In the end unless the Prosecutor has a really compelling motive they will just dismiss. Unless of course there are other witnesses

 

[MadSeason]

I am starting to think it was just the two of them, no witnesses.

You would have to think that there was a time when they were alone, otherwise the allegations would be pretty easy to refute.

You would think however that had she been struck and there were injuries at some point during party, someone would have noticed her on way out.

 

[unimaroon]

This is the problem when people that don't practice criminal law write and speculate about things they don't really get.

I am pretty sure McC has a law degree from a very prestigious law school, and is admitted.

 

[MadSeason]

I am pretty sure McC has a law degree from a very prestigious law school, and is admitted.

I think Poster is alluding to McC never having practiced Criminal Law.

A Law Degree really doesn't give you much insight without having practiced in it

 

[whovous]

There are definite gaps in McC's reasoning chain. Is he being coy about the identity of his mystery culprit, or is he just leaving things out? My guess is some of each, but mostly the latter.

 

[AutoPoster 3000]

I am pretty sure McC has a law degree from a very prestigious law school, and is admitted.

And has never served as a prosecutor or defense counsel for an accused person. There's a reason only certain types of attorney handle certain types of cases -- specialized knowledge. You don't hire an intellectual property lawyer to handle your divorce, or a personal injury expert to write your will. And you don't want a guy who self-publishes a sports blog to defend you in a criminal case.

But look, even if you think merely holding a law degree qualifies him to speculate on this stuff, he demonstrated that he's out of his wheelhouse but advancing a theory that is legally flawed in its entirety. The Freedom of Information law simply doesn't work the way he thinks it does. Moreover, if he had spent much time looking over police arrest reports from Champaign County or anywhere else, he's realize that they contain virtually no information that isn't reiterated in the accusatory instruments themselves. And lastly, just to put this whole thing to bed, the documents he thinks could serve as FOIA bombshells are almost certainly already in the hands of defense counsel at this stage via standard discovery procedures. In other words, there is simply no there there, and if McColley were remotely schooled in the basics of criminal law, he would not have published that tripe. And there's certainly no reason for any of us to pay attention to it. Let's let the professionals do their job.