Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Athletes and the criminal justice system

Do athletes get preferential treatment in the criminal justice system? That was a question being asked by some in the aftermath of Jeff Burns’ arrest by Boston police for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Burns, a 22 year old back-up defensive end, was arrested in late December after allegedly spending a night on the town drinking. Reports indicate that Burns then got behind the wheel of his car and crashed it into a stone wall. Officers smelled alcohol on his breath and arrested him after he failed several field sobriety tests. When Burns posted bail, he was ordered to appear in court on Dec. 26. The problem was that he was scheduled to be in Idaho that day to prepare for the MPC Computer Bowl (which by the way is a meaningless bowl game played in Boise on a blue carpet).

Without the permission of a judge, Burns hopped on a Boise-bound team plane the day before his arraignment. It was not until the team arrived in Idaho that he informed the school of his scheduled court date. Rather than issuing a warrant for his arrest when he failed to appear in court, Burns’ court date was rescheduled. Some lawyers argued that Burns got special treatment because he played on a high-level college program. They contended that under normal circumstances if a person didn’t show up for their arraignment, a judge would issue a warrant for their arrest.

Others were infuriated that the coach didn’t send him directly back home to honor his court appearance and instead allowed him to play in the game. Burns’ lawyer and other prominent criminal defense attorneys have indicated that short continuance dates like the one given in this case are common place and that Burns is actually being vilified because he is an athlete.

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