New Jersey Criminal Lawyer Blog

Former New York Giant Plaxico Burress could potentially testify in front of a grand jury in his pending New York gun possession case. Burress's attorney, Benjamin Brafman, suggested to ESPN reporters that Burress may testify in front of a grand jury. This would be a dramatic step in trying to defend the case against Burress.

Burress faces charges for possession of an unlicensed firearm inside a New York City nightclub. The gun discharged while on Burress's person and left the Super Bowl XLII hero with a self-inflicted gun shot wound in his leg. Burress was subsequently suspended by the New York Giants and ultimately released this offseason. No other N.F.L. team has signed him to date.

New Jersey Criminal Lawyer Blog's Take: This would be quite a rare occurance and might just be a "hail mary" attempt to save Burress from serving prison time. If a suspect goes in front of the grand jury, he will be cross-examined by prosecutors without the benefit of a defense attorney present. Although the proceedings are closed to the public, a transcript of Burress's testimony could be used against him if the grand jury chose to indict him. It is difficult to see how a grand jury could not indict Burress, since based on news reports it appears that Burress will have to admit he brought the gun into the nightclub and the gun discharged into his leg. This will be a tough hill to climb, but shows how much the former Giant wants to avoid any jail-time.

D.A. want Plaxico in jail by trial or plea

A case of identity theft appears to be present in Illinois. Vontae Davis, a N.F.L. first round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins, was apparently arrested in Champaign, Illinois on June 9, 2009 for driving without a valid driver's license and unnecessary vehicular noise. The arresting officer took Mr. Davis's license; the only problem was Vontae Davis was not in Champaign, Illinois. He was a thousand miles away in South Florida.

Eventually, this whole issue was cleared up when Davis acknowledged his wallet had been stolen in February while he was still at the University of Illinois. The Dolphins were able to clearly establish Davis's presence in the Miami area during the time that the imposter was being issued a summons. Davis left the facility at 3:30 p.m. on June 9, 2009 and returned at 7:00 a.m. on June 10, 2009, while the June 9, 2009 arrest was made at 6:40 p.m. in Illinois.

New Jersey Criminal Lawyer Blog's Take: This story emphasizes the other side of identity theft. The media always discusses how one can take your financial information, but the less publicized version creates just as many headaches. If your identification is stolen, you should report it stolen immediately to your local police department. While, the chance that the police will recover your stolen items is slim, the police report can at least serve as a notice that you no longer have your identification. Thus, if one was found in a similar situation as Vontae Davis, there could at least be some proof that the wallet was stolen. It would go a long way in proving you were not the person the authorities had targeted, especially considering that most people don't have high profile N.F.L. jobs where numerous people can easily corroborate one's whereabouts.

Sun-Sentinel Vontae Davis arrest