Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - and...no charges to be filed...

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

Yep I don't see him being charged with this, it will somehow disappear. I think it will prove how big a joke Florida is as well. A DNA match from a young lady that reported this almost right away?? He should have been charged MONTHS ago!!

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

The only reason Jameis Winston shouldn't be charged already is if there are serious incongruities in the accuser's testimony on the encounter.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

JIB said:

Stirring the pot is your opinion. Most people that know me would say I'm too full of Bama - that I'm the crazy fan. I just happen to attempt to be logical on here which upsets some of the nutty folks. Saying I don't believe in large scale FSU conspiracies isn't stirring the pot. The only thing I'll plead guilty to is unchecked pessimism from time to time.

If the rape kit was conclusive in that she was raped/roughed up then it makes no logical sense for the DA not to have already had an indictment. Maybe not a while ago, but by now for sure.

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That is somewhat arrogant on your part, sir. Are you qualified to determine the mental status of those that may have a different viewpoint from you? You must be very well educated, being able to assess people's mental capacity from a few posts on a sports blog. Impressive, indeed.

Roll Tide, Roll.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

JIB said:

They may have tried that a year ago but I don't think they'd do that now - too much scrutiny. We may never know - if Winston isn't charged, and I think the longer it takes the less likely it is, it could actually be because there's not enough evidence. It appears the rape kit was inconclusive, so who knows what they're waiting on..

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I'm no expert on rape kits and I doubt you are either. However, my limited knowledge of the subject tells me that a rape kit can only be "inconclusive" if there is no forensic evidence such as DNA, etc. In this case there is DNA evidence and other evidence that some type of sexual encounter occurred. A rape kit, in and of itself, cannot determine whether that encounter was or was not consensual. A rape kit is basically just a methodology for collecting evidence.

My guess is that any delay would be in examining or obtaining statements of other parties that might shed light on the encounter itself. If the delay is for any other reasons then it's gone beyond proper justice in my mind.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

I do think he should already be charged by what is known. Any of us in his circumstance would already be facing charges. I think the fact he is famous has earned him a more cautious prosecution that wants to have things air-tight before moving forward.

If it was any of us, only serious issues with the accuser's testimony would be saving us from charges but even then it might have had to come to court to be revealed.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

rgw said:

I do think he should already be charged by what is known. Any of us in his circumstance would already be facing charges. I think the fact he is famous has earned him a more cautious prosecution that wants to have things air-tight before moving forward.

If it was any of us, only serious issues with the accuser's testimony would be saving us from charges but even then it might have had to come to court to be revealed.

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Seems like fame has bought him time. Which is sad, but what you say seems right. With how things have been bobbled and fumbled lately it is best to have things correct first before prosecution.


Sent from my iPhone

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

The credibility of the witness is the only thing that could keep this case from going to court, IMO. In most states the case would be heard by a grand jury right now and they would decide. If that were to happen, even if the witness were not terribly credible, it would go to court. Her rape report and the DNA match is sufficient in GJ states to assure at least that.

If we are to trust the SA, then we have to assume that he has seen/heard something which is causing him to delay until he can further investigate it. He keeps mentioning something which he has been unable to obtain which is delaying his decision. Is it testimony from a witness, or analysis of physical evidence - we do not know.

For now, I will trust Meggs and let this play out. FSU would beat FL without Winston, so no harm there.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

I wonder who this witness is. Also I wonder which side will this witness incriminate? Did he take part in this? Was he/she just viewing the act? Was there a plea under the table?


Sent from my iPhone

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

rgw said:

The only reason Jameis Winston shouldn't be charged already is if there are serious incongruities in the accuser's testimony on the encounter.

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....like her attacker was 5'6" or 5'8"? DNA don't lie....if no one else's was present, then whatever he is waiting for to file charges must be big.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

230kv_barehand said:

Yep I don't see him being charged with this, it will somehow disappear. I think it will prove how big a joke Florida is as well. A DNA match from a young lady that reported this almost right away?? He should have been charged MONTHS ago!!

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We are already a joke as far as justice.

Barry Cohen makes the OJ trial look like amateurs. All this is typical for Florida Justice system just ask Cam Newton.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

JIB said:

A rape charge vs a gun charge seems like a stretch. Add in the SB was legitimately work related and that the prosecutor had no issue PLUS there wasn't a Bears rule like the FSU rule and it's not much of an analogy.

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Or, may be you're just trying your best to be argumentative. Firstly, Illinois usually takes gun charges rather seriously and he was already on probation, so there was no debating his being a criminal. Secondly, a prosecutor in Illinois and a judge in Illinois didn't want to harm da Bears chances of winning a Super Bowl, and you can't see the comparison (it's not even an analogy really, because it's a judge granting permission to go play in a big football game for the honor and glory of the state basically, which is pretty much the same possible scenario).

I'm not saying this would happen with Winston, but you acting like it's impossible is either naive or just going way out of your way to play devil's advocate.

JIB said:

I just happen to attempt to be logical on here

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You need to try harder.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

rgw said:

The only reason Jameis Winston shouldn't be charged already is if there are serious incongruities in the accuser's testimony on the encounter.

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I would disagree.
Why the rush to charge? This case sat for a long time before being resurrected. There is not only the official complaint to investigate, but also the actions of the parties over the last nine months. I would think there has been a lot of chatter among the accused party, the witnesses, girlfriend(s), police, coaches and school staff. Statements need to be collected from all of them. I'm not an attorney but I would think the investigative dynamic changes once charges have been filed. There is no use speculating on the outcome until the state's attorney makes his announcement.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

crimsonaudio said:

I still expect JW to be charged and have his day in court.

That said, Meggs has stated a decision to charge could come as early as Tuesday, though he also stated it was unlikely a decision would occur before Thanksgiving - while some here seem to think these sorts of decisions are made willy-nilly, these accusations (and potential resulting charges) are very serious and have consequences no matter what - one way or the other someone's life will be changed by this decision. And this is real life, not TV - the law doesn't typically move quickly.

If Meggs is remotely competent, the football calendar will have nothing to do with his decision.

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I don't know how competent Meggs is, but it's obvious he's taking caution to a different level.

My question... Is Meggs always this cautious, or just in high profile cases that have political overtones?
(I know about walking around in a 'Mine Field' of politics...)
If you could breach the wall of silence; I'd like to know what local lawyers think about this?
(Not gonna happen, cause of 'Speak No Evil'... Safer for them to remain silent.)

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

Just a couple things that have been nagging at me.


Firstly, there's plenty of room for inconclusive "rape-kit" test results. Just because someone has tearing etc. doesn't mean they were definitely raped, although it's remarkably likely if it is reported as such. Secondly, just becasue someone doesn't have tearing or other damage doesn't mean it was consensual. Sometimes we have physiological responses that aren't congruent with our intentions. "No" means "no" even if you have a physiological response to what is going on. That really gets to me how we often assume that if someone's body accepted the act, it must have been consensual. It certainly improves the odds, but doesn't guarantee anything. I also remember reading someone say "That's why we have KY jelly."

Next issue, potentially related: drug screen. Urine (and often blood) tox screens are called "screens" for a reason. They're cheap and pick up a lot of substances, but they are neither as specific (bad false positive rate) nor as sensitive (bad false negative rate) as we would like. Frankly, if one of my patients is getting Xanax (alprazolam) or Klonopin (clonazepam) and they test positive for benzodiazepines, they're probably using something else that I'm not prescribing. If I really need to get a positive test for those, I have to specially request much more expensive quantitative benzodiazepine tests specifically looking at alprazolam and clonazepam, and that's poor system utilization for a guy who came into the ER with suicidal ideation and is denying use of substances.

Take these pieces of information as you wish, but they may be helpful in understanding the case.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

From a "base" fanatic standpoint, my longstanding inappropriate nickname (be honest, most of us have them) for the Seminoles got much more awkward and I may have to retire it.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

I understand Meggs probably wants to take as much time as he can either way, simply to bring legitimacy to the process and to make any final determination seem as if it only came after long, serious consideration of the matter.

Having said that, I can't imagine that there is really anything out there that he still needs to obtain before making a decision at this point. He has the police file, the medical records, DNA results, he has spoken with the alleged victim and the police officers who previously handled the matter, etc. At this point I think he's just buying time, and one way or the other the pie has long since been out of the oven on this one (i.e. a decision has been made). We're just all waiting to find out the flavor.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

BigEasyTider said:

I understand Meggs probably wants to take as much time as he can either way, simply to bring legitimacy to the process and to make any final determination seem as if it only came after long, serious consideration of the matter.

Having said that, I can't imagine that there is really anything out there that he still needs to obtain before making a decision at this point. He has the police file, the medical records, DNA results, he has spoken with the alleged victim and the police officers who previously handled the matter, etc. At this point I think he's just buying time, and one way or the other the pie has long since been out of the oven on this one (i.e. a decision has been made). We're just all waiting to find out the flavor.

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My feeling is that he has made a decision as well. I think we may be able to see what that decision is by how many practice reps that JW gets this week or possibly next week because I think he will share it with the FSU administration before making it public. If the 3rd string guy is taking an unusual amount of the snaps, then JW may be out and arrested soon. If not then Megg's will let him skate. But then again, if a decision has been made, why delay the inevitable? Maybe Megg's wants to appear that he considered the case carefully before proceeding.

I have seen some posts that make me wonder if this is a pattern with JW. If I were the prosecutor, I would certainly take into consideration prior behavior to determine if this is a one time incident or not. I certainly do not know one way or another.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

rgw said:

I don't understand where the jurisdiction would be for a federal prosecutor.

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I think that the Justice dept can intervene anywhere they please for whatever the reason. It is the job of the Justice dept to oversee that prosecutions or lack of them are done according to the law. I believe this is intended to provide oversight guarding against local bias. There was the TPD sitting on this for 11 months, and who knows---maybe Meggs owes political favors to well heeled FSU boosters he has to appease?

Also, just get some high profile rabble rousers to make noise and attract nat'l TV, and this Justice Dept. is very likely to jump in for the political expediency, warranted or not.

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

gwilliams said:

I think that the Justice dept can intervene anywhere they please for whatever the reason. It is the job of the Justice dept to oversee that prosecutions or lack of them are done according to the law. I believe this is intended to provide oversight guarding against local bias. There was the TPD sitting on this for 11 months, and who knows---maybe Meggs owes political favors to well heeled FSU boosters he has to appease?

Also, just get some high profile rabble rousers to make noise and attract nat'l TV, and this Justice Dept. is very likely to jump in for the political expediency, warranted or not.

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That's an academic discussion because the feds are never stepping in here. Either Meggs brings the case forward with a prosecutor's affidavit or the case is closed. Period.