Garland Predicts Roethlisberger Will not be Charged. How Could that Happen? Here’s How.

Posted By Cliff Tuttle | March 10, 2010

Consider the following excerpt from the Roethlisberger investigation coverage Pittsburgh Tribune Review:

“In an exclusive interview with the Tribune-Review, however, Roethlisberger’s newly hired attorney — prominent Atlanta criminal defense lawyer Edward T.M. Garland — rushed to insist that his client ‘is completely innocent of any crime.’

‘The truth of events will cause this investigation to end without a charge,’ said Garland.”

Mr. Garland, in case you hadn’t noticed, not only stated that his client was completely innocent of any crime, but predicts that at the end of the investigation his client will not even be charged with a crime.

Given what we know so far, how could this be possible?

The crime is alleged to have taken place in a dark location without security cameras.  However, there were security cameras in other locations. In order for Roethlisberger to have committed the crime, both he and the victim would have to be absent from the view of the security cameras at the same time for a period of time long enough for the event to occur.

Of course, there were many witnesses present during that evening, including the victim’s friends, Roethlisberger’s entourage and other patrons of the bar. All that evidence can be pieced together to establish whether or not Roethlisberger and the victim were absent from the group at the same time. And, of course, the victim would have probably exited the bar shortly after the crime is alleged to have taken place and not be present on security tapes from that point onward. It is not too hard to imagine how film and eyewitness testimony could be combined to verify or disprove numerous details of the stories told by both the victim and the accused.  If Roethlisburger was continuously on camera or in the company of many witnesses during critical times when the assault could have been committed, the investigators could well conclude that he was not the perpetrator of the crime.

Press accounts have reported that the victim was crying for a long period and concluded that this makes the allegations against Roethlisberger highly credible. The victim was well-known and respected in the student community as a person who would not seek public attention. But that does not rule out the possibility that her account of a sexual assault that actually happened was only partly true. The possibility has not been excluded that someone else committed the sexual assault.

If such inconsistencies in the evidence come to light, Garland’s prediction, that Roethlisberger will not be charged with any criminal act, could be borne out.

Please bear in mind that the forgoing is only a speculation. It is just like the theories constructed by people who, based on the fragmentary information available, have already decided his guilt. The outcome of the investigation, and perhaps the trial, will be determined by evidence not presently available to you and me.

Be patient. Think of it as a spellbinding mystery story, a real page turner, still in the early chapters, at a time when most of the clues have not been revealed.

CLT

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CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

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