AA.com: Frank Clark Waives Preliminary Exam; Pre-Trial Hearing Set for Sept. 11th

So is it rational to assume we won't be seeing him until some time after that date?

when it's alleged he stole a laptop? Why isn't there an additional charge of burglary?

Unspecified male? Is Stockwell co-ed now?

Who is Frank Court?

Home invasion includes entering a home/residence without permission and committing a theft while in there [there are other ways to commit this crime as well].

Just stealing a laptop [some type of larceny] is a lesser crime than entering someone's else house and then stealing something from the house.

Home invasion-2nd degree can have rather serious penalties/punishments.  The waiver of the preliminary exam does not tell you for certain whether Clark intends to fight the charge, or whether he will be looking to take some sort of plea, either to a lesser offense, or maybe under a first offender program   

There are a variety of reasons a defendant, usually on the advice of counsel, will waive a preliminary examination.  It's quite common, so don't read much into it.

One possibility is that a plea deal is being negotiated with the prosecutor.  If this is a first offense, some sort of pre-conviction diversion might be in the works which could result in the charge being dropped if he keeps his nose clean for a year or two.  It also depends on the victim's attitude.  A deal could be made before the start of the season.  That's probably a best case scenario.

Worst case scenario is that the case will proceed to trial, he will be convicted and spend some time behind bars.

All this is speculation.  Time will tell.  Let's hope his teammates are learning from his mistake.

If no settlement is reached before September 11th, I can't see how Clark plays before mid-season, at best.  During his indefinite suspension, he's not practicing.  Even if everything was nicely tied up at the September hearing, you'd have to think he'd have to practice for a couple of weeks before he could play -- and that assumes any suspension would have an end date by then. 

In Michigan people under a certain age are sometimes eligible for a diversion program called Holmes Youthful Trainee Act.  I would suspect that is what being discussed between the prosecutor and the Defendant.  Assuming the Defendant doesn't have a criminal history this is how alot of cases of young adults are resolved.  Home Invasion 2nd Degree is a very serious charge and can end up with significant jail time if convicted as charged.  Usually a prelim is waived when some type of settlement is likely.  I can't see this getting close to being resolved prior to the season a the legal process moves pretty slow in Circuit Court.

According to the court website he was only being charged with the second degree home invasion charge, so perhaps he entered the dwelling but failed to actually take the laptop.  Or there could be an issue as to ownership of the laptop, in which case he is guilty of entering the dwelling with the intent to commit a larceny but the actual larceny charge is still being sorted out?

No idea without more details, but definitely reads like a weird issue.

If  you enter someone's dweilling without permission and steal something, it is HI2.  It usually becomes an HI first degree if the dwelling is occupied at the time of the theft or if the dwelling is unoccupied but the Defendant is armed at some point during the transaction.  That is probably an over simplification, but in this circumstance, HI2 means he alledgedly went into someone's dwelling that was unoccupied at the time and took something that didn't belong to him. 

I don't see Clark playing at all this year, at best. Even if he pleads it down, that won't happen until mid-Sept, and surely Hoke will levy some sort of penalty that would be imposed after the court date. Once you're into October with no game time and greatly lessened practice time, it would make sense to red-shirt him, assuming he stays on the team at all.

If I were Hoke, and it turns out that Clark did indeed purloin somebody else's laptop in reality, I'd kick him off the team for good, regardless of what the plea-bargaining might result in. This is Michigan, fergodsakes.

I don't think kicking him off the team and ruining, what is likely to be, his best shot at living a productive life is a good message to send to the team either.  He made a horrible decision and it was his first as a wolverine so give him a chance to demonstrate that he learned his lesson.  He's like 18-19 yrs old.  He'll be a better person after this, and if not, then Hoke will prbly give him the boot. 

I see your point. Getting kicked off the team almost had disastrous effects on his life. He did end up becoming a productive,moral, individual as many troubled teens do (including myself) but getting kicked off the team did more to derail that than help it.

Edit: this was intended to be in response to Jon06's comment.