Disagreements In Jameis Winston Settlement Talks

Submitted by TooFratToFail on

TMZ (and now other outlets) is reporting that Jameis Winston's accuser sought $7 million dollars in exchange for never hearing from her or her attorney again.  This comes from a recent  letter from Winston's legal advisor, David Cronwell (BIG time sports attorney), regarding Winston's agreeing to participate in the Title IX investigation.  Cronwell states in the letter that four days after he received the letter, the accuser's attorney went to the media.  The accuser's attorney insinuated that the encounter had to be rape because she would never sleep with a "black boy."   

Take into account the attorneys in play and their respective careers.  Cronwell is a highly respected and successful national attorney.  Saying something like this without proof is very iffy, especially under Florida's pretty strict Prof. Conduct rules.  Interesting to say the least.  Also, the use of the word "settle" is questionable in this context, if it pertained to a criminal action.  Dropping criminal charges in exchange for payment is a no-no.  In civil cases, fine. The word extortion has been tossed around and might be more appropriate.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/09/24/report-winstons-acc…

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2014-09-24/jameis-winst…

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/according-to-lawyer-for…

MOD EDIT - I saw MGlobules comments, and admittedly I didn't really think about the title of this thread as it came into being while I was in a meeting and then rather distracted by other things for much of the evening. On more thoughtful examination, yeah, the title needs some changing. Hopefully, this works - LSA

MichiganSports

September 24th, 2014 at 1:51 PM ^

This is OT: and i agree he was obviously being extorted or atleast she tried. I still don't like this guy though and think he will be nothing but trouble for the NFL team that drafts him.

xxxxNateDaGreat

September 24th, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^

Very true, but in these types of cases, absense of any damning facts, it basically boils down to a "he said, she said," and if she was indeed trying to go the extortion route, it would seriously damage her credibilty in the judgemental eye of the public and subsequently any jury.

xxxxNateDaGreat

September 25th, 2014 at 2:11 AM ^

I wasn't trying to make a case that Winston is innocent or not of raping that woman. I don't know that answer any more than you know. None of us know what exactly went down and how consensual it was or wasn't.

I was just saying that, in absence of that 100% indisputable knowledge of what exactly occurred (which that alleged video would've provided, had it not supposedly been deleted), any court case would boil down to essentially to a "he said, she said" scenario regarding whether she was raped by a stranger or engaged in consensual sex with a football player with the ulterior motive of extorting him should he become famous. In that situation, a slightly racist extortion letter would obviously not help her in trying to make a case that she was an innocent woman who was raped by someone who by sheer coincidence was an athlete who went on to become famous.

(Disclaimer: I am not judging the woman in the previous paragraph, nor am I claiming to know anything about her or Winston or what happened. Also, I'm not a lawyer, and therefore know nothing of the lawyerin' outside of a few viewings of A Few Good Men and Liar, Liar)

MGoManDown

September 24th, 2014 at 2:22 PM ^

Edit: Clearly a poor taste of a photo(removed) given the situation. For that I apologize. With that said, wouldn't this somewhat hurt her case if extortion is indeed involved. You would think that most rape/sexual assualt victims couldn't be bought out and would rather see their offender punished by law. 

MGoManDown

September 24th, 2014 at 2:40 PM ^

Sterotyping how? It was an honest question. What's the point of having an open discussion with closed minded individuals who aren't willing to shed light on the admittedly less informed? This is why I try to stay away from topics such as these. Everybody picks one side and negs to bolivia anyone who tries to show perspective or ask questions. If I wasn't clear enough in my questioning, that's my fault. But dont attack me for it. 

MGoManDown

September 24th, 2014 at 3:29 PM ^

I'm well aware of the definition of "sterotype." That was more of an assumption than a sterotype, and was also posted inquisitively. At least that was my intent. Instead of asking me if I was being sterotypical, you assumed I was. You're not here to assist or inform, therefore our conversation is done. 

Mr Miggle

September 24th, 2014 at 3:19 PM ^

Victims of sexual assaults often don't report their attacks at all. Those that do often choose not to pursue prosecution. There can be many reasons for this. The victims can be psychologically vulnerable. The legal process can be very difficult, especially when the defense often tries to blame the victim and the accuser's personal life is exposed to a lot of scrutiny. Police and prosecutors are often reluctant to pursue he said/she said cases. Throw in the anticipated reactions of local fans in this case and life could easily get very unpleasant. 

a2_electricboogaloo

September 24th, 2014 at 2:14 PM ^

I doubt it.  I'm not a lawyer (but one of the many lawyers here can back me up, if this I'm accurate), but lying with something like this is a reaaaaallyyy good way to get disbarred.

 

Quote from /r/CFB:

Good distinction, however (Florida attorney here) I don't know if this helps or hurts but, there are VERY strict rules on attorney's conduct in this state (we have an entire professional code of conduct) and "lying" is a huge no-no. If it was discovered that Winston's attorney was lying, he could be disbarred. Putting a statement out there like this would be a career-ender if it wasn't true or verifiable in some way shape or form.

 

The Wonderful 135

September 24th, 2014 at 2:29 PM ^

I am a lawyer, let's see if I can help you out.

Just about every state in the country has their own code of conduct, or rules of professional conduct, etc. Those that don't have adopted the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct.  

If every attorney in this country has to abide by these rules, then by your logic, no attorney would ever lie, exaggerate, misrepresent, etc. facts.  This should obviously raise a red-flag with pretty much everybody reading that sentence.

Here is the truth: Attorneys shouldn't lie, exaggerate, misrepresent, etc. facts. But then this would conflict with their duty to "zealously advocate on behalf of their clients" under those same rules.  See how it gets tricky?

Bottom line: don't believe anything a lawyer says to the public. They are just advocating on behalf of their client.  And "facts" are easy to argue over.  She said "$7M!!!" "No I didn't." Who is lying? We will never know.

Also, disbarrment is only for the most egregious violations of the rules.  There are several other wrist-slaps that BARs can take long before they revoke your license to practice law. One such popular example is to publish your name to the public so they can see how bad you are.  Have you EVER seen that publication? Neither has anyone else.

Mr Miggle

September 24th, 2014 at 2:37 PM ^

that this attorney flew down for a meeting and offered money to make the case go away. Is one of them lying? Perhaps not. Are there some exaggerations, misrepresentations and misleading comments? I'd bet there are. In any case, I'd never feel comfortable believing everything a lawyer says to protect their client.