[Husker] Christianson found not guilty

[Mike Jaixen]

That's a better clarification.  The court system doesn't rule whether someone is innocent, but rather rules whether someone is guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt."  

I believe Christensen's attorney were able to make their case that there was a reasonable doubt because nobody testified that they actually saw the act in question.

Should that same definition of "reasonable doubt" exist with respect to maintaining membership on the football team?  That is probably the issue at it's core.  I believe that Bo Pelini and the athletic department can hold players accountable based on a lower standard of evidence than would be acceptable in a court of law.

Someone might then ask, if the acquittal doesn't matter, then why suspend him in the first place.  Dismiss him from the team immediately, some might suggest.  The difference is that the final decision with respect to football eligibility might be influenced by evidence that would come out during the trial.

I would imagine that the coaches and athletic department will review the transcripts from the trial, not just the final verdict, before making their decision.

Mike Jaixen
http://huskermike.blogspot.com
http://www.cornnation.com


--- On Wed, 9/3/08, Steve Stone <sstone at pvtnetworks.net> wrote:

> From: Steve Stone <sstone at pvtnetworks.net>
> Subject: RE: [Husker] Christianson found not guilty
> To: husker at tssi.com
> Date: Wednesday, September 3, 2008, 11:32 AM
> Mike Jaixen wrote:
> 
> >My takeaway is that Christensen was not found
> "innocent"...but 
> >rather "not guilty".  The evidence wasn't
> there to support 
> >incarceration for potentially 30 years.  I don't
> think the same 
> >standard applies to the privilege of playing football
> for the 
> >University of Nebraska.
> 
> (snip)
> 
> >is in this situation.  I don't believe that the
> "not guilty" plea 
> >means he should be reinstated today, as there were
> other charges he 
> >plead guilty to.  I'd almost lean towards making
> the suspension for 
> >the entire season, and give him the opportunity to earn
> his way back 
> >onto the team in the spring.
> 
> 
> The verdict "innocent" does not exist in the
> court.
> 
> One is found either "guilty" or "not
> guilty."
> 
> Steve Stone
> 
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