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Washington Commanders safety Sean Taylor appeared in Miami circuit court Thursday and entered a plea of no contest to misdemeanor assault and battery charges to bring to an end the year-long saga surrounding his arrest one year ago after a street fight in a depressed part of Miami.
The plea agreement included the dismissal of felony assault charges and requires no jail time, and it seemed to represent an extremely favorable outcome in a case in which Taylor faced up to 46 years in prison. Taylor, however, who appeared in court in a tan pin-striped suit and open-neck dress shirt, told the Judge Leonard Glick in a crowded courtroom that he accepted the deal reluctantly.
"This is obviously something that's kind of a hard pill for me to swallow," Taylor, 23, said near the end of the 30-minute hearing after indicating to the judge he wanted to make a statement. "This is not something I think I'm guilty of, [but] so I can move on with my life, and everyone can move on with theirs . . . I accept this."
With the resolution of his legal case, Taylor still faces possible disciplinary action by the NFL, which could fine him or suspend him under its personal conduct policy. Richard Sharpstein, Taylor's lead attorney, said he discussed the plea deal with NFL general counsel Dennis Curran, who indicated that similar cases have resulted in fines and one- or two-game suspensions. Sharpstein said he intended to fax the plea deal to the NFL Thursday.
"We hope they take action quickly -- or not take action quickly," he said.
In addition to the no-contest pleas, Taylor agreed to visit 10 schools in the Miami area during the next 18 months and speak to students about the importance of maintaining self-control and furthering their education. He also agreed to donate a $1,000 educational scholarship to one student at each school and pay $429 in court costs.
"I think this will help me reach some kids and show them this is not the way to be," Taylor said in brief comments after the hearing. "I've got to educate some kids."
Sharpstein, from the Washington-based law firm Jorden Burt, said Taylor flew to Miami over Memorial Day weekend when he learned prosecutor Abe Laeser wanted to meet with Taylor's defense team to discuss the case this week. Taylor, who was accompanied to court by his father Pedro Taylor, the chief of police in Florida City, Fla., will remain in Miami with family through the weekend before joining the Commanders for workouts next week, Sharpstein said.
"He's going to go back and do his job and intercept footballs for the Commanders," Sharpstein said.
Taylor, in brief comments to reporters after the hearing, said weathering the mental strain of the case was "not hard at all." He said the deal was "in the best interest of my family, my friends, me and my team and for what I have to do."
Taylor had been accused of brandishing a gun, making threats and initiating a street fight last June 1 with a group of people he believed were responsible for the theft of his two all-terrain vehicles out of a neighbor's driveway. After Taylor retreated from the fight, his blue GMC Yukon Denali was sprayed with gunfire while it was parked in a neighbor's driveway.
No charges were filed in the shooting incident, but Taylor was charged days later with one count of misdemeanor battery and one count of felony assault with a weapon. The felony charge was tripled in January with the addition of two additional victims to the case, raising the maximum jail time he faced from 16 to 46 years. The three felony charges each carried a minimum three-year sentence.
Sharpstein and his wife Janice Burton Sharpstein argued since they joined Taylor's defense team in February that the charges were overblown and that Taylor had been singled out by a publicity-hungry prosecutor. That prosecutor, Mike Grieco, gave up the case in April after Sharpstein discovered Grieco had links to media reports of the Taylor case on a personal Web site that detailed his exploits as a Miami Beach disc jockey.
"It is unequivocally clear the original prosecutor was ego-driven . . . and wasn't looking at this case for what it was," Sharpstein said.
Said Taylor: "I think [my attorneys] looked out for my best interest and I also looked out for my best interest in this case. I think the plea that was offered is very good and I think I'm able to carry that out with no problem."
The plea agreement included the dismissal of felony assault charges and requires no jail time, and it seemed to represent an extremely favorable outcome in a case in which Taylor faced up to 46 years in prison. Taylor, however, who appeared in court in a tan pin-striped suit and open-neck dress shirt, told the Judge Leonard Glick in a crowded courtroom that he accepted the deal reluctantly.
"This is obviously something that's kind of a hard pill for me to swallow," Taylor, 23, said near the end of the 30-minute hearing after indicating to the judge he wanted to make a statement. "This is not something I think I'm guilty of, [but] so I can move on with my life, and everyone can move on with theirs . . . I accept this."
With the resolution of his legal case, Taylor still faces possible disciplinary action by the NFL, which could fine him or suspend him under its personal conduct policy. Richard Sharpstein, Taylor's lead attorney, said he discussed the plea deal with NFL general counsel Dennis Curran, who indicated that similar cases have resulted in fines and one- or two-game suspensions. Sharpstein said he intended to fax the plea deal to the NFL Thursday.
"We hope they take action quickly -- or not take action quickly," he said.
In addition to the no-contest pleas, Taylor agreed to visit 10 schools in the Miami area during the next 18 months and speak to students about the importance of maintaining self-control and furthering their education. He also agreed to donate a $1,000 educational scholarship to one student at each school and pay $429 in court costs.
"I think this will help me reach some kids and show them this is not the way to be," Taylor said in brief comments after the hearing. "I've got to educate some kids."
Sharpstein, from the Washington-based law firm Jorden Burt, said Taylor flew to Miami over Memorial Day weekend when he learned prosecutor Abe Laeser wanted to meet with Taylor's defense team to discuss the case this week. Taylor, who was accompanied to court by his father Pedro Taylor, the chief of police in Florida City, Fla., will remain in Miami with family through the weekend before joining the Commanders for workouts next week, Sharpstein said.
"He's going to go back and do his job and intercept footballs for the Commanders," Sharpstein said.
Taylor, in brief comments to reporters after the hearing, said weathering the mental strain of the case was "not hard at all." He said the deal was "in the best interest of my family, my friends, me and my team and for what I have to do."
Taylor had been accused of brandishing a gun, making threats and initiating a street fight last June 1 with a group of people he believed were responsible for the theft of his two all-terrain vehicles out of a neighbor's driveway. After Taylor retreated from the fight, his blue GMC Yukon Denali was sprayed with gunfire while it was parked in a neighbor's driveway.
No charges were filed in the shooting incident, but Taylor was charged days later with one count of misdemeanor battery and one count of felony assault with a weapon. The felony charge was tripled in January with the addition of two additional victims to the case, raising the maximum jail time he faced from 16 to 46 years. The three felony charges each carried a minimum three-year sentence.
Sharpstein and his wife Janice Burton Sharpstein argued since they joined Taylor's defense team in February that the charges were overblown and that Taylor had been singled out by a publicity-hungry prosecutor. That prosecutor, Mike Grieco, gave up the case in April after Sharpstein discovered Grieco had links to media reports of the Taylor case on a personal Web site that detailed his exploits as a Miami Beach disc jockey.
"It is unequivocally clear the original prosecutor was ego-driven . . . and wasn't looking at this case for what it was," Sharpstein said.
Said Taylor: "I think [my attorneys] looked out for my best interest and I also looked out for my best interest in this case. I think the plea that was offered is very good and I think I'm able to carry that out with no problem."
