My guess is this gets continued pending the outcome of his trial in Indy.....
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Jackson's court date could lead to immediate jail time
By Geoff Lepper
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
OAKLAND - The jokes are ready-made. When someone plays a position commonly referred to as "shooting guard" and they're arrested after firing at least five shots during an altercation outside a strip club, you don't have to be a staff writer for David Letterman to come up with zingers.
But the legal entanglements of Warriors guard Stephen Jackson should be no laughing matter.
When Jackson, acquired by Golden State from the Indiana Pacers last week, appears in a Rochester Hills, Mich. courtroom on Friday, there is a chance that he could be immediately incarcerated for 93 days.
Even worse, if he's convicted of the three charges he faces in Indianapolis stemming from an early-morning Oct. 6 incident at an establishment called Club Rio, Jackson faces up to five more years of imprisonment.
"I worry about what I can control," Jackson said. "And the only thing I can control right now is living my life the right way and playing basketball."
Jackson's court appearance this week deals with the probation he's served since pleading no contest in September 2005 to misdemeanor assault charges from the infamous brawl between the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons in November 2004. Jackson went into the crowd after teammate Ron Artest and become involved in a melee with fans.
Originally, Friday's hearing was supposed to deal with some disputed medical costs for one of the fans involved in the brawl. But the Club Rio incident opened up whole new avenues.
"It's conceivable that he could be missing some games," said Paul Walton, the Oakland County prosecutor in charge of the case.
James Burdick, Jackson's attorney, said that he expects something significantly less stringent than that from judge Julie Nicholson.
"I really don't think this judge is going to make a federal case out of this," Burdick said. "Even though he's been charged in another jurisdiction, he hasn't been proven guilty and he was a victim."
Said Jackson: "I'm just ready to get it over with and hopefully, come Friday, it will be."
Not in Indiana, where Jackson was charged with felony criminal recklessness for firing multiple shots into the air before and after being struck by a car, police said. That occurred after a confrontation between a group of Pacers and other Club Rio patrons.
Jackson is slated to attend a pre-trial conference on Feb. 7 and his trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 12, although that date could be pushed back. Ironically, Jackson's case is on the same Feb. 12 docket as that of Deon Willford, the man accused of driving the car that struck Jackson.
Even though the criminal recklessness charge is a "D" class felony -- the lowest of four types in Indiana law -- it carries with it a sentence of six months to three years in prison. The additional misdemeanor charges he faces of battery and disorderly conduct can lead up to a year each.
A conviction for a violent felony results in a minimum 10-game suspension by the NBA and it could leave the door open for the Warriors to try and void Jackson's contract.
Warriors executive vice president Chris Mullin wouldn't discuss the specifics of Jackson's case but said the team will do whatever it can to help Jackson meet his court commitments and those of the team. Jackson will miss practice on Friday; it's unclear what will happen on Feb. 7, when the Warriors play in Minneapolis, or Feb. 12, when they'll be in Denver.
Regardless of the outcome, Jackson said he feels like he's getting a bad rap.
"I went 26 years of my life without getting into trouble and the two times I got in trouble, I was trying to help a teammate, which I will never do again, off the court," Jackson said. "Before the Detroit brawl I'd never been suspended or kicked out of a game. I'd never been in an NBA fight, with any player, in my career. So I know people on the outside looking in really don't know me. ... I can't control what people think about me because at the end of the day people are going to think that anyway."
Notes: Guard Baron Davis was given a leave by coach Don Nelson to miss Tuesday's practice due to personal reasons, so it's not known if the left calf cramp that forced him to the bench for the final 4 minutes, 44 seconds of Monday night's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers has healed fully. The Warriors are officially listing him as "day to day." ... Nelson said he deliberately left forward Matt Barnes on the bench Monday as a punishment. "I was mad at Barnes," Nelson said. "He's played four (bad) games in a row. I just wanted to slap him, and I figured that was the way to do it."
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Jackson's court date could lead to immediate jail time
By Geoff Lepper
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
OAKLAND - The jokes are ready-made. When someone plays a position commonly referred to as "shooting guard" and they're arrested after firing at least five shots during an altercation outside a strip club, you don't have to be a staff writer for David Letterman to come up with zingers.
But the legal entanglements of Warriors guard Stephen Jackson should be no laughing matter.
When Jackson, acquired by Golden State from the Indiana Pacers last week, appears in a Rochester Hills, Mich. courtroom on Friday, there is a chance that he could be immediately incarcerated for 93 days.
Even worse, if he's convicted of the three charges he faces in Indianapolis stemming from an early-morning Oct. 6 incident at an establishment called Club Rio, Jackson faces up to five more years of imprisonment.
"I worry about what I can control," Jackson said. "And the only thing I can control right now is living my life the right way and playing basketball."
Jackson's court appearance this week deals with the probation he's served since pleading no contest in September 2005 to misdemeanor assault charges from the infamous brawl between the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons in November 2004. Jackson went into the crowd after teammate Ron Artest and become involved in a melee with fans.
Originally, Friday's hearing was supposed to deal with some disputed medical costs for one of the fans involved in the brawl. But the Club Rio incident opened up whole new avenues.
"It's conceivable that he could be missing some games," said Paul Walton, the Oakland County prosecutor in charge of the case.
James Burdick, Jackson's attorney, said that he expects something significantly less stringent than that from judge Julie Nicholson.
"I really don't think this judge is going to make a federal case out of this," Burdick said. "Even though he's been charged in another jurisdiction, he hasn't been proven guilty and he was a victim."
Said Jackson: "I'm just ready to get it over with and hopefully, come Friday, it will be."
Not in Indiana, where Jackson was charged with felony criminal recklessness for firing multiple shots into the air before and after being struck by a car, police said. That occurred after a confrontation between a group of Pacers and other Club Rio patrons.
Jackson is slated to attend a pre-trial conference on Feb. 7 and his trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 12, although that date could be pushed back. Ironically, Jackson's case is on the same Feb. 12 docket as that of Deon Willford, the man accused of driving the car that struck Jackson.
Even though the criminal recklessness charge is a "D" class felony -- the lowest of four types in Indiana law -- it carries with it a sentence of six months to three years in prison. The additional misdemeanor charges he faces of battery and disorderly conduct can lead up to a year each.
A conviction for a violent felony results in a minimum 10-game suspension by the NBA and it could leave the door open for the Warriors to try and void Jackson's contract.
Warriors executive vice president Chris Mullin wouldn't discuss the specifics of Jackson's case but said the team will do whatever it can to help Jackson meet his court commitments and those of the team. Jackson will miss practice on Friday; it's unclear what will happen on Feb. 7, when the Warriors play in Minneapolis, or Feb. 12, when they'll be in Denver.
Regardless of the outcome, Jackson said he feels like he's getting a bad rap.
"I went 26 years of my life without getting into trouble and the two times I got in trouble, I was trying to help a teammate, which I will never do again, off the court," Jackson said. "Before the Detroit brawl I'd never been suspended or kicked out of a game. I'd never been in an NBA fight, with any player, in my career. So I know people on the outside looking in really don't know me. ... I can't control what people think about me because at the end of the day people are going to think that anyway."
Notes: Guard Baron Davis was given a leave by coach Don Nelson to miss Tuesday's practice due to personal reasons, so it's not known if the left calf cramp that forced him to the bench for the final 4 minutes, 44 seconds of Monday night's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers has healed fully. The Warriors are officially listing him as "day to day." ... Nelson said he deliberately left forward Matt Barnes on the bench Monday as a punishment. "I was mad at Barnes," Nelson said. "He's played four (bad) games in a row. I just wanted to slap him, and I figured that was the way to do it."
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