Henry Ruggs involved in serious car accident; Charged with DUI resulting in death; Released

[RaidersAreOne]

2 hours ago, jimkelly02 said:

If I was Ruggs’ lawyer I’d fight the case on 3 main fronts:

1) try and get the blood test for BAC tossed.  Chain of custody, issues with the lab in the past…. Anything and everything to challenge them and get it excluded from evidence.

2) Use the affirmative defense that Ruggs is 22yo and study’s show that the frontal lobe doesn’t fully develop until 25yo.  Ruggs had a concussion at Alabama in Citrus Bowl and last year week 17.  I’d get a doctor who would testify there’s evidence thru scans of his brain he had several others.  Frontal lobe damage causes increases in risk taking behavior, etc.  I’d argue damage to his brain from concussions while playing football was responsible for Ruggs’ behavior.

3) if thru accident reconstruction it is believed the woman played a role in the crash (she could have been drunk too…. No way to know now) I’d use the defense that she was the one caused the accident.

I think Ruggs deserves prison but I really hope he only gets 2-3 years and is able to make  a comeback to the NFL at some point…. With us.

[Mr Raider]

2 hours ago, jimkelly02 said:

If I was Ruggs’ lawyer I’d fight the case on 3 main fronts:

1) try and get the blood test for BAC tossed.  Chain of custody, issues with the lab in the past…. Anything and everything to challenge them and get it excluded from evidence.

2) Use the affirmative defense that Ruggs is 22yo and study’s show that the frontal lobe doesn’t fully develop until 25yo.  Ruggs had a concussion at Alabama in Citrus Bowl and last year week 17.  I’d get a doctor who would testify there’s evidence thru scans of his brain he had several others.  Frontal lobe damage causes increases in risk taking behavior, etc.  I’d argue damage to his brain from concussions while playing football was responsible for Ruggs’ behavior.

3) if thru accident reconstruction it is believed the woman played a role in the crash (she could have been drunk too…. No way to know now) I’d use the defense that she was the one caused the accident.

I think Ruggs deserves prison but I really hope he only gets 2-3 years and is able to make  a comeback to the NFL at some point…. With us.

You aren't getting the videos of him at top golf, the statement made by his girlfriend that Ruggs was drinking (plus any potential statement made by Ruggs, even without miranda rights because the girlfriend was interviewed as a witnes, and in my state at least suspects being arrested for DUI don't require the reading of miranda rights), his refusal to submit to the test, the statements from the workers at the hospitals and from police on what they observed of Ruggs behavior after the accident all chucked. Nor will you get the fact that he was going 150 MILES AN HOUR IN A 35 MPH zone thrown out. The speed hangs him on some serious charges even if he didn't drink a drop. He would be facing 1-6 years off the speed alone because 150 miles an hour is at bare minimum reckless driving resulting in death. 

You aren't getting the illegal hand gun thrown out either. That was found in a situation that already supplied probable cause and grounds to search the car. That isn't going anywhere. Even if you take away the drinking from the situation completely he would be facing 10+ years for the reckless driving and illegal possession of a hand gun. 

You could attempt to make your case for a defense based around concussions from playing football and it having an effect on his brain, however I believe that would likely fall into a defense centered around not guilty due to being mentally unfit to stand trial. Although I am not positive. Regardless, people pleading not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect works about 1 percent of the time. And lawyers will almost always advise you that is a plan reserved as a hail marry when no other possible defense has a shot at convincing a jury. The reasons being there is still a stigma about things like that. You have to prove that not only do you suffer from a mental disease or defect you have to prove that your mental disease or defect caused you to not comprehend what you were doing was wrong. Not only would they have to be able to prove that Ruggs was suffering from issues stemming from concussions that had an effect on his brain, they would have to prove that those issues caused Ruggs to not know that drinking and driving, having an illegal fire arm, and going 156 MPH in a 35 MPH zone was wrong, was dangerous, and that it caused him to not understand doing those things were illegal and put himself and others in danger. Simply proving his brain has been effected by concussions and effected his decision making isn't enough. You have to prove that directly caused him to not be able to comprehend the fact his actions were wrong. And the last reason no lawyer wants to try and defend their client on a defense like that is because it's generally very stupid for the client. When sentenced to prison there is a maximum time the state can hold you. If you are found not guilty by reason of mental defect you are sent to a state ran mental institution. Where they can and will hold you until whatever defect you suffer from is cured or they are positive you are no longer a threat to yourself or the rest of society. 

In almost every case people that have been sent to a mental institution because they were found not guilty due to their mental issues they end up serving more time in the institution than they could have been given under the max sentence for prison. In the vast majority of cases resulting in a death where someone has been found not guilty due to that defense the person spends the rest of their life in that institution. To defend Ruggs that way with the concussions you would basically been signing him up for the rest of his life in a psychiatric facility because our science today doesn't have enough of a grasp to fully understand or correct the type of damage done to the brain due to concussions. Meaning they could never be certain the issues are no longer a threat and thus Ruggs can never be seen as no longer a threat to himself or society. Not to mention, I don't know if you have ever been to a mental hospital for the criminally insane, but it's worse than prison in so many ways. And if you aren't truly severely mentally ill it would be your worst nightmare to spend your life in a facility surrounded only by the people that are effected so much by their mental illness they were classified extremely dangerous and locked in there for it. 

Lawyers have their jobs to do. And I truly believe that everyone deserves to be defended to the best of their ability. But IMO none of those tactics have a prayer to work. You could get the blood work thrown out on a technicality due to chain of custody or an issue with the lab. But in cases like this they use the videos, the statements and the experience and expertise of the police officers and hospital workers as to what they saw, and they will be considered experts in seeing someone under the influence and allowed to give their expert opinion to the jury. 

What would be best for Ruggs is to take responsibility. Be a man. Admit he made a terrible mistake. That his stupidity, immaturity, and selfishness cost a young woman her life, has for all intents and purposes ruined his life and a bright future, and his decision also forever changed and made the lives of his girlfriend and small child more difficult. In ways we can't completely comprehend. Growing up without a father in her life for a significant amount of time, growing up her entire life with everyone knowing her father was a football player with a bright future that got ridiculously drunk, drove 150 miles an hour in Las Vegas and ultimately killed a woman, etc. What is best for Ruggs right now is take responsibility and hold himself accountable. Accept the punishment and consequences of his actions, and beg for forgiveness and an opportunity to do whatever it takes to work towards forgiveness and redemption from an entire community he impacted. 

Henry Ruggs has no business nor does he have any future with the Las Vegas Raiders. I don't care how talented you are. It takes a matter of minutes to make a single decision that forever alters and impacts every single day of the rest of your life and the lives of countless others. He was 22, and while the brain may not be done developing at that age, it's developed enough to know what he did was wrong, dangerous, and selfish. His brain not being fully developed doesn't magically absolve him from any responsibility or consequences. Sure plenty of others drink and drive and don't have this happen. But that is simply luck and nothing more on their part. And you don't build justice systems on the lucky outcomes where the worst doesn't happen. 

I never want to see Henry Ruggs in a Raider uniform again. I truly hope he accepts responsibility, he works hard to help teach others based on his experiences, I hope he works tirelessly to earn redemption and forgiveness and that he never stops trying to make as many positive things come from this tragic situation as he can. I don't believe he should have a place in the NFL after this. But that isn't my call. Sometimes in life you make one terrible decision (and Henry made far more than one) and you lose things forever. That woman lost her life. Seems like such a small thing to not allow Henry to continue with something he loves, something that brought him fame, wealth, power, and contributed to a way of thinking and way of life that led to all of this in the first place. Sometimes you make a call and it results in you having to give up something significant forever. 

I'm not sure I can understand how anyone right now can be thinking or advising ways for Ruggs to avoid punishment, avoid the consequences, and help facilitate a scenario where he plays for the Raiders again. Some things are just more important than football. A woman lost her life. Who cares how much Ruggs could help the Raiders in a football game in comparison?

[Jraider91]

7 hours ago, jimkelly02 said:

If I was Ruggs’ lawyer I’d fight the case on 3 main fronts:

1) try and get the blood test for BAC tossed.  Chain of custody, issues with the lab in the past…. Anything and everything to challenge them and get it excluded from evidence.

2) Use the affirmative defense that Ruggs is 22yo and study’s show that the frontal lobe doesn’t fully develop until 25yo.  Ruggs had a concussion at Alabama in Citrus Bowl and last year week 17.  I’d get a doctor who would testify there’s evidence thru scans of his brain he had several others.  Frontal lobe damage causes increases in risk taking behavior, etc.  I’d argue damage to his brain from concussions while playing football was responsible for Ruggs’ behavior.

3) if thru accident reconstruction it is believed the woman played a role in the crash (she could have been drunk too…. No way to know now) I’d use the defense that she was the one caused the accident.

I think Ruggs deserves prison but I really hope he only gets 2-3 years and is able to make  a comeback to the NFL at some point…. With us.

Pretty awful comment, and sounds like something you made up watching a TV show

[NCOUGHMAN]

9 hours ago, Mr Raider said:

You aren't getting the videos of him at top golf, the statement made by his girlfriend that Ruggs was drinking (plus any potential statement made by Ruggs, even without miranda rights because the girlfriend was interviewed as a witnes, and in my state at least suspects being arrested for DUI don't require the reading of miranda rights), his refusal to submit to the test, the statements from the workers at the hospitals and from police on what they observed of Ruggs behavior after the accident all chucked. Nor will you get the fact that he was going 150 MILES AN HOUR IN A 35 MPH zone thrown out. The speed hangs him on some serious charges even if he didn't drink a drop. He would be facing 1-6 years off the speed alone because 150 miles an hour is at bare minimum reckless driving resulting in death. 

You aren't getting the illegal hand gun thrown out either. That was found in a situation that already supplied probable cause and grounds to search the car. That isn't going anywhere. Even if you take away the drinking from the situation completely he would be facing 10+ years for the reckless driving and illegal possession of a hand gun. 

You could attempt to make your case for a defense based around concussions from playing football and it having an effect on his brain, however I believe that would likely fall into a defense centered around not guilty due to being mentally unfit to stand trial. Although I am not positive. Regardless, people pleading not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect works about 1 percent of the time. And lawyers will almost always advise you that is a plan reserved as a hail marry when no other possible defense has a shot at convincing a jury. The reasons being there is still a stigma about things like that. You have to prove that not only do you suffer from a mental disease or defect you have to prove that your mental disease or defect caused you to not comprehend what you were doing was wrong. Not only would they have to be able to prove that Ruggs was suffering from issues stemming from concussions that had an effect on his brain, they would have to prove that those issues caused Ruggs to not know that drinking and driving, having an illegal fire arm, and going 156 MPH in a 35 MPH zone was wrong, was dangerous, and that it caused him to not understand doing those things were illegal and put himself and others in danger. Simply proving his brain has been effected by concussions and effected his decision making isn't enough. You have to prove that directly caused him to not be able to comprehend the fact his actions were wrong. And the last reason no lawyer wants to try and defend their client on a defense like that is because it's generally very stupid for the client. When sentenced to prison there is a maximum time the state can hold you. If you are found not guilty by reason of mental defect you are sent to a state ran mental institution. Where they can and will hold you until whatever defect you suffer from is cured or they are positive you are no longer a threat to yourself or the rest of society. 

In almost every case people that have been sent to a mental institution because they were found not guilty due to their mental issues they end up serving more time in the institution than they could have been given under the max sentence for prison. In the vast majority of cases resulting in a death where someone has been found not guilty due to that defense the person spends the rest of their life in that institution. To defend Ruggs that way with the concussions you would basically been signing him up for the rest of his life in a psychiatric facility because our science today doesn't have enough of a grasp to fully understand or correct the type of damage done to the brain due to concussions. Meaning they could never be certain the issues are no longer a threat and thus Ruggs can never be seen as no longer a threat to himself or society. Not to mention, I don't know if you have ever been to a mental hospital for the criminally insane, but it's worse than prison in so many ways. And if you aren't truly severely mentally ill it would be your worst nightmare to spend your life in a facility surrounded only by the people that are effected so much by their mental illness they were classified extremely dangerous and locked in there for it. 

Lawyers have their jobs to do. And I truly believe that everyone deserves to be defended to the best of their ability. But IMO none of those tactics have a prayer to work. You could get the blood work thrown out on a technicality due to chain of custody or an issue with the lab. But in cases like this they use the videos, the statements and the experience and expertise of the police officers and hospital workers as to what they saw, and they will be considered experts in seeing someone under the influence and allowed to give their expert opinion to the jury. 

What would be best for Ruggs is to take responsibility. Be a man. Admit he made a terrible mistake. That his stupidity, immaturity, and selfishness cost a young woman her life, has for all intents and purposes ruined his life and a bright future, and his decision also forever changed and made the lives of his girlfriend and small child more difficult. In ways we can't completely comprehend. Growing up without a father in her life for a significant amount of time, growing up her entire life with everyone knowing her father was a football player with a bright future that got ridiculously drunk, drove 150 miles an hour in Las Vegas and ultimately killed a woman, etc. What is best for Ruggs right now is take responsibility and hold himself accountable. Accept the punishment and consequences of his actions, and beg for forgiveness and an opportunity to do whatever it takes to work towards forgiveness and redemption from an entire community he impacted. 

Henry Ruggs has no business nor does he have any future with the Las Vegas Raiders. I don't care how talented you are. It takes a matter of minutes to make a single decision that forever alters and impacts every single day of the rest of your life and the lives of countless others. He was 22, and while the brain may not be done developing at that age, it's developed enough to know what he did was wrong, dangerous, and selfish. His brain not being fully developed doesn't magically absolve him from any responsibility or consequences. Sure plenty of others drink and drive and don't have this happen. But that is simply luck and nothing more on their part. And you don't build justice systems on the lucky outcomes where the worst doesn't happen. 

I never want to see Henry Ruggs in a Raider uniform again. I truly hope he accepts responsibility, he works hard to help teach others based on his experiences, I hope he works tirelessly to earn redemption and forgiveness and that he never stops trying to make as many positive things come from this tragic situation as he can. I don't believe he should have a place in the NFL after this. But that isn't my call. Sometimes in life you make one terrible decision (and Henry made far more than one) and you lose things forever. That woman lost her life. Seems like such a small thing to not allow Henry to continue with something he loves, something that brought him fame, wealth, power, and contributed to a way of thinking and way of life that led to all of this in the first place. Sometimes you make a call and it results in you having to give up something significant forever. 

I'm not sure I can understand how anyone right now can be thinking or advising ways for Ruggs to avoid punishment, avoid the consequences, and help facilitate a scenario where he plays for the Raiders again. Some things are just more important than football. A woman lost her life. Who cares how much Ruggs could help the Raiders in a football game in comparison?

I’ve been locked up and I’ve also had to visit my brother in a mental institution. Huge difference not saying being behind bars is easy but a mental institution is wild x1000. I can only imagine what one for killers would be like. Nothing to play with especially if you truly don’t belong there

[Mr Raider]

2 minutes ago, NCOUGHMAN said:

I’ve been locked up and I’ve also had to visit my brother in a mental institution. Huge difference not saying being behind bars is easy but a mental institution is wild x1000. I can only imagine what one for killers would be like. Nothing to play with especially if you truly don’t belong there

Yeah it's absolutely no joke. I have been inside a few dealing with people that were placed there after committing crimes and the first time you enter a place like that you never forget it. Jail nor prison is easy. But being in a place for the violent people deemed criminally insane is a whole different world. It is not a place I would recommend someone that isn't actually suffering from mental illness try to land just to avoid a prison sentence. 

[NCOUGHMAN]

28 minutes ago, Mr Raider said:

Yeah it's absolutely no joke. I have been inside a few dealing with people that were placed there after committing crimes and the first time you enter a place like that you never forget it. Jail nor prison is easy. But being in a place for the violent people deemed criminally insane is a whole different world. It is not a place I would recommend someone that isn't actually suffering from mental illness try to land just to avoid a prison sentence. 

I remember telling myself dam if my bro doesn’t get out of here he’s just gonna get worse. The environment would turn a sane man crazy. I’ll never forget those visits 

[Darbsk]

13 hours ago, jimkelly02 said:

If I was Ruggs’ lawyer I’d fight the case on 3 main fronts:

1) try and get the blood test for BAC tossed.  Chain of custody, issues with the lab in the past…. Anything and everything to challenge them and get it excluded from evidence.

2) Use the affirmative defense that Ruggs is 22yo and study’s show that the frontal lobe doesn’t fully develop until 25yo.  Ruggs had a concussion at Alabama in Citrus Bowl and last year week 17.  I’d get a doctor who would testify there’s evidence thru scans of his brain he had several others.  Frontal lobe damage causes increases in risk taking behavior, etc.  I’d argue damage to his brain from concussions while playing football was responsible for Ruggs’ behavior.

3) if thru accident reconstruction it is believed the woman played a role in the crash (she could have been drunk too…. No way to know now) I’d use the defense that she was the one caused the accident.

I think Ruggs deserves prison but I really hope he only gets 2-3 years and is able to make  a comeback to the NFL at some point…. With us.

I have no idea over the legal parts of this and if that's even feasible but as regards the last bit, I hope he turns his life around and can be a source of positivity in his community and help others possibly once he gets out but I don't believe he should ever step foot on a football field again, and certainly not with the Raiders.

I say this because IF he was just speeding and had an accident I could be empathetic. IF he just had a DUI and had a minor crash I could be empathetic. IF he had just a unlicensed gun in his car I could be empathetic. IF he'd gone out partying until all hours when he should have been taking his career more seriously I could have been empathetic.

However;

He was out partying,

He had a gun in his car, 

He drove seriously drunk and impaired,

He sped not just by a little but by a reckless and incredibly dangerous amount,

He crashed into another vehicle.

And on top of all that, a totally innocent person lost their young and promising life in a most horrifying way. Truly tragic.

I could forgive one, two, maybe even three of the above but all of them together on the same night shows a blatant disregard to anyone else but himself, rules and the welfare of others and indicates a pattern of behaviour that reasonably can't be a single time incident. He must have gotten lucky previously and this time his luck ran out and it cost an innocent person their life. No way do I want that anywhere near my team again.

[RaidersAreOne]

Keeping this on football, I wonder how this horrific news will affect our reputation with the city of Las Vegas and it's fans. 

[ronjon1990]

10 hours ago, Mr Raider said:

You aren't getting the videos of him at top golf, the statement made by his girlfriend that Ruggs was drinking (plus any potential statement made by Ruggs, even without miranda rights because the girlfriend was interviewed as a witnes, and in my state at least suspects being arrested for DUI don't require the reading of miranda rights), his refusal to submit to the test, the statements from the workers at the hospitals and from police on what they observed of Ruggs behavior after the accident all chucked. Nor will you get the fact that he was going 150 MILES AN HOUR IN A 35 MPH zone thrown out. The speed hangs him on some serious charges even if he didn't drink a drop. He would be facing 1-6 years off the speed alone because 150 miles an hour is at bare minimum reckless driving resulting in death. 

You aren't getting the illegal hand gun thrown out either. That was found in a situation that already supplied probable cause and grounds to search the car. That isn't going anywhere. Even if you take away the drinking from the situation completely he would be facing 10+ years for the reckless driving and illegal possession of a hand gun. 

You could attempt to make your case for a defense based around concussions from playing football and it having an effect on his brain, however I believe that would likely fall into a defense centered around not guilty due to being mentally unfit to stand trial. Although I am not positive. Regardless, people pleading not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect works about 1 percent of the time. And lawyers will almost always advise you that is a plan reserved as a hail marry when no other possible defense has a shot at convincing a jury. The reasons being there is still a stigma about things like that. You have to prove that not only do you suffer from a mental disease or defect you have to prove that your mental disease or defect caused you to not comprehend what you were doing was wrong. Not only would they have to be able to prove that Ruggs was suffering from issues stemming from concussions that had an effect on his brain, they would have to prove that those issues caused Ruggs to not know that drinking and driving, having an illegal fire arm, and going 156 MPH in a 35 MPH zone was wrong, was dangerous, and that it caused him to not understand doing those things were illegal and put himself and others in danger. Simply proving his brain has been effected by concussions and effected his decision making isn't enough. You have to prove that directly caused him to not be able to comprehend the fact his actions were wrong. And the last reason no lawyer wants to try and defend their client on a defense like that is because it's generally very stupid for the client. When sentenced to prison there is a maximum time the state can hold you. If you are found not guilty by reason of mental defect you are sent to a state ran mental institution. Where they can and will hold you until whatever defect you suffer from is cured or they are positive you are no longer a threat to yourself or the rest of society. 

In almost every case people that have been sent to a mental institution because they were found not guilty due to their mental issues they end up serving more time in the institution than they could have been given under the max sentence for prison. In the vast majority of cases resulting in a death where someone has been found not guilty due to that defense the person spends the rest of their life in that institution. To defend Ruggs that way with the concussions you would basically been signing him up for the rest of his life in a psychiatric facility because our science today doesn't have enough of a grasp to fully understand or correct the type of damage done to the brain due to concussions. Meaning they could never be certain the issues are no longer a threat and thus Ruggs can never be seen as no longer a threat to himself or society. Not to mention, I don't know if you have ever been to a mental hospital for the criminally insane, but it's worse than prison in so many ways. And if you aren't truly severely mentally ill it would be your worst nightmare to spend your life in a facility surrounded only by the people that are effected so much by their mental illness they were classified extremely dangerous and locked in there for it. 

Lawyers have their jobs to do. And I truly believe that everyone deserves to be defended to the best of their ability. But IMO none of those tactics have a prayer to work. You could get the blood work thrown out on a technicality due to chain of custody or an issue with the lab. But in cases like this they use the videos, the statements and the experience and expertise of the police officers and hospital workers as to what they saw, and they will be considered experts in seeing someone under the influence and allowed to give their expert opinion to the jury. 

What would be best for Ruggs is to take responsibility. Be a man. Admit he made a terrible mistake. That his stupidity, immaturity, and selfishness cost a young woman her life, has for all intents and purposes ruined his life and a bright future, and his decision also forever changed and made the lives of his girlfriend and small child more difficult. In ways we can't completely comprehend. Growing up without a father in her life for a significant amount of time, growing up her entire life with everyone knowing her father was a football player with a bright future that got ridiculously drunk, drove 150 miles an hour in Las Vegas and ultimately killed a woman, etc. What is best for Ruggs right now is take responsibility and hold himself accountable. Accept the punishment and consequences of his actions, and beg for forgiveness and an opportunity to do whatever it takes to work towards forgiveness and redemption from an entire community he impacted. 

Henry Ruggs has no business nor does he have any future with the Las Vegas Raiders. I don't care how talented you are. It takes a matter of minutes to make a single decision that forever alters and impacts every single day of the rest of your life and the lives of countless others. He was 22, and while the brain may not be done developing at that age, it's developed enough to know what he did was wrong, dangerous, and selfish. His brain not being fully developed doesn't magically absolve him from any responsibility or consequences. Sure plenty of others drink and drive and don't have this happen. But that is simply luck and nothing more on their part. And you don't build justice systems on the lucky outcomes where the worst doesn't happen. 

I never want to see Henry Ruggs in a Raider uniform again. I truly hope he accepts responsibility, he works hard to help teach others based on his experiences, I hope he works tirelessly to earn redemption and forgiveness and that he never stops trying to make as many positive things come from this tragic situation as he can. I don't believe he should have a place in the NFL after this. But that isn't my call. Sometimes in life you make one terrible decision (and Henry made far more than one) and you lose things forever. That woman lost her life. Seems like such a small thing to not allow Henry to continue with something he loves, something that brought him fame, wealth, power, and contributed to a way of thinking and way of life that led to all of this in the first place. Sometimes you make a call and it results in you having to give up something significant forever. 

I'm not sure I can understand how anyone right now can be thinking or advising ways for Ruggs to avoid punishment, avoid the consequences, and help facilitate a scenario where he plays for the Raiders again. Some things are just more important than football. A woman lost her life. Who cares how much Ruggs could help the Raiders in a football game in comparison?

Pretty much echos my sentiment. Having worked both sides of DUI cases, the stuff he was suggesting would be laughed off and probably make matters even worse. 

One of the biggest clichés out there is the "We don't know ALL of the facts". It's true, not ALL facts are ever known. But some cases, like this one, only need a few to satisfy a jury's need for beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Some folks think that lawyers are miracle workers and fixers locked in hardline negotiations all day full of spunk and theatrics like a Grisham novel. 

Looking at the totality of the circumstances, if I'm Ruggs' lawyer, I'm advising him to take the first plea deal offered without much dickering over the terms. Trials are expensive, and he will lose if it goes there. Trials are always a cost-benefit analysis, and here it would be a massive cost for very little benefit. A wizard might convince a jury enough to lighten the load, but sentencing is a whole different ballgame. The facts that are known are damning enough that attempting to shirk around based on technicalities would almost assuredly leave a judge giving the harshest sentence available. 

I'd tell him exactly what you said above- take responsibility, show deep remorse, be as contrite as humanly possible, and pray that a judge is willing to show some leniency in return in light of it all. Defensive posturing in cases like this almost always backfire.

I'd sit him down and tell him what all attorneys hate telling a client- "You're screwed. You're going to jail. There's no magical solution here. Now we're in damage control. The trial will be expensive. You will lose, it's just a matter of how badly. You won't be drawing any income. The penalties and damage awards will probably deplete the rest of your funds. Take a deal, spare yourself, your family, and the victim's family the pain of a trial. Cross your fingers your family will still have enough money to make it without you for however long. And start figuring out what you're going to do with the rest of your life when released, because you won't be coming out into the same kind of money you had." 

And as an attorney, I'd hope my client was smart enough to listen.

[Rich7sena]

11 minutes ago, ronjon1990 said:

Looking at the totality of the circumstances, if I'm Ruggs' lawyer, I'm advising him to take the first plea deal offered without much dickering over the terms.

I thought you said there was no way he was getting a deal?

[ronjon1990]

6 minutes ago, Rich7sena said:

I thought you said there was no way he was getting a deal?

No way he's getting some sweetheart deal like you insinuated. 

The prosecutor may take some pity and offer something like 20 years. 15 MAYBE if they're feeling lazy. 

That's not really a "deal" it's just avoiding trial and not pushing for the absolute max. 

[Rich7sena]

4 minutes ago, ronjon1990 said:

No way he's getting some sweetheart deal like you insinuated. 

The prosecutor may take some pity and offer something like 20 years. 15 MAYBE if they're feeling lazy. 

That's not really a "deal" it's just avoiding trial and not pushing for the absolute max. 

Isn't the max for what they're charging him for 20 years? Considering his age, history (assuming he has no priors and good testimony at sentencing), the fact he has a young child, I would not agree to that. I think he's rich enough to pay for the chance that he could get a "fairer" sentence.

[ronjon1990]

7 minutes ago, Rich7sena said:

Isn't the max for what they're charging him for 20 years? Considering his age, history (assuming he has no priors and good testimony at sentencing), the fact he has a young child, I would not agree to that. I think he's rich enough to pay for the chance that he could get a "fairer" sentence.

😂

No. 

With the aggregate charges, he's looking at a max of like 46+. 

If he's offered 20, you 100% take that. If he tries to be a punk and go to trial, they're not combining anything and they'll probably crucify him for the full 46. 

[NCOUGHMAN]

https://dailysnark.com/2021/11/05/surveillance-video-shows-henry-ruggs-car-going-154-mph-seconds-before-fatal-crash/?fbclid=IwAR2ESapAfvPHULDn9MkCkcox61JWSUfg1rMJTjbbOkz3aczy5VvVnYMqBhw
 

🤦🏽‍♂️

[Rich7sena]

1 minute ago, ronjon1990 said:

😂

No. 

With the aggregate charges, he's looking at a max of like 46+. 

If he's offered 20, you 100% take that. If he tries to be a punk and go to trial, they're not combining anything and they'll probably crucify him for the full 46. 

Except we don't know what the charges are besides DUI resulting in death. And, despite you thinking otherwise, it's not a slam dunk for all incriminating evidence to get in. It almost never is.