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Cain Velasquez’s lead defense attorney has provided an update on the status of the former UFC heavyweight champion’s ongoing court case.
Velasquez was placed in custody after inadvertently shooting Paul Bender last February. Bender is the stepfather of Harry Goularte, who is accused of molesting Velasquez’s son at a daycare center and was the alleged target of the former UFC champion.
The 40-year-old was finally released on bail last week after three previous attempts, which prompted an outpouring of support from the MMA community. Although he’s been released from custody, Velasquez still faces the possibility of 20 years in prison for an attempted murder charge.
The question now is whether or not Velasquez can successfully argue his innocence in court, and MMA Junkie’s Nolan King recently spoke to defense attorney Mark Geragos to get an idea of Velasquez’s overall chances of walking free.
“I’m not gonna prognosticate anything,” Geragos began. “I will say the judge who heard the hearsay evidence – and by the way, the previous judge who denied him bail both had the same reaction, ‘He has a viable defense.’ And so, those are magic words in the criminal law. A viable defense means that you can present the evidence, that you can get presumably jury instructions and you can let jurors decide whether or not a reasonable person would have acted this way.”
“He’s Got A Viable Defense To The Accusations”
Even though Geragos admitted that Velasquez’s legal team still faces an uphill battle, the defense attorney expressed some optimism about the current state of the case.
“He’s charged with – not with murder, cause nobody was murdered – but with an attempted murder. The heat of passion comes in to negate the malice element. If you negate the malice element, it is not an attempted murder. And that’s why both judges have commented that he’s got a viable defense here. Because there is a heat of passion defense, and the heat of passion defense and the jury instructions are such that both judicial officers commented that he’s got a viable defense to the accusations. And by the way, wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Our office has tried a case in that county before – not identical circumstances, but similar – that resulted in an acquittal.”
Velasquez was finally granted bail last week after three previous attempts.
Velasquez’s bail of $1 million was granted with conditions that included home detention, a protective order to stay away from the alleged victims, and counseling for parents with children victimized by sexual abuse.
The 40-year-old spent roughly eight months in jail before finally being granted bail, and in addition to spending time with his family the 40-year-old has already booked a return to the pro wrestling ring for December.
What’s your reaction to the comments from Geragos on the likelihood of Velasquez beating his charges for attempted murder?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Cain Velasquez’s lead defense attorney has provided an update on the status of the former UFC heavyweight champion’s ongoing court case.
Velasquez was placed in custody after inadvertently shooting Paul Bender last February. Bender is the stepfather of Harry Goularte, who is accused of molesting Velasquez’s son at a daycare center and was the alleged target of the former UFC champion.
The 40-year-old was finally released on bail last week after three previous attempts, which prompted an outpouring of support from the MMA community. Although he’s been released from custody, Velasquez still faces the possibility of 20 years in prison for an attempted murder charge.
The question now is whether or not Velasquez can successfully argue his innocence in court, and MMA Junkie’s Nolan King recently spoke to defense attorney Mark Geragos to get an idea of Velasquez’s overall chances of walking free.
“I’m not gonna prognosticate anything,” Geragos began. “I will say the judge who heard the hearsay evidence – and by the way, the previous judge who denied him bail both had the same reaction, ‘He has a viable defense.’ And so, those are magic words in the criminal law. A viable defense means that you can present the evidence, that you can get presumably jury instructions and you can let jurors decide whether or not a reasonable person would have acted this way.”
“He’s Got A Viable Defense To The Accusations”
Even though Geragos admitted that Velasquez’s legal team still faces an uphill battle, the defense attorney expressed some optimism about the current state of the case.
“He’s charged with – not with murder, cause nobody was murdered – but with an attempted murder. The heat of passion comes in to negate the malice element. If you negate the malice element, it is not an attempted murder. And that’s why both judges have commented that he’s got a viable defense here. Because there is a heat of passion defense, and the heat of passion defense and the jury instructions are such that both judicial officers commented that he’s got a viable defense to the accusations. And by the way, wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Our office has tried a case in that county before – not identical circumstances, but similar – that resulted in an acquittal.”
Velasquez was finally granted bail last week after three previous attempts.
Velasquez’s bail of $1 million was granted with conditions that included home detention, a protective order to stay away from the alleged victims, and counseling for parents with children victimized by sexual abuse.
The 40-year-old spent roughly eight months in jail before finally being granted bail, and in addition to spending time with his family the 40-year-old has already booked a return to the pro wrestling ring for December.
What’s your reaction to the comments from Geragos on the likelihood of Velasquez beating his charges for attempted murder?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
Velasquez was placed in custody after inadvertently shooting Paul Bender last February. Bender is the stepfather of Harry Goularte, who is accused of molesting Velasquez’s son at a daycare center and was the alleged target of the former UFC champion.
The 40-year-old was finally released on bail last week after three previous attempts, which prompted an outpouring of support from the MMA community. Although he’s been released from custody, Velasquez still faces the possibility of 20 years in prison for an attempted murder charge.
The question now is whether or not Velasquez can successfully argue his innocence in court, and MMA Junkie’s Nolan King recently spoke to defense attorney Mark Geragos to get an idea of Velasquez’s overall chances of walking free.
“I’m not gonna prognosticate anything,” Geragos began. “I will say the judge who heard the hearsay evidence – and by the way, the previous judge who denied him bail both had the same reaction, ‘He has a viable defense.’ And so, those are magic words in the criminal law. A viable defense means that you can present the evidence, that you can get presumably jury instructions and you can let jurors decide whether or not a reasonable person would have acted this way.”
“He’s Got A Viable Defense To The Accusations”
Even though Geragos admitted that Velasquez’s legal team still faces an uphill battle, the defense attorney expressed some optimism about the current state of the case.
“He’s charged with – not with murder, cause nobody was murdered – but with an attempted murder. The heat of passion comes in to negate the malice element. If you negate the malice element, it is not an attempted murder. And that’s why both judges have commented that he’s got a viable defense here. Because there is a heat of passion defense, and the heat of passion defense and the jury instructions are such that both judicial officers commented that he’s got a viable defense to the accusations. And by the way, wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Our office has tried a case in that county before – not identical circumstances, but similar – that resulted in an acquittal.”
Velasquez was finally granted bail last week after three previous attempts.
Velasquez’s bail of $1 million was granted with conditions that included home detention, a protective order to stay away from the alleged victims, and counseling for parents with children victimized by sexual abuse.
The 40-year-old spent roughly eight months in jail before finally being granted bail, and in addition to spending time with his family the 40-year-old has already booked a return to the pro wrestling ring for December.
What’s your reaction to the comments from Geragos on the likelihood of Velasquez beating his charges for attempted murder?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Cain Velasquez’s lead defense attorney has provided an update on the status of the former UFC heavyweight champion’s ongoing court case.
Velasquez was placed in custody after inadvertently shooting Paul Bender last February. Bender is the stepfather of Harry Goularte, who is accused of molesting Velasquez’s son at a daycare center and was the alleged target of the former UFC champion.
The 40-year-old was finally released on bail last week after three previous attempts, which prompted an outpouring of support from the MMA community. Although he’s been released from custody, Velasquez still faces the possibility of 20 years in prison for an attempted murder charge.
The question now is whether or not Velasquez can successfully argue his innocence in court, and MMA Junkie’s Nolan King recently spoke to defense attorney Mark Geragos to get an idea of Velasquez’s overall chances of walking free.
“I’m not gonna prognosticate anything,” Geragos began. “I will say the judge who heard the hearsay evidence – and by the way, the previous judge who denied him bail both had the same reaction, ‘He has a viable defense.’ And so, those are magic words in the criminal law. A viable defense means that you can present the evidence, that you can get presumably jury instructions and you can let jurors decide whether or not a reasonable person would have acted this way.”
“He’s Got A Viable Defense To The Accusations”
Even though Geragos admitted that Velasquez’s legal team still faces an uphill battle, the defense attorney expressed some optimism about the current state of the case.
“He’s charged with – not with murder, cause nobody was murdered – but with an attempted murder. The heat of passion comes in to negate the malice element. If you negate the malice element, it is not an attempted murder. And that’s why both judges have commented that he’s got a viable defense here. Because there is a heat of passion defense, and the heat of passion defense and the jury instructions are such that both judicial officers commented that he’s got a viable defense to the accusations. And by the way, wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Our office has tried a case in that county before – not identical circumstances, but similar – that resulted in an acquittal.”
Velasquez’s bail of $1 million was granted with conditions that included home detention, a protective order to stay away from the alleged victims, and counseling for parents with children victimized by sexual abuse.
The 40-year-old spent roughly eight months in jail before finally being granted bail, and in addition to spending time with his family the 40-year-old has already booked a return to the pro wrestling ring for December.
What’s your reaction to the comments from Geragos on the likelihood of Velasquez beating his charges for attempted murder?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
