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Ann Arbor ― Former University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore's no-contest plea deal will likely lead to no jail time and might even result in the case disappearing eventually from court records, Troy defense attorney Wade Fink said Friday.
The agreement could lead to a sentencing arrangement where the case vanishes from court records as though "it didn't even happen," Fink told The Detroit News.
In Ann Arbor's 14A District Court, Moore entered his no-contest plea on the record, but said nothing else. The 37-year-old former coach faces up to six months in jail for a trespassing charge and a malicious use of a telecommunications device charge, the more serious of the two misdemeanors. He is scheduled to be sentenced at 2 p.m., April 14.
More: Ex-UM coach Sherrone Moore pleads no contest to two misdemeanors
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Moore's attorney, Ellen Michaels, declined to say whether she would be seeking a sentence with no jail time, but noted Moore has "never been in trouble in his entire life."
Fink said "it is virtually certain he will serve no time in jail beyond which he already has when he was arrested.
"I'd expect very limited probation and perhaps only a fine. He will be able to expunge his record in a few years," the Troy lawyer added.
Moore originally faced charges of third-degree home invasion, misdemeanor stalking and misdemeanor breaking and entering, but all three were dismissed as part of Friday's deal. If he were to have been convicted of home invasion, the most serious of the three charges, Moore could have faced up to five years in prison.
But the three charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
Moore was fired as the UM football coach on Dec. 10 after Athletic Director Warde Manuel said an investigation found he had had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Later the same day, he was arrested in Pittsfield Township, where police and prosecutors said he entered the home of his administrative assistant without permission and threatened her and himself with kitchen butter knives.
According to prosecutors, Moore told the former staffer, with whom he'd been having a relationship, that "my blood is on your hands."
But Michaels argued that a police officer failed to disclose to a magistrate who issued the arrest warrant that Moore was the boss of the woman whose Pittsfield Township home he entered without permission. She was his executive assistant with whom he had an affair, police said.
14A Ann Arbor District Court Judge Cedric Simpson said at a February hearing that he was "very worried" that the relationship between Moore and his ex-assistant was not disclosed when an arrest warrant was sought and ordered Friday's evidentiary hearing.
"Quite frankly, I think the defendant's due process rights, as well as the rights of the people to be able to proceed with a validly sworn-out complaint, are in jeopardy," Simpson said at the Feb. 17 hearing.
There are benefits of entering a no-contest plea, which does not admit guilt in court but is treated as a guilty plea for purposes of sentencing, Fink said.
“If you say ‘guilty’ on the record, that’s a statement under oath in court, and it can be used against you in any sort of proceeding, whether it’s a civil proceeding or family court," Fink said.
Farmington Hills attorney Art Weiss added that it's a way of not admitting wrongdoing.
“It’s as simple as, ‘I don’t want to fight this, I don’t want to contest it, but I’m not admitting that I did anything wrong, let alone illegal,’” Weiss said Friday.
One of the subtler moves made by Michaels was to request deferral status for Moore, the Troy attorney said.
Judge Simpson said he would consider the request for deferral status, which is a facet of state law that focuses on rehabilitation of a defendant over punishment.
If deferred status is granted, the sentencing is effectively postponed while the defendant completes a probation period and complies with specific conditions, which may include community service or counseling.
State law allows a judge to defer imposition of a sentence up to a year, Weiss said. Different courts handle such cases in different ways, he said, such as dismissing the charges or expunging them.
“If he grants him deferral status, then he would do a short period of probation," Fink said about Simpson. "After that short period of time, the whole case would get dismissed as if it didn’t even happen.”
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Why ex-UM coach Sherrone Moore's plea deal may vanish from court records
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The agreement could lead to a sentencing arrangement where the case vanishes from court records as though "it didn't even happen," Fink told The Detroit News.
In Ann Arbor's 14A District Court, Moore entered his no-contest plea on the record, but said nothing else. The 37-year-old former coach faces up to six months in jail for a trespassing charge and a malicious use of a telecommunications device charge, the more serious of the two misdemeanors. He is scheduled to be sentenced at 2 p.m., April 14.
More: Ex-UM coach Sherrone Moore pleads no contest to two misdemeanors
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More: Judge 'very worried' about officer's omission while seeking Sherrone Moore warrant
More: Moore's attorney questions credibility of key witness, seeks dismissal
Moore's attorney, Ellen Michaels, declined to say whether she would be seeking a sentence with no jail time, but noted Moore has "never been in trouble in his entire life."
Fink said "it is virtually certain he will serve no time in jail beyond which he already has when he was arrested.
"I'd expect very limited probation and perhaps only a fine. He will be able to expunge his record in a few years," the Troy lawyer added.
Moore originally faced charges of third-degree home invasion, misdemeanor stalking and misdemeanor breaking and entering, but all three were dismissed as part of Friday's deal. If he were to have been convicted of home invasion, the most serious of the three charges, Moore could have faced up to five years in prison.
But the three charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
Moore was fired as the UM football coach on Dec. 10 after Athletic Director Warde Manuel said an investigation found he had had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Later the same day, he was arrested in Pittsfield Township, where police and prosecutors said he entered the home of his administrative assistant without permission and threatened her and himself with kitchen butter knives.
According to prosecutors, Moore told the former staffer, with whom he'd been having a relationship, that "my blood is on your hands."
But Michaels argued that a police officer failed to disclose to a magistrate who issued the arrest warrant that Moore was the boss of the woman whose Pittsfield Township home he entered without permission. She was his executive assistant with whom he had an affair, police said.
14A Ann Arbor District Court Judge Cedric Simpson said at a February hearing that he was "very worried" that the relationship between Moore and his ex-assistant was not disclosed when an arrest warrant was sought and ordered Friday's evidentiary hearing.
"Quite frankly, I think the defendant's due process rights, as well as the rights of the people to be able to proceed with a validly sworn-out complaint, are in jeopardy," Simpson said at the Feb. 17 hearing.
The protection a no-contest plea provides
There are benefits of entering a no-contest plea, which does not admit guilt in court but is treated as a guilty plea for purposes of sentencing, Fink said.
“If you say ‘guilty’ on the record, that’s a statement under oath in court, and it can be used against you in any sort of proceeding, whether it’s a civil proceeding or family court," Fink said.
Farmington Hills attorney Art Weiss added that it's a way of not admitting wrongdoing.
“It’s as simple as, ‘I don’t want to fight this, I don’t want to contest it, but I’m not admitting that I did anything wrong, let alone illegal,’” Weiss said Friday.
Why Moore's case may disappear from court records
One of the subtler moves made by Michaels was to request deferral status for Moore, the Troy attorney said.
Judge Simpson said he would consider the request for deferral status, which is a facet of state law that focuses on rehabilitation of a defendant over punishment.
If deferred status is granted, the sentencing is effectively postponed while the defendant completes a probation period and complies with specific conditions, which may include community service or counseling.
State law allows a judge to defer imposition of a sentence up to a year, Weiss said. Different courts handle such cases in different ways, he said, such as dismissing the charges or expunging them.
“If he grants him deferral status, then he would do a short period of probation," Fink said about Simpson. "After that short period of time, the whole case would get dismissed as if it didn’t even happen.”
[email protected]
[email protected]
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Why ex-UM coach Sherrone Moore's plea deal may vanish from court records
Continue reading...
