Vick hearing sparks courthouse circus scene Vick hearing sparks courthouse circus scene
Media, protesters jockey for position, awaiting QB's afternoon appearance

By D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER, JEREMY REDMON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 07/26/07

Richmond, Va. — Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is scheduled to enter a plea to dogfighting related charges in federal court here today, while his team prepares to move on without him at its first official practice of the 2007 season.

Vick and his three co-defendants are due for a bond hearing in the U.S. District Court at 3:30 p.m. followed by a 4 p.m. arraignment. A federal judge is expected to set a trial date at that arraignment.


BEN GRAY / Staff
Radio hosts from The Morning Sludge on Y101 broadcast (and protested) from the U.S. Courthouse in Richmond, Va., where Michael Vick is set to appear July 26 on federal dogfighting charges.
Last night, Vick's legal and media relations team met at a local steakhouse here, plotting strategy for today. Vick has hired Collins Spencer III, formerly of CNN, to help him deal with the press today. And he has added at least one more attorney to his legal team: Daniel Meachum, an attorney from Atlanta.

Meachum met last night with Spencer and another Vick attorney, Billy Martin, of Washington, D.C. The quarterback is also being represented by his longtime lawyer, Lawrence Woodward.

A federal grand jury this month indicted Vick and his three co-defendants — Purnell Peace, Quanis Phillips and Tony Taylor — on a single count of conspiracy relating to dogfighting. They face up to six year in prison and up to $350,000 in fines. Attorneys for Peace, Phillips and Taylor have not responded to requests for comment.

Early this morning, protesters from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were already lined up in front of the federal courthouse with their Michael Vick protest signs and solemn faces. One sign, bearing a picture of a scarred pit bull, read, "Prosecute all Dog Fighters. Justice for all victims."


Mass media

The media line was starting to form early this morning for the 100 spots in Judge Henry E. Hudson's courtroom for Vick's hearing. There will be an overflow room for 200 other media members.

Behind the courthouse, 27 media vehicles — including WSB, CNN, Fox News, WJLA (Washington, D.C.), ESPN and WDBJ (Roanoke, Va.) — lined the streets.

One local radio show, The Morning Sludge on Y101, had three cast members broadcasting live while dressed in dog suits.

"We are just going to be peaceably demonstrating about this issue sending a message to the federal government that people want to see this case prosecuted vigorously," said Dan Shannon, PETA's assistant director. "We don't want to lose sight that Michael Vick is not the end of the problem.

"There are a lot of people who aren't as famous that are involved in this sort of thing and they also need to see their day in court eventually."

Also on hand here today: John P. Goodwin, the deputy manager of animal fighting issues for the Humane Society of the United States.

"The intensity of the crowd and media here really demonstrates that this has struck a cord with the American public," Goodwin said. "This is a culture where dogs are considered best friends and family members and not a culture where we tolerate fighting dogs to the death."


'Let Vick Play'

Three loud Falcons fans, who drove down from Boston, arrived in front of the courts to counter the PETA protesters. One held a sign that read "PETA = Hypocrites." Another held one that said, "Let Vick Play."

"There are a lot of serious allegations, but he hasn't been proven guilty yet," said Michael Geary, 21. "He's innocent until proven guilty, so why are they not letting him play? Let him play. Let him ride this out himself.

"He's not a Pacman Jones. He's not out shooting people."

Geary said he's been a Falcons fan "since they got Michael Vick."

By 8:40 a.m., there were more than 30 people in line to get into the courthouse for Vick's hearing. At the front sat Cathy Coulter and two friends. Coulter, a Richmond area high school teacher, said ESPN was paying her and her friends $150 each to hold their spots in line.

"This is really exciting. I have never been a part of anything like this," Coulter said.

Several bystanders have also showed up to watch the proceedings, including Shawn Dodson, a longtime Vick fan from Lynchburg, Va. He and his wife, Sheila, stayed in a downtown motel last night so they could be among the first in line for the courthouse this morning.

"He was the best quarterback I ever saw," Shawn Dodson said of Vick's quarterbacking at Virginia Tech.

"The hell I go through for Vick," Dodson's wife joked. "You would think I was married to Vick."


Bad Newz

The indictment says Vick and the others set up a business called "Bad Newz Kennels" to raise and train pit bulls for fighting. They staged the fights, according to federal prosecutors, in Smithfield, Va., on property Vick bought in June of 2001. Prosecutors say the defendants crossed state lines to participate in dogfights in several other states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and New Jersey.

For their case, prosecutors are relying on four unnamed cooperating witnesses mentioned in the 18-page indictment. Vick's name is also mentioned repeatedly in the document. For example, the indictment says Vick, Peace and Phillips executed approximately eight dogs they determined not to be good fighters by hanging, drowning and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground. The indictment also says Vick and the others bet on the dogfights and it details how Vick retrieved a book bag containing $23,000 in cash at one point to pay a winning opponent.

The case stems from a drug investigation involving Vick's cousin — Davon Boddie — on Vick's rural property in Surry County, Va. Boddie listed the property as his address after being arrested on a drug charge April 20. When they went to the property, authorities said they found kennels, treadmills, a "rape stand" used to restrain aggressive female dogs during breeding and 54 pit bulls, some with scars and injuries consistent with dogfighting.

Vick has blamed family members for the mistreated dogs.

"I'm never there. I'm never at the house, " Vick said in April. "I left the house with my family members and my cousin. They just haven't been doing the right thing. The issue will get resolved."


Official moves

The indictment has jeopardized Vick's NFL career. On Monday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ordered Vick to stay away from the team indefinitely until the league determines if he violated its player-conduct policy. And on Tuesday, Falcons owner Arthur Blank confirmed the team had drafted the paperwork necessary to suspend Vick for four games and discussed releasing Vick outright before Goodell stepped in.

The dogfighting charges have also sparked numerous protests from animal rights activists, who have called on the Falcons to suspend or fire Vick. Vick's critics have set up a Web site to get him fired: www.kickvick.com.

Some have called for a boycott of Nike until it scraps its endorsement contract with Vick and have even set up a Web site www.boycottnikenow.com. Two days after Vick was indicted, Nike suspended the release of its latest product bearing his name — the Air Zoom Vick V — a shoe that had been scheduled to hit stores next month.

© 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

http://www.ajc.com/falcons/content/s...ge_tab_newstab

RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleaded not guilty Thursday to dogfighting charges, and a trial date was set for November after his defense attorney asked a judge for a delay, citing the complexity of the case.

An animal rights activist protests outside the courthouse in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday.

1 of 2 var CNN_ArticleChanger = new CNN_imageChanger('cnnImgChngr','/2007/US/07/26/vick.dogfighting/imgChng/p1-0.init.exclude.html',1,1);//CNN.imageChanger.load('cnnImgChngr','imgChng/p1-0.exclude.html');Attorney Lawrence Woodward, in making the request of U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson, noted that some of the charges against Vick involve activities outside the Eastern District of Virginia and that forensic evidence must be collected.

Under federal guidelines, prosecutors must be ready to go to trial within 70 days. Hudson set Vick's trial date for November 26.

"I take these charges very seriously and look forward to clearing my good name," Vick said through one of his lawyers, Billy Martin. Watch what the delay might mean »

At an earlier bond hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Dohnal allowed Vick to continue his release under certain conditions. He ordered Vick to surrender his passport and dog-breeding license; not travel outside the Eastern District of Virginia without prior approval; and not buy or sell any dogs.

Vick also cannot violate the law -- even traffic laws -- and cannot have contact with his three co-defendants -- Purnell Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Quanis Phillips, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia; and Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton, Virginia.


Don't Miss

• SI.com: Indictment explained in detail
• SI.com: League unsure if other players involved
• Dogfighting business booming

Dohnal said Peace, Phillips and Taylor must undergo random drug tests, but not Vick, as he has no prior convictions.

No cameras were allowed inside the courtroom during the proceedings, which began around 3:30 ET.

Curious spectators, animal rights activists and Vick supporters, who crowded around the courthouse in anticipation of his arrival, erupted into boos and cheers as he approached, wearing a coat and tie and accompanied by U.S. marshals. Vick did not acknowledge the crowd as he entered the building.

After the hearings, Vick left the courthouse to more boos and cheers, including one woman's "We love you, Michael!" He stepped into a white Ford SUV, which quickly drove off.

Moments later, Martin said his client "said in a loud and clear voice that he is not guilty of these allegations."

In his statement, Vick apologized to his mother, family and teammates for the trouble and distraction the case has caused them.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has told Vick to stay away from the Falcons' training camp while the league finishes its review of the indictment. Goodell also told the Falcons to hold off on any disciplinary action until the review is complete, team owner Arthur Blank said.

Blank called the allegations "very repulsive to all of us," adding, "It's not the young man that I've gotten to know, certainly." But he said he has not asked Vick directly whether the allegations are true.

"I felt that was part of a legal process he needs to go through," Blank said.

Vick and the three associates were indicted by a federal grand jury last week on charges they conspired to organize bloody and vicious dogfights on a piece of property that Vick bought in 2001.

If convicted on both portions of the conspiracy charge, they each could be sentenced to up to six years in prison and fined $350,000, prosecutors said.

According to the federal indictment, dogs that didn't show enough fighting spirit, or that lost matches, were put to death by a variety of methods, including shooting, drowning, hanging and electrocution.

Prosecutors allege that on one occasion earlier this year, Vick participated in the killing of eight dogs.

Vick is one of pro football's highest-profile and highest-paid players, signing a 10-year, $130 million contract with the Falcons in 2004. He was a standout at Virginia Tech and the first player chosen in the 2001 NFL draft.In addition to his Falcons contract, he also has endorsement deals with several companies -- one of which, shoe giant Nike, has suspended the release of a shoe bearing the quarterback's name. E-mail to a friend

Vick pleads not guilty Vick pleads not guilty
BY HUGH LESSIG | Daily Press
4:04 PM EDT, July 26, 2007


RICHMOND - NFL quarterback Michael Vick pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges related to dogfighting today.

He and his co-defendants, who also pleaded not guilty, were in U.S. District Court in Richmond today for a bond hearing and arraignment. Vick, a Newport News native who plays football for the Atlanta Falcons, and Tony Taylor of Hampton, Purnell Peace of Virginia Beach and Quanis Phillips of Atlanta were indicted July 17 for conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and to sponsor a dog in an animal-fighting venture.

When he arrived at the federal courthouse in Richmond around 2:55 p.m. today, he was greeted by scores of protesters when he exited the vehicle.

Vick made no acknowledgement to the crowd, and was escorted into the courthouse.

If the dog fighting charges against Michael Vick turn out to be true, Steve Stanaway can envision the appropriate punishment and it's not listed in the state code.

"They ought to put him in the ring with five pit bulls and the winner comes out," the York County man said this morning.

Michael Geary of Boston wants everyone to take a deep breath.

"Innocent until proven guilty," he said. "It's an allegation. Until he's proven guilty, I shouldn't think anything of it."

So it went in downtown Richmond in the hours before Vick, the star quarterback and Newport News native, was scheduled for arraignment in federal court on dog fighting charges.

The case has rocked the sports world, brought a shadowy blood sport into the limelight, and - as evidenced on Thursday - triggered strong emotions on both sides.

Stanaway, a shipyard pipe fitter for 41 years, took off from work Thursday just to be outside the courthouse and lend his voice. He brought along Dinky, a 9-year-old Chihuahua whose spunky attitude matched its owner.

Geary, a 21-year-old student, wore an Atlanta Falcons jersey with Vick's name and number seven. He drove nine hours from Boston with two friends to stand on a street corner and get an earful from motorists.

Animal-rights activists say that while emotions are running high, they hope this case becomes a teachable moment for people who have never thought about dog fighting.

"I think it's incumbent on animal-protection groups, people that care about dogs, to take this dark, dark cloud and put a silver lining on it," said John Goodwin, manager of animal fighting issues for the Humane Society of the United States.

While the problems of animal overpopulation and stray dogs s have been the stuff of TV commercials, dog fighting has largely existed under the public radar.

Until now.

Goodwin said elements of hip-hop culture have glamorized the blood sport and led to its growth, although he credited African-American leaders like the Rev. Al Sharpton for speaking out against it.

Dan Shannon of the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, said lack of prosecution is another reason why dog fighting has not grabbed headlines.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't get brought to justice that often," he said. "People don't hear about it because there's not a lot of high profile cases."

The profile of this case brings a different sort of challenge to Scott Schaefer, a fourth-grade teacher from Richmond who was among the sign-carriers.

"He could be innocent, you never know," he said. "But I teach kids. They look up to this guy. They look up to people they can't see or touch on a daily basis."

It will be interesting when classes resume in the fall, he said.

"I doubt many kids will be wearing Vick jerseys," he said. "With athletes, you can look up to what they can do on the field. Unless you really know them, they're not touching your life in any way. You need to look up to someone you can know who can really change your life."


Copyright © 2007, Newport News, Va., Daily Press

http://www.courant.com/sports/dp-now...0,117343.story