Interesting turn of events, as they say you're innocent until proven guilty. Fighting Sioux junior forward was found not guilty in his DWI case by a jurry of his peers.
A jury of six Grand Forks County residents found UND hockey player Matt Frattin not guilty of drunk driving today.Here is the link to Frattin's Court Case [link]
The trial began this morning and ended this afternoon, with jurors returning a verdict after less than 30 minutes of deliberation, prosecutor Jason McCarthy said.
Campus police pulled over Frattin, a junior forward, in the early morning hours of Aug. 19. According to police, Lt. Tracy Meidinger smelled alcohol on Frattin’s breath and a test at the station put his blood-alcohol level at .12 percent. The legal limit is .08 percent.
McCarthy said Frattin passed some of the sobriety tests, but failed others. “This was a closer one,” McCarthy said.
Meidinger testified for the prosecution; the defense did not call any witnesses. Among the evidence the prosecution presented was a video showing Frattin that night.
Frattin was kicked off the team following his arrest, which was his second run-in with police that summer. He rejoined the team and began playing again in January.
In July, campus police arrested Frattin and Joe Finley, a player who graduated in the spring of 2009, for throwing objects into a street. In that case, Frattin pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct.
Messages left for Frattin’s attorney were not returned this afternoon
[Grand Forks Herald]
how is that not guilty? .12 > .08 and he was driving?
ReplyDeleteCelebrities get all the breaks.
I haven't heard of many people beating the wrap when they get arrested for DUI/DWI.
ReplyDeleteAbsolute bullshit. The kid is guilty, there is no excuse for drunk driving and the people of Grand Forks need to excuse this and realize the precedent they may have set for future, more dangerous cases.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking that the Police officer might not have had an air tight case or had questionable probable cause it would be interesting to know all of the facts of this case. I am not condoning it but I do have a criminal justice back ground and there is something more to this case that we don't know.
ReplyDeleteA number of technicalities could have been the cause for him getting off. It's a game just like hockey. Go recruit the best lawyer and your chances of winning increase.
ReplyDeleteDitto to Chet's comment. Is Grand Forks following the Los Angeles model for celebrities? How many celebrities in GF anyway?
ReplyDeleteSeems so black and white (outside the world of Grand Forks County peers). ...It would be interesting to hear the reasoning he got off because it just sounds ludicrous.
ReplyDeletethis is awesome. yeah, chet, .12 > .08, but screw it. i take personal pride in the fact that my hockey team is so loved by the town in which it resides that you can't find a jury to convict a player of an obvious transgression.
ReplyDeletesure, if it was another team, i'd call it bs, but since it's the sioux, i love it. the thing is, there are few towns that care all that much about their hockey team; football team maybe, but not hockey team, so that's why this is such a great story from my point of view.
some will say, "oh, but what about my child who looks up to these guys?" to that i say - you're child is probably a jerk anyways.
seriously, parents who can't explain to their children right from wrong in a manner that they understand are simply lazy. if my kid does studpid things, i'm gonna call him out on them and if he thinks somebody is cool because they got away with driving drunk, then i'm gonna make him realize that it's not cool to drive drunk in a way that will enforce how dangerous it is for both himself and others.
go frattin and go sioux!!
We obviosly aren't being told all the facts here. There had to be some problem with the arrest or the evidence. It's my opinion that Frattin was more likely to be convicted because he is well-known within the community. Athletes are now under a microcope and are now more likely to be convicted. Just hope that Frattin doesn't use this as an excuse to forget what he's learned and then go back to living the way he was before.
ReplyDeleteScion I think there is more we aren't getting as well and I think the jury would be harder on Athletes than the regular people.
ReplyDeleteKrangodance - Here's to hoping you've had a vasectomy... Cheers.
ReplyDeleteKrangodance, obviously you supported OJ and didn't see how in the world he could be guilty.
ReplyDeleteTwo arrests and he is still playing hockey. Wow, what a great ambassador for UND.
Post from LetsGoDU blog:
ReplyDelete"jury of six Grand Forks County residents"
Lemme guess....they are all season ticket holders???? Frattin could have blown a .35, pissed on the cop's car, and pinched a loaf on the courthouse steps and still gotten off.
I really don't think it had anything to do with him being a hockey player. I would venture to guess it is some stupid technicality, but what most don't realize is how dangerous drinking and driving is. I hope this isn't a case of the jury thinking that .12 isn't a big deal.
ReplyDeleteI can picture the entire jury wearing Sioux jerseys...
ReplyDeleteJudge: "and how do find the defendant?"
Jury: "Not Guilty... GO SIOUX!"
Krangodance it is evident that you are wise beyond your years and intellectually superior to most other posters on this site. Keep up the good work.
charlie - here's wishing your dad had a vasectomy at birth.
ReplyDelete