Originally posted by 49oz2superbowl:
The thing that's unfortunate about this case is that unlike the majority of the population there is a significant and very real cost to Foster by dragging this decision out. Months of vile and unfounded criticism by the media and general public. Being unable to practice, improve and do his job while this plays out. There are endorsement deals he will never get simply because his name will always be tied to DV due to how the DA and media handled the process.
The DA is clearly not being reasonable or objective in his pursuit if he has not agreed to some compromise. If he doesn't agree to drop the DV charge then the judge MUST step in - if not then why ever even have a pre-trial? It would be incredibly unjust given the evidence against the case and total lack of evidence for the case to continue to damage Foster any more than what has already been done.
This isn't a scenario where there's no harm done in waiting. There is significant harm to the defendant by waiting and without good reason to wait (even a remote chance of a conviction or some credible evidence that suggests he did it) it would be total negligence by the judge and unreasonable bias by the DA to allow this to go to trial.
My hope is the judge was trying to allow the DA to save face by avoiding a decision and allowing him to be reasonable and compromise. If the DA does not compromise then that shows he isn't being reasonable and in that case who do you prefer to "save face" for -
1- A DA who has been totally biased and negligent in his role. Made a mockery of the legal system through how he conducted his investigation and held trial through the media and refused to reason even after being proven to be incompetent when the judge gave him every chance to come out unscathed.
Or
2- Foster, who by all accounts and evidence is innocent of DV and the only thing he's guilty of is a wobbler that would've been a slap on the wrist/community service if it were not for false accusations of DV and the guns wouldn't have been found in the first place.
My guess/hope is the judge will side with 2 and she will lose a ton of respect for the DA in the process since she extended an olive branch and he pushed it away.
This should have been dropped last week. The standard to go to trial is still "probable cause", and that doesn't exist. The prosecution can not prove the case even with no defense mounted.
This is all about one thing, and one thing only. Everybody involved does not want to be seen on the wrong side of the politically correct issue of defending women against domestic violence. The general public is not following the details of the case, and these people are afraid of the headline when Foster walks. And yes, Foster is paying the price now, even if it is dropped later today, for the political benefit of the prosecution and judge. They are gutless and immoral.