Following the Kraft case
Will the Patriots’ owner have to appear in court?
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft may never have to appear in court after being charged with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution linked to his visits to the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida, last month.
According to the charging affidavit released by Palm Beach County state attorney Dave Aronberg’s office Monday, those visits were on Jan. 19 and Jan. 20, the latter a morning visit hours before the Patriots defeated the Chiefs in Kansas City in the AFC title game to advance to the Super Bowl.
In a statement released last week -after Kraft was listed among 300 arrest warrants related to a sex trafficking/ prostitution ring investigation, the Patriots said they “categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity.”
Here’s a look at what could happen next in the case:
Will Kraft have to appear in court? Kraft will be arraigned on April 24, although his attorney can enter a plea on his behalf. Since the two charges are misdemeanors, Kraft may never have to appear in court in Florida.
There are a couple of caveats. For Kraft to avoid a courtroom appearance, he would have to agree to a plea deal or have the charges dropped completely. That can’t happen if the case goes to trial, a highly unlikely event, legal experts told USA TODAY Sports.
What punishment could Kraft face?
Kraft faces the prospect of up to two years in jail if convicted on both charges, along with a potential NFL suspension for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy.
However, chances are slim Kraft would get the maximum sentence. He’s eligible for a pre-trial diversion program under Florida law that would ultimately lead to the charges being dropped and allow him to seek the case’s expungement.
Under the diversion program, Kraft likely would be ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and pay to attend a course on the effects of prostitution and human trafficking on society.
“A lawyer can just give the paperwork to the court if it goes that direction,” Florida-based attorney David S. Weinstein told USA TODAY Sports. “There’s a good possibility he’d never have to show up.” When will the video be released? The Florida Sunshine Law is one of the most transparent open-records laws in the nation.
Like most states, there is an exemption for an open investigation, which could mean the video won’t be released until after Kraft’s case has concluded. Police agencies, however, often release footage while a case is being adjudicated. Palm Beach County authorities did so in Tiger Woods’ DUI case two years ago.
Another exemption would occur if the video’s release could lead to “revealing surveillance techniques or procedures or personnel,” which could hinder future investigations.
USA TODAY Sports inquired about the footage with the Jupiter police and 15th Circuit State Attorney; messages were not immediately returned.
“There are numerous, reasonable grounds for excluding surveillance video of this incident from public view – at least for the moment,” sports law attorney Don Jackson told USA TODAY Sports. “Ultimately, however, the tape is likely to be released.”
What about the Fourth Amendment argument?
One Florida law firm filed two emergency petitions in an attempt to block the release of the videos and customer lists because doing so would violate the Fourth Amendment’s privacy protections. (The Fourth Amendment, at its core, is the “right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures...”)
“We are seeking judicial intervention to determine what evidence is permitted to be released and to whom it should be released to,” Richard Kibbey, senior partner at the firm Kibbey Wagner, said in a statement.
Jackson said there could be an argument as to whether the video should be admissible in court.
“The videotape could be suppressed (at trial) if Kraft can establish that it was obtained illegally or in violation of the Fourth Amendment,” Jackson said.
Do the allegations against Kraft deal with sex trafficking?
No. One woman so far has been connected to Kraft, and while this case has been billed as a sex trafficking ring by authorities, only one person has been charged with such a crime. That woman, Lanyun Ma, ran another spa in Vero Beach.