again i dont know how to just post the link so please forgive me ....
Arkansas RB took his chances going to court
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Associated Press
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- If Cedric Cobbs had entered a guilty plea last spring to the charges he faced stemming from his Jan. 8 arrest, the incident could have been long behind him by now.
Instead, the Arkansas running back took his drug and traffic charges to court, where he was found guilty on Thursday, and now he faces stiffer penalties than he would have under a plea agreement.
On Aug. 6, instead of getting ready for preseason drills and finishing up summer classes, Cobbs will be back in court to receive his sentence for being found guilty of marijuana possession, driving while intoxicated and speeding.
North Little Rock city attorneys Paul Suskie and Bill Brown said that, if Cobbs had taken the plea agreement he was offered, the marijuana charge could have been stricken from his record.
Under the agreement, sentencing on the marijuana charge would have been waived for a year and if, during that year, Cobbs had committed no further violations, the charge would have been dismissed.
Since Cobbs is a first-time offender, Suskie said the Razorbacks running back most likely will get a probationary term for the marijuana conviction and pay combined fines of $600 to $900 for the traffic charges. But the terms of the probation are now in District Judge Barry Sims' hands.
Suskie said that terms of the probation could keep Cobbs from leaving the state, thereby making him unavailable for the Razorbacks' four road games this season. Arkansas travels to Tennessee, Auburn, South Carolina and Mississippi State this fall.
Arkansas officials did not return phone calls seeking comment on how Cobbs' conviction will affect his status on the team. Cobbs was suspended from the football team after his arrest. He later agreed to 15 conditions to remain on the team, and was allowed to go through spring practice.
Cobbs' lawyers, Darrell Brown and Ron Davis, fought the charges because they thought motions to keep some evidence from being used at trial would have resulted in acquittal for their client.
They sought to suppress statements made by Cobbs before an officer read him his rights. Cobbs' lawyers also tried to keep the court from considering results of a urine test or materials that State Trooper Marshall Cooney found in a search of Cobbs' car, claiming the officer didn't have good cause for the search.
Sims denied all three motions and found Cobbs guilty.
Even after the denials and the conviction, Cobbs' lawyers still want to keep fighting the case.
``We hope to get another decision from either another judge or a jury of his peers,'' Brown said. ``We're going to appeal.''
An appeal would send the case to circuit court, where it would start anew, with another trial.
On Jan. 8, Cobbs was stopped for going 73 mph in a 60 mph zone on Interstate 30 in Little Rock, according to a state police report. Cooney said he smelled marijuana coming from Cobbs' car. The trooper also said Cobbs acknowledged smoking marijuana.
The marijuana-possession charge and the traffic tickets were combined in one trial in North Little Rock court.
A state Crime Lab report indicated that while Cobbs' urine test was positive for marijuana, technicians couldn't suggest a specific level of impairment or say exactly when he had smoked it.
Cobbs set the Arkansas mark for most rushing yards by a freshman with 668 yards in 1999. He was also the MVP of the 2000 Cotton Bowl after leading the Razorbacks to a victory over Texas. Cobbs missed most of 2000 season with a shoulder separation and returned last season to rush for 340 yards.
Arkansas RB took his chances going to court
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Associated Press
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- If Cedric Cobbs had entered a guilty plea last spring to the charges he faced stemming from his Jan. 8 arrest, the incident could have been long behind him by now.
Instead, the Arkansas running back took his drug and traffic charges to court, where he was found guilty on Thursday, and now he faces stiffer penalties than he would have under a plea agreement.
On Aug. 6, instead of getting ready for preseason drills and finishing up summer classes, Cobbs will be back in court to receive his sentence for being found guilty of marijuana possession, driving while intoxicated and speeding.
North Little Rock city attorneys Paul Suskie and Bill Brown said that, if Cobbs had taken the plea agreement he was offered, the marijuana charge could have been stricken from his record.
Under the agreement, sentencing on the marijuana charge would have been waived for a year and if, during that year, Cobbs had committed no further violations, the charge would have been dismissed.
Since Cobbs is a first-time offender, Suskie said the Razorbacks running back most likely will get a probationary term for the marijuana conviction and pay combined fines of $600 to $900 for the traffic charges. But the terms of the probation are now in District Judge Barry Sims' hands.
Suskie said that terms of the probation could keep Cobbs from leaving the state, thereby making him unavailable for the Razorbacks' four road games this season. Arkansas travels to Tennessee, Auburn, South Carolina and Mississippi State this fall.
Arkansas officials did not return phone calls seeking comment on how Cobbs' conviction will affect his status on the team. Cobbs was suspended from the football team after his arrest. He later agreed to 15 conditions to remain on the team, and was allowed to go through spring practice.
Cobbs' lawyers, Darrell Brown and Ron Davis, fought the charges because they thought motions to keep some evidence from being used at trial would have resulted in acquittal for their client.
They sought to suppress statements made by Cobbs before an officer read him his rights. Cobbs' lawyers also tried to keep the court from considering results of a urine test or materials that State Trooper Marshall Cooney found in a search of Cobbs' car, claiming the officer didn't have good cause for the search.
Sims denied all three motions and found Cobbs guilty.
Even after the denials and the conviction, Cobbs' lawyers still want to keep fighting the case.
``We hope to get another decision from either another judge or a jury of his peers,'' Brown said. ``We're going to appeal.''
An appeal would send the case to circuit court, where it would start anew, with another trial.
On Jan. 8, Cobbs was stopped for going 73 mph in a 60 mph zone on Interstate 30 in Little Rock, according to a state police report. Cooney said he smelled marijuana coming from Cobbs' car. The trooper also said Cobbs acknowledged smoking marijuana.
The marijuana-possession charge and the traffic tickets were combined in one trial in North Little Rock court.
A state Crime Lab report indicated that while Cobbs' urine test was positive for marijuana, technicians couldn't suggest a specific level of impairment or say exactly when he had smoked it.
Cobbs set the Arkansas mark for most rushing yards by a freshman with 668 yards in 1999. He was also the MVP of the 2000 Cotton Bowl after leading the Razorbacks to a victory over Texas. Cobbs missed most of 2000 season with a shoulder separation and returned last season to rush for 340 yards.
