The NFL Draft is stressful enough for athletes trying to prove themselves worthy for selection, but the stress for one prospect has decreased significantly. Former Florida State cornerback P.J. Williams will no longer be pursued by the Florida State Attorney’s office for a DUI offense. This comes after Williams’s initial arrest for alleged DUI on April 3rd. Sources indicated that there is not enough evidence to pursue Williams for the charge, and what does exist contradicts the filed police report. While a major relief for Williams, the circumstances surrounding the arrest, the Tallahassee police, and the suspect history Florida State football players have with law enforcement remains in question.
The New York Times has documented perceived preferential treatment of Florida State football players over an extended period of time. While the Times did admit that Florida State players do not always skirt prosecution, there have been instances when questionable dismissals were a bit too frequent to be simply written off as coincidence. The Times reports that “on other occasions, despite strong evidence, investigations have been delayed and sometimes derailed.” The Times concluded that the atmosphere at Florida State, as it relates to its athletic programs, is not favored towards consistent handling of student-athlete conduct. Williams’s case raises several questions because there is an alleged traffic infraction that led to a stop, in addition to observational evidence by police, that Williams was exhibiting signs of intoxication.
The amount of time and energy that typically goes into a DUI investigation is not easily dismissed since there tends to be a fair amount of evidence that is alleged to support a DUI charge (field sobriety tests, preliminary breath tests, chemical tests etc.) Williams’s case could be an exception if the proper steps were not followed by the arresting officer; however, given the history of Florida State football player’s interactions with the criminal justice system, Williams’s situation is not as easy to dismiss as a rare exception.
The exclusive purpose of this article is educational and it is not intended as either legal advice or a general solution to any specific legal problem. Corporate offices for Nave DWI Defense Attorneys are located at 432 N. Franklin Street, Suite 80, Syracuse, NY 13204; Telephone No.: 1-866-792-7800. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney Advertising.
