REALITY IS COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND: KIFFIN, VOLS, AND HOOD

Since this should never have been revealed in the first place, and he has stayed on the straight and narrow since the incident, he should be given the benefit of the doubt.

Negligent lawyer is redundant. I hope that he got his license to practice revoked, but the bar is as sketchy as he is since they are all attorneys too. /lawyer rant finished, for now.

Okay…I followed the trail back as far as I could, and I’m still not sure the “attorney error” part should be repeated as gospel.

/defense of lawyers finished, for now.

The kid is a good football player, so he is getting a second chance to succeed. This is not the first time a talented athlete has gotten a second chance and it will not be the last time.

Reality is difficult/complex? Not really, but the author probably knows that. Reality is fair/unfair, well that is a different fox hunt, altogether.

In further defense of attorneys, his full name was used in the TN Appellate Court decision(because he was over 18 at the time) when he appealed a portion of the sentence. The Appellate decision recited the underlying facts of the case (including the fact that he was convicted of aggravated rape as a minor). So, don’t blame it on the Cat. 5’s – blame it on a judicial system which allows a published opinion of a crime which occurred when someone was a minor.

@Crabapple Buck: everybody hates lawyers until they need one. D-bag.

Well said, O.

@ 4 – Good point, Hobeg8r.

@ 5 – . . . or until they become one, RCR. ;-)

Well-played Orson.

I meant to add the following:

Under Florida law, only initials would be used in an appellate decision when it involved an appeal of a conviction of a minor (even though he was now an adult). Apparently, TN is not so progressive when it allows a decision to be published using the full name (and birthdate) of the minor (for the whole world to find/see) when it details the underlying facts of the juvenile criminal activity.

Hood to Riley Cooper: You ready to be fucked, man? I see you rolled your way into the SEC title game. Dios mio, man. Nu’Keeseand me, we’re gonna fuck you up.

Cooper: Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.

Hood: Let me tell you something, pendejo. You pull any of your crazy shit with us, you flash a piece out on the field, I’ll take it away from you, stick it up your ass and pull the fucking trigger ’til it goes “click.”

Nobody fucks with the Hood.

Tebow: 13-year-olds, Coop.

looks like the Dawgs have made the Fulmer Cup….not sure who yet….but I hear its 3 big starters….why did i think this year was going to be different?

The three names are Figgins, Houston, and Wilson. I doubt they will make the Fulmer Cup though, as they did not violate civil lawas, just team laws, i.e. they toked up. They will all be missing significant playing time however. My question to them is if they can’t stick around to play in important games, why should they stick around at all.

My take on Hood. There are some things done, whether being a minor or now, which should never be sealed. It wasn’t a childish mistake". They knew what they were doing was wrong- they covered her up. His father was in the house- he could have gone to get him to stop the 17y. All he did though was laugh along. Congrats UT, you’ve got yourselves one helluva human being there.

One other thing- soon to be announced when it can be spun right. Kiffin is taking on another second chancer- Dexter Moody. The guy UGA released from his LOI because he couldn’t keep to the straight and narrow for one month, let alone 4 years. Also, UT and Kiffin are also supposedly recruiting Cameron Newton, of UF laptop fame. Who knew the Isle for Misfit Toys was located in the Tennessee River?

I am glad the girl decided to forgive Hood, but I wonder if she will be watching when the sexual predator signs, the plungers, and the duct tape come out every time Mr. Hood travels out of the friendly confines of Neyland?

I also don’t know why everyone keeps thowing out his age to help alleviate the crime. I think it makes it far worse. Kids do things without inhibitions because they have less to lose. Their actions truly speak to their character more than the veiled actions of an adult. I am sorry, but every time I see him on TV, I am going to see a kid laughing while his first cousin is raped. And then I am going to hope that the opposing DL absolutely, positively blows him up.

O., it is never inappropriate or irrational to “knee-jerk carpet bomb Kiffin” for any purpose, real or imagined.

and Claws @ #9…I’d put my money on Cooper…his temper is legendary…

Just so everyone’s clear about this

The victim was then turned over onto her back. Her shirt and bra were pulled up, exposing
her breasts. The majority of her upper body was then covered with duct tape. Next, the victim’s
shorts and underwear were pulled down. Tape was placed over her lower body, including her
vaginal area. The victim stated that she was nervous, and that the defendant and Sanico were still
laughing.
The victim next testified to hearing Sanico tell the defendant to get a toilet plunger and
cellophane. The defendant retrieved a plunger from the bathroom connected to his bedroom. The
victim then heard the door to the defendant’s bedroom open and shut. At this point, either the
defendant or Sanico exited the bedroom and retrieved the cellophane from the kitchen. The duct tape
that was tying her ankles together was then removed. The victim testified that she began to kick.
In the struggle, she was flipped back onto her stomach, face down. She testified that the defendant
and Sanico restrained her legs. Her legs were then pulled apart, and each ankle was taped to the side
of the bed frame….
…The cover or blanket was then taken off of the victim. Sanico inserted the handle of the
plunger, which had been wrapped in the cellophane, inside the victim’s vagina. Sanico asked the
defendant if he wanted to do it himself. The defendant answered, "No, man, that’s my cousin."
After the plunger was taken out of the victim’s vagina, a liquid was poured onto her body.
According to the victim’s testimony, the defendant and Sanico stated that the liquid was Sanico’s
urine. Later testimony would suggest that the liquid was actually Kool Aid.
.The defendant later cut the tape from the victim’s wrists. The victim immediately removed
the tape from her eyes and mouth. The victim next cut the tape that was restraining her ankles to the
bed. She testified that the defendant and Sanico began watching television as if nothing had
occurred.

@ Meg: Jerry Keen, is that you?

This is the measured, thoughtful take that should’ve been coming from the Knoxville paper. Many thanks.

more…

“The defendant] is described by the [DCS’s] Assessment as being a
pseudo-socialized child exploiter, that is that he desired sexual
pleasure through exploitation of his victim. This diagnosis includes
the fact that the offender often rationalizes the offense with little guilt
or remorse. In this case he has placed the blame on the victim and on
the co-defendant, and has consistently minimized his role in the
commission of the offenses.”

Meg – this is a sports blog so I am not going to get into a dissertation as to the reasons why juveniles can and should be treated differently when they commit crimes. Accept the fact that they are treated differently for a reason and that their records are sealed for a reason – (except apparently in TN) or speak to your legislators to get the laws changed. I am quite certain that the TN State prosecutors had the option to try him as an adult but didn’t. They didn’t try him as an adult for reasons that you and I don’t know. I haven’t read one posting where anyone here has excused his crime.

The issue is: Has he truly reformed and should he be given a 2nd chance? From what I have read – he should.

Don’t sexual offenders have extremely high rates of recidivism?

This case and the various justifications from both sides remind me of a case years ago where young teenagers were throwing bricks off an overpass thinking it was fun to dent the cars driving beneath them. Except one brick went through the windshield and killed a women. At that time, people debated whether the kids lives should be ruined since the intent to kill was not there. Although I am pretty liberal about most things, in this case, my only thoughts were well, the woman’s life and that of her family was ruined pretty handily. In that case, it wasn’t a “childish mistake” despite whether or not they intended to kill. It wasn’t an accident. They just didn’t think through the actions to their worse completion. They should still be held accountable for their actions. Otherwise where is the incentive for future teenage boys to further think through their actions before doing them?

This kid, even though he was a kid, had choices and chose badly just about ever single time. He did appear to think incest was a step too far, but the qualification makes you think what he would have done had he not been related to the victim. In the end, he has been given second chances, he was given the opportunity to go to a top Knoxville high school. He has usedthem well. Good for him. But then came this next choice. He had a choice to go to school, he had the grades without football, and do well on his own academic merits, but he chose what in my mind is a far more selfish route. He wanted to play big time football as well. And now we are to bemoan the fact that he has had to put up with mental anguish on the recruiting trail.

He wants people to not just forgive, but to forget. I simply don’t believe that some childhood offenders should be allowed to forget the consequences of actions they knew to be wrong at the time they performed them, which is what effectively happens if the cases are sealed. I am not sure if even State Licensing Boards could unseal juvenile records even if he was applying for a medical license to be doctor with a specialty in gynecology. And I simply think that should not be the case. Consequences should mean that certain life paths are forever closed to you. After getting through high school with a clean record, he could have gone about his life without really having this brought so glaringly into the light, but he chose fame, and so yes, I do think that he should get what he asked for.

Dearest Kiffins,

I don’t really exist.

Signed,
Jean Valjean

@ hobeg8r

She is the girl from Con Law that answered every question when the prof stopped calling on people, thus allowing me to nap or study for important classes, so her kind serves a purpose, or did until I graduated.

Anyway, the majority of the rest of the world agrees that age does mitigate what he did to an extent, and that it is asinine to think he did that when he was 13 because he thought there would be less repercussions than if he was 18 or 28 or 58. Obviously, he was not thinking and/or was persuaded by the older, “role model,” to participate. It is possible, this being Tennessee, that at age 13 he was not really cognisant of what goes on down there regarding females. Not probable, but possible.

Also, just took the time to figure out your name. Say hello to the Shark and his, sort of, new bride for me. Man, his ex took him to the cleaners.

Folks might want to consider reading the judicial decision (excerpted above) before throwing in their two cents.

Tell me you can read the description of the acts and the opinions of him being a pseudo-socialized child exploiter with little remorse, and then honestly say you’re okay with that guy at your school (bear in mind that UT wasn’t the only place recruiting this guy).

The thought of seeing this guy celebrating after a big play makes me want to puke.

I’ve read the articles and skimmed through some of the comments that accompanied the articles linked through this site, and a lot of people are referring to what happened as “a bad decision” or a “mistake,” as if calling it less than what it was—a heinous crime—will some how mitigate the perception of what happened.

I have no idea if this kid has “rehabilitated” and will walk the straight and narrow for the rest of his life. I hope to god he does and only time will tell.

But I can guarantee you that the poor girl who suffered because of the actions of this kid and his buddy will have the horror of that for the rest of her life. She forgave him? She’s a better person than I am.

“Mistake” and “bad decision” my ass.

Coop,

He was cognizant of “what goes on down there”. The opinion states “The prior sexual history,
while extensive for his young age, does not appear to be remarkable. Having begun to masturbate, and when he learned about sex, and having engaged in exploratory sexual activity with other males, and
heterosexual activity with girls of about his own age, and having viewed pornography.”

He knew what was happening.

The girl was his first cousin. I’m sure the family pressured her into writing the letter

Tennessee would have never signed this kid if they weren’t desparate for linemen. KCHS wouldn’t have let him in if he wasn’t a football talent. Please don’t try to spin this as some kind Lifetime special.

KCHS didn’t let him in for being a football player. He hadn’t played sports in three years when he entered high school. Don’t you try to spin this as being worse than it already is, which is pretty fucking bad.

Orson,
Nailed it right on the head. Kiffyns did the best thing by getting ahead of the PR storm. Time will tell if the gamble paids off.

IMHO, there is no way that the reward is worth the risk. (Unfair to Hood or not.)

I’m not a bed-wetting liberal (apologies to those of you who are) by any stretch, but isn’t it pretty much accepted scientific fact that most young brains have not fully developed the capacity to think through all the possible outcomes of irresponsible action?

This is why certain age minors and the mentally retarded are now precluded from being given the death penalty.

I’m just curious as to when Meg thinks a minor should be held to the same cognition standard as an adult…at what age?

And are some of you saying the kid should have been punished more harshly by the penal system or just not given a free ride to Tenn-uh-see?

Gee Orson…aren’t you glad you posted this? LOL!

Well, based on how many people go out of their way to justify the actions of college-age people as youthful indiscretions, I would guess that most of American society thinks 30 would be about right. However, in other societies and other eras, people were considered mature at 13. In my opinion, people who premeditate and carry out violent crimes probably don’t have the same cognition standard of right and wrong as most people or at least they feel their own desires outweigh whatever moral code society imposes on them no matter what age they are. I am thinking his age was already factored into the decision when he was not sent to jail for ten years with his compatriot. I am actually fully against the death penalty even if it is Charles Manson. I am simply angered by the fact that people keep bringing up the “childish mistake” justification. There was no mistake involved. Did he trip and accidentally end up taping the poor girl to the bedpost? Children are capable of some pretty horrendous things because at heart we are all selfish beasts during those years with very little empathy for others. Look at some of the horrors Pol Pot’s regime managed using children as a tool against the older generations. I think public knowledge of underage convicted criminals should be a case by case basis especially in cases where violent crimes have been committed. In this case, they knew what they were doing was wrong as they covered the girl up when the older cousin came to the door. He knew it was sexual in nature as he at least deemed the first cousin relationship a bit too close to participate. I am happy for society that he has not continued the trend of violent behavior , but I just feel in his quotes that he is asking for us to give him a complete do-over. I am sorry, but I am not sure I, at least, could offer him that based on the crime. He has been given the opportunity to play big time college football. He should be grateful, but he should also accept that it will follow him throughout his life. With violent crimes, in my opinion, once the line is crossed one can never go fully back across. What is done is done. In this case, he was old enough to know what he did was wrong. I am glad that the girl has managed to forgive him. i just wonder what kind of person could forgive himself for such an act against a supposed loved one.

I know a man who was an upstanding part of society until he was convicted of hiring a man to kill another. He was a good family friend and still is an acquaintance. He served his jailtime and was released early for good behavior. He retired to the quiet life. I continued to talk with him and to grow up in the same neighborhood, but as much as I and others accepted his payment to society, I don’t think anyone ever forgot what he had proved capable of and it was always present in the backgroudn with any dealings with him.

However, by all means, let him play football. At least it channels any aggression in a safe place.

Holly,

I’m not not trying to spin this. I am cynical in the belief that the actions of UT and KCHS were motivated by anything other than Hood’s athletic talent. Hood was 13 when he committed the crime. The coaches at the high school would’ve known about him by then. My cousin played OT for Louisville. Believe me, our high school coaches were pestering him to go out for football when he was in the 7th grade. Dabo Swinney came by and asked about him by name when he was a 9th greader. KCHS knew who the kid was.

zzgator,

He was originally sentenced to DCS custody until he was 19. His sentence has already been reduced.

Men that committ crimes, especially rape, against children or women get no quarter from me. Committing a crime for material gain, even killing someone over money, is understandable to me. It’s the human survival mechanism breaking down the moral and ethical boundaries society instills in us. If you back almost anyone into the figurative corner far enough and they will steal or kill.

Inflicting pain for sexual gratification is different. I can’t understand it or forgive it. It’s almost like something has short-circuited the action-reward loop in their brains. The scientific community can’t even agree whether this type of predator can ever be rehabilitated short of neutering them.

@ Carl Johnson: “Sexual Offenses” as defined in the great (sic) state of Georgia have very low rates of recidivism. When we actually take the time to categorize these types of crimes, then we find that “predators” as a special category of sexual offense have high rates of recidivism, but account for a very small percentage of “sexual offenses.” The vast majority of “sexual offenses” have low rates of recidivism (in the teens). In Georgia the laws provide for this type of categorization, but in classic Georgia-style the General Assembly doesn’t fund the board establish by law to make these estimations. In turn, all “sexual offenses” are treated equally and everyone gets their scarlet letter to follow them for the rest of their lives regardless of what happened, what they did or how much time they’ve served. It’s so much easier to score political points by ostracizing a group of people instead of crafting sensible public policy that actually meets the stated goals of the government.

This case is, I think, difficult to judge. It’s terrible, for sure, but if the UT player served his sentence, then he should be allowed to move on with his life. I find it difficult to judge him NOW by his attitude toward his crime when he was 13 (if I’m understanding the arguments here rightly). And, it appears to me, he’s accepting that he did wrong and is being open with the public about it. There’s no hiding on his part. Whether he seems to want the world to forget or not, it seems clear that he knew participating in big-time college football was going to open up this part of his life (because that’s the type of hard-hitting journalism we want!) and he’s accepting those consequences. Because of it, now everyone knows he is a bad person. It seems to me he’s paying a price. It might not be high enough in the opinion of some, but it’s something nonetheless – and we should keep in mind that no matter where he goes or does for the rest of his life, people around him will know it and judge him on it.

That seems to me pretty stiff punishment to carry.

NB, so what you’re saying is that UT was motivated to give this kid a football scholorship because of his athletic talent? Wow, you don’t say. But thank you for your inflammatory posting of the specifics of the act. Suffice it to say that no rational person endorses the kid’s action. So what do you suggest we do with him, now that he’s been through the judicial process, and has enrolled at a competitive private high school, where he became an honor student and excelled on the athletic field? Please enlighten us all.

By the way, Orson, you are being more rational about this issue than many people, but I will disagree with you on this comment:

“It’s ballsy–if Hood behaves, strategy justified. If he doesn’t, Tennessee slides back a decade in terms of how their relative level of player discipline is perceived. "

I think we judge Kiffin’s decision now. He’s used the information available to him and done what he thought was right for the team. We can’t control how the young man conducts himself in the future, and if he lets society down we can’t then say “well Kiffin was an idiot after all.” We will then judge Kiffins next steps regarding how he deals with future problems this kid causes. You apparently see the positives in the deicision to let him play. I hope you’re right.

“Committing a crime for material gain, even killing someone over money, is understandable to me.”

-Nice

1. - So juvenile offenders should be allowed to live normal lives, so long as they aren’t playing college football (selfish?), or becoming OBGYNs?

@32:

To answer your last question, as a UT alum, I suggest we pass on him. There are lots of young men out there who are good at football and make decent grades who haven’t engaged in this type of behavior. I believe Hood has done all he can do prove himself following the conviction. Kudos to him. But no one is forcing Kiffin’s hand here. Obviously, there is nothing stopping Hood from playing college football. I just don’t want him to play at UT.

You asked the question as if playing at UT is Hood’s right. Let’s not lose site of reality and start believing he’s entitled to a scholarship to play D-1 SEC football. It’s OK for Kiffin to recognize the baggage that will come with this player and take a pass.

Dan, I can’t say I don’t understand your position. However, I think “taking a pass” because a kid brings too much “baggage” is the easy path. I think Kiffin was very courageous in trying to understand this kid’s heart and take a chance that he is a good person who made a horrific decision, when he was at a very immature age. I agree that playing football is not a right. It is an opportunity. And it’s the biggest one this kid’s ever been given.

Vol, there is no way we can know this, but you have to ask yourself if Kiffin would have made the same choice if he was coming off a SEC title and was not very short on legitimate talent up front. If yes, then maybe you are right. that he is being, “courageous.”

At face value, Hood gets another opportunity to succeed in life via getting a free ride to college because he is a talented football player.

However, given his grades and ACT scores, he probably would have been admitted to Tennessee as a regular student, anyway, assuming this sort of thing stayed sealed. I don’t know what he would have had to disclose to Tennessee on his application, as I have no clue about that sort of thing with minors and fortunately I never have had anything to disclose to anything I have ever applied for.

So, in reality, he is getting another chance to succeed in football because he is a talented football player and Tennessee is hard up for fresh blood, especially up front.

Something tells me that if Tennessee did not take him, someone else would have, though.

I don’t know Coop. I think Fulmer had already given him a scholarship, but yanked it when this became public, and no other major school would touch him. I do think it’s beneficial that he’s from Knoxville, and his friends and family will be close by to support him. I don’t see the relevance of the fact that Kiffin needed him as a player. Who gives scholarhips to people they don’t need? By the way, with all this hullabaloo surrounding this kid’s recruitment, does anyone know if he’s even that good?

His offer list is impressive enough, or it was before he became radioactive.

http://tennessee.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=81029

Tenn, Auburn, NC State, Ga Tech, UCLA, VPI, Stanford, SCar, Ole Miss, etc. High 3 according to Rivals

Vol-

I lead this off by saying, I’m conflicted and I’ll get to that. But first:

‘I do think it’s beneficial that he’s from Knoxville, and his friends and family will be close by…’

You mean like his cousin the victim or the friend who went to jail for the assault? And not to pick on you but…

‘I think Kiffin was very courageous in trying to understand this kid’s heart and take a chance that he is a good person who made a horrific decision, when he was at a very immature age.’

Let’s not make Kiffin out to be a saint here just because he decided to go ahead and give the kid a scholarship. This was strictly a need and risk reward assessment. Do I need a player here? Yes. Do I think that this kid is good enough that his upside outweighs his past balanced against what kind of person he appears to have made himself into since the crime?

That said, this never should have seen the light of day since it happened when he was a juvenile. REGARDLESS of what your particular viewpoint is on this kid, juvenile records are sealed for a reason. How would you feel if the kid played four years, kept his nose clean and THEN you found out?

Plunger rapist?

If Alshon Jeffrey is going to pump gas after graduation, obviously this kid will be unclogging toilets. If — his UT degree teaches him which end to use.

I don’t want to know what the saran wrap was supposed to be for…

Before anybody gets judgmental, understand that “cousin” has an entirely different meaning in Tennessee….

What makes the fans so agitated, is with all the stoopid things Lame Fibbing has done in so short a time, they will have to carry 6-7 signs a piece into the stadium just to taunt him with most of the major ones.

Broom, by all accounts he’s an extraordinarily well-respected kid. Don’t think he’s a menace to anyone anymore. And Kiffin definitely could have passed on him. He’s just a 3 star.

“However, in other societies and other eras, people were considered mature at 13.”

In other societies and eras 13 was considered childbearing age. You’re using an intellectually dishonest argument at best.

After checking out the appellate opinion, I know one thing that’s not difficult or complex to understand:

“Having begun to masturbate, and when he learned about sex, and having engaged in exploratory sexual activity with other males…”

Cue R. Kelly singing about the “down low” and how “nobody [except the TN Court of Appeals] has to know.”

Vol,
He was released from DCS custody early. He was allowed to attend a ritzy private high school. He has received a scholarship from UT. None of things would’ve happened if he wasn’t a talented athlete from what I suspect is a moneyed and well connected family. UT specifically probably wouldn’t have offered if they went in dire straits on the offensive and defensive line. If he was a poor kid without any athletic prospects would any of the events above have happened. I posted the excerpts because I am disgusted by people(including Hood, Kiffin, and Hamilton) describing what occurred as a “mistake”. I merely cut and pasted the specifics from the court documents. How is that inflammatory?

Also, this first came to light around April of last year when UT pulled their offer. His Dad was on one of the UT boards bashing UT for pulling Hood’s offer. Most UT fans were relieved at Fulmer’s decision. I guess signing a class of nothing but skill players and losing 3 linemen since NSD will change opinions pretty quickly.

Kecalf Bailey,
Committing a crime for material gain is infinitely more understandable to me than covering a 13 year old girl with duct tape and raping her with a toilet plunger for sexual gratification. I did not say I thought it was acceptable to kill someone for money but I can at least understand the motives that would drive someone to do such a thing.

The irony of it all is that Hood’s a tweener. He played tackle in HS at 6’5 260. He’s never played TE and is marginal in the speed department. The fact that he’s signing in May proves that Kiffin is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Dave, obviously that’s great cannon fodder for someone who wishes to exploit it like you just did. But under the circumstances, that’s pretty innocuous wouldn’t you say? You overlook the plunger but latch onto that?

NB -
1. According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, he paid his own way through Catholic, after convincing the school that his character was worthy to be admitted. I have never met a high school kid who paid his own way through private school. He did so because he was a gifted student, not a gifted athlete. He had not played sports in years. After graduating, the principal stated that he would stake the reputation of his school on Hood’s character.

2. Your post is inflammatory because it never should have been made public in the first place, and posting such horrific things about an incident involving a 13 year old makes me really uneasy. That’s why juvenile records are sealed in the first place, regardless of fault of the heinous nature of the facts.

3. Kinda tough to say that any team with a top 10 class is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

4. Knoxville News Sentinel’s online poll today said that 70% supported the decision to sign him, with only 19% against and the balance unsure. That doesn’t mesh with your unsubstantiated assertion that the majority of UT fans were relieved that Fulmer pulled his scholarship, unless there has been a massive change of heart. Verify here:

http://www.govolsxtra.com/polls/2009/may/050709hoodpoll/results/

Vol,

You’re absolutely right. I was wrong to “exploit” the innocuous fact that Hood likes some no-holds-barred man-on-man rough trade (presumably of the consensual kind, but who knows?), and should have strictly focused on the fact that he raped — excuse me, assisted in the rape of — his cousin with a plunger. Please, rest assured: whenever I see Hood playing for the Vols I will not “overlook the plunger.” I will instead bring the plunger to the attention of anyone of adult age and within listening distance.

And — will someone explain why “attorney’s error” keeps getting blamed for this info being made public? The only source for that claim appears to be Hood’s father, who doesn’t exactly qualify as impartial source. If comment # 4 is correct, then the fault isn’t error by an individual, it’s just the way the TN Court of Appeals deals with this issue, though perhaps wrongly. (I mean, it wouldn’t still be online at the TN gov’t site if that was the case, right?) Unless someone can enlighten me otherwise, the wails that “oh dear G-d no one should have ever seen this document” are completely off-the-mark. I do stand willing to be corrected, especially if someone is wearing a schoolteacher’s outfit — but not Orson. (No offense.)

I wonder if the rape victim gets a full scholarship to college. And a second chance at leading a normal life.

Feel free to cheer for the guy Vol. I’ll be one of the folks hoping he blows out both knees. The juvie records were unsealed because of his decision to press the appeal.

NB’s descriptions are “inflammatory?” Really? I think you have a warped perspective of this whole thing. Obviously you don’t want your school and coach to look like dirtbags for taking this guy, and perhaps you don’t whisper to yourself that you wish one of those other schools had gotten him instead. But the facts are the facts. I encourage you to read the entire TN Ct. App. decision. To phrase his actions as a “mistake” is a gross misuse or misunderstanding of language.

Sutpen, just wanted to chime in with agreement. Again, the notion that no one should be talking about what’s in a published opinion — published because Hood unsealed his own juvenile record as an adult to make it part of an appeal — is ridiculous.

Well I am a lawyer, but I don’t deal with juvenile matters. All I know is that all case styles I have ever seen dealing with minors, even at the appellate level, use initials and not names. Bottom line: It’s awful, but he’s done all he can do to make it right. I would certainly hate to be defined by anything I did when I was 13 years old. Hope he turns out to be a Gator killa.

By the way, I also doubt that procedurally, you’re required to reveal your identity in public records in order to pursue your right to appeal. I do believe that would be unconstitutional. I could be wrong.

Vol,

As I understand it, juveniles are not accorded the same constitutional protection of due process as adults. There are legal procedures to unseal juvenile records, i.e. determining a behavior pattern, but that varies from state to state. I don’t know why the court’s opinion was released.