Vick Due in Court With NFL Career in Jeopardy

July 26, 2007 — -- When Michael Vick walks into the old gray brick building at 1000 East Main Street in Richmond, Va., on Thursday afternoon, he will enter a federal courthouse that features trials that are quick and fair and sentences that can be harsh.

Facing charges that he participated for six years in a dogfighting scheme, Vick also must battle issues of celebrity and notoriety as well as the savagery described in the indictment filed against him last week.

The judge presiding over the Vick case is U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson, a former prosecutor who was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush in 2002.

"I love the trials before Judge Hudson, but I hate the sentences," observed one experienced and highly regarded Richmond defense lawyer. "He will let you try your case, he will give you every chance to offer a defense, but if you're convicted, you will be facing serious problems at sentencing."

The lawyer, who requested anonymity because of a possible involvement in Vick's defense, explained that Hudson takes a unique approach to the guidelines that are a part of sentencing decisions in federal courts throughout the U.S.

"Most judges start at the minimum and move up or down in small increments. Judge Hudson starts at the midpoint of the guidelines spectrum and moves toward the maximum. The result can be surprisingly harsh."

The charges against Vick provide for a maximum jail sentence of six years and up to $350,000 in fines.

Although several experienced defense lawyers contacted by ESPN.com agreed that Vick can expect the fairest of trials, they warned that there will be significant problems, especially if the case is tried before a jury.

Vick and his lawyers will tell Hudson on Thursday whether they want a jury trial. The brutality of the charges might lead Vick to ask for a bench trial in which Hudson would decide whether Vick is guilty. If Vick wishes to waive his right to a jury trial, his three co-defendants must agree. But the prosecution also has a right to a jury trial and may insist that the nasty allegations against Vick and three others be presented to a jury. If one side, or one co-defendant, insists on a jury trial, then there will be a jury trial. Even a federal judge cannot order a jury trial if the prosecutor and defendants all waive their rights to a jury trial.