Very good read by a former Federal Prosecuter on the Vick case.
From Profootballtalk.com:
INSIGHTS FROM A FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR
Since the federal prosecutors handling the Vick case won't be conducting many (or any) Poindexter-style press briefings, the closest thing we'll ever get to the thought processes of the federal prosecutors in this case will be via the insights of a former federal prosecutor.
Attorney Marc Garber of The Garber Law Firm, with offices in Atlanta and Marietta, Georgia, worked for eight years as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey and Nevada. He agreed to provide on-the-record observations regarding the Vick case, based on Garber's experiences working up and trying federal criminal cases on behalf of the United States of America.
As an initial matter, Garber believes that the mere existence of an indictment is the product of extensive work by prosecutors to marshal evidence that puts Vick in the places where they allege that he was, doing the things he allegedly did. That evidence, Garber believes, goes beyond the four unnamed cooperating witnesses mentioned in the indictment.
"If I had Vick's case," he said, "the testimony of four cooperators would be enough to prompt a search, but not an indictment. To pull the trigger on an indictment, I'd need documentary evidence that corroborates what the cooperators said.
"I'd start with Vick's credit-card bills to see where he's buying things and when. I'd check airline tickets or other evidence of travel to see when he was in Virginia. I'd check cell phone information. I'd check emails. Whatever kind of documented communication or evidence of travel or location you can imagine, that's what I'd want.
"There's no way, if you're a federal prosecutor, you pull the trigger on this case without [extensive] documents that let you plot out a time-line -- in multiple colors on a huge board that sits in front of the jury as you bury Vick witness by witness and document by document -- putting him at the dog fights on his property."
It all makes a lot of sense. As we've previously explained, the feds aren't in this case to win an indictment and then lose a trial. They took on this fight because prosecutors believe that they have the proof to secure a conviction.
Interestingly, Garber thinks that the prosecution ultimately will focus less on the dog fighting and more on the gambling.
"This case is not so much about animal abuse, though that's the hook that gets the jury impassioned," Garber said. "This case from the Justice Department's perspective is about an illegal-gambling ring which, though the NFL remains silent on this point, is why Vick should be staring at an instant suspension."
