2023 QB' off the list

Admitting to being charged with a crime is different than admitting to a crime. At no point did he apologize for being drunk behind the wheel.

“I’d like to apologize to my teammates, to the fans, to this organization. It’s difficult and embarrassing to go through something like this. I never wanted to be a distraction to our goal, to what we want to accomplish this year with playoffs coming up. Just a terrible time,” Dolegala told the media on Monday. “I feel like I let a lot of people down.”

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You almost never see someone publicly admit to committing a crime before adjudication.

Hell you rarely see someone on this forum admitting they are wrong.

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I don’t think the judge had a choice.

If the breathalyser results were tossed (which means either the test or some procedure was performed incorrectly by the police officers involved, not the judge), there goes all the objective, quantifyable evidence. All that remains is subjective testimony. And when that testimony includes an “experienced” arresting officer swearing that the defendant “didn’t seem intoxicated”, it’s not hard to predict the result.

From the article:

The experienced RCMP officer who arrested the quarterback testified Dolegala showed “no outward signs of impairment,” he added. “He concluded, in his words, and I quote: ‘He didn’t seem intoxicated.’ ”

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It wasn’t scott free. I’m sure the lawyer lightened his wallet. Plus the reputational damage may be a fairly big torpedo in the side of his young career.

If he was guilty, then yes, there should be more severe punishment.

But judges don’t throw out evidence for no reason, so there was obviously something amiss with the breathalyser. Whether procedural or operational, either way the judge determined the results were unreliable.

Add to that an arresting officer who testified under oath that he didn’t seem intoxicated and showed no outward signs of intoxication.

So all that’s left are some untrained civilian bystanders offering an opinion. Sure, they may be right, but its pretty tough to put a guy in jail based only on that.

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It’s funny some posters feel that Dolegala is a key superstar to the riders…Don’t get me wrong he has potential and could very well be a good candidate as back up

The judge didn’t find him not guilty because of being a rider fan ,season ticket holder or hoping for future employment lol

Right or wrong they guy got off the charge becusee of police error. The judge had no legal course to convict in the absence of factual proof

I personally feel the riders should still make.him do penance via community outreach work regarding drunk driving impacts etc. Maybe have him join groups speaking with teens.

Maybe he can take Moe with him lol

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He admitted to driving after drinking but I don’t recall him saying he was illegally impaired

His appology could as easily be taken as regretting having any alcohol before driving.

Some levels don’t result in conviction , just 24 hr suspensions for example and still reflect poor judgement on a person

Without a factual test result before the judge there was zero chance of conviction and that would be the same for you and I

The difference though is could you or I afford that high priced lawyer who found the loophole to have the results tossed ? Don’t think we could …

I know I couldn’t , although I never drive after any amount of drinks.

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Very much like Ellingson during his last year in Ottawa, a year later when he was in Edmonton, the judge threw it out. No charges

Chad Kelly has a CHANCE at a starting spot in TOR and all he can talk about is going somewhere else. I wonder what kind of a teammate he would make for anywhere but an NFL team. Even if he does get a shot with an NFL team, he’ll probably be nattering on about getting to the RIGHT NFL team for him.

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Blanket reply to: @Tedtanium1976 @Hit.em.hard @LoneRider
You’ve all made valid points, many of which I had already considered. But I still feel our justice system is a joke – at least certain aspects are. In my view everything pointed to Dolegala’s guilt, but he beat these charges with loopholes, legal wrangling, and likely his celebrity as a Rider.
Just my opinion.

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I’m not sure what you mean by loopholes or legal wrangling. It’s a fundamental tenet of our system that the Crown must be able to
prove any criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt. I don’t know the details here but it is apparent that they could not do this. Therefore in a free and democratic system a conviction isn’t possible or warranted.

The system that protects all of us from being convicted based on this universal standard in this case protected Dolegala. He isn’t the first and won’t be the last. Looking guilty or thinking he is guilty thankfully isn’t enough to convict anyone.

I also don’t get your celebrity angle at all. I haven’t read anything in this thread that suggests that has anything to do with it and based on my experience with the justice system that would be shocking, not to mention unethical. If you could point me to any evidence that his celebrity (relatively minor that it is) played a role that would be appreciated.

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Again, it’s just my opinion.
That’s all it was to start with.

I understand that but I was just wondering what you were basing that opinion on.

In my experience the legal system would be extra careful to ensure there was no special treatment for any person with any kind of celebrity. No doubt it has happened on occasion but that would be the exception and I was just wondering what you were basing that opinion on as it would be extremely rare and you are accusing people of being corrupt and not doing their job properly.

I haven’t read any facts that would support such an opinion and exceptional outcome and was just asking if you had any. As far as I can see Dolegala was treated the same as any other accused in that if the evidence isn’t there there is no conviction, as it should be. It happens every day. The police (in this case) and prosecutors aren’t perfect and here the police didn’t do something they should have/made a human error, which doesn’t equate to them being corrupt.

Really wasn’t interested in getting into this to any great extent, but I also don’t wish to appear irrational or unreasonable. Here’s what I based my opinion on:

  1. IDK about you but I’d have to be pretty convinced a driver is impaired before I’d ever consider reporting them to Police. The fellow who reported Dolegala was obviously convinced, yet for reasons unknown/unexplained he walked back this assertion in court. Why? Was it because he learned the driver is a Rider QB, and he’s a die-hard Rider fan (pretty good chance he is in this city/province)?

  2. I don’t buy the explanations given for Dolegala’s repeated difficulties with a gas pump, and why he appeared unsteady on his feet – foreign gas pump and jerky video feed my arse. Gas pumps have instructions, and he was ‘witnessed’ as being wobbly. And the fact the witness mistook Dolegala’s NY licence plate for a Texas plate doesn’t discredit his other observations IMO… It means he needs glasses to read.

  3. Dolegala’s lawyer had key evidence dismissed based on “various legal issues surrounding the paperwork associated with the breath samples”. I interpret this to mean there was nothing wrong with the breath samples per se, but rather the paperwork associated with them. In other words his lawyer found a loophole to have key evidence discounted, but for me, that doesn’t discount the fact Dolegala blew over the legal limit.

Sometimes things are EXACTLY as they appear – at least for me they are. I have little doubt Dolegala is guilty of both charges against him, but again, that’s just my opinion.

I just don’t know the details and I’m not going to base any conclusions or opinions on guesswork or feelings. If you have accurate details or access to the court file I would be interested in reviewing them, but there certainly hasn’t been that factual detail posted in this thread so I can only go on what I have read. Maybe that detail is out there. I don’t know. I haven’t tried to look for it.

On your points:

  1. I’m not clear what you are referring to here. It sounds like a passerby reported him as being potentially impaired and then walked it back as you say. That could be. It happens a lot. What seems to be clear is that the cop, who is presumably better at assessing impairment, didn’t find Dolegala to appear impaired.

  2. Yes the whole gas pump thing looks fishy, but still it isn’t a crime. We are looking at a criminal conviction so appearances and hunches don’t cut it.

  3. I’m no expert but do know that breathalyzers must meet rigorous standards. Same as radar guns. If there is anything potentially wrong with them they can’t be relied on to support a criminal conviction. There are well established procedures that must be followed and it appears they were not in this case. If that is overlooked then we are giving complete license to the police to pick out anyone they want and have them charged and convicted. We don’t want to live in a police state.

You seem to have walked back your conspiracy theory about the police or Crown not wanting to convict a CFL backup QB. This is the least likely of your opinions to hold any water and I haven’t seen a shred of evidence to support this theory. In my experience they will be extra careful to do things properly if they know a case will garner some media attention and there is far less opportunity for any hanky panky and calling into question the integrity of the persons involved just isn’t warranted in my opinion. It would be like saying that all contractors are crooked and will rip you off. While equally absurd as a theory that is closer to the truth than saying the Justice system is corrupt.

I’ll leave it at that. Again I would be interested in knowing more actual facts but barring that I think this can be looked at as a case where mistakes appear to have been made and as a result a potentially guilty person was not convicted. That is because the opposite is far worse as I have already mentioned. But no conspiracy or anything intentional or any sign of favoritism that I can see.

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It’s simple.

  1. Arrested.
  2. Went to court.
  3. Evidence that was not correct thrown out.
  4. Not convicted.

It happens all the time.
Police need to fill out the paperwork correctly or its inadmissible.
They also need to administer the Breathalyzer properly, more than once.

If its not done right - you walk away, no matter what your name is.

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coppers be like sweet free home opener tickets aw damn we screwed up the paperwork again

Don’t encourage the conspiracy theory. If they wanted to do that they wouldn’t have charged him in the first place.

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Who is BTM ?

I offered an opinion, then provided you the basis for that opinion. Sorry you’re dissatisfied with my response. I wasn’t aware that “facts” and “evidence” are prerequisites for offering opinion on this site. Nor was I aware an inquisition would ensue for excluding them.
Think whatever you like, but I believe I’ve adequately explained myself.

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Facts and evidence are always required as the basis for an opinion. Otherwise it is just a conspiracy theory. You have slagged at least two professions with your “opinion”. As you can see I’m not buying it. I asked you what you based it on and you haven’t been able to cite anything factual or provide any basis for your opinion, which is what I and others were questioning. I’ll leave it at that.