Jack de Belin court case

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The Who

Journey Man
I'm intrigued by the speculation that de Belin could resume his career as early as next round.
The media must believe that the prosecution will not proceed with the case.
Currently he is in court and "legal discussions" are underway.
The case is listed for hearing after the RL season ends, so I'm awaiting the outcome of today's proceedings.
 
Yeah it is weird. I read the initial allegations and was disgusted. If true he will be in gaol and a clear case. The justice system is slow though and many victims pull the plug because it is too hard. Both sides have already waited a long time for a hearing.
 
The justice system is slow though and many victims pull the plug because it is too hard
Correct. And when you've seen what victims can go through pursuing justice through the courts you wouldn't blame them. If its withdrawn there will be innuendo about 'NRL star with influential friends' but bear in mind if you are caught attempting to influence a witness you'd go to jail yourself.
 
I read that the judge has set aside this whole week to hear legal arguments. I presume this is to establish in the judge's mind if the Crown's case is strong enough to proceed to trial and, if so, the parameters around what sort of evidence will be permitted and what won't be.
Coincidentally, I'm currently reading the controversial book 'Night Games' by Anna Krien which primarily centres around some celebrated rape cases/accusations against AFL players in Melbourne, and the 'dark' culture of sex, consent and power of football players, including those in the NRL.
Our legal system is certainly not straight forward.
 
Jack de Belin is unlikely to return to the field for the Dragons in the near future with reports a verdict in his pre-trial legal argument case is at least six weeks away.
De Belin and his co-accused Callan Sinclair have appeared in Wollongong District Court this week having pleaded not guilty to the aggravated sexual assault of a 19-year- old woman inside a Wollongong apartment in December 2018.

Complex pre-trial legal argument has been ongoing and it was hoped the matter would be resolved by Friday. However the Illawarra Mercury reports more court time has been set aside for July 31.

Judge Andrew Haesler indicated it would then take him “a couple of weeks” to review all the material before making a decision, the report said.
 
I started this thread at the beginning of the week because there was media speculation that de Belin would be playing again soon, and also reports that he was being chased by clubs such as the Worriers for next season. I wrongly surmised that the media had been given a tip off that the charges would be dropped.
Now I know that the media just don't understand how our court system works.
If this matter turns out in favour of de Belin then it would be so disrespectful to his club Illawarra to even enter into discussions with other clubs for his services. He owes Illawarra so much for standing by him. He should be willing to play for them for a fraction of what they/the NRL is currently paying him.
I have always opposed the 'no fault stand down' rule, and it wouldn't surprise me if PV changes it if de Belin is successful in court. I do feel that it would be fair if the rule was modified to automatically stand down a player for four matches for 'bringing the game into disrepute', but then allow him to resume playing until the court has made its judgement.
 
The experienced and qualified judge says it will take him some 6 weeks to hear the evidence from both sides and determine whether/and how to proceed .... should just get GreenTurd in ... took him one day to make his decision ... and without having any facts getting in the way ...
 
I started this thread at the beginning of the week because there was media speculation that de Belin would be playing again soon, and also reports that he was being chased by clubs such as the Worriers for next season. I wrongly surmised that the media had been given a tip off that the charges would be dropped.
Now I know that the media just don't understand how our court system works.
If this matter turns out in favour of de Belin then it would be so disrespectful to his club Illawarra to even enter into discussions with other clubs for his services. He owes Illawarra so much for standing by him. He should be willing to play for them for a fraction of what they/the NRL is currently paying him.
I have always opposed the 'no fault stand down' rule, and it wouldn't surprise me if PV changes it if de Belin is successful in court. I do feel that it would be fair if the rule was modified to automatically stand down a player for four matches for 'bringing the game into disrepute', but then allow him to resume playing until the court has made its judgement.
What you say about him that he should be playing for next to nothing for Illawarra is spot on, however, I would say that any money earn't by de Belin over the past two years has gone straight into his solicitors' pockets, so he's going to be needing the cash again, big time.
 
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Feel sorry for the alleged victim (if he did do it) having to go through such a drawn out process.
Yep. Two years before a case comes to trial. The system is broken. The financial costs are absurd and the number of people affected is immense. Just compiling 12 people willing to be in the jury for a protracted period is difficult.
The Medich-McGurk case took six years before reaching an outcome. When you have money you can delay justice longer than it takes the Bunker to determine a knock-on.
 
What you say about him that he should be playing for next to nothing for Illawarra is spot on, however, I would say that any money earn't by de Belin over the past two years has gone straight into his solicitors' pockets, so he's going to be needing the cash again, big time.
If in the end he is cleared, a nice tell-all book deal should get him a tidy earn.
 
I have always opposed the 'no fault stand down' rule, and it wouldn't surprise me if PV changes it if de Belin is successful in court. I do feel that it would be fair if the rule was modified to automatically stand down a player for four matches for 'bringing the game into disrepute', but then allow him to resume playing until the court has made its judgement.
This is a hard one and I'm not sure I know the answer. The 'no fault stand down rule' (apart from being terribly worded) is a presumption of guilt imo. That's not something I'm at all comfortable with. That said, when these accusations become public the NRL are seen to be accepting of the behaviour if they do nothing. I'm not sure even a 'bringing the game into disrepute, suspension is appropriate either. From memory, that's basically what they handed Brett Stewart for what turned out to be a farcical accusation. I'm not sure why Stewart didn't take legal action against the NRL for suspending him based on a false accusation, and believe anyone else who is suspended under such circumstances, only to be found not guilty, who have a case against the NRL.
 
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3 1 2 -22 2
3 1 2 -36 2
2 0 2 -56 2
3 0 3 -64 0
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