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J.R. Smith's court moves draw foul cry
Lawyer wants Nugget to plead guilty to assault
By Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
J.R. Smith accused of being in a fracas at a nightclub.
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An attorney for a woman who accused Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith of assaulting her outside a Denver nightclub in October objects to his bid to get all charges dropped in exchange for doing community service and alcohol counseling.
"Essentially, he's trying to avoid accepting full responsibility for his actions," said Fred Bibik, the attorney for the 23-year-old Englewood woman.
The woman accused Smith of spraying her with champagne, grabbing her, tearing her dress and spitting in her face during the Oct. 13 closing-time fracas at Denver's DC10 club, 940 Lincoln St.
Smith, 22, is charged with assault, disturbing the peace and destruction of private property.
Bibik has told Denver city attorney officials the basketball player should plead guilty to the assault charge as part of the plea deal.
But Smith's defense attorney, David Lane, said his client denies anything but spraying the woman and two of her girlfriends with champagne inside the club.
"He got rowdy at a bar, basically, and sprayed a few people with champagne," Lane said.
"From day one he has accepted responsibility and recognized that, 'Look, I've got to keep myself under control. I can't be acting like an idiot anytime, anywhere,' " Smith's attorney added.
Completing counseling and community service is appropriate given Smith's conduct, the defense attorney said.
"This is an alcohol-fueled incident," Lane added. "So, he's willing to and desiring of going through a little alcohol program and maybe doing some community service. And then the city dismisses all charges."
City attorney officials could not be reached immediately for comment, but attorneys for both sides said prosecutors have offered Smith the diversion program.
But his refusal to accept responsibility for all of the alleged conduct may conflict with the written requirements of the diversion program. It allows a defendant to get criminal charges dropped by attending a "rehabilitative program," including counseling, educational programs, restitution and community service.
Yet the program requires that a "defendant accepts responsibility for his or her actions that resulted in the charges as indicated by the police report and/or witness statements," according to Smith's application for the program in court records.
The victim and her two girlfriends both gave police written statements, accusing Smith of spraying them with Moet champagne as the club closed.
A police officer wrote that he "observed the victim's torn dress - no other injuries."
As the club closed, Smith began to apologize outside, the women said. But when his buddies walked up, he "changed attitude," according to a police report.
"He started cussing and spit on me," the woman wrote in her statement. "(He) then proceeded to tell my friend . . . that he was going to beat her up. As I'm trying to settle both parties down, J.R. spits in my face again, grabs me and rips my dress."
A complicating factor for Smith is that New Jersey prosecutors are still reviewing a June 9, 2007, fatal accident where Smith drove his SUV through a stop sign, hitting another car head-on. Smith's best friend was thrown from the SUV and later died. Defendants can't participate in Denver's diversion program if they've been convicted of other crimes within seven years.
