Jury finds Nick Fairley not guilty on DUI charges

Posted by Darin Gantt on February 13, 2015, 2:47 PM EST
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Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley doesn’t have a contract at the moment, but a big impediment toward getting the next one was just removed.

According to Jacqueline Quynh of WKRG.com, a jury just returned a not guilty verdict in Fairley’s 2012 DUI case.

Fairley would have been subject to a two-game suspension under the league’s new conduct policy if convicted.

While the Lions didn’t pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract as a motivational ploy, Fairley played well enough to draw plenty of interest in the open market.

And now that he’ll be able to play the first two games of the year, that interest could go up.

UPDATE 3:18 p.m. ET: Fairley was found guilty of reckless driving, and fined $500.

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38 responses to “Jury finds Nick Fairley not guilty on DUI charges”

  2. These A-holes get off on DUI over and over and over again.

    It’s all about $ and status, any regular Joe gets popped for DUI, they get nailed with the max.

  4. Why shouldn’t the NFL come down hard on nick fairley for being unable to see that allowing someone in his vehicle with an open container is poor judgment?!?

  5. I wonder if the NFL will demand the transcripts of the jury deliberations so they can decide whether to suspend him anyway?

  8. So is that blithering idiot Goodell going to request access to Nick Fairley’s court files as well so that Goodell can continue his favorite hobby: Overruling court verdicts to punish players for PR purposes?

  10. doctorrustbelt says:
    Feb 13, 2015 2:57 PM
    Why shouldn’t the NFL come down hard on nick fairley for being unable to see that allowing someone in his vehicle with an open container is poor judgment?!?
    ======================

    I agree, no way he was drunk. Any sober guy can fail 3 sobriety tests, its the 4th one that makes the difference. And since they stopped at 3, he cant possibly be drunk. Cops should be fired for not performaing another half dozen tests…

  11. I’m sorry but Suh and Fairley are the biggest OVERHYPED lineman in the NFL. You would think the LIONS defense would be awesome with those 2 , but they’re not. Overrated…both of them.

  12. doctorrustbelt says:
    Feb 13, 2015 2:57 PM
    Why shouldn’t the NFL come down hard on nick fairley for being unable to see that allowing someone in his vehicle with an open container is poor judgment?!?

    Like it or not, its not (shouldn’t be) the NFL’s job to overrule court findings to try and punish players. What would be the point of going to court to prove your innocence if the NFL was allowed supersede court findings to punish a player regardless of the court’s verdict? Could you imagine your boss saying “The court found you not guilty and absolved you of all charges but I, the true Judge of all guilt and innocence, think your guilty so you are now suspended lol.” That would be garbage.

  14. So the lesson here is that if you’re going to drive drunk, make sure you have some loved ones in the car with you so they can cop to the charges.

    Foolproof.

  15. So the three failed sobriety tests weren’t enough? I’d be surprised if MAD doesn’t get the politicians involved here… and they should. Three failed tests!?

  16. Wow. Fails 3 sobriety tests. He must have been wearing his “smart glasses.” How much did that Jury and judge cost to buy?

  17. “1 am,open container and failed 3 sobriety tests.smh”
    ——————————————–
    Depends upon what the field sobriety tests were. What was his bac?
    Here in my hometown, one of the field tests is to recite the alphabet backwards in one minute.
    Another is to count backwards from 100 to 87, then count forward by a specified number of digits, say 7 in thirty seconds.
    Try them before you claim he is drunk because of roadside tests.
    That is why the bac at the time is so important.

  19. The NFL has a choice in who it hires.

    I, as a fan, would prefer the NFL to hire high character individuals…. so… I won’t have to hear stories like these all the time.

  20. I think it was written that Fairley had a BAC of .10%. That is over the legal limit. He obviously had the cash to get out of it. Any factory worker, office worker or other poor slob in this country would have been looking at 90 days in the slammer, a couple grand worth of fines and had their license pulled for no less than 6 months. Probably would have had to go to some court mandated counseling besides.

    Money talks in this country. There aren’t many rich people in jails and prisons, and it is not because they don’t commit crimes.

  22. And now that he’ll be able to play the first two games of the year, that interest could go up.

    UPDATE 3:18 p.m. ET: Fairley was found guilty of reckless driving, and fined $500.
    ——————–
    Nowadays nobody has any idea what the NFL will do, or if a player will be suspended anyway under some rendition of a made up policy.

    Everybody is now on double secret probation.

  24. These A-holes get off on DUI over and over and over again.

    It’s all about $ and status, any regular Joe gets popped for DUI, they get nailed with the max
    ———————————————

    Gee, I don’t know… maybe try NOT DRINKING AND DRIVING!! Guess what, you won’t get nailed for a DUI then.

    Sorry if that’s an odd concept for you.

  25. Get bent haters. Time to find something new to talk trash about. I know you will that’s the one thing a lot of you are really good at.

  26. It’s hilarious to read you bitter people’s comments. Why are you so mad that he got off? How does it affect you? If you were in the same situation wouldn’t you try to beat the charges too? Don’t answer that. Of course you would. So basically it boils down to the fact that you’re jealous that he has money and he can afford good lawyers. Got it

  28. willycents says: Feb 13, 2015 3:28 PM

    “1 am,open container and failed 3 sobriety tests.smh”
    ——————————————–
    Depends upon what the field sobriety tests were. What was his bac?
    Here in my hometown, one of the field tests is to recite the alphabet backwards in one minute.
    Another is to count backwards from 100 to 87, then count forward by a specified number of digits, say 7 in thirty seconds.
    Try them before you claim he is drunk because of roadside tests.
    That is why the bac at the time is so important.
    —————-

    I’ve always considered the backwards alphabet one to be ridiculous. It takes me a long time to do it sober, let alone drunk.

    But counting backwards from 100 to 87, and then forward again? Any sober person should be able to do that. I could be falling down drunk and be able to do that one.

  29. I’m sorry but Suh and Fairley are the biggest OVERHYPED lineman in the NFL. You would think the LIONS defense would be awesome with those 2 , but they’re not. Overrated…both of them.

    Yeah ok guy. They’re one of the top defenses in the league. I think #2. Get a clue

  30. And that’s with Fairley being hurt for at least half the year. Do you watch football?

  31. Yeah, because an Alabama State Trooper would never lie about a field sobriety test. I’m gonna guess that if an Alabama State Trooper pulls you over, it’s late at night, you happen to be black, you’re getting busted… no matter how many field sobriety tests he has to concoct to get the “evidence” he needs.

    Uh, it’s Alabama.

  34. It must be a jury of his peers that found him not guilty. They’ve also failed 3 $$$obriety tests in the past and claimed they weren’t guilty. That makes $en$e, right?

  36. I’m sure he was drunk, but I’m ready to accept the jury verdict as a consequence of the principles at the core of our nation’s beliefs. Better to let a guilty guy walk than jail the innocent.

    But it does suck that rich guilty people have a better chance at walking than innocent folks who are broke.

    If they’d woke up a judge and gotten the court order to check his blood … would have been a whole different ball game. Some college towns keep an official on duty for just that reason.

  38. It’s like Momma always said, ” Nothing good happens after midnight.”
    Everyone including NFL players need to learn that it is not worth drinking and driving have a DD ready to take you home after a fun night out!

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