The legal fight regarding the solicitation of prostitution charges against Patriots owner Robert Kraft continues.
Via ESPN.com, Kraft’s lawyers filed a 92-page document attacking the evidence against him in the Florida case.
The argument focuses on the necessity of secretly videotaping sexual acts in support of a prosecution on misdemeanor charges, arguing that such means should not be used for relatively insignificant criminal charges. If successful, the video evidence would be unavailable to the effort to prove Kraft’s guilt, making it harder to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any laws were violated.
“Law enforcement in this case had no authority whatsoever for something as drastic as ‘sneak and peak’ video surveillance,” the lawyers contend.
It’s the latest step in an aggressive effort to defeat the charges and to achieve a full exoneration for Kraft. Even if the effort succeeds, it doesn’t mean that the NFL will refrain from taking action against Kraft -- even though it’s highly likely that a player who successfully secures a dismissal of similar charges would not be disciplined by the NFL.
As explained recently, the zeal with which the NFL has disciplined players who have not been arrested or charged would make it difficult for the league to ignore the present situation, especially in light of the notion that non-players are held to a higher standard than players. Although Kraft’s lawyers apparently believe that winning in court automatically means winning before Commissioner Roger Goodell, Goodell may have no choice but to impose some sort of sanction, even if the criminal justice system ultimately imposes none.
Meanwhile, multiple media outlets have launched formal efforts to force the disclosure of the videotape that Kraft’s lawyers currently challenge -- including the Boston Globe, a publication owned by John W. Henry, who also owns the Boston Red Sox.