This summer, before federal prosecutors indicted him on dogfighting charges, Michael Vick was planning to spend today readying to play the New Orleans Saints in a nationally televised “Monday Night Football” divisional rivalry.
Instead, the former Atlanta Falcons All-Pro quarterback, who pleaded guilty in August to one conspiracy charge, will be in Richmond, Va., to find out how long he will spend locked up.
Vick is already incarcerated — he turned himself in last month to get an early start on his sentence. Legal experts believe he will spend all of next football season and at least part, if not all, of the following season in prison as well.
“Mr. Vick has a lot to worry about,” said John Brady, a lawyer who teaches bar examination-review courses nationwide.
Vick’s attorneys told Judge Henry Hudson they plan a lengthy presentation of witnesses to ask for leniency. Vick could go away for as long as five years, but federal sentencing guidelines call for 12-18 months, and prosecutors have asked for only a year.
Hudson, however, is not known for light sentences. Last week, he sentenced a Vick co-defendant to 18 months despite the prosecutors’ 12-month recommendation. Observers said that does not bode well for Vick. The judge could give Vick additional time because of his superstar achievements.
“I am expecting the judge to come in with a sentence of two years, which is six months more than the top of the range but double the bottom of the range, which sends a signal about the seriousness of this,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a professor at George Washington University‘s law school. “My sense is that when someone who is a role model for a lot of young people who commits a crime as horrendous as this, and is a major player in the criminal operation, it is very likely the judge will say he did more public harm than someone who didn’t have that status.”
Vick also bought the property that housed breeding facilities and training grounds for the fighting dogs and failed a drug test while out on bail. Those factors, Brady predicted, could merit a sentence of more than two years.
“This is a judge who is known for his tough sentences,” Brady said. “I suspect the sentence will be between 18 and 32 months in prison, but it is all speculation until the judge rules.”
