Lawyers say judge ‘singled out’ ex-Raider, hearing delayed
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada decide on Wednesday delayed a long-awaited listening to to find out whether or not former Las Vegas Raiders participant Henry Ruggs will stand trial in a deadly 2021 crash, saying it could’t proceed till the case is correctly assigned to a decide within the decrease court docket.
The choice got here in response to a request filed Monday by attorneys for Ruggs asking the state decide to dam Las Vegas magistrate Ann Zimmerman from presiding over the case.
Till just lately, Zimmerman had been overseeing all DUI instances in Las Vegas, together with the case towards Ruggs, as a part of a specialty court docket program. However these instances have been transferred earlier this month to a special decide appointed to take over the specialty court docket.
Ruggs, who’s out of custody on bail, is charged with driving underneath the affect on Nov. 2, 2021, and slamming his Chevrolet Corvette into the SUV of Tina Tintor, inflicting the car to go up in flames. Trapped contained in the SUV, each Tintor, 23, and her canine, Max, died.
Legal professionals Richard Schonfeld and David Chesnoff argued of their submitting that Zimmerman “singled out” Ruggs and violated his proper to equal safety when, with out notifying the attorneys, she determined to maintain the previous vast receiver’s case on her calendar whereas the remainder of the “1000’s” of DUI instances have been transferred to the brand new decide.
“It is outrageous,” Chesnoff stated in court docket Wednesday. “We’ve been like deer in headlights.”
Clark County District Choose Jennifer Schwartz stated she wished to listen to from attorneys representing Zimmerman and the Justice Courtroom earlier than reaching a call and scheduled one other listening to for March 22, at which level she is predicted to ship a ruling.
Gesturing to the courtroom gallery, the place Ruggs was seated with family members, Chesnoff added: “Mr. Ruggs has dutifully been defending himself in a really tough case. It is a vital stage of a legal continuing, and a decide simply walks down the corridor and goes to a different decide and says, ‘That is what I wish to do.’”
Zimmerman had been scheduled to listen to proof within the case on Feb. 1 after delays.
Now that listening to to find out if Ruggs will stand trial is not more likely to happen till after late March.
Zimmerman did not reply to an electronic mail from The Related Press requesting remark. However Schonfeld and Chesnoff stated they reached out to Zimmerman after studying she had requested to maintain their shopper’s case.
Based on their court docket submitting, Zimmerman stated she and the brand new DUI specialty court docket decide got here to an settlement that she would “end listening to this case” as a result of she “had beforehand made some substantive rulings within the case.”
“It’s not unusual or extraordinary for a decide to retain a case to complete listening to it,” she instructed Schonfeld and Chesnoff.
After the listening to, the legal professionals instructed The Related Press they have been happy with Schwartz’s determination to delay the listening to and “examine the crucial constitutional points” they raised.
Ruggs, who stays on home arrest with digital monitoring, faces greater than 50 years in jail if he’s convicted. The previous first-round NFL draft choose was launched from the Raiders shortly after the crash.
