Player Discussion Ryan O'Reilly - all purpose discussion thread

[AustonsNostrils]

To Sabres fans, to folks involved, this is a big deal. To police--just one of thousands of cases on the go. They have to prioritize their efforts and that means cut down on time spent at scene and in follow ups unless weapons involved, injuries etc. As to the defence lawyer-he is highly regarded and yes his dad was a very flamboyant Toronto lawyer who had a lot of success--and of whom many a humorous tale is told.

Thought so, my dad was a friend of Mr. Justice Humphrey. He passed away not that long ago.

 

[PunchImlach is Alive]

So Canadian.

I can't get over it

 

[VaporTrail]

London Free Press reporter live tweeting from the courtroom

https://twitter.com/JaneatLFPress

Can we nickname him "Terminator" now ??

 

[1972]

We all know O'Reilly was driving the vehicle, I just can't believe he wasn't charged.

 

[Jim Bob]

We all know O'Reilly was driving the vehicle, I just can't believe he wasn't charged.

He was charged.

From my personal experience on a jury, you would be surprised what some people want for proof beyond a reasonable doubt (although I'm not sure what the standard is in Canada).

I saw people that were unwilling to rely solely on testimony from a person in the passenger seat to prove who was driving a vehicle.

 

[Chad Thundercock]

We all know O'Reilly was driving the vehicle, I just can't believe he wasn't charged.

He's a popular millionaire athlete with the finest in counsel

 

[brian_griffin]

We've had the care and control discussions before.
We don't know if ROR or another person was driving.
We don't know if the TimmyHo's was damaged as a direct cause of him/them being drunk (error in judgement/action caused by alcohol), or if it was damaged and he/they were concurrently drunk.
We may have very strong suspicions (90%, 95%, 99%) about all the above.

I'm neither excusing last summer's event itself, nor passing judgement on the quality / effectiveness of the legal proceedings.

But from the viewpoint of the future impact of ROR's behavior on the safety of society, I would argue ROR has learned his lesson, regardless of whether he was convicted or not.

Is that not what the desired outcome is? Do many feel the safety of society would only be measurably increased in ROR's case if he had a BAC ignition lock device installed for a year?

edit: I'm ignoring completely his name/status/wealth. Insert any of us in that scenario, and answer the hypothetical again.

 

[BowieSabresFan]

He's a popular millionaire athlete with the finest in counsel

Which had very little to do with things. The main witness couldn't identify him behind the wheel.

 

[Reddawg]

Which had very little to do with things. The main witness couldn't identify him behind the wheel.

An envelope of hundos would make my memory pretty fuzzy too.

 

[vcv]

Which had very little to do with things. The main witness couldn't identify him behind the wheel.

Don't you know if someone famous gets off it's only because they are famous?

 

[BowieSabresFan]

Don't you know if someone famous gets off it's only because they are famous?

I know, I know, it's age creeping up on me. I forget things.

 

[SackTastic]

We all know O'Reilly was driving the vehicle, I just can't believe he wasn't charged.

Clearly we don't, otherwise the Crown would have been able to produce some evidence that he was.

 

[Jim Bob]

Clearly we don't, otherwise the Crown would have been able to produce some evidence that he was.

 

[Paxon]

He's a popular millionaire athlete with the finest in counsel

You can simplify this to saying he had a good lawyer, one probably attainable by many regular folk. This isn't the crime of the century with vast resources being put into it on both sides. The government didn't prove its case sufficiently from what I've read the past couple days. There's no witness identifying O'Reilly as having driven into Tim Horton's. I won't dispute that if you have a bad lawyer and are a poor minority that anything can happen at trial, but this isn't the flip side where a rich white celebrity gets away with anything because he has money and people like him.

 

[truthbluth]

No eye witness or camera footage to put him behind the wheel before, during or after the crash.

He may have gotten away with something, but the law worked the way it was supposed to.

Given the circumstances, nobody should be convicted of this crime.

The sad truth is that if it were somebody poorer, with a completely overworked CA counselor, they'd have probably lost. But, regardless of the morality of the situation, as far as I'm concerned, the legal system worked appropriately in this case.

 

[old kummelweck]

No eye witness or camera footage to put him behind the wheel before, during or after the crash.

He may have gotten away with something, but the law worked the way it was supposed to.

Given the circumstances, nobody should be convicted of this crime.

The sad truth is that if it were somebody poorer, with a completely overworked CA counselor, they'd have probably lost. But, regardless of the morality of the situation, as far as I'm concerned, the legal system worked appropriately in this case.

If they had one witness that couldn't even put him in the drivers seat, this really should not have gone to trial.

 

[truthbluth]

If they had one witness that couldn't even put him in the drivers seat, this really should not have gone to trial.

Right, they probably only bothered to bring the case to avoid the perception of some kind of favoritism.

 

[Beerz]

Had a buddy that had the same thing happen to him.

Property damage ..left the scene .. no witnesses.

He ended up being liable for damages but no conviction in a legal sense.

Wasn't rich. Wasn't white. Had a $500 lawyer.

Key is..keep your mouth shut. You are under no obligation to explain anything to authorities. You have rights. Know them. Use them.

 

[cybresabre]

Wasn't rich. Wasn't white. Had a $500 lawyer.

Was he an athlete, though?

 

[Reddawg]

Had a buddy that had the same thing happen to him.

Property damage ..left the scene .. no witnesses.

He ended up being liable for damages but no conviction in a legal sense.

Wasn't rich. Wasn't white. Had a $500 lawyer.

Key is..keep your mouth shut. You are under no obligation to explain anything to authorities. You have rights. Know them. Use them.

Same thing with a buddy of mine, his vehicle hit a tree and rolled over, and the only witness saw him crawl out of the passenger side window. Shut your mouth and let the lawyer handle it...also, don't drive drunk.

 

[Beerz]

Was he an athlete, though?

Probably the most athletic thing he has ever done was running away from that accident.

 

[AustonsNostrils]

If the cops at the time couldn't get the one witness to identify the driver of the truck then the Crown wasted resources bringing the charge to trial.

What I don't understand is why he wasn't charged with leaving the scene of an accident. That we know he did.

I would think the Tim Horton's franchise owner would sue him for the damages to the building - pocket change for O'Reilly.

 

[sabremike]

If the cops at the time couldn't get the one witness to identify the driver of the truck then the Crown wasted resources bringing the charge to trial.

What I don't understand is why he wasn't charged with leaving the scene of an accident. That we know he did.

I would think the Tim Horton's franchise owner would sue him for the damages to the building - pocket change for O'Reilly.

I personaly think the Tims owner should've taken the opportunity to put in a drive in window where the crash did the damage #irony.

 

[Fly Boy]

So now that that's over, back to hockey?

 

[PunchImlach is Alive]

I, for one, appreciate ROR showing solidarity with the community.

Buffalo: World Capital of Drivers Crashing into Buildings