So how is this manning up and taking responsibility and "earning that trust back"? I don't quite get it. Everybody will justify it as a formality to plead not-guilty, and he'll get a deal and do community service or blah blah blah.

It just seems that he drove drunk, he admitted he made a mistake, yet now he is telling the justice system that the didn't do it. What a screwed up world we live in.

Manning up doesn't mean be a effing moron and not do what your attorney tells you.

It's part of the justice system to be able to have constitutional rights. One of them being a right to a fair trial. I don't find that screwed up by any means.. but maybe I'm just old fashion.

Seriously. Still gotta look out for yourself and protect your rights. "Not Guilty" does not necessarily mean "Innocent of all charges" and it has a lot to do with the specific charges brought against you and the manner in which they were (ie were his rights read to him properly - which in this case they may not have been).

If the Defendant does not assert his own rights within the system, the system will promptly walk all over him.

So how does the system walk all over him? He's the one who broke the law, right?

At least he seemed to admit his guilt in this statement:

"I want to apologize to my family, teammates, the Seahawks ownership and organization, and the fans for making a poor decision and putting myself in a bad situation. I take seriously my role as a leader on this team, and in the community, and because of that I'm disappointed and embarrassed by the level of poor judgment I used last weekend. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. This will never happen again, and I hope through hard work on and off the field to begin earning your respect and trust again."

What's the point of going to a trial? So that he can have it thrown out on a technicality? That doesn't really help him earn my trust back. I thought he was going to man up, plead guilty, and move on with his life. Instead he's going to play the lawyer game and get it all thrown out. That's too bad. It seems like a lot of good could have come of this. He could have gone to schools and said "Hey, I drove drunk, and ended up in jail. Don't make the same mistake, because it is a serious crime."

Instead he can say, "Hey kids, what you do is lawyer up when you do something stupid. Then you put out a phony heartfelt apology in a press release. After that you get things thrown out on a technicality and come do half-hearted speeches like this at area high schools for a few hours. It's a great way to go!"

SharkHawk, if you hire a lawyer and pay him you should listen to his advice. A not guilty plea means just that you wish the case against you proven beyond a reasonable doubt by the state and is not a denial that you did something wrong.

It is the fundamental right of any citizen to ask for that to be done. Somehow, if you are a high profile citizen and have a good lawyer the very act of asking for what everyone else is entitled to have means you aren't taking responsibility? Wow, what a seriously screwy viewpoint you seem to have. Even if he has made a public remark as quoted by you Lofa is also entitled to be presumed innocent until proven guilty of the offense(s) charged.

In your world we'd all be bowing to the power of the state, while singing "onward christian soldiers".

I think you're getting ahead of yourself Shark. From the article:

"Tatupu's attorney, Jon Fox, said the lawyer's plea allows things to remain status quo while Tatupu keeps his options open. Fox said he continues to have dialog with the prosecutor's office. Fox said they hope to come to a "positive resolution" of the case."

It's an initial lawyer's plea - they're trying to keep things stable until while the two parties talk. Incidentally, I wouldn't agree with you on not having your rights read to you being a technicality - it can be a serious breach of one's personal rights.

Sharkhawk, it's not a character flaw to consult with an expert when you're in over your head in any arena. I'm no fan of lawyers for frivolous stuff, but if I messed up and needed to navigate my way through the legal system I'd hire the best advisor I could. So would you if you're smart. Lofa throwing himself on the mercy of the court would be pathetic and foolish.

Frank, Thank you, but please no more cell phone pictures. What is the point of them? Do you take them out in the open, or do you do it undercover? We believe you when you say you were there. Maybe you could employ a sketch artist, that would be fun.

Sharkhawk.....

You must not like the Seahawks to be so critical of one of their best players.

Do us all a favor. Pipe down and leave the legal advice to the one's who know.

I love the Seahawks TechWorlds. Unfortunately I HATE tugboats. They are gas guzzlers.

Is he still driving the Hyundai?

I think that the lawyers these athletes hire sometimes do the wrong things in terms of really helping the player out.

The primary concern should be pleading out to something that the league will not suspend him for and to keep him out of jail. That should be relatively easy to accomplish in a quick manner. After that, the details aren't so important. His main concern is public perception.

If I got a DUI, then I would want a lawyer fighting tooth and nail to get me off on whatever technicality they could, so I didn't have it on my record and have to explain it whenever I applied for a job. That is clearly not a concern for Tatupu.

The lawyers drag these cases out to accomplish things that are ultimately unimportant. It would be more beneficial to work towards a speedier and cleaner resolution to avoid the continued presence in the media.

Warren Moon Applauds!!!!!

I think that SharkHawk has too much hate in him. He really is Karl Malone in disguise.

If his plea would have been guilty.Thats it the judge gives you the 24 hours in jail and it's on your record.Then the nfl will do what ever they do.A not guilty plea gives Fox time to do his job and get down as far as he can.No jail time,Blah blah done.

The 'Not Guilty' plea does not mean he is not guilty, or even that he is saying he is not guilty. If he pleads 'guilty' then the judge sentences Lofa to a penalty as stipulated under law and within the minimum and maximum of the law.

Instead, he enters 'Not Guilty' which causes the court date to be set. This will never see a court date. The DA will work with Mr. Fox and come up with a settlement of the case. That settlement will include certain requirements of Lofa to perform community service. The settlement can require Lofa to speak X number of times to schools and organizations, and can even include scripted language that Lofa must employ during his presentations. In exchange for that, Lofa does not have a felony conviction on his record.

That is exactly what each and everyone one of us would want if we made the same mistake. Unfortunately for us, we do not carry the same name recognition as Lofa Tatupu. If someone introduces SharkHawk to speak a little bit it does not carry any weight. Everyone says, "Who is this SharkHawk?" When they introduce a presentation by Lofa Tatupu people are interested because he is a celebrity. Because of that fact, he has the ability to gain this type of deal.

This is not special treatments as much as it is a deal arranged based upon who we are as a citizen and how much good we can do for society with one form of punishment vs. another form.

Go HAWKS!!!

Frank, I was in the courtroom that day the same time as Lofa (I gave you a bless you after a sneeze) and I was happy his was the first case. It got things "back to normal". I didn't find it preferential at all, as a matter of fact, the court usually likes to get complicated matters out of the way early to avoid lengthy duration.

People make mistakes, I have made them, Lofa made one, and he will learn from it just as I have and millions of other people have as well. I don't portray him as a bad person, just glad no one was hurt.

Thanks for all your reporting, Frank.

tp10super,

Thanks for the gesundheit.

Well I gave it my best guys. I attempted to get a blog post to have 100 comments. That's what I get for trying to stir up some action. Shrugs.

I am not a lawyer, but in my own experiences representing myself, pleading "Not Guilty" is the only way to go. Why would you want to do the prosecutions job for them? It is their responsibility to prove that you broke a law.

I have successfully fought several cases (I have never been charged with a DUI, I'm smart and don't drink and drive). You would be surprised how often people are "charged" with an offense, but after looking up the code for the infraction, it does not even apply to the circumstances.

Just recently I beat a charge for "failing to yield the right of way". After requesting a legible copy of the original citation from the court (the cop was unable to "print" clearly enough to be read on my carbon copy). After obtaining a copy of the original and being able to read and investigate the charge, I found that the code I was being charged of violating was defined as "Failing to yield the right of way AT AN UNCONTROLLED INTERSTECTION". Considering the officer said I "made a right hand turn at a red light" it was apparent that the cop was full of BS. Go figure a police officer doesn't know the definition of an uncontrolled intersection. The judge dropped the charge after hearing my side of the story.

Doing a job for another person, while sacrificing and incriminating yourself, is just ridiculous.

I just hope that Lofa has learned a lesson and we don’t see anything like this involving him again.

Only a fool pleads guilty in court. The system does not recognize anyone who wants to "man up" and admit guilt for something they did.

It's all a game of lies, power, money and tradition.

I pled guilty to something 20 years ago thinking that I did it, and the court would recognize my "manning up". It has haunted me since, and friends who have done much more serious things and fought it have fared much better.

Court is a joke and you should fight everything tooth and nail. There is no honor in that place.