Ricky Carioti/THE WASHINGTON POST - Prosecutors said they might call as many as 10 witnessess in Albert Haynesworth’s misdemeanor sexual assault trial, now scheduled to start Aug. 23. That could be right in the middle of Redskins training camp.
Prosecutors in the misdemeanor sexual abuse trial of Washington Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth could call as many as 10 witnesses for a trial scheduled to begin Aug. 23, attorneys said in D.C. Superior Court on Monday.
The trial was supposed to start Monday, but Haynesworth’s attorney, A. Scott Bolden, requested additional time to allow his witnesses to adjust their schedules. With so many witnesses expected, the trial could last four days.
Bolden and prosecutor Heide L. Herrmann had agreed to Aug. 2 as a new trial start date but moved that to Aug. 23 on Monday. Haynesworth is accused of fondling a cocktail waitress at the W Hotel’s P.O.V. Roof Terrace and Lounge on Feb. 12.
The trial looms with the NFL’s lockout continuing and the Redskins unhappy with Haynesworth’s performance. “A lot of moving parts” could make a late August trial challenging, Bolden said.
Haynesworth signed a rich contract in 2009, but clashed with new Coach Mike Shanahan repeatedly last season and was suspended for the final four games of 2010. The Redskins could keep him, cut him or attempt to trade him. But a lengthy trial during what is normally preseason could complicate matters.
Senior Judge Patricia A. Wynn was unmoved: “This is his first responsibility and I will expect him to be available on that date,” she said.
Prosecutors had offered to dismiss the sexual abuse charge if Haynesworth would plead guilty to simple assault, but Bolden rejected the deal, saying his client was innocent.
Haynesworth was absent from Monday’s hearing, the second time he has not attended a hearing in this case. He was also absent from a May hearing, although the judge overseeing that session agreed with Bolden’s request to waive his client’s appearance.
Haynesworth’s absence Monday seemed to anger Wynn, who chided Bolden for “making assumptions” that Haynesworth’s absence was permissible.
After the hearing, Bolden said he was surprised by the number of witnesses the government plans to call. “They overcharged it and they are now going to over-try it,” he said. Bolden said he plans to call between three and five witness.
John Copacino, director of the criminal justice clinic for Georgetown Law School, who is not affiliated with the case, said it was “very unusual” for prosecutors to call so many witnesses in a misdemeanor case. In an average case, Copacino said, prosecutors usually call between one and four witnesses.
“It’s a high-publicity case and they’re trying to be as thorough as possible,” Copacino said.
In May, Haynesworth reached an out-of-court settlement with a man he was accused of punching in a road rage incident in February. A misdemeanor assault charge against him in Fairfax County General District Court was dismissed.
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