Taylor pleads not guilty in domestic case

Jonathan Taylor finally got a day in court.

It wasn’t much. The former Georgia and Alabama defensive tackle simply entered a not guilty plea Tuesday at his arraignment on felony domestic violence charges. But his lawyer, Kim Stephens of Athens, is looking forward to telling Taylor’s side of the story.

“We’re glad to see the process finally starting, so the whole picture and the whole story can finally come out, eventually,” Stephens told reporters gathered at the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse on Tuesday. “Whether it be some sort of resolution that’s worked out with the D.A.’s office, or whether we go to trial, we’re anxious to see that all sides of the story come to light.”

Taylor, who was dismissed from Georgia after the charges were levied against him last summer, also faces a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in Tuscaloosa. Taylor transferred to Alabama this past January but was also dismissed by that institution after his arrest there last month.

Stephens has posted a blog entitled "Jonathan Taylor and the Presumption of Innocence" on his law firm's website, athens-lawfirm.com.

Next up for Taylor is a “status conference” on June 30. He is also facing a theft-by-deception charge in Athens-Clarke County due to a termination of his pretrial diversion status in an illegal check-cashing case as a result of the domestic violence charge.