- Prepackaged caramel apples linked to 5 deaths, several illnesses
- Family of toddler injured in SWAT raid faces $1M in medical bills
- Men buy crossing guard a car after his gets repossessed
- Man accused of setting woman's house on fire for Facebook rejection
- Florida woman assaults grandmother for Facebook friend snub, police say
A retired Florida supreme court justice says Jameis Winston did not violate Florida State's code of conduct and has cleared the Seminoles quarterback of all charges.
Major Harding, who conducted the hearing which stemmed from a two-year-old sexual assault claim, said in a letter to Winston, “the evidence must show that it is more probable than not that you are responsible for the charged violations. After a thorough review, the evidence before me does not satisfy this threshold and, therefore, you are not responsible for the aforementioned charged violations.”
The decision was confirmed on Sunday after Winston’s attorney leaked a portion of Harding’s letter, which was then obtained by various media outlets. The hearing was Dec. 2-3.
Harding said he did not find the “credibility of one story substantially stronger than the other.”
Winston had a sexual encounter at his off-campus apartment in December 2012 that his accuser, an FSU student at the time, claimed was rape. Winston faced four potential violations at the hearing: A sex act that occurs without consent or when the victim cannot give consent; intimidating or hostile conduct of a sexual nature; physical violence; actions that endanger the health or safety of someone else.
Winston, a third-year sophomore, now can prepare for the College Football Playoff without the threat of being suspended or expelled from the university. Florida State plays Oregon on Jan. 1 in the semifinal game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
John Clune, one of the accuser’s Colorado-based attorneys, released a statement Sunday saying they are “stunned and dismayed,” and characterized the ruling as a “statement that the judge couldn’t decide.”
Clune asserted that Harding “ignored” the bulk of the evidence.
“We will consider an appeal but right now we feel a little duped,” he wrote.
Harding’s decision does not mean this case – which has been investigated by the Tallahassee Police Department, State Attorney Willie Meggs’ office and now the university – is closed. The woman is allowed to appeal the decision within five class days. She also can sue Winston in civil court, although Michael McCann, a legal analyst for Sports Illustrated, said in a tweet that Winston winning the hearing “is very positive legal sign for him should accuser sue him.”
The incident first was investigated by the TPD and then the district attorney’s office, which conducted a three-week investigation in November 2013 before deciding not to charge Winston.
Although FSU would not confirm or deny that Winston has been cleared, university president John Thrasher released a statement Sunday saying that Harding was selected because he is a “highly qualified and respected jurist” and “to remove any doubt about the integrity of this process and the result.”
Thrasher went on to say that Harding “conducted a thorough Student Conduct Code hearing and reviewed more than 1,000 pages of evidence generated by three other investigations.”
Winston has maintained his innocence throughout the process and he was staunchly supported by FSU coach Jimbo Fisher, who repeatedly expressed his confidence that Winston would be cleared each step of the way.
Winston, though, was losing the battle of public opinion following a series of missteps in the last nine months. Those included being cited for walking out of a Tallahassee grocery store without paying for $32 worth of crab legs in the spring, and yelling a vulgar phrase demeaning to women while in a crowded courtyard on campus, an act that got him suspended for the Sept. 20 game against Clemson.
Florida State has survived the season undefeated, despite Winston’s numbers slipping from his Heisman Trophy winning 2013 season. Winston, who finished sixth in the 2014 Heisman voting, is 26-0 as a starter and FSU, which has won 29 consecutive games, is two wins from a second consecutive national title.
The winner of FSU’s semifinal game against Oregon will play in the Jan. 12 national championship game in Arlington, Texas, against either Alabama or Ohio State.
Win or lose, Winston is expected to declare for the NFL draft. And although some are projecting that he will be the second player selected, others believe Winston’s off-field troubles could cause him to slip.
Fisher was expected to talk to Winston about his plans before FSU breaks for the holidays. The Seminoles’ final practice in Tallahassee is Monday. The team departs for California on Friday.
“Jameis loves college football but I think he’s going to be one of the top two players drafted,” Fisher said last week. “He’s got to make a choice. He’s got to see what he wants to do. It would not shock me either way. I understand if he wants to go when a guy is (projected to be drafted) that high.”
