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An attorney representing Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston has requested a delay in a disciplinary hearing into a woman's allegation that the Florida State quarterback raped her in 2012, one of her lawyers said.
John Clune, one of the attorneys representing the woman, told FOX Sports that David Cornwell, who has publicly identified himself as Winston's adviser, requested a delay in the hearing, which was expected to take place the week of Nov. 17. That hearing, to be presided over by a retired Florida Supreme Court justice, was scheduled to determine whether Winston violated Florida State rules against sexual misconduct and endangerment in the incident on Dec. 7, 2012.
Winston was not charged with a crime, and his lawyers have asserted publicly that he and the woman had a consensual sexual encounter.
Cornwell released a statement late Friday afternoon:
“Mr. Winston wants to attend the hearing and confront these false allegations, but he expects and is entitled to do so on an even playing field," the statement read. "We will end this baseless escapade by using the testimony of witnesses and other evidence contained in the approximately 1,000 documents and eight discs that were provided to Mr. Winston only one week ago. The University also has promised to provide additional evidence, including cell phone records. Opposing counsel say they want the hearing. They just don't want Mr. Winston to have the time to prepare for it.”
It is not clear how soon a decision will be made on Cornwell's request, which he indicated in a letter to the university was necessary because of scheduling issues.
"We're still expecting to go forward on the 17th," Clune said.
Winston's future as a college football player could hinge on the outcome of the hearing. If retired judge Major Harding, who was brought in by the school as an independent arbiter, concludes that Winston violated school rules against sexual misconduct or endangerment, the repercussions could be as severe as suspension or expulsion from Florida State.
The hearing comes as Winston has quarterbacked the Seminoles to an 8-0 record, a No. 2 ranking in the national polls and — at least at this point — a good chance to make it into the new four-team playoff for the national championship. In 2013, he led Florida State to an undefeated season, won the Heisman and quarterbacked the team to its first national title since 1999.
Cornwell suggested in a message posted on Twitter earlier this week that the hearing was rushed given the volume of evidence in the case. In that message, he said the university had given the woman "20 months to file a complaint and Jameis 13 days to learn 1,000 documents. #dueprocess??"
Cornwell's tweet — which included the woman's last name — also carried a photograph of the evidence binder in the case showing that he had been provided with 902 pages of documents by the university.
The hearing comes more than 23 months after the incident in which a woman reported to police that after she'd gone out drinking with friends at a Tallahassee nightclub she ended up in a cab with several people and was taken to an apartment, where she alleged she was raped.
She later withdrew from Florida State.
The exact date of the hearing has not been established, but attorneys for the woman and Winston were told to be prepared for it the week of Nov. 17.
Winston was notified in October that he faces four potential violations of the Florida State student code of conduct:
-- Sexual misconduct -- defined as "any sexual act that occurs without the consent of the victim, or that occurs when the victim is unable to give consent."
-- Sexual misconduct -- defined as "conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment for another person. This includes unwanted, unwelcome, inappropriate, or irrelevant sexual or gender-based behaviors, actions or comments."
-- Endangerment -- defined as "physical violence towards another person or group."
-- Endangerment -- defined as "action(s) that endanger the health, safety, or well-being of another person or group."
Florida State administrators, who are facing a federal investigation over their handling of the allegations against Winston, earlier had announced they were going to send the case to an independent, outside arbiter to determine whether rules were violated and, if so, what the sanctions should include.
Harding, 79, earned bachelors and law degrees from Wake Forest University and a masters in law from the University of Virginia. He served on the Florida Supreme Court from 1991 to 2002, including a stint as chief justice from July 1998 through June 2000.
Harding is expected to seek testimony from both the woman and from Winston, each of whom is allowed to have one adviser present during the hearing. While each will be allowed to consult the adviser, they will have to answer any questions they choose. Either has the right not to answer questions at the hearing.
Harding can also consider the voluminous documents associated with the incident – hundreds of pages of reports generated by Tallahassee police and the state attorney in their investigations as well as other records.
Harding will be tasked with finding whether Winston violated any of the school conduct rules using a standard that is much lower than that used in criminal courts -- “preponderance of evidence.” That burden is generally described as enough evidence to tip the balance one way or the other – to determine that it is more likely or less likely, in this instance, that sexual misconduct or endangerment occurred.
Once the hearing concludes, Harding has 10 school days to make a determination -- a fact that might mean it’s not settled until after the football team finishes its regular season. If the hearing were not concluded until Nov. 21, for example, the Thanksgiving break would mean Harding would have until Dec. 10 to issue a decision.
Florida State has four more games scheduled -- two before the hearing is expected to occur: Saturday at home against Virginia, Nov. 15 at Miami, Nov. 22 at home against Boston College and Nov. 29 at home against Florida.
At the center of the storm is an incident at Winston’s off-campus apartment early on the morning of Dec. 7, 2012.
A then-18-year-old Florida State student reported to campus and then city police that she’d gone out with friends to a popular Tallahassee night spot known as Potbelly’s, that she sneaked several drinks, and that at one point someone she did not know bought her a shot. After she consumed it, she told detectives her memories were broken but that she ended up in a cab with several people, was taken to an apartment, and then was raped in a bedroom and, later, in a bathroom.
She gave police a detailed description of the apartment -- that it looked “like a hotel” with two buildings and an open area between them, that the door to the bedroom where the incident occurred was broken, and that the room had its own private bathroom.
She told police her attacker then put her on a scooter and drove her to campus, dropping her off, and that she then returned to her dorm and called a friend, who convinced her to report the incident. She said she did not know her attacker.
On Jan. 10, 2013, after the spring term began at Florida State, the woman was in a class when she saw the man she believed assaulted her. She listened for a professor to call his name, wrote it down, and called a detective.
In an Oct. 10 public statement, Florida State acknowledged for the first time that officials in the athletic department became aware of the alleged attack in January 2013 but did not notify others in the administration.
Florida State was notified last spring that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights was launching an investigation of its handling of the allegation against Winston under the gender-equity law known as Title IX.
According to guidelines issued by the Department of Education, schools that know or should know about sexual harassment – including sexual assault – are required to launch a “prompt” investigation and take whatever action is warranted. The federal government contemplates that most such investigations should be concluded in 60 days.
An investigation is required irrespective of whether a complaint is filed or an alleged victim wants to cooperate.
The same day Florida State issued that statement, FOX Sports reported that Tallahassee police and university officials took steps that state attorney Willie Meggs believes crippled the criminal investigation into the incident. For instance, FOX Sports reported Tallahassee police forwarded reports in the case to the campus police chief four days before the case was turned over to Meggs’ office -- and the campus police chief, in turn, forwarded them to a senior official in the athletic department.
In addition, those reports ended up in the hands of Tim Jansen, an attorney for Winston, and he obtained sworn statements from two of the quarterback’s teammates who said they witnessed the encounter and it appeared to be consensual. Jansen obtained those statements before either of those teammates was questioned by investigators.
Meggs said he concluded there was not enough evidence to file charges in the case in part as a result of those statements, in part because of other problems in the investigation and, in part, because the woman’s memories of the incident were broken.
Winston has been the subject of controversy for a year -- the rape allegation came to light last November. Since then, other incidents involving Winston have been made public -- allegations that he stole soda from a Burger King, was involved in a pellet- and BB-gun battle that caused an estimated $4,000 in damage to windows at the apartment complex where he lived, and that he stole $32 worth of crab legs from a Tallahassee grocery store.
In September, FSU administrators suspended him from the team’s game against Clemson after numerous students reported that he jumped up on a table on campus and shouted a sexually charged phrase that was deemed by interim President Garnett S. Stokes and Athletic Director Stan Wilcox as “offensive and vulgar.”
