The latest on the Aaron Hernandez, Osca Pistorius and Ed O'Bannon cases

I have a new Legal Notebook for Sports Illustrated and I update and make predictions in the Aaron Hernandez, Oscar Pistorius and Ed O'Bannon cases. 

Here are a couple of excerpts:
 
1. Proving joint venture will be challenging. Prosecutors allege Wallace and Ortiz accompanied Hernandez the night Lloyd was murdered, and claim there are text messages revealing Hernandez's intent to kill Lloyd. Wallace and Ortiz being at the murder scene or even encouraging Hernandez will not be enough. Prosecutors must prove that Wallace and Ortiz shared the intent of Hernandez -- the alleged trigger man -- to kill Lloyd. In previous cases, Massachusetts courts have found evidence of "shared intent" through a joint venturer being aware the murderer was armed, making no attempt to disassociate himself the murderer or covering up the crime. But courts in the state have also found that an alleged joint venturer can lack a shared intent if he was intoxicated or high on drugs. There is a strong possibility that Hernandez, Ortiz and Wallace were all high on drugs the night of Lloyd's murder. If they were high, expect attorneys for Ortiz and Wallace to argue their clients lacked the legal capacity to share Hernandez's intent.

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5. The people with the most at stake in the legal war on the NCAA? Star athletes in middle school who may be entering college at around the time all legal appeals have been heard. 

To read the rest, click here.