Travis Tormey Talks Ray Rice Plea Agreement on Dom Giordano’s Radio Show
After plea negotiations, both parties agreed to Rice’s enrollment in the Pre-Trial Intervention Program, as well as his attendance of anger management classes.
Considering the significant public scrutiny and media frenzy surrounding Rice’s case, Giordano asked Tormey why the defendant was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment as punishment for the charges. In response, Mr. Tormey explained that cases like these are often resolved in a similar manner, and Rice’s sentence reflects the same treatment that any other first-time offender would receive in this situation. Tormey said:
“It’s a third-degree aggravated assault; he’s facing three to five years in New Jersey State Prison, but there’s a presumption of non-incarceration for first-time offenders. So that means even if he were convicted, let’s say they bounced him from PTI, they said ‘no, we’re not going to give you that, we’re going to take you to trial over her [the victim’s] objections, they try the case, and they win, best case scenario: the judge is going to give him probation anyway. The only difference is that he would have a felony on his record.”
Questioned as to whether the release of a video tape that allegedly shows Rice punching his fiancé would have altered the outcome of the case, Tormey said, “The tape does change things because even without her, as long as they have a custodian of record from the casino come in, they could corroborate the tape and they, technically, could continue to press the charges against him.”
All in all, Tormey did not think that the tape would have significantly altered the way in which this case ultimately resolved, stating “In my career, I’ve almost never seen the State pursue charges over the wishes of a victim.”
For additional information about the case and the recent broadcase, access the following article: Attorney On Ray Rice Video: ‘The Tape Does Change Things, They Could Press Charges Without Her’