Dennard hearing delayed again

Apparently the entire State of Nebraska's Judicial system missed the day that they were discussing the sixth amendment in law school - either that, or someone is messing with Alfonzo Dennard pretty hard...

Actually, the Speedy Trial Clause of the sixth amendment to the Constitution is not in play when it comes to probation revocation hearings since the trial has already occurred, but it's a given that the New England Patriots' second year cornerback wishes that his entire legal mess was over and done with - as do probably coach Bill Belichick, team owner Bob Kraft, the entire team, the millions of fans, etc., etc...

Dennard was cited for numerous violation in the early morning hours of July 11th when he was pulled over by Lincoln, Nebraska police for straddling the lane line, the most serious of which is a pending charge of suspicion of driving under the influence - and now a judge must determine if the facts in the case warrant revoking Dennard's probation from a previous assault conviction.

Dennard is on two years probation after being convicted of felony assault of a police officer during an altercation with another patron outside a Lincoln, Nebraska nightclub in April 2012 and was due in court Friday to face the same judge that handed down that sentence, but the hearing has been delayed once again, this time until September 16th.

This is the second delay in the hearing, and it's not clear which side is petitioning for continuances, but with the NFL season set to kick off for the Patriots this weekend, it would seem that the Dennard camp would have preferred to have the matter settled before the season began - but now the legal posturing has delayed the hearing until the Monday after the Home opener against the Jets.

So now - despite anything the man is saying about being focused solely on football - Dennard has to play football with the shadow of incarceration looming over his head for the next two weeks, and that can weigh heavily on a person's psyche.

It's a good bet that Dennard will be worked into a cornerback rotation to start the year, given that he has not played in the preseason due to injury - but the hope that every Patriots' fan has is that he somehow escapes jail time and subsequent league suspension, at least during the season.

If not it's a secondary in flux, and that's a bad way to fly.