Adrian Peterson Due Back In Court Next Week

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will be back in court next week for a pre-trial hearing on felony charges of child abuse in Texas.

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Adrian Peterson should make sure he blocks off AD (All Day, of course) on Tuesday.

Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings star, is due in a Montgomery County, Texas, courtroom Tuesday for a pre-trial hearing on felony charges of child abuse.

He is set to go to trial on Dec. 1, but according to Pro Football Talk, there are rumors that defense attorney Rusty Hardin may try to get the trial moved up to Nov. 18.

A defendant is entitled to a speedy trial, but given the clogged nature of U.S. courts and the common defense strategy of heel-dragging, it’s a right that is seldom invoked.

However, Peterson wants to get this over with sooner rather than later—the theory being that the quicker he’s out of the judicial system, the quicker he’s back in pads and a helmet.

There’s a fair chance that prosecutors will want to make a deal with Peterson. They went 1-for-2 in front of a grand jury trying to get Peterson indicted on the charges and that was without a defense being argued.

The old joke about the American judicial system is that prosecutors could get an indictment against a ham sandwich, but a trial where a case must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt is a different sort of affair.

One potential problem for Peterson is what the NFL will do with his punishment under the personal conduct policy were he to plead guilty to the felony charges, or even to a lesser offense.

Peterson has missed seven games, but has been paid due to his status of being on the commissioner’s exempt list.

Another factor to consider is that Peterson is due to be paid $12.75 million next season, with the Vikings only needing to eat $2.4 million against next year’s cap were they to cut him.

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