THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2007
SPORTS
7B
》 MURDER CASE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Attorney Wilbur Smith talks with the news media Tuesday following a first court appearance in Miami by three men charged with murdering Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor. All three men were denied bail. **Erica Richie Rivers, 17**, who is being prosecuted as a juvenile detention center in Miami-Dade County.**
Attorney wants to resolve case
Accused gunman admits no wrongdoing in Taylor murder
BY MATT SEDENSKY ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI — An attorney for the 17-year-old accused gunman in the killing of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor wants to work with prosecutors to resolve the case.
Sawyer Smith, who along with his father Wilbur is representing Eric Rivera, said Wednesday his client was admitting no wrongdoing yet.
"When the State Attorney's Office is ready, we would like to sit down and begin discussion with them so we can move towards a resolution in the case that has the best interest of all parties in mind," Smith said. "We want to minimize the impact of case resolution on the Taylor family and find a result that's in the best interest of justice."
Smith added: "Plea negotiations are typical in criminal cases. However, we don't know when or if
that will occur."
Circuit Judge John Thornton Jr denied Rivera bail Wednesday in his brief appearance via videoconference in a Miami-Dade County courtroom. His three co-defendants were denied ball a dav earlier.
All four — Rivera; Charles Wardlow, 18; Jason Mitchell, 19; and Veniah Hunte, 20 — have been charged with first-degree felony murder and armed burglary. Their arraignments are Dec. 21.
Richard Sharpstein, Taylor's former lawyer, said he expected them all eventually to be "severely punished."
Taylor died Nov. 27, a day after he was shot in the bedroom of his home. Police have said the 24-year-old player was a victim of a botched burglary.
Smith said he was happy Rivera moved to Miami and had his first appearance in court. He said he understood it most likely would be
Wardlow's attorney, David Brener, distanced his client's actions from those of Rivera and said he expected to go to trial.
Smith said the defense attorneys in the case have a history of working together, but he said he understood the grand jury's identification of his client as the alleged gunman puts him in a unique position.
some time before prosecutors would speak with him.
University of Colorado pays to settle sexual assault lawsuit
》 LEGAL DISPUTE
BY P. SOLOMON BANDA ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — The University of Colorado agreed to pay two women $2.85 million to settle a lawsuit alleging they were sexually assaulted by football players and recruits, school officials said Wednesday.
He said the school faced years of litigation over the case, and fees for outside attorneys already reached $3 million.
The allegations sparked a football recruiting scandal at the school, prompted broad university reforms and led to a shake-up of its top leaders.
University President Hank Brown said agreeing to the settlement was "a difficult decision, painful in some ways, but it's my sense that it was in the interest of the university"
University spokesman Ken McConnellogue said the school also agreed to hire an adviser to monitor compliance with federal laws governing equal treatment of women and add a position in the university Office of Victim Assistance.
The agreement came two months after an appellate court revived the lawsuit.
One of the women, Lisa Simpson, will receive $2.5 million, McConnellogue said. The other woman, who did not wish
be identified publicly, will receive $350,000. The school did not admit fault or liability.
The Associated Press did not identify the victims of alleged sexual assault, but Simpson agreed to be identified in media reports.
The women said they were raped by football players and recruits at an off-campus party on Dec. 7, 2001. Their lawsuit alleged the university violated federal law by fostering an environment that allowed sexual assaults to occur.
A message left for Simpson's attorney, Baine Kerr, was not immediately returned. Simpson met with Brown at his office Wednesday but was not made available for comment.
In a statement released through the school, Simpson said she was pleased with steps the school has taken.
"I encourage other institutions of higher education throughout the nation to take similar steps," she said.
A separate inquiry, backed by the university's Board of Regents, concluded that drugs, alcohol and sex were used to entice blue chip recruits to the Boulder campus but said none of the activity was knowingly sanctioned by university officials.
Brown, CU's president, said the appeals court not only kept the lawsuit alive, but it "changed the law and it ended up rewriting" federal law or the application of it.
A federal judge dismissed the suit in 2005, saying the women failed to show evidence of deliberate indifference. In September, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived the lawsuit, ruling there was evidence the alleged assaults were caused by the school's failure to adequately supervise players.
Simpson fought hard to make the school change, said Janine D'Annibale, director of Boulder's rape crisis center.
"She wanted change in the university. I think that's what she got. Even more important than money is change," D'Annibaille said.
The school responded by overhauling oversight of the athletics department and putting some of the most stringent policies in place for any football recruiting program.
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