Personal Injury Law Firm New York
In the aftermath of the Conor McGregor melee in Brooklyn Thursday at the Barclays Center that resulted in the former UFC champion being charged with several counts of assault, FightLine reached out to New York-based lawyer Dmitriy Shakhnevich for his thoughts on the incident.
Shakhnevich is with The Law Firm of Dmitriy Shakhnevich inside The American Express Building in New York City. He represents clients in criminal and personal injury cases and has been practicing since 2013.
Among the topics discussed are the possible issues with McGregor not being a U.S. citizen, which could lead to problems for the fighter returning to U.S. and competing in the future.
Here’s what Shakhnevich had to say about the benefits to McGregor turning himself in for questioning and how he would handle representing “Notorious” moving forward:
“The benefits are as follows. If the NYPD has probable cause to effectuate an arrest, and they have it in loads here, then they will effectuate an arrest. That could be done in several ways. They can come looking for you and if they find you, they’ll detain you right there and then. They can also have a warrant issued, which is not beneficial because then you’re exposed to all law enforcement and if you’re found, they’ll just snatch you up (especially not good for a public figure like Conor). The third option is an arrest by way of voluntary surrender, which is what I would do with any client, because it’s civil, organized, out of the media spotlight and your lawyer can discuss the process, charges and severity with the NYPD, to better prepare the case. Also, that way, a lawyer can walk his client into the precinct and the NYPD would know that the client has a lawyer, thereby restricting statements being made and the like.
If I were to handle the case, I’d initially prepare the bail application thoroughly. Conor is appearing for his arraignment today. That means the Judge will decide bail. Conor has tons of money and is not a US citizen it seems, so he’s a prime suspect to be denied bail. Here however, the charges are not severe enough to warrant that. Still, the bail application should be prepared well. Then, the lawyer must decide whether to have Conor testify before the Grand Jury. That’s a decision to be made in all felony cases. I’d advise against that. Finally, the lawyer must obtain the evidence and see whether this is a case that can be taken to trial, or whether a plea would be beneficial. The evidence here, at least from what we know, doesn’t deem the case factually defensible. But again, the lawyer must obtain that evidence from the DA before making those decisions. The case is only starting today. Many Court appearances will likely follow over the course of the next several months.
Again, very importantly, Conor is not a US citizen I believe. So depending on how this case concludes, he may have issues coming back to the US and fighting. That’s likely the biggest concern here. Because while jail is possible here, it’s very highly unlikely. The immigration consequences here matter big time.”
Shakhnevich is also the host of The Fight Lawyer Podcast.
