A former Fresno State Football star, was back in court on Monday, after a judge threatened to issue a warrant for his arrest.
Jason Shirley is facing DUI and hit and run charges stemming from a DUI arrest back in October of 2007.
Shirley was scheduled to return to a Fresno court last week to hear his retrial date, but his attorneys say his professional football schedule with the Cincinnati Bengal's didn't allow him to make it in time, causing the judge to threaten the warrant.
On Tuesday, with Shirley in attendance, Judge Brant K. Bramer set October 14th as the date for Shirley's jury motion, with the jury trial set to begin October 29th.
Arguments arose in court over whether it was necessary for Shirley to be in attendance for both dates. While the judge agreed that Shirley did not need to attend the jury motion, prosecutors fought to ensure that Shirley would be in attendance for the Jury Trial.
Shirley's lawyer, Charles Magill, says the prosecution is attempting to turn the case into a "media circus" at the cost of Shirley's career, "This case comes at a great cost professionally, they know it, and that's why they're trying to force him back into trial,"he said. Magill believes it won't just be Shirley who suffers from having to be in Fresno for the trial, but also the Cincinnati Bengal's as well, "A rookie player who misses seasonal games is gonna have an impact on them."
Magill says he plans to call on Pat Hill, as well as other influential Fresno State Football players to testify for Shirley. Magill will also put the Bulldog's team doctor on the stand to discuss the "relevance" Shirley's concussion may have had on the accident.
Despite the controversy, Magill seemed confident about the upcoming trial, "I expect that we will have 12 wise jurors from Fresno who will see through this arrest and find him not guilty."
This will be Shirley's second trial; a mistrial was declared in Shirley's first trial in June, after the jury was deadlocked.
Stay with KMPH and KMPH.com as we continue to follow this story.
