Monday: Sparks are bound to fly at Dominic Jones' trial

Sex, vodka, Gophers football and criminal defense attorney Earl Gray.

The sexual assault trial of former University of Minnesota football star Dominic Jones, beginning today in Hennepin County District Court, promises to be a rocky ride.

Gray and his client will argue that the alleged victim consented to the sexual act with which he is charged. Assistant Hennepin County Attorneys Marlene Senechal and Martha Holton Dimick will say that after eight shots of vodka, the woman was too drunk to stand, let alone consent.

Gray will put his considerable courtroom talents up against the two experienced prosecutors in a trial expected to last up to two weeks. Jury selection begins today and will continue Tuesday.

Last week, Judge Marilyn Rosenbaum warned the lawyers against speaking publicly about the case until it is resolved, but others expect drama.

"It's going to be like a TV trial," Hamline University law Prof. Joe Daly said.

Jones was the only person charged in an incident that involved four other players and rocked the university's football program. All the players were booted from the team before the 2007 season, leaving the Gophers with the worst defense in college football and a final 1-11 record.

The loss of Jones was similarly traumatic to the football team. He was the best defensive player, perhaps the best player on the whole team. He was seen as a leader by coaches and teammates for his disposition as well as his smart, aggressive play.

It came as a shock when Jones was charged in July with third-degree criminal sexual conduct. He remains at the university. At recent court sessions, he wears neat suits and sits quietly, appearing soft-spoken even when chatting in the hall with the boisterous Gray.

Jones, woman to testify

Little is known about the alleged victim. The Star Tribune does not identify sexual assault victims. The woman is expected to testify, as is Jones. Another key witness will be Jones' former teammate Robert McField, who is in prison in Missouri for armed robbery.

The case began at 6 a.m. on April 6, 2007, when the woman flagged down a university police officer near a Burger King to report that she had been sexually assaulted at least two days before.

In a filing by Gray, McField said the woman bared her breasts to the men. Sometime later, Daniels, E.J. Jones and Massey "took turns having sex" with her in a bedroom, the complaint said.

Prosecutors say McField told police he saw Dominic Jones have sex with the woman, remove a condom and then masturbate over her, the last part of which was recorded on a cell phone. But Gray, in court documents, said McField told him that he did not see Jones have sex with the woman. His filing noted that none of the seven dirty condoms at the apartment contained Jones' DNA. His DNA, however, was a match for fluid found on the woman's red shirt.

In exchange for his testimony, McField was given immunity for a misdemeanor charge of providing alcohol to a minor. Prosecutors will have an expert testify that given the woman's weight and vodka consumption, her blood alcohol concentration would have been at 0.3 percent. Clinically, a person with that alcohol level would be in a "stupor" characterized by general inertia, approaching loss of motor functions, markedly decreased response to stimuli, inability to stand or walk and impaired consciousness.

Cell-phone video will be key

A key to the case will be the video, which has yet to be made public.

Gray's track record of high-profile victories is impressive, but Daly mentioned one case in particular. In 1984, Gray successfully defended Robert Bentz, who was accused along with his wife of participating in a child sex ring in Scott County. The case was built on the children's statements, and Gray was "extremely aggressive" in his cross-examination of the children to show they'd been brainwashed, Daly said. The approach was "fairly shocking" at the time, he said.

Expect more of the same this week. "He's a really, really, really good criminal defense lawyer," Daly said. "He's also flamboyant, and he's aggressive. He doesn't mess around. He goes into the courtroom with the intention of winning. It won't be gentle."

Already, there have been many moments of tension for the prosecutors, the judge and Gray. Rosenbaum has criticized news coverage and said she will conduct meetings with the lawyers only in the presence of a court reporter. She told the lawyers not to appear in the news talking about the trial.

Rosenbaum also has denied two key Gray motions. He wanted the information that the woman had sex with the three men earlier in the evening to be admitted. He also wanted to bring in a sex expert to talk about how some people enjoy the sex act that Jones is accused of performing.

"It has the potential to be the trial of the year," Daly said. "It's not going to be as big a trial as O.J. Simpson because that was murder. On the other hand, rape is a heavy-duty crime. It goes to our sense of self-liberty."