Bashaud Breeland and Chiefs face a cloud of uncertainty in 2020

There’s a lot we don’t know about Bashaud Breeland’s availability in 2020.

While not as public as Tyreek Hill‘s situation last year, the Kansas City Chiefs are once again faced with legal questions surrounding an important piece of their team: cornerback Bashaud Breeland.

Back in April, news leaked that Breeland faced a four-game suspension due to violations of the league’s substance abuse policy. The news came on the heels of the public arrest of Breeland when he was in South Carolina.

Breeland was charged with multiple misdemeanors stemming from his arrest in late April of this year. He was charged with “resisting arrest, having alcohol in a motor vehicle with the seal broken, having an open container of beer or wine in a motor vehicle, possession of 28 grams or less of marijuana or 10 grams of hash, and driving without a license.”

Breeland, through his attorneys, asserts he is innocent until proven guilty and looks forward to reviewing the evidence available. Breeland also appealed the suspension.

Since that time, there has been little spoken of or reported on regarding this incident or the charges that might arise. Why is that? Well, my guess is that it has a lot to do with the current pandemic. I know, we are all sick of hearing about it, but that is the reality. As a practicing attorney, I can assure you that this pandemic has caused a huge upheaval in the justice system.

Let me explain: Typically, cases move through the courts at a relatively slow pace, to allow time for each party to exchange documents and information leading up to a trial. With courts shut down due to the virus, trials have not been held. This causes a backlog of cases in the system.

With nothing moving forward, cases are at a standstill (and this doesn’t even take into account the fact that many government officials have faced some sort of furlough). When courts get back up and running, they will deal with the challenges of social distancing during jury selection and trials as well as an increasing number of cases that need to move forward.

Courts always take criminal trials first. Anything civil, such as a dispute over medical malpractice, will be tried after criminal cases. So when the courts open up again, all the criminal trials that have been continued for the last five months have to be heard. And of course, there are always new trials springing up. Civil cases face delays of years, and I have cases that are being scheduled in 2022.

So, back to Breeland. Why haven’t we heard anything? It is probably because the courts have been closed and no cases have been heard. If Breeland wants to plead not guilty and proceed to trial, he probably hasn’t even had the chance to have a trial date.

Now, he could certainly enter a plea agreement, but that would involve pleading guilty and probably facing repercussions from the league. It is certainly possible he does not want to do that. It’s also possible that any offer from the state has been poor.

Regardless, this puts the Chiefs in a tough situation because they are stuck, yet again, with no idea how long Breeland will sit this season. Will Breeland’s suspension stay at 4 games? Will he receive further punishment? Will the appeal lessen the impact? It’s a waiting game for all parties involved.

It turned out okay last year with Hill, so hopefully it will turn out positive for the Chiefs and Breeland this year, too.