Miles Bridges pleads not guilty to domestic violence charges

Miles Bridges appeared in court today in Los Angeles, California in response to his June 29th arrest on felony domestic violence charges.

The initial arrest came after Bridges turned himself in to authorities after getting into a physical altercation with his wife, Mychelle Johnson, on the evening of June 28th. Johnson was hospitalized after the incident. Three weeks after being released on $130,000 bond, Bridges pled not guilty to one count of domestic violence and two counts of child abuse. The charges had been filed on Tuesday by George Gascon, Los Angeles County District Attorney.

It is important to understand the meaning of the not guilty plea. The Legal Information Institute, a non-profit service of Cornell Law School, defines a not guilty plea as meaning “the defendant denies committing the accused crime or one of the facets of the crime.”

This of course has ramifications for the legal process that follows. According to the Legal Information Institute, “… by pleading not guilty, the defendant will actually go to trial and force the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt every part of the offense”.

It is also important to understand the severity of the charges against Bridges. A felony charge is more severe than a misdemeanor, and is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than one year”.

It was reported on Wednesday that if Bridges is convicted, he would face up to 11 years and 8 months in prison.

There is also the matter of Bridges’ qualifying offer, which the Hornets extended to him just hours before the domestic violence incident took place. The Hornets had a deadline of July 13th to unilaterally rescind the offer; now, in order to rescind the offer, the Hornets would need Bridges’ consent.

Bridges’ next court date is now set for August 19th, when a preliminary hearing will take place.

The Hornets released the following statement via their official Twitter account on Tuesday night.