Shirley to face a jury next week

Bengals rookie, defensive tackle Jason Shirley, will likely stay in Fresno after his latest motion to have his case dismissed was rejected. Shirley will now face a jury trial with selection beginning Tuesday (government is off on Monday) at 9 a.m. in front of Judge Mark Snauffer at the Superior Court of Fresno County. Mark Curnutte writes that opening arguments open Wednesday and closing arguments could be heard as soon as Friday -- Shirley will miss three practices during that time.

Curnutte writes that Shirley faces a DUI, a hit-and-run and driving with a suspended license. Whatever you do, don't take this as fact. But doing some research (i.e., Google searches), it would seem that Shirley, if convicted of all charges, could face up to 24 months in jail. At the lowest, he could pay a lot of money and face probation.

The maximum penalty under California law for the first offense of a DUI is six months in jail, $1,000 fine and 120-day suspension of driver's license. A hit-and-run (only property damage, no injuries) carries a maximum of one-year in jail and could be as high as $10,000. Driving under a suspended license, Shirley could face up to five days in county jail. If a second offense is found guilty, Shirley could face up to a year in jail.

While we don't anticipate any action from the NFL since his arrest and court appearances (and likely judgment) are before Shirley has signed a contract, we also wouldn't be surprised.

Note: If any of the above is wrong, let us know.