Mark Sanchez’s battery trial is getting cameras, and it’s getting a new judge.
Judge James Osborn took over the case this week and approved the use of cameras in the courtroom, according to Los Angeles Magazine. His predecessor, Judge Jennifer Prinz Harrison, had turned down that request before stepping aside from the case Tuesday. She didn’t say why. LA Magazine reports that Sanchez’s legal team doesn’t know either.
Indiana judges have discretion over whether to allow cameras in their courtrooms. Osborn approved the media request shortly after taking over the case. Sanchez’s trial will be televised when it begins Dec. 11.
Harrison’s recusal didn’t come out of nowhere. The Indianapolis Star reported she’s faced criticism from law enforcement and victim families for lenient sentencing in violent crime cases. She recently sentenced someone to two years in prison for killing three people while fleeing police at high speed.
Osborn scheduled the first hearing for Oct. 22, with lawyers appearing remotely. Another pretrial hearing is set for Dec. 2. The trial date is Dec. 11 at 8:30 a.m.
Sanchez faces felony battery charges after an Oct. 4 altercation in downtown Indianapolis. He was in town to call a Raiders-Colts game for Fox. Around 12:30 a.m., he confronted Perry Tole, a 69-year-old truck driver collecting cooking oil from a hotel. Police reports say the situation escalated physically. Tole used pepper spray, then a knife, telling police he thought Sanchez was going to kill him.
Sanchez ended up hospitalized in critical condition with chest wounds. He was arrested at the hospital on three misdemeanor charges: battery with injury, public intoxication, and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle. Prosecutors later upgraded one to a level 5 felony that carries up to six years in prison.
Security footage obtained by TMZ showed Sanchez walking around downtown for about 20 minutes before the incident.
Sanchez left the hospital and was booked at Marion County Jail on Oct. 12. He posted $300 bond and was allowed to leave Indiana. He told reporters he was “focused on recovery” and thanked the trauma surgeon who “saved my life.”
Tole filed a civil lawsuit against Sanchez and Fox Sports. The lawsuit claims Sanchez appeared drunk when he started the fight, which left Tole with permanent injuries.
Fox hasn’t said much. The network released statements saying Sanchez was “injured in Indianapolis” without mentioning the arrest or charges. Brady Quinn filled in for him that Sunday. Sanchez hasn’t been on Fox’s schedule since, and the network is now in Week 7.
Sanchez has been an NFL analyst for Fox since 2021. He works games with play-by-play announcer Adam Amin and sideline reporter Kristina Pink. Whether he comes back depends on his legal case and whether Fox wants an analyst on trial for felony battery.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.