Lofton’s Happiness Tempered

James Lofton, traded to his hometown team by the Green Bay Packers, made a brief declaration of his excitement at coming to the Raiders, calling it “the end of one football challenge and the beginning of another.”

Before his next on-field challenge, however, he will stand trial for sexual assault on a complaint brought by a woman last Dec. 18 in Green Bay. Lofton has pleaded not guilty.

“Our position is the complainant is not credible,” said Lofton’s lawyer, Stephen Glynn, of Milwaukee. “That she is exaggerating a situation that was consensual and attempting to turn it into something that was not consensual and therefore criminal.”

The trial is scheduled to open May 18, with pretrial motions set for April 23. Glynn said he will seek to determine whether the prosecution intends to bring up a prior allegation of sexual assault against Lofton. That incident occurred in Milwaukee in 1984. The Milwaukee district attorney’s office investigated and filed no charges.

“I have mixed feelings,” said Glynn. “Part of me says that it’s not so bad if it comes out (at the trial). It shows that a guy like James Lofton is in a position of being an easy target for these kinds of allegations. The police department and the DA’s office, which both traditionally favor prosecution, both felt no charges should be brought. I think that’s significant.

“On the other hand, I don’t want a jury to think this is someone who, quote, keeps getting away with it.”

And the idea that Lofton, at the least, seems to have been at the wrong place at the wrong time twice too often for his own good?

“I’m concerned with allegations of criminal conduct,” Glynn said. “Not allegations of bad judgment.

“We’re talking about a guy who (in 1984) had just had his brother die, had his mother die. He was in a difficult situation professionally, with the things that were going on with the Green Bay team. And I think he got involved with somebody else in some conduct that was not appropriate. But it clearly was not criminal. That was the one in Milwaukee.

“Then this one came up. From my perspective as a lawyer defending him against a charge of criminal conduct, I see my job as making sure a jury will differentiate between criminal conduct and bad judgment.”

Glynn says he’ll move that the jury be selected from outside Green Bay, because of pretrial publicity that he deems harmful.

“Do you know the Russian word, samizdat? “ Glynn asked. “It’s self-generating publicity. There have been all kinds of racist, terribly vulgar limericks, attempts at humor floating around the Green Bay community.”

Lofton was reported by Milwaukee newspapers to have checked himself into a psychiatric facility for two weeks after being charged.

“That story has been the subject of newspaper coverage here in Wisconsin,” said Glenn. “I refuse to confirm or deny it. The one thing I will say is that if you were around here and you saw the mass of publicity, it wouldn’t be terribly difficult to understand it if someone wanted to get away from it for a few days.”

Lofton, vacationing at a home he owns in Hawaii, Monday told the Madison, Wis., Capital Times:

“It’s the end of one football challenge and the beginning of another. It’s exciting and it’s odd that I ended up back in my home town. It’s really similar to the draft out of college. You’re kind of waiting and expecting and hoping but you never know until it’s done.”

And about the trial: “I think once the trial is over, people will see it for what it really is.”

Tuesday Lofton sent word through Glynn’s office that he will have nothing further to say about the trade, but he thanked callers for their interest.

The Raiders sent a No. 3 pick in this month’s draft and a conditional pick in 1988 to the Packers for Lofton. The ’88 pick reportedly could be as high as a No. 3, depending on how Lofton plays.

The trade also reportedly has a contingency for Lofton’s being sent to jail. If he can’t report to the Raider training camp, the deal would be voided and the Packers would give the Raiders a No. 3 draft pick in 1988.