Attorney: McGregor not likely to do time

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor lost his mind just before UFC 223, in an utterly failed attempt to intimidate at the time about to be current champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.

McGregor is charged with a class E felony (the lowest level) and a class D felony, next to lowest, and ten misdemeanors. On paper, he could be looking at four years for the class E, seven years for the class D, and one year each for the ten misdemeanors. Add them up he could be in jail until he’s 50.

However, Bloody Elbow‘s Victor Rodriquez spoke recently with Brooklyn attorney Dmitriy Shakhnevich, and the reality of the situation is that with no prior record, McGregor likely won’t get any time.

Shakhnevich notes that first of all McGregor needs to be convicted, and he believes the case will be settled. Further, the court in Brooklyn typically sentences concurrently, not consecutively, so the 21 years would be seven. And McGregor is a first-time offender is a court that is not hell-bent on meting out jail terms.

“A plea will be worked out almost certainly,” said the attorney.

“In Brooklyn, generally, you wouldn’t get jail time for this, especially if it’s your first offense, which I understand this is. So, what’ll likely happen is he’ll probably get it reduced to either a misdemeanor or maybe even a non-criminal disposition, though that’s unlikely. I don’t think he’ll serve any jail time at all. Again, that’s highly unlikely. I think he’ll probably be sentenced to some form of community service or something of that nature, and the case will go away.

“The issue is immigration. If by way of a guilty plea he’s convicted of a misdemeanor, that can have immigration consequences. I don’t think it will – I think his lawyers will craft something creative to work around that. But that’s really what you have to look out for here.”

“The way that criminal convictions impact immigration status, there are no black and white rules. Generally speaking, if you’re convicted of a misdemeanor, which is a low-level offense, the lowest level offense in New York in terms of crime, typically that one misdemeanor – again, typically – will fall under the petty offense exception which basically allows the person to travel in and out.”

The attorney said McGregor’s fame cuts both ways. His fame is such that he would be an attractive candidate for public service. And he could also be a target, too.

“You may get an ambitious prosecutor that wants to get a name on his resume, and that’s entirely possible<‘ said the attorney. “In my experience, Brooklyn prosecutors are just. They look for the public interest, not for conviction. They’ll probably see that a guy like Conor could do a lot more good in the community than in jail. I don’t think they’re gonna nail him to the wall. And they shouldn’t.”

Shakhnevich did note the other figures injured by McGregor may file civil suits, but that typically the criminal case will play out first.

Attorney Dmitriy Shakhnevich is the host of the compelling Fight Lawyer podcast.