If convicted of state charges, will Vick face a longer prison sentence?
Possibly, as the judge sentencing Vick for the state crimes could command that the state sentence run after the completion of Vick’s federal sentence (so that sentences run “consecutively”). But I believe that a consecutive sentence would be unlikely. Vick would be a first-time offender of these particular Virginia laws, and sentences for first-time offenders not only tend to be lighter than for repeated offenders, they are also more likely to run concurrent with a federal sentence, should there be one. Considering that Vick will likely be spending at least a year in a federal prison pursuant to Judge Hudson’s forthcoming sentence on Dec. 10, a concurrent, rather than consecutive, state sentence would seem likely. Moreover, some have asserted that Vick has been selectively prosecuted for crimes that are usually ignored by the police and prosecutors. To the extent those commentaries are true, a concurrent sentence would prove even more appropriate. Michael McCann is a law professor at M
