Dana Stubblefield's Lawyer to Appeal Rape Conviction; Requested Mistrial

Former NFL defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield is planning to appeal a rape conviction handed down Monday because of problems with the case caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Allen Sawyer, Stubblefield's lawyer, told TMZ Sports in an interview released Thursday he requested a mistrial on multiple occasions throughout the case, which he says was "littered with errors":

"Once they halted the jury trial for months, we asked for a mistrial because how [is] the jury supposed to remember evidence from a witness from seven, eight months ago when they've had a two-month break and other breaks?

"They started the trial, and then the pandemic hit. We already had a jury, the government got to present a lot of evidence, and then they halted the trial for two months because of the pandemic."

Sawyer said that even when the trial resumed it wasn't a standard environment.

"Then they started letting witnesses testify remotely, [and] we weren't allowed to sit next to our client," he told TMZ. "We continually asked for a mistrial because it wasn't a fair environment because of the COVID circumstances."

Stubblefield was found guilty of rape, false imprisonment and using a gun during the sexual assault, which allegedly occurred at his home in April 2015, per Robert Salonga of the Mercury News. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison on those counts.

The jury found him not guilty of two felony charges related to the alleged exploitation of a woman who was mentally incapable of providing consent for sex. Prosecutors in the case stated the victim was developmentally disabled, according to Salonga.

"He's going to fight to clear his name. He's innocent. He believes in the judicial system," Sawyer told TMZ. "He's not happy where this is right now, but he's going to keep fighting."

Stubblefield, 49, was a first-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the 1993 NFL draft. He played for the Niners, Washington Football Club, Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots across 12 years. He was injured during the build up to the 2004 season with the Pats and never signed with another team.

He won Super Bowl XXIX with San Francisco in 1995.