It is unlikely that the most-decorated Olympian of all time will serve a jail sentence for his drunk driving and DUI-related offenses.
USA Today noted that on the eve of Michael Phelps’s trial, Baltimore attorney Scott J. Richman said the swimmer likely will not see jail time even though it’s not his first offense. He was previously arrested for drunk driving in 2004 and got probation before judgment that lasted 18 months.
This time, Richman believes the 29-year-old will avoid jail again.
"The big things the judge is going to look at, two things, the facts of the case, obviously and the time in between the two [DUIs]," he said.
"The less time that's been elapsed, the more likely you're going to see some incarceration. In a case like this where it's been almost 10 years to the day, there was no accident, there wasn't a particularly high test result in the grand scheme of test results the court sees, if I had to guess I would say he's going to get a suspended sentence."
Phelps was arrested for drunk driving a second time in September and soon after announced that he was entering a program.
The Olympian came out of retirement last April. He is currently serving a six-month ban from the sport, but is expected to compete in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
image via INFphoto.com