A member of the Philadelphia Phillies has been arrested and accused of assaulting what appears to have been his girlfriend at an Atlantic City casino in New Jersey. Fortunately, Major League Baseball, unlike most other employers, has a policy of not jumping to conclusions in the immediate aftermath of an arrest.

Phillies' Herrera Arrested for Assault and Domestic Violence

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Odúbel Herrera was arrested over Memorial Day Weekend at the Golden Nugget Hotel, Casino, and Marina, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

According to police and initial reports, officers responded to a call at the casino around 8:30 pm, they found a 20-year-old woman with “visible signs of injury to her arms and neck.” She claimed that they were caused by Herrera and that he was her boyfriend.

When police found Herrera in his hotel room, they arrested him for assault and domestic violence without incident.

MLB's Response Shows Correct Restraint in Preliminary Stages of Investigation

Far too many people forget these days that an arrest is not a conviction. Police make arrests all the time that go nowhere, and frequently arrest people knowing that they did nothing against the law as a way to control chaotic situations.

Among the people who frequently jump to conclusions about someone's guilt or innocence is a defendant's employer.

These reactions are, to an extent, understandable: Companies are often overly-concerned about the reputations of their business, and see an arrested employee as a threat to the company's carefully curated image. Letting the employee go immediately is usually more of a public relations move, meant to try to convince the public that the business does not tolerate wrongdoing in any form.

These knee-jerk reactions are always harmful to the defendant, though, and especially damaging to those who know the allegations are wrong and that they are innocent. Suddenly, someone else's groundless claims have cost them a job.

Thankfully, the MLB is not one of those employers. After hearing that Mr. Herrera had been arrested for assault and domestic violence, the MLB put him on paid leave, pending its own internal investigation. The reaction is in accord with the league's domestic violence policy that it adopted in 2015. If the league's investigation – which takes a week – finds that there is weight to the allegations of domestic violence, it can retroactively turn the paid leave into unpaid leave.

Other workers, unfortunately, are not so lucky. They often have to urge their boss to keep them on the job roster while the trial is pending so they can show their innocence – a battle that is frequently waged uphill.

LLF Law Firm: Criminal Defense in Philadelphia

Hiring a criminal defense lawyer immediately after an arrest serves a host of benefits. One of them is to show your boss that you are innocent, and that you mean to show it. In some cases, this can be enough to make them reconsider firing you immediately, which can preserve your future from one of the criminal justice system's horde of collateral consequences.

LLF Law Firm can help and fight on your side. Contact them online or call the law office at 888-535-3686.