Adrian Peterson Trial Date Set for Dec. 1, Lawyer Pushes for Earlier Start

The judge in Adrian Peterson’s child abuse case has set a tentative date of December 1st for the trial to start. This among other happenings made Wednesday’s arraignment quite the circus.

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The scene outside the courtroom included a mascot waving a “Free AP” sign. Then there were the hordes of reporters and cameramen.

Oct 8, 2014; Conroe, TX, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson watches as attorney Rusty Hardin (middle) speaks to the media outside of the Montgomery county courthouse. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Inside, things got off to a rocky start when both the prosecution and Peterson’s lawyer attacked the judge for making disparaging remarks about them.

The judge apologized for calling the men “media whores,” but the prosecution still says they’ll file a motion to force the judge to recuse himself.

This qualifies as a “snag” in the proceedings, as it prevents Peterson from entering his expected not guilty plea at this time.

The motion to recuse won’t go to hearing until November 4. A new judge could be assigned to the case at that time, which would slow things down.

Despite this, Peterson’s attorney will still push for the earliest possible trial date. He said Peterson wants very much to tell his side of the story (via USA Today):

"“Please be tolerant of the fact that Adrian is chomping at the bit to talk, and to publicly defend himself, and the only reason he hasn’t is us…” Hardin said."

The Vikings plan to keep Peterson on the exempt list until his trial is over. Chances still seem remote that Peterson will get on the field again this year for the Vikings.

But if Rusty Hardin is successful in getting the trial moved up to November, perhaps the door will open on Peterson returning to the Vikings this year.

But will fans embrace him?