By this evening, an Atlanta jury is expected to decide whether Brandon Marshall is a violent, abusive boyfriend or the victim of an extortion attempt by a disgruntled former girlfriend.
While the truth may lie somewhere in the complicated middle, those were the two disparate arguments presented by lawyers Thursday on the first day of Marshall's trial in Atlanta on a misdemeanor battery charge, the result of a fight with his former girlfriend on March 4, 2008.
Prosecuting attorney Robert Bembridge is expected to conclude the state's case against Marshall this morning before turning the trial over to Marshall's defense team, led by Denver-based attorney Harvey Steinberg. Marshall is not expected to testify.