Lack of legal resolution in Stanback case hamstrings Rice, Rebels

They are busy down at the Metro crime lab. They are backed up for months.

They don't return telephone calls.

Maybe they are double- and triple-checking DNA samples so something crazy like a man being falsely imprisoned never happens again, because those $1.5 million settlements and wrongly taking another's freedom for four years are tough to swallow.

Maybe they are investigating whether Cosmo Kramer knocked another sample of blood with high cholesterol into a test tube belonging to Rudy Giuliani.

Maybe a frozen yogurt caper is about to break in Las Vegas.

What the lab apparently has not done is test the blood sample rendered by UNLV basketball player Chace Stanback following his arrest on May 13.

Several messages left at the office of forensic lab manager Tracy Birch the past few days went unreturned.

I'm betting Catherine Willows would have called back.

Thus, the Great Sample Caper remains unsolved.

Stanback's case this week was delayed and a new court date of Dec. 1 set, meaning that in just less than seven months after being pulled over for speeding at 2:23 a.m., failing to provide proof of insurance and giving officers enough cause to suspect he was driving under the influence, he could learn his legal fate.

Maybe. There are reports of such cases lasting more than 18 months locally before being settled.

These techs must be up to their eyeballs in back spatter. There has been turnover at the lab. There have been all sorts of issues.

But realize this: The crime lab and district attorney's office, should it decide to pursue charges once receiving all case information, shouldn't in any way expedite the process for Stanback or UNLV.

Many might have to sit down for this next part, but a gigantic portion of the community doesn't give a hoot about Rebels basketball or how many games a senior forward might miss in the upcoming season.

Most have no idea who Stanback is, much less that he is the leading scorer and rebounder returning from last season's team.

Stanback made the mistake here. This is all on him. The system should view him as nothing more than one of thousands of case numbers, none more important than the next.

So, he gets to wait.

And wait. And wait.

"No doubt, it's a tough situation for Chace and our program," UNLV coach Dave Rice said. "It's always better to have a resolution to any situation like this. All we can do is continue to support and help Chace through the process.

"He put himself in a bad position. There are always ramifications and consequences to actions. But I can't affect the legal system either way."

Rice is in the first tough spot of an early head-coaching career. He is caught between the bureaucratic truths of understaffed labs and the perception of how he will handle such cases against his players.

Stanback's rights and the principle of due process are staring at Rice from one shoulder and the all-too-important reality of perception from the other.

Both sides matter.

Few things are worse for any program than a midseason suspension of a leading player. The Rebels will have played eight games before Stanback's next court appearance and will be staring at a five-game stretch that includes road games against Wichita State, Wisconsin and Illinois following it.

Rice could suspend Stanback for early-season games today merely on the coach's own words, that the player put himself and, in turn, the program in a bad position. It would be an acceptable response.

But would it be fair to Stanback?

Rice also could wait until Dec. 1, or whenever the blood results are known and the DA has decided whether to pursue a case, realizing such a scenario could mean losing Stanback at a critical time of the season, when opportunities for quality Ratings Percentage Index wins are presented and team chemistry has been built.

But would that be fair to the program?

"I don't know the answer to any of it because we don't have all the information yet," Rice said. "I was hoping for some sort of resolution this week. You always want something like this decided before a season."

Yeah. Good luck with that.

In 2009, the district attorney's office handled nearly 55,000 misdemeanor cases. The number of drunken-driving cases such as the one Stanback faces are "astronomical" on an annual basis, according to a spokesperson for the DA.

The Metro crime lab is overwhelmed.

Catherine Willows isn't returning calls.

The Great Sample Caper trudges along with no end in sight.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday and Thursday on "Monsters of the Midday," Fox Sports Radio 920 AM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.