Former Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko had his three-year suspension and $10,000 fine from the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) reduced per a judicial court ruling in Los Angeles Superior Court this past Wednesday. The fine was reduced by the court and he should be able to return to fight in the state upon paying the reduced fine of $5,000.00. His suspension was deemed to have ended on February 28, 2016 per court order.
Schlemenko was represented by Howard Jacobs. Notably, Jacobs is representing Jon Jones with his recent drug suspension which caused him to miss UFC 200.
Per the CSAC, Shlemenko tested positive for steroids after Bellator 133 on February 13, 2015.
In a court ruling filed on July 18, 2016, the court sided with Shlemenko’s argument that the CSAC violated his due process rights by increasing his suspension from 1 to 3 years following his appeal. It also sided with Shlemenko that the CSAC was wrong in assessing two $2,500 fines for providing a false statement on an alleged application for license.
Shlemenko argued that the CSAC violated his due process rights because it increased his penalty following his appeal of the initial suspension. The court sided with Shlemenko as it stated: “Petitioner [Shlemenko] could not have known that by appealing the suspension of his license he was reopening the issue of the length of the suspension.”
CSAC increased Shlemenko’s suspension from 1 to 3 years after his appeal of the original punishment. The court notes that a 3 year penalty “was not even discussed until the closing briefs on the penalty issue, and by that time Petitioner was unable to respond.”
As for the fines, the court agreed with Shlemenko’s argument that the CSAC wrongly imposed two fines on Petitioner for false statement in his pre-bout questionnaire and lab intake form relating to his non-use of drugs. The court agreed that the statements were not made in connection with an application for a license.
In addition, Shlemenko claimed that the CSAC’s decision should be overturned because it “denied his right to have a second “B” sample of his urine taken to be opened and tested in his presence if the “A” sample tested positive for a banned substance. The court denied Schlemenko’s argument stating that it was not required for the CSAC to take a “B” sample to validate the test of an “A” sample.
The court also denied Shlemenko’s claim that he was denied a fair hearing because “the Commission improperly conducted its own research and exhibited bias against Petitioner and his counsel.” The court stated that there must be “concrete evidence” of bias and prejudice which they did not find in this instance.
Payout Perspective:
The court ruling means that Shlemenko has served a suspension of over a year. But the legal process saved him an additional two year suspension and CSAC fine. The due process ruling clarifies some of the administrative issues with the process of fines and suspensions.
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