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Topic: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse scandal (Read 23093 times)

Rhune
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Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse scandal
« on: Apr 10^th, 2006, 6:48pm »

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Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse scandal
Posted: Monday April 10, 2006 5:53PM; Updated: Monday April 10, 2006 6:59PM

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- DNA testing failed to connect any members of the Duke University lacrosse team to the alleged rape of a stripper, attorneys for the athletes said Monday.

Citing DNA test results delivered by the state crime lab to police and prosecutors a few hours earlier, the attorneys said the test results prove their clients did not sexually assault and beat a stripper hired to perform at a March 13 team party.

No charges have been filed in the case.

"No DNA material from any young man was present on the body of this complaining woman," said defense attorney Wade Smith.

The alleged victim, a 27-year-old student at a nearby college, told police she and another woman were hired to dance at the party. The woman told police that three men at the party dragged her into a bathroom, choked her, raped her and sodomized her.

Authorities ordered 46 of the 47 players on Duke's lacrosse team to submit DNA samples to investigators. Because the woman said her attackers were white, the team's sole black player was not tested.

District Attorney Mike Nifong stopped speaking with reporters last week after initially talking openly about the case, including stating publicly that he was confident a crime occurred. He went on to say he would have other evidence to make his case should the DNA analysis prove inconclusive or fail to match a member of the team.

Smith said Nifong now has the evidence needed to change his mind.

"He doesn't have to do it," Smith said of filing charges. "He is a man with discretion. He doesn't have to do it, and we hope that he won't."

Nifong's assistant said earlier Monday the prosecutor would not comment on the findings. North Carolina Central University, where the alleged victim is a student, said after the results were released that the prosecutor would appear at a campus forum on Tuesday to discuss the case.

Attorney Joe Cheshire, who represents one of the team's captains, said the report indicated authorities took DNA samples from all over the alleged victim's body, including under her fingernails, and from her possessions, such as her cell phone and her clothes.

"They swabbed about every place they could possibly swab from her, in which there could be any DNA," he said.

Cheshire said even if the alleged attackers used a condom, it's likely there would have been some DNA evidence found suggesting an assault took place. He said in this case, the report states there was no DNA on her to indicate that she had sex of any type recently.

"The experts will tell you that if there was a condom used they would still be able to pick up DNA, latex, lubricant and all other types of things to show that -- and that's not here," Cheshire said.

Stan Goldman, who teaches criminal law, evidence and criminal procedure at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said the DNA results don't mean that Nifong can't go forward with the case -- but the test results make a successful prosecution much harder.

"Isn't the absence of DNA evidence, given the way the victim has described the crime, in and of itself almost enough to raise a reasonable doubt?" he said. "That's all the defense has to do."

Robert Archer, whose son, Breck, is a member of the lacrosse team, said the test results only confirmed for parents what they already knew.

"I know the kids on the team and I know they're innocent," said Archer, of East Quogue, N.Y.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press.

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Jeff
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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #1 on: Apr 13^th, 2006, 4:20pm »

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First off, I do believe the girl was raped. Three fingernails lodged in a bed frame does not happen from consensual sex unless you have something rotten in the noggin'.

However, what has happenned to the laccross team is a gross abuse of power by the DA and is utterly horrible. They paraded the laccross team in, stripped them naked and shot photos of them. They posted the boys' pictures all over the TV accusing them of rape. If some of them did rape the girl, then they'll get what's coming to them. However, I very highly doubt that all 64 boys raped the girl and probably had nothing to do with it.

Have you ever been to one of these parties? The music is always blaring and you can't hear a thig unless the person is right next to you and speaking loudly. If the woman was being raped in another room, these boys would not hear her screams.

The rights of the woman were horribly stripped away when she was raped, but that is absolutely not an excuse to strip away the rights of these 64 guys without due process of law.

Too bad I'm just out of district because I want to vote against this horrible DA in his upcoming election.

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Rhune
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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #2 on: Apr 13^th, 2006, 4:32pm »

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To the best of my knowledge, from what I have read, the fingernails were found on the bathroom floor, not wedged in a bed frame. The alleged rape occured in the bathroom. Now, according to another report I read, there are time stamped photos that show she had the bruises on her when she arrived at the party, and there was no DNA evidence. A bunch of scenarios cross my mind at this point...she was raped, but object raped so there was no DNA, she was on drugs and freaked out in the bathroom dislodging the nails and whatnot and in her drug induced state she thought she was being raped, she was raped prior to the party and either decided it was better to frame these guys, or again was on drugs and confused as to when it happend, there's just so many scenarios here. It just smacks me as odd that there was NO male dna anywhere on her, not even under her fingernails (and she stated she scratched the crap out of the attackers), and no evidence of condoms having been used, no lubricants, etc. Something isn't right here. I would also think since all the males were photographed, that scratches would show up on them, if she had in fact scratched any of them. I guess I'm leaning towards drug freak-out in the bathroom and she scratched at the walls, dislodging some of the fingernails (which also didn't have dna on them), and then took off leaving her purse and phone there, genuinely believing she was attacked. If there is evidence the bruises were there when she arrived, the vaginal trauma may have been from earlier in the day as well.

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Jeff
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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #3 on: Apr 13^th, 2006, 4:58pm »

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Oh, well, I missed where she was allegedly raped at. I was watching The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch when I heard the location, so I must have misheard something.

Either way, I still think the treatment of the accused is a case of a gross violation of rights and the due process of law. These boys are being humiliated for something they may not have even done. Even if they are found innocent, do you think that everyone will look at them the same way? Nope. There are talk shows done all the time about people who were accused of rape and found innocent, but it still destroyed their lives because people always had that doubt about them and couldn't trust them anymore.

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Rhune
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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #4 on: Apr 13^th, 2006, 8:48pm »

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I can see that. On the other hand it doesn't help their case much that one of them wrote an e-mail after the incident talking about how they would invite more strippers over again and kill them this time. I understand he made the e-mail in anger, but it's a pretty gross e-mail and will only add to the way people treat ALL of these boys afterward.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #5 on: Apr 13^th, 2006, 10:56pm »

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Unfortunately, there's no law against stupidity, Rhune.

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Rhune
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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #6 on: Apr 13^th, 2006, 11:08pm »

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No, and I don't think he did anything illegal by writing that, but it will definitely reflect badly on the whole team that he did. Their coach resigned same day that came out in the press and the rest of the Lacross season cancelled. I just think it will cause people who can't let go of the idea that they might be guilty to treat them worse as a result. The e-mail was a stupid thing to write, and said uncomfortable things.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #7 on: Apr 13^th, 2006, 11:10pm »

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In the car on the way to work tonight they played on the radio (news radio) the recording of the officer who picked her up and was taking her into the station, and he comments in it that she is just falling down drunk. It's in the car that she reported the alleged rape. Maybe she said it to get out of jail time...

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #8 on: Apr 16^th, 2006, 1:06pm »

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Jesse Jackson's group to pay alleged victim's tuition

Sunday, April 16, 2006; Posted: 8:31 a.m. EDT (12:31 GMT)

DURHAM, North Carolina (AP) -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Saturday his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition would pay the college tuition of a black woman who alleges white members of the Duke University lacrosse team raped her.

The 27-year-old woman, a student at North Carolina Central University, told police she and another woman were hired to strip dance at a team party. The woman told police that three men at the party dragged her into a bathroom and raped her March 13.

No one has been charged in the case, but the allegations have rocked the community. Jackson he has yet to speak with the woman, but said his group pledged to pay for her tuition even if her story proves false.

The woman should be able to support her two children and pay her tuition without having "to sacrifice her body to make money."

The prosecutor has said he believes a crime was committed at the party, citing a medical exam that found the woman's injuries and behavior were consistent with being raped.

Attorneys for the players have said DNA tests failed to connect any players to the attack, and they have urged the prosecutor to drop his investigation. But several defense attorneys say they expect the district attorney to ask a grand jury Monday to indict one or more of the players.

But in a phone interview with The Associated Press, Jackson said he believed there was enough circumstantial evidence indicating something happened to the woman.

"There's more evidence that violence occurred to her than she's the lead of a hoax," Jackson said.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #9 on: Apr 17^th, 2006, 1:39pm »

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Photos Offer Some Insight About Duke Lacrosse Team Party

from the Raleigh News & Observer
UPDATED: 10:38 am EDT April 17, 2006

DURHAM, N.C. -- One day before possible indictments of some of Duke University men's lacrosse players, defense attorneys stood behind what they have maintained for more than a month: no sexual assault took place during a party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. in the early-morning hours of March 14.

Attorneys have said that DNA taken from 46 lacrosse athletes failed to match DNA evidence taken from an exotic dancer who says she was raped, sodomized and beaten for 30 minutes by three team members.

In addition, defense attorneys have said that time-stamped photos taken at the party on the night in question prove their clients' innocence. For the first time Sunday, news reporters got a look at the photos, which were taken with a digital camera with an internal time stamp.

Sources said the 19 photos, taken between 11:02 p.m. and 12:41 a.m. by a person they would not identify, matched watches in the photographs.

The first photo, taken at 11:02 p.m., shows young men sitting around and drinking.

Another photo, taken at midnight, is the first picture of the two dancers, including the accuser, who were hired to dance at the party. The accuser is dressed in a pink and white negligee. Attorneys have said that although the women were given at least one drink at the party, they believe the accuser was already impaired when she arrived at the party.

Pictures taken over the next few minutes show the women on top of one another other. The photos also show what appear to be bruises on the accuser's knee. Her right shoe is off, and her press-on nails are missing. The men in the background are sitting back casually watching without much noticeable reaction.

Three minutes after they begin to dance, at 12:03 a.m., the dancers are photographed near the door. Attorneys say they are leaving the party.

More than 25 minutes later, at 12:30 a.m., the accuser is photographed again at the back of the house. She has a purse and her shoe is still missing from her right foot.

Seven minutes later, at 12:37 a.m., the alleged victim is lying on the back stairs. Attorneys have said that they believe she stumbled and fell, which caused some of her cuts and bruises. A tan spot in the photo, they believe, is her purse lying in the back yard.

At 12:41 a.m., attorneys say the accuser gets into the other dancer's car.

There is a gap in the photos from 12:03 a.m. until 12:30 a.m. in which the two dancers were not photographed. Attorneys believe the women were in a bathroom, alone.

One woman, they believe, was changing her clothes during that time, and the accuser may have been painting her fingernails. They believe that because later on, when she fell on the back stairs, there were pink marks on the stairwell.

Another photo does show the accuser about 10 minutes before she left on the stairwell with her mouth open and teeth showing. Defense attorneys say she is smiling, but she is not posing and it is difficult to determine whether she is actually smiling.

Defense attorneys said they had offered to show the pictures to District Attorney Mike Nifong, but he declined to see them.

"As I understand the exchange, as it was reported to me, the DA is not interested in a discussion about our evidence," said defense attorney Bob Ekstrand.

Nifong -- who has come under criticism for both prosecuting the case after DNA results came back negative and for not proceeding with the investigation quickly enough -- has said he believes a sexual assault did occur and that a medical examination of the alleged victim was consistent with a rape.

Just as defense attorneys have said Nifong has not seen their evidence, they do not know what happened after police drove the accuser away.

"Something happened in the interim to cause her to be admitted into the hospital later that morning," Ekstrand said. "And we should be very interested to know what it was."

At 1:22 a.m. on March 14, Durham police received a call from a security guard at a Kroger grocery store located on Hillsborough Road. The guard told the 911 dispatcher that a woman named Kim, believed to be the second dancer at the party, pulled up and was worried about her friend. The guard said the alleged victim did not smell like alcohol, but that she appeared to be drunk.

At about 1:30 a.m., a police officer who responded to the 911 call told a police dispatcher that the woman was drunk, but not in distress. It is not known, however, whether a breathalyzer or any drug tests were conducted.

Adding to the confusion, attorneys said the Kroger security guard told a private investigator for defense attorneys that the second dancer said she merely picked the woman up on the side of the road.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

IMO, this supposed "rape" case is starting to really smell like week old fish.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #10 on: Apr 18^th, 2006, 9:01am »

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Two Duke lacrosse players charged with rape

Tuesday, April 18, 2006; Posted: 8:38 a.m. EDT (12:38 GMT)

DURHAM, North Carolina (CNN) -- Two members of the Duke University lacrosse team were arrested and charged early Tuesday in connection with rape allegations leveled by a woman hired as a dancer at a team party, jail officials said.

Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty, both 20-year-old sophomores, have been charged with first-degree rape, first-degree forcible rape and kidnapping, the officials said. Bond was set for $400,000 for each man.

Deputies brought Seligmann and Finnerty to Durham County jail just before 5 a.m. ET.

Seligmann posted bond and left the jail, but Finnerty, who has been processed, has not done so yet.

The News & Observer identified Seligmann as a student from Essex Falls, New Jersey, and Finnerty as a student from Garden City, New York.

A grand jury returned sealed indictments against the two Monday. Sealed indictments often are used when authorities believe the person charged is a flight risk.

Kirk Osborn, one of Seligmann's attorneys, said lawyers arranged the surrender of the two men early Tuesday.

"It's hard to put in words the unfairness and injustice," Osborn said. "We look forward [to] showing he is absolutely innocent as soon as we can."

A 27-year-old student at North Carolina Central University told police three men raped and beat her March 13 at an off-campus party thrown by Duke lacrosse players.

She and another woman were hired to perform as dancers there. The case has inflamed racial and economic divisions in Durham, which is home to both the accuser's historically black public university and the elite Duke. She is African-American; the accused are white.

The allegations have resulted in the cancellation of the lacrosse season, the resignation of the team's coach, Mike Pressler, and public scrutiny of what Duke President Richard Brodhead called the "history of boorish behavior and underage drinking" among players.

Court documents filed in the case have said a medical examination of the accuser showed signs consistent with sexual assault. DNA samples from the players failed to match material collected by investigators, defense attorneys hired by some of the players said last week.

The defense lawyers also said photos taken at the party show the woman was injured before she arrived.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #11 on: Apr 18^th, 2006, 9:02am »

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They must feel like they have SOMETHING to have charged these two...obviously they aren't sharing what that is with the public...

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #12 on: Apr 18^th, 2006, 12:07pm »

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on Apr 18^th, 2006, 9:02am, Rhune wrote:

They must feel like they have SOMETHING to have charged these two...obviously they aren't sharing what that is with the public...

"Probable cause", (not proof or compelling evidence of guilt) is all that is needed to obtain a warrant or a "True Bill of Indictment" at the Grand Jury level. That is not a very high threshold to arrive at.

I am VERY suspect of the worthiness of this case, and the motives of the Prosecutor (who is running for re-election). I am wondering why he did not use the usual and standard way of proceeding with a criminal case. . . that is, seeking an arrest warrant from a judicial magistrate, arresting the individual, and bringing the defendant to a preliminary Court hearing (before the Judge of a General District Court). At this hearing, the accused can be represented by his Attorney. The Prosecutor (the State) presents enough evidence to the Judge to show that the accused could have probably committed the offense (there's that "Probable Cause" thing again!). At that point the JUDGE makes the decision to move forward with the case and send it to a Grand Jury for a "True Bill of Indictment". Then the case receives a court date in CRIMINAL CIRCUIT Court. ALL the evidence from both sides is presented, witnesses are heard, and the defendant has the choice of a decision by Judge or Jury.

Grand Juries are comprised of everyday folk, usually between 12 and 18 in number, and they hear ONLY from the Prosecutor's side. The do not hear the defendant's side of the story, they do not see any evidence. These ordinary citizens do not have any special training/skills/etc. that make them qualified. They only have to be on the voter rolls to serve. The hear only the "shock and awe" statements from the Prosecutor's side. Nothing from the defendant's side.

From my own thirty years of experience in LE, Grand Juries, having only heard one side of the case, almost always certify a case to move forward in the Criminal Justice system. I only know of less than 5 cases out of thousands heard by Grand Juries in my area, that were not given a "True Bill" and moved ahead in the Criminal Justice system.

I am suspect why this particular Prosecutor bypassed the normal way of doing things. An argument can be made for the suspicion that:
A. He has a case so weak that a Judge (trained in the law and rules of evidence) would DISMISS for lack of evidence at the lower General District Court level.

B. The Prosecutor, running for re-election, is grandstanding before the election, KNOWING that Durham is almost 50% Black and that the case will in all likelyhood, be continued and not heard until AFTER the election. The Prosecutor is smart enough to realize that he can placate the black electorate by "being tough" on those preceived "privileged white college boys", be seen by being "tough on crime" by both black and white voters, and forestall any negative fallout from this case until AFTER his re-election.

. . . . .as I said in an earlier post, I think this case smells like week-old fish.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #13 on: Apr 19^th, 2006, 10:29am »

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Yeah, I think it stinks too, but I'm wondering why they singled out those two boys specifically, especially when it was claimed there were 3 perpetrators.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #14 on: Apr 19^th, 2006, 12:32pm »

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From what I understand, the 'victim' was shown photo line-ups of the various individuals reportedly involved. The 'Victim' made the identification and based on that photo identification, and her statements of what supposedly occurred, warrants were issued.

As one of the Defense Attorneys stated, and I paraphrase, 'we question the reported "victim's" creditability surrounding this event and we were hoping she would pick someone who wasn't even there, and she did!'

From what I have been reading, the individuals she picked out, have pretty compelling evidence that they were not even in the house when the reported "rape" occurred. This alibi evidence includes ATM receipts, cell phone records (which would include the cell tower location), time/date access card electronic door (to the building) documentation, other restaurant receipt evidence, time/date stamped photos taken at the party, etc. from both of the two 'suspects'.

Of course all this evidence will come out in the criminal court hearing but by then the following will have happened. . . .

The various media will have pumped up the situation to the 'sensational' level that it likes . . . . . remember the Petersen trial, the Michael Jackson fiasco, the Blake trial, . . . . . ratings baby, ratings!

Jesse Jackson, the NAACP, Al Sharpton and the rest of the special interest gadflys seeking out the glare of a TV spotlight will have had their 15 minutes of exposure. . . .

The Defendants, at the direction of their legal defense team, will have had to sit QUIETLY by while their reputations have been painted . . . . .

and the Prosecutor will have been re-elected for another term, having placated the local community as being tough on crime and not showing favortism to presumed well-off, privileged, white college boys.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #15 on: Apr 20^th, 2006, 12:11pm »

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Ouch...

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Rhune
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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #16 on: Apr 20^th, 2006, 12:59pm »

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I have to wonder though, they are getting a lot of negative attention about it now, about how the facts don't match. It may just bite him in the ass afterall.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #17 on: Apr 20^th, 2006, 1:52pm »

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on Apr 20^th, 2006, 12:59pm, Rhune wrote:

It may just bite him in the ass afterall.

There will be plenty of time to put a good spin on it. By the time this thing gets to trial, the Prosecutor will have been re-elected. I would imagine that by then he will be able to rightly point out that the reported 'victim' and any creditability problem and/or successful prosecution with the case rests with her.

Whatever way it turns out, I have always subscribed to the theory of . . . . .

. . . . You can't make chicken salad out of chicken shit. :chin:

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #18 on: Apr 20^th, 2006, 7:27pm »

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Defense attorneys: Timeline clears Duke rape suspects
From Jason Carroll and Alina Cho
CNN

Thursday, April 20, 2006; Posted: 8:08 p.m. EDT (00:08 GMT)

DURHAM, North Carolina (CNN) -- Defense attorneys for two Duke University lacrosse players charged with raping a woman hired to dance at a team party say they have proof of their innocence.

Reade Seligmann, 20, and Collin Finnerty, 19, have been charged with first-degree sexual offense, first-degree forcible rape and first-degree kidnapping stemming from the alleged March 14 incident.

But their attorneys say they have evidence showing their clients had left the party by the time the attack is alleged to have happened.

The accuser, a 27-year-old student at nearby North Carolina Central University, told police she and another woman arrived at 610 North Buchanan Blvd. to dance at the party shortly before midnight on March 13.

"After a few minutes, the males watching them started to get excited and aggressive. The victim and her fellow dancer decided to leave because they were concerned for their safety," said a document attached to an application for a search warrant in the case.

The report said the women were outside when "one of the suspects" came out and apologized and asked them to go back inside the house to continue to dance.

A neighbor who reportedly witnessed what was going on next door said the woman returned inside around 12:30 a.m., according to a written statement to police and provided to CNN by a source with knowledge of the case.

The district attorney has said that the woman was raped afterward.

Police were called to the parking lot of a Kroger store not far from the party at 1:22 a.m., search warrant documents said, and found a woman in a car who told them she had been raped.

The woman said she was "sexually assaulted for an approximate 30-minute time period by the three males," according to a police report cited in the search warrant documents.

Defense attorneys said they have records showing that Seligmann called the On Time Taxi company at 12:14 a.m. from his cell phone that night. (A cabbie may be key to the defense)

On Time Taxi owner Moez Mostafa showed CNN his computer phone log, showing a call coming in at that time.

Mostafa said he picked up Seligmann and a friend at 610 North Buchanan Blvd. at 12:19 a.m. He said he could tell that Seligmann had been drinking, but that he didn't appear drunk.

"They seemed calm, like normal," Mostafa told CNN. "I didn't recognize anything different."

The cab driver said he then drove Seligmann to a Wachovia Bank to get money, and defense attorneys say an ATM receipt shows he withdrew cash at 12:24 a.m.

Mostafa said he next drove the lacrosse player to a restaurant, then back to his dorm.

Defense sources said a card reader at the door of the dorm shows Seligmann's student ID card was swiped to get inside at 12:41 a.m.

The defense says a timeline and witnesses will show Finnerty also was at a restaurant when the alleged attack took place.

Taxi returns to the alleged crime scene
Less than an hour after he says he picked up Seligmann and a friend, Mostafa says he got another call -- at around 1:07 a.m. March 14 -- to pick up people at the same North Buchanan address.

He said he saw about 20 people on the lawn of the home, "yelling, talking back" to each other, including one African-American woman who he said didn't appear to be injured.

Four men got into the taxi, Mostafa said, and they appeared to be drunk.

One of them said, "She's just a stripper," Mostafa quoted.

District Attorney Michael Nifong would not comment on the defense attorneys' claims. He has said he has solid evidence in the case, including a medical examination conducted by a nurse saying the young woman was a victim of sexual assault.

But DNA samples from the players failed to match material collected by investigators, defense lawyers for some players announced last week.

Nifong said on Tuesday that authorities are trying to determine the identity of a third suspect in the alleged rape.

The allegations have resulted in the cancellation of the lacrosse season, the resignation of the team's coach and public scrutiny of what Duke President Richard Brodhead called the "history of boorish behavior and underage drinking" among players.

In addition, the case has inflamed racial and economic divisions in Durham, North Carolina, which is home to both the accuser's historically black public university and the elite Duke.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #19 on: May 14^th, 2006, 10:11am »

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Attorneys: DNA bolsters lacrosse players' defense
Fingernail in home contained nothing 'conclusive,' one says

Saturday, May 13, 2006; Posted: 8:37 a.m. EDT (12:37 GMT)

(CNN) -- An attorney for a Duke University lacrosse player said the results of new DNA tests released Friday implicated none of the team members in an alleged rape.

"There is no conclusive match of DNA," attorney Joe Cheshire said.

However, the attorney said, semen obtained from vaginal swabs of the accuser indicated that she had sex with a man who is not a Duke student. Cheshire would not identify that man, saying it would not be fair to him.

A 27-year-old exotic dancer told police she was raped by three lacrosse players at a team party March 14.

The first round of DNA tests did not implicate any of the lacrosse players, but a grand jury indicted two members of the team on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual assault.

Defense attorneys said Friday that the grand jury was scheduled to meet Monday to indict another player.

Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree sexual offense, first-degree rape and first-degree kidnapping, and their attorneys say they have evidence showing their clients weren't at the party when the attack is alleged to have occurred.

Finnerty's attorney, Wade Smith, said Friday that the latest DNA tests only bolster his client's assertion that he did not rape the dancer.

"Once again, a DNA report indicated not a smattering, not a spider web of indication that there was any DNA from those boys," Smith said.

Cheshire said DNA was found on a plastic press-on fingernail, but the genetic material did not belong to either of the players who have been indicted. He emphasized that the fingernail was taken from the trash can by two Duke players who rented the house where the rape is alleged to have occurred.

The players volunteered the fingernail to the Durham, North Carolina, police department after the players learned of the rape allegations, which Cheshire said was not behavior consistent with that of rapists.

Also, he said, the trash can from which the fingernail was taken contained toilet paper and cotton swabs that were full of DNA, so it would be more surprising not to find DNA on the fingernail.

"It would be a real story if there was no DNA that could show some genetic strain of some of the Duke lacrosse players who used that bathroom," Cheshire said. "What a stunner that would be."

District Attorney Mike Nifong said he was not going to comment on the results.

Also Friday, Cheshire accused Nifong of trying to manipulate news of the DNA, saying the prosecutor leaked the report to the media before he gave it to defense attorneys.

He also said Nifong waited until after 5 p.m. to deliver it to defense attorneys to make it more difficult for them to hold a news conference addressing the report.

CNN's John Murgatroyd contributed to this report.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #20 on: May 14^th, 2006, 10:12am »

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This accusation just gets thinner and thinner...the only thing thickening is the sensationalism.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #21 on: Dec 14^th, 2006, 3:13pm »

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Duke Lacrosse Players' DNA Not On Accuser, Defense Says

POSTED: 3:33 pm EST December 13, 2006
UPDATED: 6:59 am EST December 14, 2006

DURHAM, N.C. -- A defense motion filed Wednesday in the Duke lacrosse rape case says a second round of DNA testing found genetic material from several males in the accuser's body and her underwear -- but none from any team member.

That includes the three charged with rape.

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Video: Duke Lacrosse Players' DNA Not On Accuser, Defense Says
Related: Dec. 13 DNA Defense Motion (Excerpt)
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The motion was signed by attorneys for defendants Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., Collin Finnerty, 20, of Garden City, N.Y., and David Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md. It complains that the information was not disclosed in a report on the testing prosecutors provided earlier this year to the defense.

"This is strong evidence of innocence in a case in which the accuser denied engaging in any sexual activity in the days before the alleged assault, told police she last had consensual sexual intercourse a week before the assault, and claimed that her attackers did not use condoms and ejaculated," the motion read.

Defense attorney Joseph Cheshire said in an interview that the report's findings suggest the accuser had sex shortly before the March team party where she was hired to perform as a stripper. The woman has said three lacrosse team members gang-raped her in a bathroom at the party.

"None of (the DNA material) happens to be from lacrosse players who are supposed to have had sex with her, which is pretty significant," said Cheshire, who represents Evans.

Defense attorneys said the only DNA found related to their clients was a partial match to Evans on a fake fingernail that was found in a trash can at the house. That was the DNA result printed in the final report.

Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong -- who sent the DNA to private lab DNA Security in Burlington after initial testing at the State Bureau of Investigation crime lab found no matches -- had no comment Wednesday.

The defense motion also contends that at least one sample sent to DNA Security, a private lab in Burlington, might have been contaminated because it included DNA from Dr. Brian Meehan, the lab's director.

Meehan did not have any comment for WRAL about the findings in the report.

The motion also claims there were other errors regarding numbering of tests, and defense attorneys call the testing and the report legally and scientifically deficient.

Attorneys for the accused are scheduled to be in court again on Friday when Nifong is expected to hand over more evidence in the case. He has already given the defense thousands of pages of documents.

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I understand that efforts are underway to push for a Federal investigation of this Persercutor, . . . sorry, Prosecutor. Tongue

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #22 on: Dec 14^th, 2006, 3:25pm »

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Congressman Calls For DA Probe In Duke Rape Case

POSTED: 12:42 pm EST December 12, 2006
UPDATED: 8:26 pm EST December 12, 2006

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A congressman wants a federal investigation into Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong and the way he has handled a rape investigation involving three Duke University lacrosse players.

Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to review the case, having accused Nifong of making prejudicial statements to the media and telling police to violate identification procedures.

In a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Jones also highlighted the fact that Nifong has never spoken directly with the accuser, a 27-year-old exotic dancer, about the case.

Nifong had no comment on the matter Tuesday.

The woman, who is also a student at North Carolina Central University in Durham, said three men sexually assaulted her at an off-campus lacrosse party in March.

In April, two lacrosse players, Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., and Collin Finnerty, 20, of Garden City, N.Y., were indicted on charges of first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual offense. A third lacrosse player, David Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md., was indicted on the same charges a month later.

All three have maintained their innocence and have called the allegations lies.

Attorneys for the accused are scheduled to be in court again on Friday. That is when Nifong is expected to hand over more evidence in the case. He has already given the defense thousands of pages of documents.

A trial could begin as early as spring. When it does, it could be one of the longest in Durham County history because of the complexity of the case, in which there are three defendants and three sets of attorneys.

Attorneys for the defendants have admitted that because of the media attention the case has received, they are looking at the possibility of a change of venue, which has not happened in Durham for nearly 20 years.

"It's very difficult to get granted," said local defense attorney Joe Wilson, who is not connected to the case. "I think defense attorneys have to present overwhelming evidence."

Wilson said that community groups, not just the media, are also a factor because of how they might have an impact on the case, because they are vocal and have potential to influence jurors.

Nifong has said in recent months that he feels a Durham County jury should decide the case.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #23 on: Dec 14^th, 2006, 9:44pm »

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Defense: Lineup in lacrosse case flawed By DAVID SCOTT, Associated Press Writer
Thu Dec 14, 4:32 PM ET

The woman who said she was raped at a party thrown by Duke's lacrosse team misidentified her alleged attackers in a photo lineup that was "an incoherent mass of contradiction and error," defense lawyers argued in court papers filed Thursday.

In a motion filed the day before a scheduled hearing in the case, attorneys for the three indicted players asked a judge to bar prosecutors from using the photo lineup at their clients' trial and prevent the accuser from identifying the players from the witness stand.

Duke University law professor James E. Coleman Jr. said the case would be "effectively dismissed" if the court finds the lineup inadmissible "and rules that it is so suggestive that there can't be an in-court identification."

An earlier defense motion argued the lineup was "unnecessarily suggestive" because the accuser was shown only photos of lacrosse players.

Thursday's motion adds details about efforts by police investigators and District Attorney Mike Nifong to assist the accuser in identifying the three men she said gang-raped her in a bathroom at a March 13 team party where she had been hired to perform as a stripper.

Based in part on those identifications, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans were indicted on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. All three players have insisted they are innocent.

"There is quite simply no evidence that any of the accuser's identifications or descriptions of her alleged attackers are in any way reliable," the defense motion says. "Rather the state is left with an incoherent mass of contradiction and error, one which not only raises the issue of a 'substantial likelihood of misidentification,' but which establishes that the accuser has in fact misidentified the defendants."

Nifong, who has generally refused to comment about the facts of the case, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

In court papers Wednesday, defense attorneys said DNA testing found genetic material from several males in the accuser's body and her underwear but none from any member of the lacrosse team.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #24 on: Dec 14^th, 2006, 9:45pm »

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This is ridiculous, DNA doesn't match, the other dancer admited she lied about the "victims" story, and she also cannot positively identify the accused...

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #25 on: Dec 15^th, 2006, 8:39am »

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well.. isn't this a bit interesting....

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The woman at the center of the Duke lacrosse rape case is pregnant and due to give birth any day, roughly nine months after the team party where she says she was raped by three men in a bathroom.

The pregnancy was confirmed late Thursday by a person familiar with the case, speaking to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. Both Fox News and WRAL-TV in Raleigh reported she gave birth Thursday night.

There had been no prior indication the woman, a 28-year-old college student who already has children, was even pregnant. She has not spoken in public since granting a single interview to the News & Observer of Raleigh shortly after the party.

The person who confirmed the pregnancy to the AP had no information about the father. Defense attorneys have stressed for months that no sex occurred at the party and they have cited DNA testing that found genetic material from several males in the accuser's body and her underwear -- but none from any member of the lacrosse team.

Calls to attorneys representing the three indicted players were not returned Thursday night, as were calls and messages left with District Attorney Mike Nifong.

Medical records included in a defense motion filed Thursday were not made public. It wasn't clear whether a pregnancy test was taken immediately after the party.

The development came just hours after defense attorneys file a motion saying the woman misidentified her alleged attackers in a photo lineup that was "an incoherent mass of contradiction and error." The attorneys asked a judge to bar prosecutors from using the photo lineup at their clients' trial and prevent the accuser from identifying the players from the witness stand.

Duke University law professor James E. Coleman Jr. said the case would be "effectively dismissed" if the court finds the lineup inadmissible "and rules that it is so suggestive that there can't be an in-court identification."

Within Thursday's motion, the defense highlighted what it considers numerous holes in the accuser's story.

Among the details cited are examples of how the accuser's story changed in the hours and days after the party; that she has a history of bipolar disorder; that she identified two people as having attended the party who were not there; and that she identified four attackers during the April photo lineup.

An earlier defense motion argued the lineup was "unnecessarily suggestive" because the accuser was shown only photos of lacrosse players.

Thursday's motion adds details about efforts by police investigators and Nifong to assist the accuser in identifying the three men she said gang-raped her in a bathroom at a March 13 team party where she had been hired to perform as a stripper.

Based in part on those identifications, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans were indicted on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. All three players have insisted they are innocent.

Investigators conducted three photo lineups, according to the defense motion. In the first two, the accuser failed to identify Evans and did not identify Seligmann as an attacker, despite being shown photos of both men.

Defense lawyers argue that the third lineup, conducted April 4 at the Durham Police Department, violated departmental policies and the defendants' constitutional due process rights because it included only pictures of those at the party.

A hearing is scheduled Friday, but it is unclear whether the defense might argue their motions filed Wednesday and Thursday. The hearing had been expected mostly to deal with scheduling.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

« Last Edit: Dec 15^th, 2006, 8:39am by AmberJ »

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #26 on: Dec 15^th, 2006, 12:03pm »

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Paternity test ordered in Duke rape case By ALLEN G. BREED, AP National Writer
2 minutes ago

DURHAM, N.C. - A judge ordered testing Friday to determine whether three Duke lacrosse players fathered the child of a woman who accuses them of rape a prospect defense attorneys dismissed as an "absolute impossibility."

News of the accuser's pregnancy comes roughly nine months after the team party where she says she was raped by three men, but District Attorney District Attorney Mike Nifong said he believed the accuser became pregnant at least two weeks after the party.

Defense attorney Joseph Cheshire said Friday the defense, which requested the testing, has known for some time about the pregnancy.

A person familiar with the case, speaking to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the pregnancy late Thursday but had no information about the father.

Testimony at a procedural hearing Friday focused on a defense request for more information about DNA testing conducted for the prosecution. Cheshire and the other defense attorneys also asked that the trial, which isn't likely to begin until spring, be moved outside of Durham County because publicity may have biased potential jurors.

Defense attorneys have stressed for months that no sex occurred at the party and they have cited DNA testing that found genetic material from several males in the accuser's body and her underwear but none from any member of the lacrosse team.

The woman has said the three men raped her in a bathroom at a March 13 team party where she had been hired to perform as a stripper.

Medical records included in a defense motion filed Thursday were not made public, but Cheshire said the woman was given a pregnancy test immediately after reporting she was raped and it was negative and she took an emergency contraceptive.

"The possibility of her having gotten pregnant (from) these alleged incidents is an impossibility ... an absolute impossibility," Cheshire said.

Cheshire spoke shortly before a previously scheduled hearing in the case.

The defense motion claims the woman misidentified her alleged attackers in a photo lineup that was "an incoherent mass of contradiction and error."

Defense lawyers argue that the key lineup, conducted April 4 at the Durham Police Department, violated departmental policies and the defendants' due process rights because it included only pictures of lacrosse players.

Based in part on those identifications, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans were indicted on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. All three players have insisted they are innocent and were in court for the hearing Friday, as was Mike Pressler, the head lacrosse coach who resigned after the accusation became public.

"Our loyalty to each other remains and my wife and I are here to support the boys," he said.

Defense attorneys asked a judge to bar prosecutors from using the photo lineup at their clients' trial and prevent the accuser from identifying the players from the witness stand.

There had been no prior indication the woman, a 28-year-old college student who has other children, was pregnant. She has not spoken in public since granting a single interview to the News & Observer of Raleigh shortly after the party.

The accuser's father said Friday he had not spoken with his daughter since March and knew little about her pregnancy.

"I'm happy to have another grandchild," he said. "But I don't know the situation behind it."

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #27 on: Dec 19^th, 2006, 3:56pm »

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the whole thing is disgusting...

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #28 on: Dec 22^nd, 2006, 4:47pm »

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Rape Charges Dropped in Duke Lacrosse Case

Posted: Today at 12:25 p.m.
Updated: 18 minutes ago

Durham Defense attorneys called Friday for all charges to be dismissed against three Duke University lacrosse players after prosecutors dropped rape charges against them.

Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong said he didn't have enough evidence to proceed with a rape case but said he plans to take the players to trial on kidnapping and sexual offense charges.

Reade Seligmann, 20, Collin Finnerty, 20, and David Evans, 23, were indicted last spring after a North Carolina Central University student told police she was beaten and raped by three lacrosse players while performing as a stripper at a March 13 team party.

The players have denied any wrongdoing in the case, which has split the Durham community in recent months.

"Mr. Nifong, do the honorable thing -- end this case," defense attorney Wade Smith said.

"It is the ethical duty of a district attorney not to win a case, not to prosecute all cases, but to see that justice is done," defense attorney Joe Cheshire said.

Nifong declined to comment on the dismissal, and his office closed Friday afternoon for a Christmas party.

Duke President Richard Brodhead expressed relief at the dismissal and called on Nifong to turn the case over to an independent investigator.

Given the certainty with which the district attorney made his many public statements regarding the rape allegation, his decision today to drop that charge must call into question the validity of the remaining charges," Brodhead said in a statement. "The district attorney should now put this case in the hands of an independent party who can restore confidence in the fairness of the process. Further, Mr. Nifong has an obligation to explain to all of us his conduct in this matter."

Finnerty's parents also said they were relieved that the rape charges were dropped.

"Dropping this charge is long overdue. Dropping the other charges is long overdue, but we'll take it one step at a time," Kevin Finnerty said.

Mary Ellen Finnerty said the move was "just more proof of what we've known all along, that this entire case has been built on lies."

Nifong's investigator interviewed the woman Thursday, and she told the investigator that she couldn't testify "with certainty" that she was raped, according to the dismissal motions.

"Since there is no scientific or other evidence independent of the victim's testimony that would corroborate specifically (a rape charge), the state is unable to meet its burden of proof with respect to this offense," the motions said.

A week ago, defense attorneys disclosed that a report issued in the case initially didn't disclose that the woman had DNA on her from several men, none of which was a member of the soccer team.

Cheshire called the fact that the dismissal came days after that disclosure a "transparent coincidence."

"After all these months and all that these young men have been through ... why are they investigating the case now?" Cheshire asked.

"His entire case rises and falls on the statement of the accuser. He has no other evidence," Cheshire said. "Going forward with a case when he knows he has multiple, different, contradictory statements from that person, is that seeing that justice is done, or is that simply trying to fit facts into a prosecution to prosecute it at all costs?"

Nifong has never talked to the woman about the details of the incident, although investigators from his office and the Durham Police Department have interviewed her repeatedly over the past nine months.

In addition to questioning the woman's varying statements, defense attorneys have repeatedly hammered other elements of the prosecution's case, including the DNA report and the photo line-up the woman used to identify the three players.

"There is not a spider web of evidence," Smith said. "We have a bare assertion by a woman that a criminal act occurred. ... We have an assertion and nothing else."

Cheshire expressed frustration that the sexual offense and kidnapping charges still stand against against the players. Those charges carry significant prison time, he said, so the defense will continue preparing to fight those charges in court.

"This case is quite clearly not over," Cheshire said.
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I've always said, You can't make Chicken Salad out of Chicken Shit, and that has more than been proven in this case! Mr. Nifong is WAY out of bounds with this fiasco! He wanted attention (to get re-elected) and he got it, but I don't think he will be wanting the kind of attention that this is going to get now.

The remaining charges don't have a snowball's chance in hell of making it past a Motion to Dismiss by the Denfense when it gets to trial . . . . if they even make it to trial!

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #29 on: Dec 28^th, 2006, 3:40pm »

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Attorney General Receives 400 Complaints Against Nifong

Posted: Dec. 27 7:41 p.m.
Updated: Today at 12:05 p.m.

Raleigh The North Carolina Attorney General's Office has received more than 400 complaints about Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, according to an attorney general's representative.

Nifong, who critics say improperly withheld DNA evidence from defense attorneys in the Duke lacrosse investigation, has come under scrutiny recently from local and national state lawmakers, most recently state Rep. Stephen LaRoque, R-Wayne.

LaRoque on Tuesday called for the state to give the attorney general power to investigate how DAs handle cases.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Roy Cooper said Wednesday that he would "be glad to add this to his list of duties if the General Assembly sees fit to do so."

Third District Congressman Walter Jones has written twice to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to ask for a federal investigation of whether the civil rights of the three defendants in the caseDavid Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmannwere violated

Last Friday, Nifong dropped rape charges against them. Charges of first-degree sexual assault and first-degree kidnapping still stand.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #30 on: Dec 28^th, 2006, 11:12pm »

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As I perdicted Mr. Nifong is now starting to get the attention he really deserves:

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State Bar Files Ethics Complaint Against Mike Nifong

Posted: Dec. 28 5:51 p.m.
Updated: 21 minutes ago

Raleigh The North Carolina State Bar has filed an ethics complaint against Duke lacrosse prosecutor Mike Nifong.

The 17-page complaint accuses him of breaking four rules of professional conduct when speaking to reporters about the high-profile case. The complaint lists more than 100 examples of public statements Nifong made to the media, including WRAL, since March.

Among the rules, the bar complaint says Nifong violated is a prohibition on making "comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused."

Another of the rules Nifong was charged with breaking forbids "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation." The bar said that when DNA testing failed to find any evidence that any lacrosse player raped the accuser, Nifong told a reporter the players might have used a condom.

According to the bar, Nifong knew that assertion was misleading, because he had received a report from an emergency room nurse in which the accuser said her attackers did not use a condom.

Nifong has come under mounting scrutiny for the way he has handled the investigation, in which a 28-year-old exotic dancer initially claimed she was raped at an off-campus lacrosse party in March.

Three lacrosse playersDavid Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmannwere later indicted on charges of first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and first-degree kidnapping.

In a statement, the bar said it opened a case against Nifong on March 30, a little more than two weeks after the party, and it found on Oct. 19 after an investigation that there was reasonable cause to refer the case to the bar's Disciplinary Commission for trial.

A series of public hearings will be held before the Disciplinary Commission that eventually will lead to the public trial sometime next year. If it's determined that Nifong violated any ethical code of conduct, the penalties could range from a reprimand to disbarment.

WRAL has been unable to reach Nifong or any defense attorneys for comment.

Duke University did release a statement Thursday evening reiterating President Richard Brodhead's call last week that Nifong turn the case over to an independent investigator.

The statement read: "This afternoons announcement from the North Carolina State Bar makes all the more appropriate, as President Brodhead said last week, that 'The district attorney should now put this case in the hands of an independent party, who can restore confidence in the fairness of the process.'"

Last Friday, Nifong dropped the rape charges against the three athletes after the accuser, a North Carolina Central University student, told Nifong's investigator that she couldn't testify "with certainty" that she was raped, according to dismissal motions.

All three former lacrosse players still face the two other remaining charges.

Case Might Be Stronger, Law Professor Says

Some experts have said that Nifong's dismissal of the rape charges could actually make the prosecution's case stronger.

"Now, they don't have to establish that there was penetration committed against the accuser," said N.C. Central University law professor Irving Joyner.

"In addition to that, now they don't have to deal with the DNA or the lack of DNA evidence," Joyner added. "And with the rape shield statute, it's unlikely that information will even come before the jury to consider."

Family members of the players and other attorneys not connected to the case have said the remaining charges should be dropped because Nifong's action shows he does not have enough evidence to proceed.

"What he's tried to do is take out the charge that he couldn't prove," said Duke University law professor James Coleman. "I think he's become increasingly desperate to try to turn this into a case."
Reporter: Erin Coleman
Photographer: John Cox
Web Editor: Kelly Gardner

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #31 on: Jan 1^st, 2007, 1:15pm »

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Opinion

Nationally Syndicated Editorial Collumnist Kathleen Parker

Parody at Duke: Rape case less than a slam dunk
Published December 27, 2006

Given recent events in Durham, N.C., concerning the alleged Duke University lacrosse "rape" case, it is now possible to declare parody dead.

How does one parody a parody?

All is not lost, however. We can celebrate the addition of a new verb to our American lexicon -- "to Nifong." When the moment calls for activities that need no elaboration, we already "Bobbitt," "Bork," and "Lewinsky."

Now we can "Nifong" someone when we want to trump up criminal charges based on flimsy evidence allegedly for political purposes. In short, when we want to screw up someone's life.

Nifong would be as in Durham County District Attorney Michael B. Nifong, who earlier this year brought charges against three white lacrosse players -- Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans -- for the alleged rape of an African-American stripper who had been hired to perform at a team party.

Last week, Nifong dropped the rape charges when the alleged victim decided she wasn't sure she had been raped after all. That is, she wasn't sure she had been vaginally penetrated, a distinction required by state law for a charge of rape.

Last March, after the party, the stripper had a different recollection, telling police that she had been raped every which way. But, well, these things are difficult sometimes to keep straight. Rape being so nuanced and all.

Meanwhile, hundreds of lives have been turned inside out, none so much as the three accused players. All because, well, let's see, because the stripper said so. The absence of corroborating evidence seemed to pose no obstacle for Nifong, who ran a successful re-election campaign on the strength of his convictions.

And, of course, the story had good legs and plenty of sex appeal, if you like that sort of thing: race and class conflict, town and gown tensions, rich-white-boys vs. poor-black-working-mother, underage drinking and the aura of privilege.

The world hungered for such a fable, and Nifong fed the beast.

As it turns out, Nifong's case was something less than a slam dunk, and he must have known it. As was recently revealed, Nifong not only knew that lab tests showed no traces of DNA from any of the lacrosse team players, he knew that they did show DNA traces from several unknown other men.

Yet, Nifong and the head of the private DNA lab, Brian Meehan, agreed to exclude those test results from other results turned over to defense attorneys, according to Meehan's testimony during a recent court session.

In response to this revelation, Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., has called for the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an inquiry into possible misconduct, while Duke University President Richard Brodhead has asked for Nifong to pass the case to a third party.

While official outrage is welcome, it seems belated. Where were the passionate protestations when these three young men were being convicted in the court of public opinion? The presumption of their guilt was nearly instantaneous among Duke administrators and many faculty, from whom others in the community took their cues.

As one student at Durham's historically black North Carolina Central University put it to Newsweek, he wanted the lacrosse players punished "whether it happened or not. It would be justice for things that happened in the past."

Nifong also cut corners early in the case during the process of identifying suspects. When two lineups failed to produce an attacker, Nifong requested a third lineup, but this time using only members of the lacrosse team instead of a random sampling. This move not only was at variance with normal police procedure, it may ultimately lead to charges that Nifong abused the defendants' civil rights.

In yet another example of iffy evidence, one of the defendants -- Seligmann -- has taxi, restaurant and ATM receipts indicating that he was elsewhere at the time of the alleged rape. Nifong still saw fit to charge him.

No one's arguing that the lacrosse team deserves a citizenship award for having a drinking party and hiring strippers. But there's a universe of difference between jocks acting boorishly and brutes gang-raping a helpless woman.

Nifong still plans to prosecute Finnerty, Evans and Seligmann on charges of kidnapping and first-degree sexual offense, which can result in sentences comparable to rape. Without DNA evidence, Nifong's case will rest largely on the stripper's testimony.

To win, she will need more credibility than her lawyer has demonstrated, and disremembering rape seems not a good start.

Kathleen Parker can be reached at [email protected].

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #32 on: Jan 13^th, 2007, 12:37am »

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The latest news regarding the infamous Mr. Nifong:

Nifong Asks for Special Prosecutor in Duke Lacrosse Case

Posted: Jan. 12 6:02 p.m.
Updated: Jan. 12 11:21 p.m.

Durham Facing ethics charges that could lead to his disbarment, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong has asked the state attorney general's office to appoint a special prosecutor to take over in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case.

Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, said Friday in an e-mail that Nifong had sent a letter to Cooper's office with the request.

Leaving his office at the Durham Courthouse Friday evening, Nifong had no comment on the case but offered the following statement when he was asked if he had recused himself from the case:

"I am not talking about the case or anything. Y'all have sources. You need to talk to those sources."

What impact Friday's move might have on the case was not immediately clear.

Late Friday, Nifong's attorney, David Freedman, insisted his client is not running from a weak case and that Nifong was disappointed he won't be able to take it to trial. He said Nifong met with the accuser this week to tell her in person of his decision to recuse himself.

"He feels, as a result of the accusations against him, that he would be a distraction and he wants to make sure the accuser receives a fair trial," Freedman told The Associated Press. "He still believes in the case. He just believes his continued presence would hurt her."

Under North Carolina law, only a district attorney can formally request a special prosecutor. The request can be made when there are potential conflicts of interest, when a case is particularly complex or when there are other unusual circumstances.

Nifong has come under fire for his handling of the case, with a number of public officials, including U.S. lawmakers calling for an investigation into his behavior and the North Carolina State Bar filing an ethics complaint against him late last month.

"It has really become so much more about him as opposed to seeking justice," conference Director Peg Dorer said.

Duke University's administration had also steadily increased its criticism, culminating in the decision to invite Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty -- suspended in the wake of their indictments -- back to campus. The third defendant, David Evans, graduated the day before he was indicted.

The university issued a statement early Friday evening saying it hoped Nifong's recusal could "restore confidence in the fairness of the legal process We hope this change will lead to a fair and speedy resolution of this case."

Defense attorney Joe Cheshire said he welcomed an independent party's involvement in the case.

"We're extremely happy that a prosecutor who does not have an agenda, who is fair and honest, will take a look at this case," Cheshire said. "And we believe that when that happens, they will dismiss this case." (Watch Cheshire's full interview - 5 minutes)

Friday's announcement came one day after defense attorneys in the case filed a supplement to a previous motion asking a judge to toss out the photo lineup in which the accuser identified the suspects.

The motion cites critical changes in the accuser's story that some legal experts have said hurt the prosecution's case and the accuser's credibility.

"The alleged victim changed the timeline," former prosecutor Dan Boyce told WRAL Friday night. "There were questions about identification and there was even a change about what even occurred. That was a tremendous significant shift."

Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans were charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree kidnapping in connection with the March incident in which the accuser, a 28-year-old exotic dancer, initially told police she was gang-raped, sodomized and beaten in a bathroom of a house where she had gone to perform.

In the weeks after the March party, the case focused attention on questions of race, class and the privileged status of college athletes. But as the investigation progressed, and Nifong started to hand over his evidence to the indicted players' defense attorneys, the case began to unravel -- and the focus shifted to Nifong and accusations he used it for political gain.

Appointed district attorney in 2005, Nifong faced two challengers in May's Democratic primary and later in the November general election. He won both -- but each time with less than 50 percent of the vote.

In late December, amidst mounting criticism, Nifong dropped the first-degree rape charges after the accuser told an investigator she was no longer certain a rape -- as state statutes define the act -- had occurred.

About a week later, the state bar filed the ethics complaint, claiming Nifong's statements to the media early in the investigation constituted "fraud, deceit or dishonesty."

A three-member panel will decide guilt or innocence and then, depending on the outcome, may impose a penalty, which could range from a reprimand to disbarment.
Copyright 2007 by WRAL.com and the Associated Press.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #33 on: Jan 16^th, 2007, 1:24pm »

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It's too late Nifong...pulling out of this case will not save your long term career...

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #34 on: Jan 16^th, 2007, 6:47pm »

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Actually, I'm kinda' sorry that he will be replaced by someone from the State Attorney General's office. Nifong started this and he should be made to see it through . . . . AND learn first-hand what the Court has to say about his case against these innocent young men. Someone else will have to clean up the mess that Nifong made . . . . and he will be able to say that HE didn't dismiss the case . . . someone else did.

IMO, Nifong will not be disbarred . . . . although he richly deserves it. I doubt that the North Carolina State Bar will revoke his license. They will most likely censure him rather harshly but allow him to keep his license.

Nifong will get his just reward when he is sued by the three "defendants" in Civil Court for his incompetence and malfeasance.

I'm sure that the Federal boys in the Department of Justice will get their turn on Nifong as well.

Mr. Nifong will deserve everything he gets. :toilet:

With apologies to my friend and fellow Forums member Addams, I am reminded of the old joke . . . . "it's the 98% of Lawyers that give the rest a bad name". :wink3:

« Last Edit: Jan 16^th, 2007, 6:50pm by Bumper »

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #35 on: Jan 16^th, 2007, 9:23pm »

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Well that's the difference between Addams and Nifong. Addams is a good professional lawyer, and this guy is just a jackass trying to make a name for himself.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #36 on: Jan 16^th, 2007, 10:01pm »

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on Jan 16^th, 2007, 9:23pm, Rhune wrote:

Well that's the difference between Addams and Nifong. Addams is a good professional lawyer, and this guy is just a jackass trying to make a name for himself.

Very true. Addams is a practicing Patent Attorney . . . .

. . . . . while Nifong is an accomplished jackass..

:winkgrin:

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #37 on: Jan 18^th, 2007, 4:53pm »

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Op/Ed piece from the Orlando Sentinel:

Too smart by half in North Carolina

Published January 17, 2007
By Kathleen Parker

When Woody Allen said, "The brain is the most overrated organ," he must have had in mind North Carolina's Research Triangle, home both to the scandalous Duke lacrosse team "rape" fiasco -- and to more Ph.D.s per capita than just about anywhere else in America.

Rarely have so many smart people behaved so dumbly.

Last week, the case took yet a new turn when discredited District Attorney Mike Nifong, under pressure from the state prosecutors association, relinquished the case to the state attorney general.

In another development, the stripper who initially claimed she was beaten, raped and sodomized by three Duke University lacrosse team players -- Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann -- has changed her story.

Again.

This time she says Seligmann didn't participate in the alleged assault after all, though she still insists he was there when the others did. She also changed the time of the alleged assault so that it no longer coincides with time-stamped receipts Seligmann produced months ago indicating that he wasn't at the party house when the incident supposedly took place.

A bit earlier, the dancer also decided she might not have been (children stop reading here) vaginally penetrated by a penis, which is required for a rape charge in North Carolina. Nifong dropped the rape charges, but intended to pursue the remaining charges of kidnapping and sexual assault.

And so it has gone for almost a year now. A new day, a new story.

Of all the questions still unanswered in this shameful saga, among the most perplexing is: How did so many smart people allow things to reach the level of hysteria we've witnessed in the past several months?

The answer is implicit in the question. Notwithstanding the rich brain trust created by the three points of North Carolina's "Triangle" -- Duke in Durham, the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University in Raleigh -- university communities are fertile breeding grounds for the totalitarian mind-set known as political correctness.

Between a perverse form of liberation feminism that sanctifies strippers, prostitutes and porn stars -- and a dogma of victimology that places blame for all things at the feet of the white patriarchy -- the players were instantaneously presumed guilty by virtue of their being white males and privileged jocks.

By the same reasoning, the dancer was assured victimhood by her status as a black single mother/student, reduced by centuries of white-male oppression to stripping for food and tuition.

What happens next depends on the attorney general's review of evidence. In the meantime, members of the university community who participated in the demonization of the lacrosse team might examine their own souls.

The past year has not been exemplary for the keepers of the flame. Before any charges were brought against the three players, students produced a "wanted" poster with photos of team members and demonstrated with signs reading, "It's Sunday morning, time to confess."

Higher up the food chain, Duke faculty formed the "Group of 88" -- a coalition of 88 faculty members representing 13 departments -- and ran an ad demanding that the lacrosse team players confess.

It's been quite a spectacle. It also has been a damning indictment of an intellectually dishonest culture that pretends to be the virtue of enlightened tolerance, but only for a select few. White males are the last remaining group approved for public vilification.

In a March 2006 letter to the Duke administration just days after the alleged rape, English professor Houston A. Baker Jr. brought clarity to the anti-white male, anti-jock bias that is today entrenched on many college campuses. It reads in part:

"How many more people of color must fall victim to violent, white, male, athletic privilege before coaches who make Chevrolet and American Express commercials, athletic directors who engage in Miss Ophelia-styled 'perfectly horrible' rhetoric, higher administrators who are salaried at least in part to keep us safe, and publicists who are supposed not to praise Caesar but to damn the unconscionable . . . how many?"

Got that, white-male-capitalist-pig-jocks of the world? Guilty. To Duke's credit, Provost Peter Lange responded to Houston with an eloquent reprimand against prejudgment.

Under pressure from feminist groups, college administrators long have sponsored lectures about date rape and sexual harassment, directed at young males, all of whom are presumed to be potential predators. In light of events at Duke, they might consider adding a new seminar to the roster -- one to review the rules of due process, the evil of mob rule, and the art of apology.

They might invite their faculties to attend.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #38 on: Jan 24^th, 2007, 11:22am »

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State Bar Amends Complaint, Alleges Nifong Withheld DNA Evidence

Posted: Today at 9:46 a.m.
Updated: Today at 11:02 a.m.

Raleigh New ethics charges have been filed by the State Bar accusing Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong of withholding DNA evidence and misleading the court in the Duke lacrosse case.

The amended complaint cites findings from April 2006 that DNA tests found on the alleged accuser excluded all of the Duke lacrosse players as potential contributors.

The complaint also states Nifong was told of the test results by Brian Meehan, the director of the DNA company where the tests were performed. The amended complaint also states that Nifong and Meehan agreed the "potentially exculpatory DNA evidence and test results" would not be provided to defense attorneys.

In subsequent court hearings, Nifong told defense attorneys that he had released all of the evidence that would potentially benefit the defense.

The State Bar also cited dozens of pretrial comments Nifong made to the media early on in the case. On March 13, 2006, a woman, who was working as an exotic dancer, claims she was assaulted by three men during an off-campus party in March involving members of the Duke lacrosse team.

Last month, Nifong dropped rape charges against Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans in the case after the accuser wavered in her account of key details in the case. The three men still face sexual assault and kidnapping charges and all three men have maintained their innocence.

According to David Freedman, who is representing Nifong in the ethics hearing, the Durham district attorney stepped down from the case in early January because the pending ethics charges created a conflict of interest.

The amended charges could lead to Nifong's removal from the State Bar.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #39 on: Feb 1^st, 2007, 1:18pm »

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The legal proceedings for this March 13th, 2006 offense has now been postponed until at least June of 2007 by the new prosecution team that replaced the infamous Mr. Nifong.

Fading . . . . . . . fading . . . . . fading away.

It's just a matter of time before this case is dismissed.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #40 on: Feb 1^st, 2007, 11:00pm »

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This thing has been a joke of a case since the beginning.. what's sad is the fact that these young men have had this scandal attached to their names for almost a year and the damage to their reputations that it brings with it. Not to mention the lawyer fees and other expenses they've incrued because of this sham. They should all sue someone (my suggestion, the stripper and Mr. Nifong) for defamation of character!!

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #41 on: Feb 2^nd, 2007, 7:46pm »

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The problem with suing the stripper is that it would only cost them more money. My mama always said, you can't get blood out of a turnip (i.e. you can't sue someone who's broke for a million dollars and expect to see a dime come out of it). It might feel satisfying to beat her in court, but it will only sink them and their parents further into debt.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #42 on: Feb 2^nd, 2007, 7:58pm »

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on Feb 2^nd, 2007, 7:46pm, Rhune wrote:

Very true. That woman doesn't have anything. Part of nothing is still . . . nothing. Now, Mr. Nifong . . . that's a different story. A civil lawsuit in Federal Court will probably be his just reward for violating the civil rights of those three young men. Personally, I hope they nail him to the wall.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #43 on: Feb 2^nd, 2007, 8:06pm »

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Oh, Nifong is fair game, and I think his hunting season is about to open. Grin

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #44 on: Feb 4^th, 2007, 1:24pm »

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And with a nod to the Monday morning Quarterbacks and the "I told you so" Prophets in North Carolina, the Governor offers the obivious. . . . . .

Easley: Nifong 'Poorest Appointment' Made by Governor

Posted: Feb. 3 5:45 p.m.
Updated: Today at 3:43 a.m.

Raleigh North Carolina's governor told law students in New York last month that Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong broke a promise when he ran for a full term after being appointed to fill a vacancy.

"I almost un-appointed him when he decided to run," Gov. Mike Easley said in a speech January 22 to students at New York University, The News & Observer reported Saturday.

"I rate that as probably the poorest appointment that I've," the governor trailed off before adding "I've made some good ones."

The News & Observer obtained a recording of the speech from the university's spokesman.

Easley went to New York to speak about public service. He spent much of his time before the students talking about his political career. He and discussed Nifong after an audience member asked him about the sexual assault case in which three former Duke University lacrosse players were charged.

Easley, a former prosecutor and state attorney general, said Nifong had done a poor job, adding, "You don't need me to tell you that."

Nifong didn't return telephone messages and one of his lawyers, David Freedman, declined comment. The governor's office refused to allow interviews with Easley, the newspaper said.

Nifong handed the case to the state Attorney General Roy Cooper last month after he was charged with ethics violations by the State Bar. The bar charged Nifong with violating rules by making statements early in the case and of withholding DNA evidence and not telling the truth about it.

Former prosecutor Dan Boyce said Easley's comments were "very unusual" but not inappropriate. Boyce said the most interesting part of the statement would be that it could prompt the State Bar to call Easley as a witness for its case. Easley's statements prompt new questions about Nifong's motivation in regards to the Duke case.

"What the State Bar could look to is the real motivations that Mr. Nifong had in making the public statements," Boyce said. "Was he doing it for his own personal or political gain, or was he doing it for his own financial gain?"

Easley appointed Nifong as the Durham prosecutor in April 2005 after naming then-DA Jim Hardin to a judgeship. Easley said Nifong, one of Hardin's assistant, said he wouldn't run for the office.

A woman hired to dance at a Duke lacrosse team party told police March 14 she was raped and beaten. Rape charges have been dropped, but three men still face sexual offense and kidnapping charges.

The accused players - David Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Maryland; Collin Finnerty, 20, of Garden City, New York, and Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, New Jersey - say they are innocent.

The governor also was critical of Nifong's early statements, in which he told national news media that the case involved a racially motivated assault by lacrosse players.

"That's how all this mess got started," Easley said. "He challenged the defense lawyers by talking about the case, calling the kids 'hooligans.' "

"You can't comment on that except in the courtroom, and when you do, then the defense lawyers have to stand up for their client. Then it's on. All the rules are out the window, then you have chaos, and that's why those rules are so important and that's what you got in this case. It's chaotic. It looks bad for North Carolina. It looks bad for the DA's office. It looks bad for the criminal justice system in general."

Easley said 2004 state law requires disclosure of all evidence in such cases.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #45 on: Mar 21^st, 2007, 11:40pm »

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Duke Lacrosse Case: America's Top Sex Crimes Expert Cites Serious Problems

March 21, 2007 With the Duke lacrosse investigation in its final weeks, Linda Fairstein, the former head of the Manhattan District Attorney's Sex Crimes Unit and one of the nation's leading experts on sex crimes, told ABC News that she would be shocked if the case went forward.

Having investigated and prosecuted thousands of rape cases, Fairstein has a special ability to evaluate the strength of the case. A pioneer in the field and an advocate of victims' rights, Fairstein points to serious flaws in the investigation and in the evidence that has surfaced to date.

"If a prosecutor were to take this to court, given all the changes in the accuser's story, I don't think there is a crime for which these young men could be convicted," said Fairstein.

Once the investigation concludes, the North Carolina Attorney General's office is expected to announce whether it will take the case to trial or drop charges currently pending against three indicted lacrosse players, David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. Rape charges against the three men were dropped in December, but they still stand accused of kidnapping and sexual offense.

Changing Story and a Reluctant Witness

In the accuser's retelling of the incident, recorded by investigators and hospital personnel in the weeks after the party, she revised substantive details of the alleged incident, including the number of assailants and what they did during the attack.

Given her 30 years as a prosecutor, Fairstein finds it unusual for an accuser's story to change as much as far into the process as it did in this case.

Some changes in a victim's story are not uncommon "within a day or two of the attack," said Fairstein. "Six to eight months later is not when the story begins to shake out. It's in the days that follow."

As of March 16, she had not yet told that story to special prosecutors investigating the case. Law enforcement sources told ABC News that in at least two initial meetings with those officials, the accuser was not forthcoming and hesitated to answer investigators' questions.

Multiple sources close to the investigation confirmed that she was reluctant to answer questions in those interviews, though further meetings were scheduled in which she might become more forthcoming. The attorney general's office said in a statement that she had in fact been "cooperative" in their discussions.

Fairstein believes her reticence was another sign of a weak case.

"Her reluctance at this stage isn't a sign that she's not sure what happened it's a red flag that there are things wrong with the story."

No Excuse for Nifong's Handling of the Case

For Fairstein, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong's biggest mistake in his handling of the case was a lack of tough questions and a lack of effort to ask them. Nifong's first known meeting with the accuser was at least nine months after her initial accusations.

"There's no excuse for the way this prosecution has proceeded," she said.

"The shocking aspect of that to me is that Nifong only met with her once or twice. He himself had not done a sit down interview once he learned that the initial allegations seemed to be inconsistent."

Trust, but Verify

Fairstein said a prosecutor should take the accuser's story seriously but view it with a critical eye.

"You have to take that story, prove it occurred, and prove that it's these men who did it," she said.

Building a case, said Fairstein, means considering the accuser's story in light of the evidence at hand. That, she said, did not happen here.

"It seems to me that she was embraced by the prosecutor and his team immediately. They coddled her and took her side in this," Fairstein said.

Fairstein also criticized Nifong for his apparent unwillingness to meet with defense attorneys early on in the case. Lawyers for Seligmann said that Nifong refused their offers to discuss evidence of an alibi materials including ATM photos, phone records and testimonial evidence.

"You don't turn anybody away who's offering you information," Fairstein stressed.

Accuser's Credibility and State of Evidence

Fairstein was also surprised that Nifong was not alarmed by the lack of physical evidence, given the graphic nature of the accuser's charges. She describes being violently raped, sodomized and forced to perform oral sex. She told investigators that her alleged assailants did not wear condoms.

While having DNA evidence is a luxury, no such evidence was found linking lacrosse players to the accuser's body or clothing. "It's a contact crime not a stabbing or a drive-by shooting. You'd expect something to be left by the contact between two bodies," said Fairstein.

Rape kit samples did, however, show traces of DNA from five to nine unidentified men facts that were not revealed to the defense when they were first discovered and that Fairstein said should have slowed down the case.

With no known physical or scientific evidence of a crime, the accuser's testimony becomes even more critical.

"Her credibility is this case this system believed in her and went full-speed ahead when I would have said to slow down the train," said Fairstein.

Fallout From the Case

Whatever the outcome, Fairstein worries about the impact of the Duke lacrosse case on rape prosecutions around the country. Her concern is that the high-profile investigation will inhibit aggressive prosecution of sexual assault cases.

"If there is a dismissal there will be many more people who encounter rape in the future with greater skepticism. It will reinforce the stereotype that many of these rapes are false reports."

As a prosecutor, Fairstein said, "you have to acknowledge that accusations do happen though they are less than 10 percent of reported rapes.

That, said Fairstein, is why you need to figure out the true story early on, asking tough questions and figuring out what reasons, if any, explain the missing or inconsistent evidence.

"You're looking to do justice before you go to court and certainly before you get an indictment."

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 7 in Durham.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #46 on: Mar 22^nd, 2007, 3:47am »

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Rape kit samples did, however, show traces of DNA from five to nine unidentified men....

I would have said to slow down the train," said Fairstein.

That's what I was thinking.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #47 on: Apr 11^th, 2007, 5:59pm »

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Charges dropped against
Duke lacrosse players

Benjamin Niolet
The News & Observer

State Attorney General Roy Cooper said today he would dismiss sexual assault and kidnapping charges against three former Duke University lacrosse players, declaring them "innocent of these charges" and accusing Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong of overreaching.

Cooper said at a news conference at the RBC Center that he would drop the charges against David Evans, 24, of Bethesda, Md.; Collin Finnerty, 20, of Garden City, N.Y.; and Reade Seligmann, 21, of Essex Fells, N.J.

Cooper said the 28-year-old accuser will face no charges. She still maintains that she was assaulted.

Our investigators who talked with her and the attorneys who talked with her over a period of time think that she may actually believe the many different stories that she has been telling, Cooper said. They worked real hard with her. It doesnt make sense. You cant piece it together.

Cooper, who took over the case after Nifong recused himself in the wake of ethics charges, proposed a law at his news conference that would allow the state Supreme Court to remove a prosecutor from a case in certain circumstances.

This case shows the enormous consequences of over-reaching by a prosecutor, Cooper said. The Durham District Attorney pushed forward unchecked. There were many moments in this case where caution would have served better than bravado.

Cooper said the special prosecutors have talked to Nifong and were to tell him of the decision today.

"We believe that these cases were the result of a tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations," Cooper said.

Nifong will face disciplinary action at the State Bar on ethics charges. A hearing is set for Friday on his efforts to win dismissal of the most serious counts against him. The three accused players could sue Nifong, the accuser and the Durham Police Department, alleging violation of their civil rights. Duke University and others also could be named as defendants in lawsuits.

From the beginning, the three lacrosse team captains who lived at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., where the party took place, told police the accusations were lies. The captains, including Evans, voluntarily gave statements and DNA samples to police. They offered to take polygraph tests.

Despite that early cooperation, Nifong and police officers told the public that the team had put up a wall of silence. At first, the lacrosse players said nothing to reporters. Nifong, who was in the middle of a tight electoral campaign, declared that a racially motivated gang rape had occurred and called the lacrosse players hooligans.

DNA evidence would point to the guilty party and absolve the innocent, Nifong said at the time. When lawyers brandished test results showing no semen, blood or saliva from the players on the woman, Nifong down played the significance.

Nifong turned to DNA Security, a private laboratory in Burlington. The lab examined swabs from the woman's body and underwear and found no trace of DNA from any member of the lacrosse team. The lab did find DNA from unidentified men on the woman and her underwear; Nifong and the lab director agreed not to report those results. The State Bar says that decision violated state law.

Those test results remained secret until defense lawyers got a court order for copies of all the lab's documents in the case.

Asked how much damage the case had done to the community, Cooper said: "I think all over the country there is certainly racial and economic injustice ... but for the purposes of this case, we looked at the facts and the evidence alone and made a decision on it. ... I'll leave it to other people to decide any kind of long term effects this has."

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We knew this was coming. It's about time!

IMO Mr. Nofong is going to wind up in more trouble than any of the initial principals in this case. He will most likely be disbarred, and could very well wind up in jail himself! He is also going to be sued . . . and rightly so, by these three young men. They deserve anything and everything they can get. The damage done to these young men by a overzealous, agenda driven Lawyer, hell bent on getting elected, has been tremendous.

I for one, will enjoy seeing Mr. Nifong on the receiving end of the Justice System, the same Justice System he so recklessly abused.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #48 on: Apr 11^th, 2007, 7:24pm »

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It kills me that the reporter of this article worries about the damage done to the community and makes no mention of the damage done to these boys' lives...

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Nifong Resigns
« Reply #49 on: Jun 15^th, 2007, 11:42pm »

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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/16/us/16duke.html?_r=1&hp&oref=sl ogin

acing Sanction, Duke Prosecutor Says Hell Resign
By DUFF WILSON

RALEIGH, N.C., June 15 Michael B. Nifong, the Durham County district attorney, announced Friday that he would resign, as he faces disciplinary charges for his handling of a sexual assault prosecution against three former Duke University lacrosse players who were later declared innocent.

Speaking in a barely audible voice in testimony before a disciplinary hearing panel, Mr. Nifong apologized to the players, their families and the North Carolina justice system.

His resignation came as a surprise on the fourth day of a hearing by the North Carolina State Bar, which has charged him with systematic abuse of prosecutorial discretion for withholding evidence and making improper pretrial statements.

It has become increasingly apparent, during the course of this week, in some ways that it might not have been before, that my presence as the district attorney in Durham is not furthering the cause of justice, Mr. Nifong said.

Joseph B. Cheshire, a lawyer for one of the three former players, said of Mr. Nifongs promise to resign: I believe it is a cynical political attempt to save his law license. His apology is far too late.

Mr. Nifong, 56, still faces the resolution of the ethics charges, perhaps as early as Saturday, which could lead to his disbarment. Mr. Cheshire said defense lawyers planned to file a motion requesting that Mr. Nifong be found in criminal contempt of court for misstatements to the judge and lawyers in pretrial hearings. The charge, if upheld, could result in fines or jail time. The families are also considering civil suits.

The case stemmed from accusations by a stripper hired for a lacrosse team party in March 2006 that she had been sexually assaulted by three players. It developed into a case that was charged with issues of race and privilege.

Mr. Nifong, who had declared team members a bunch of hooligans, eventually dropped the most serious charges against the men and then recused himself from the case when the state bar brought charges against him.

In April, North Carolinas attorney general, Roy A. Cooper, dismissed all the charges, saying there was no evidence of an attack and calling Mr. Nifong a rogue prosecutor.

In his testimony on Friday, Mr. Nifong faulted himself for his inflammatory public statements last winter, which he said were intended to pressure witnesses to come forward when the police investigation stalled.

At one point after the accusation surfaced, Mr. Nifong said, I am not going to let Durhams view in the eyes of the world be a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl from Durham.

On Friday, he said, I think that crossed the line.

Mr. Nifong said he had made other mistakes in the case but continued to defend himself against charges from the bar that he had intentionally lied and withheld from the defense DNA evidence favorable to the defendants.

Mr. Nifong, a 29-year veteran of the district attorneys office who had been appointed to the job in April 2005 by Gov. Michael F. Easley, attributed his mistakes to inattention, preoccupation with a political campaign, and what he said was inexperience in handling felony cases in recent years.

Mr. Nifong filed the charges when he was in the middle of a tough campaign for election as district attorney during which he touted his experience as a prosecutor and as the case faltered, he was accused of pursuing the charges against the white players to bolster his support among Durhams black voters.

It is not fair for the people of my community to be represented by someone who is not held in high esteem by either the members of the community or the members of the profession, Mr. Nifong said in his statement Friday. I will go to my grave being associated with this case. And thats O.K. I dont have a problem with that.

Mr. Nifong, still on the stand after his statement, faced forceful questioning from the chairman of the three-member ethics panel. During that testimony, he said he still believed that something happened in the bathroom where the stripper claimed to have been assaulted, although he said it might have been a nonsexual assault or an act of intimidation that resulted in the breaking up of the party.

Afterward, James P. Cooney III, a lawyer for one of the former defendants, Reade W. Seligmann, condemned Mr. Nifong for criticizing the lacrosse teams behavior at the party. For him to apologize, Mr. Cooney said, and then to continue to slander 46 innocent people about a crime that did not happen, is outrageous.

In marked contrast to Mr. Nifongs testimony, earlier in the day Mr. Seligmann, 21, gave emotional testimony about the anguish of facing false charges that interrupted a year of his education and could have sent him to prison for 30 years.

Mr. Seligmann choked up and repeatedly wiped back tears as he described hearing the news that he had been indicted and telling his parents.

My dad just fell to the floor, and I just sat on the ground, Mr. Seligmann said. And I said, My life is over.

Mr. Seligmann recounted how last winter, Mr. Nifong refused to meet with his lawyer who had evidence that he was not even at the party when the assault supposedly occurred. He said that Mr. Nifong had said he was not interested in fiction and that the district attorney smirked on another occasion when the evidence was offered.

Mr. Nifong watched without visible expression Friday morning as Mr. Seligmann described how people in familiar restaurants and on the Duke campus turned against him after the charges were filed. Mr. Seligmann said people in a restaurant he ate in every day and considered friends put up a Wanted poster showing the entire Duke lacrosse team.

The feeling on campus was as lonely as you can imagine, he said.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #50 on: Jun 17^th, 2007, 3:24pm »

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Former Duke Lacrosse Prosecutor Disbarred

Posted: Jun. 16, 2007
Updated: Today at 12:16 p.m.

Raleigh Embattled prosecutor Mike Nifong said Saturday afternoon that he should be disbarred for his handling of the Duke lacrosse case for breaking 27 of 32 rules of professional conduct.

After five days of testimony from investigators, SBI agents, legal professionals and experts and cleared lacrosse players and their parents, the three-member North Carolina State Bar Disciplinary Hearing Commission agreed.

"This matter has been a fiasco," Chairman F. Lane Williamson said. "There's no doubt about it. It's been a fiasco for a number of people starting with the defendants and moving out from there, for the justice system in general."

Nifong sat motionless, one hand resting over his mouth, as Williamson recounted how the district attorney engaged in dishonest and deceitful conduct.

He said Nifong's early comments about the case which included a confident proclamation that he would not allow Durham to become known for "a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl" were purposefully designed to boost his campaign for district attorney.

"At the time, he was facing a primary, and yes, he was politically naive," Williamson said. "But we can draw no other conclusion that those initial statements he made were to further his political ambitions."

Nifong will not appeal the punishment, his attorney, David Freedman, said.

"He hopes this helps restore some of the confidence in the criminal justice system of North Carolina," Freedman said.

"On one hand, it's very devastating. On the other hand, he's been going through this process for a long time, so you always have some semblance of relief when the process is over with regardless of the outcome."

The North Carolina State Bar charged Nifong, who announced on Friday he will resign from his post as district attorney, with making misleading and inflammatory comments about the lacrosse athletes, lying to both the court and State Bar investigators and withholding critical DNA test results from the players' defense attorneys.

The committee, after deliberating for a little more than an hour, unanimously agreed with the Bar on almost every charge, including the most serious allegations -- that Nifong's actions involved "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation."

David Evans Sr., the father of exonerated player David Evans, testified during the second phase of the ethics trial about the stress he and his family were put under for more than a year as they waited not knowing what would happen and questions why Nifong pressed ahead with the case.

"He placed his career and reputation on a woman he didn't interview and persisted with this case and then gave up the case because of a conflict of interest," an angry Evans testified. "And then the word of the Attorney General of North Carolina says they didn't do it."

"We were in the fight of our life," Mary Ellen Finnerty testified about her family's life during that period

"Nobody can give any of the three families back the 14 months we have gone through," she said. "The emotional pain, the physical pain -- the fright of (lying) in bed at night and saying my son could go to jail for 30 years for a crime (he) didn't commit. That was frightening."

During the ethics trial, Nifong acknowledged he knew there was no DNA evidence connecting Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty to the 28-year-old accuser when he indicted them on charges of rape, sexual offense and kidnapping. Nifong later charged Evans with the same crimes.

But months later, the North Carolina Attorney General's Office concluded the three players were "innocent" -- a fact Williamson hammered home on Saturday.

"We acknowledge the actual innocence of the defendants, and there's nothing here that has done anything but support that assertion," Williamson said.

Williamson said it appeared that throughout his investigation, Nifong was looking for any evidence to link a lacrosse player to the accuser's story to support his initial comments that he was sure an attack occurred.

"He's already out there," Williamson said. "He's way out there by then. He looks foolish if he does not go forward."

One of the most serious ethics violations Nifong was found to have committed involved his failure to turn over DNA test results that identified genetic material from several men -- but no members of the lacrosse team -- in the accuser's underwear and body.

In court documents and hearings in May, June and September, Nifong told two different judges that he had no more evidence that could be considered helpful to the defense. Nifong said he didn't realize the defense hadn't been given all the DNA test results until December -- a suggestion Williamson found laughable.

"He knew. He admits he knew," Williamson said during Nifong attorney Dudley Witt's closing argument. "How could he not know if he had read it? How could he not know?"

Witt admitted his client made "multiple, egregious mistakes." He insisted none were made intentionally, but struggled to offer another explanation.

"It didn't click," Witt said as he tried to explain away one of Nifong's errors. "His mind is just his mind. That's the way it works. It just didn't click."

Along with accusing Nifong of withholding the DNA evidence and making misleading and inflammatory comments about the three athletes, the North Carolina State Bar said he lied to both the court and bar investigators. The committee found Nifong broke the state's rules of professional conduct more than two dozen times.

"I would say there are no winners in this scenario," said Kevin Finnerty, Collin's father.

"With that said, I think there's closure. I think it's appropriate and I think it's justice.

"I think he brought it on himself."

The players' defense attorneys have pledged to seek criminal contempt charges next week in Durham from a judge who has already reminded Nifong he has the authority to impose punishment. They suggested the calls for a federal civil rights investigation were not out of line.

"I don't think any of us are done with Mr. Nifong yet," said Jim Cooney, Seligmann's attorney.

Nifong declined to comment Saturday while he and his wife quietly slipped out of the courthouse through a side door.

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I can't say that the disposition of this hearing is a surprise. Mr. Nifong was clearly out of line waaaay back . He deserves everything he gets in these hearings. He also will pay a VERY heavy price when his bunglings make their way to the Civil Court arena. . . . and rightly so!

He has only himself to blame.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #51 on: Oct 16^th, 2007, 1:09am »

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How about this for the latest news in this case:

Nifong Wants State to Represent Him in Civil Case

Oct. 15 3:24 p.m.

Raleigh Former Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong has asked that the North Carolina Attorney General's Office represent him in a federal lawsuit filed by the three former Duke University lacrosse players he prosecuted last year.

"Because I was a constitutional officer of the State of North Carolina at the time that the subject matter of the complaint arose and because the complaint arises out of the exercise of the duties of that office, I am hereby requesting that you make any arrangements to secure my representation in this matter," Nifong wrote in a letter, dated Oct. 8, to the director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. (Read the letter.)

If not, because of a conflict of interest or "any other disability," the disbarred prosecutor wants private counsel and wants the state to pay for it.

"I am requesting that you authorize payment by the State of North Carolina of all fees, costs and expenses arising out of my representation in this matter by private counsel," Nifong wrote.

Earlier this month, attorneys for the three wrongly accused players David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann filed a complaint against several defendants, including Nifong and the City of Durham, seeking unspecified punitive and compensatory damages, attorney fees and numerous changes in the way the Durham Police Department handles criminal investigations.

A spokeswoman for the attorney general said the office is reviewing Nifong's request. Neither Nifong nor his attorney, James B. Craven III, returned calls Monday.

Former federal prosecutor Dan Boyce said Nifong's request is not unprecedented among former state employees facing legal action, but the circumstances of the case could prove difficult for Nifong. (Watch Boyce's full interview.)

"It's another unique issue because of his actions in this case," Boyce said.

"It could be that the Attorney General's Office might say this was outside the normal scope of the duties of the state prosecutor and refuse to provide state funds for defense," Boyce added.

If the attorney general decides Nifong was acting within his scope, Boyce said, another set of issues might arise whether the attorney general's office would have a conflict of interest.

"And it might even include the appearance of any impropriety, because the attorney general's office said some egregious things about Mr. Nifong's conduct," Boyce said.

Upon dismissing the case on April 11, Attorney General Roy Cooper called Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann innocent victims of a "tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations."

Without naming Nifong, he came down forcefully against "overreaching prosecutors" and called for a law that would allow the state Supreme Court to remove a district attorney from a case whenever such a move would assist the pursuit of justice.

"There were many point in this case where caution would have served justice better than bravado," he said. "In the rush to condemn, a community and a state lost the ability to see clearly."

Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann were charged in April and May 2006 after exotic dancer Crystal Mangum claimed she was raped at an off-campus party held by lacrosse players. Nifong pursued charges of first-degree rape, kidnapping and sexual assault until December, when he dismissed the rape charge against the three men.

Less than a month later, he recused himself from the case and asked for a special prosecutor to handle it.

The lawsuit charges Nifong and the other defendants conspired to keep alive a pitifully weak case as he faced a tightly contested election in the Democratic primary for district attorney.

The ex-players contend that Nifong, the police department and others withheld exculpatory evidence, intimidated witnesses who would undermined the investigation, made numerous public statements to smear the lacrosse players and used a photo lineup that had only lacrosse players so Mangum would name team members as her attackers.

The city plans to fight the lawsuit, which also demands numerous changes in how the Durham Police Department handles investigations and trains its officers.

Nifong resigned from office in July. He also served one day in jail in September after a judge held him in criminal contempt of court for lying about having turned over critical DNA test results to defense attorneys.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #52 on: Oct 16^th, 2007, 11:36am »

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I don't like that he's doing that and I don't necessarily feel he's entitled to that (although legally he might be?), but I can see why he'd be trying to get this.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #53 on: Oct 16^th, 2007, 2:11pm »

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Since he's still an attorney and hasn't been disbarred that I know of, the city should appoint Nifong as his own attorney. (Pro bono, of course.) Wink

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #54 on: Oct 16^th, 2007, 4:26pm »

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on Oct 16^th, 2007, 2:11pm, ExIsle_be_back wrote:

Since he's still an attorney and hasn't been disbarred that I know of, the city should appoint Nifong as his own attorney. (Pro bono, of course.) Wink

A novel thought ExIsle, but Nifong was disbarred June 16th. (See relavant post a couple posts back)

. . . . . but he could still defend himself,

. . . . . and have a fool for a client. Wink

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #55 on: Oct 16^th, 2007, 10:01pm »

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Oh lordy...fool of the highest order...

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #56 on: Oct 16^th, 2007, 10:59pm »

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on Oct 16^th, 2007, 10:01pm, Rhune wrote:

Oh lordy...fool of the highest order...

My title is in jeopardy?

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #57 on: Oct 17^th, 2007, 1:19am »

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Hmmm, Let's see now . . .

This story had it all:
Lies, deceit, false allergations, vanity, malfeasance, abuse of office, blind ambition, coverups, misdirection, cries of racism, cries of reverse-racism, pandering, . . . and now finally, Justice.
I don't believe that David Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann would think that all the events of the past year or so was a waste of time. They were wrongly accused, have finally been vindicated, and now it is time for the last act. The Prosecutor who tried to make chicken salad out of chickenshit and attempted to use this case to fan the flames of racism in an attempt to get himself elected . . . . will now feel the sting of Justice.

(This post has been edited since the post I was responding to, has been removed.)

« Last Edit: Oct 18^th, 2007, 12:13am by Bumper »

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #58 on: Oct 17^th, 2007, 2:29pm »

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I'm surprised they haven't already made a movie of the week on tv about it. Wink

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #59 on: Jan 16^th, 2008, 5:06pm »

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And now the latest in the saga of Mr. Nifong. The City of Durham wants to cut all ties to him, and of course he has taken personal bankruptcy . . . . . so it looks like no one wants to be responsible for the damage done to these young men.

Read on . . .

Durham Claims Immunity, Blames Nifong in Duke Lacrosse Civil Suit
By AARON BEARD
Associated Press Writer

Posted: Today at 1:07 p.m.
Updated: Today at 1:53 p.m.

RALEIGH, N.C. Facing a civil lawsuit stemming from the debunked Duke lacrosse rape case, the city of Durham has claimed immunity and put the blame for the disastrous prosecution at the feet of the disgraced Mike Nifong.

The city is one of several defendants in a federal lawsuit filed by the three exonerated former players. In its response, the city said it had no responsibility for actions by Nifong, the former Durham County district attorney who led the investigation, or the DNA laboratory that conducted key testing in the case, because they were not acting as city officials.

"The central fact of this case is that the Plaintiffs cannot recover against Mr. Nifong's employer - the State of North Carolina - because it has absolute immunity," the filing states. "As a result, Plaintiffs have resorted to overreaching conspiracy claims and other novel legal theories that attempt to impose legal liability on the City of Durham, Durham police officers and City administrators for the actions of an overzealous prosecutor.

"All this creativity is in aid of an effort to impose on Durham taxpayers untold millions of dollars in damages for Plaintiffs who were publicly exonerated and never spent a moment in jail."

The Tuesday filing was publicly posted in the U.S. District Court in Greensboro records database on Wednesday, meeting a deadline for defendants to respond to the lawsuit filed in October by attorneys for Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans. The responses of several other defendants were posted Tuesday.

Their lawsuit accuses Nifong, the city of Durham, police investigators and others of conducting "one of the most chilling episodes of premeditated police, prosecutorial and scientific misconduct in modern American history."

The players were accused of raping a woman hired to perform as a stripper at a lacrosse team party in March 2006, but were cleared more than a year later by state prosecutors who took special care to call them innocent of the allegations.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages, attorneys fees and numerous reforms to the way the Durham Police Department handles criminal investigations. It was filed about a month after city officials met with lawyers for the families, who were seeking the reforms and a $30 million settlement.

Nifong was disbarred for more than two dozen violations of the North Carolina State Bar's rules of professional conduct in the case. He ultimately spent one night in jail for lying to a judge during a hearing in the case during the fall of 2006.

On Tuesday, he filed for bankruptcy, citing more than $180 million - $30 million for each of six lacrosse players who have filed lawsuits - in potential liabilities. He has also been sued by three unindicted players who accused Nifong and dozens of others of inflicting emotional distress.

The two Durham Police investigators who handled the case - Investigator Benjamin Himan and Sgt. Mark Gottlieb - also filed responses Tuesday that were posted Wednesday. As with the city, they claimed immunity and pointed a finger at Nifong, saying they reported complete results of their investigations to him and that he had the responsibility to make sure defense attorneys received all necessary information.

That information included the results of DNA testing that found genetic material from several unidentified males, but none from a lacrosse player, on the accuser and her undergarments - information that was not provided to the defense for nearly six months, and only then in the form of nearly 2,000 pages of raw test data.

Defense attorneys have said Nifong pursued the case for political gain because he was in a tightly contested Democratic primary election for district attorney in May 2006. It unraveled in the face of the accuser's constantly changing story and a lack of evidence.

Prosecutors generally have immunity for what they do inside a courtroom, though legal experts have said some of Nifong actions - from calling the lacrosse players a bunch of "hooligans" to putting himself in charge of the investigation - might leave him vulnerable to a civil case.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #60 on: Jan 16^th, 2008, 8:21pm »

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No money, no liability, no responsibility, no accountability. What a sorry state of affairs.

« Last Edit: Jan 16^th, 2008, 8:23pm by Pocket »

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #61 on: Jan 24^th, 2008, 12:39am »

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on Jan 16^th, 2008, 8:21pm, Pocket wrote:

No money, no liability, no responsibility, no accountability. What a sorry state of affairs.

Just to keep up to date with this story . . . and it's wake, here's one of the efforts for accountability. I guess all those "various officials" who so quickly jumped on board and pronounced people "guilty" before all the facts were in, are now facing the consequences of their actions.

Ex-Lacrosse Coach Files Slander Suit Against Duke

Raliegh NC News
Posted: Jan. 23 5:02 p.m.

Raleigh Former Duke University men's lacrosse coach Mike Pressler filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against the university and John Burness, the school's senior vice president for public affairs.

Pressler claims Burness falsely told a Newsday reporter that the decorated lacrosse coach was fired because "he had not adequately supervised his team," which was at the center of the high-profile criminal investigation into an exotic dancer's claims that three lacrosse team players raped her.

The complaint alleges that Burness "drew defamatory contrasts between" Pressler and Duke's new lacrosse coach, John Danowski, saying the difference between the two coaches was "night and day."

"These slanderous statements were published in that Defendant Burness knowingly communicated these slanderous statements to a third person with the intent that the third person spread the slanderous statements to the general public through 'Newsday,' The Associated Press and on the Internet for all the world to see," the complaint said.

Duke issued a statement Wednesday night in which Vice President and General Counsel Pamela Bernard said, As we have said before, Mr. Pressler reached a fair and final financial settlement with Duke University in 2007. There is no merit to this lawsuit and it is yet another attempt to reopen a settled matter.

Pressler's complaint also cites a June 7, 2007, statement to The Associated Press in which Burness wrote that Pressler's termination "was essential for the team to have a change of leadership in order to move forward."

The statements, according to Wednesday's court filing, "directly and proximately caused Coach Pressler to suffer actual damages in the form of ridicule, humiliation, public contempt, loss of reputation, damage to his business, profession and means of livelihood and monetary, economic and business loss.

Pressler was forced to resign on April 5, 2006, shortly after Durham police began investigating the rape allegations. As Bernard said, he and Duke reached an undisclosed financial settlement in March 2007. Pressler claims Burness' comments about him broke that agreement.

Last week, Pressler withdrew a request for the court to cancel a confidentiality agreement between himself and the university. His attorneys decided, instead, on the suit they filed Wednesday.

He now coaches at Bryant University in Rhode Island and helped write a book last year, "It's Not About the Truth," about his experience in the lacrosse case.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #62 on: Dec 4^th, 2008, 11:54pm »

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Here is the result of ignoring the law and having your own agenda . . . . sad, sad.

Mr. Nifong continues to reap his reward:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
U.S. judge gives green light for suit against Nifong

Posted: Dec. 4 4:26 p.m.
Updated: Dec. 4 9:58 p.m.

Greensboro, N.C. A federal district judge has agreed with a bankruptcy judge's ruling that a civil rights lawsuit against Duke lacrosse prosecutor Mike Nifong can move forward.

The former Durham County district attorney filed for bankruptcy in January, which temporarily protected him from the civil litigation brought by the three Duke University lacrosse players prosecuted on charges of rape, sexual assault and kidnapping.

Following a bankruptcy hearing in February, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William L. Stocks put the bankruptcy case on hold until the civil action was resolved.

In June, Nifong appealed Stocks' ruling.

But U.S. District Judge James Beaty, in his ruling Thursday, agreed with Stocks that if the claims against Nifong result in a judgment, the matter would then be referred to bankruptcy court for further proceedings.

Nifong won indictments against David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann after a stripper hired to perform at a March 2006 team party reported being raped. But the case unraveled in the face of the accuser's constantly changing story and a lack of evidence.

The state prosecutors who eventually took over the case dropped all charges and declared the players innocent victims of Nifong's "tragic rush to accuse." He was later disbarred for his handling of the case and spent a night in jail for lying to a judge.

Nifongs January bankruptcy filing came on the same day he and others involved in the criminal case were to submit responses to the players' federal lawsuit.

Nifong listed Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann, as well as three other members of Duke University's 2006 men's lacrosse team who filed a separate federal lawsuit as unsecured creditors, each owed $30 million.

More than 30 other lacrosse players from that team are also listed as creditors, each owed $1; the North Carolina State Bar, owed $8,397.71 for costs related to his disbarment; and nearly 70 other people involved with or associated in some way with the nearly yearlong criminal investigation.

Copyright 2008 by Capitol Broadcasting Company

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #63 on: Dec 5^th, 2008, 8:25am »

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How disgusting that he has managed to avoid all lawsuits until now. If anyone deserves to get reamed, it's this guy...he ruined the lives of 3 kids as well as the Coach's life, etc. all in the name of making himself look better for reelection.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #64 on: Feb 20^th, 2010, 2:48pm »

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And here we are, FULL CIRCLE on this story, after all this time.

Student's lives changed forever . . . .

A Prosecuter, hungry for elected office goes way over the edge in trying to get elected, and has the whole thing BLOW UP in his face . . . a life ruined . . changed forever.

. . . and now we come to the INSTISGATOR of it all . . . the worthless, lying piece of crap that started it all .

I think this is what they call KARMA.

I offer for your reading pleasure:

AP Wire Reports, February 18, 2010

DUKE LACROSSE ACCUSER CHARGED

Durham, N.C.

The woman who falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of rape nearly four years ago has been charged with attempted murder, arson and other counts after a fight with her boyfriend, police said.

Crystal Mangum, 31, was arrested late Wednesday on charges including assualting her boyfriend. Police said Mangum also set her apartment on fire while her three children and two Durham police officers were in the home.

Durham County Jail records indicate she was also charged with identity theft, communicating threats, damage to property, resisting an officer and misdemeanor child abuse. A Judge ordered that she remain in jail on a $1 million bond. Her three children were placed with relatives.

Police said they found Mangum and Milton Walker fighting when they arrived at the home just before midnight. Mangum then ran into the bathroom and set some clothes on fire. Mangum resisted arrest, and once in custody, gave the name and birth date of another individual, a "Marella Mangum".

Her record includes multiple driving infractions and a 2003 conviction for assualt on a government official. She served 60 days in jail and two years of probation on the assualt charge.

It was in 2006 that Mangum told police that she was attacked at a Duke lacrosse team party where she was hired to perform as a stripper. The state attorney general's office later concluded there was no credible evidence that an attack ever occurred.

The state's investigation found there was no DNA, witness accounts or other evidence that confirmed Mangum's story.

Former Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong was disbarred for more than two dozen violations of professional conduct rules in his handling of the case. He spent one night in jail for lying to a judge. He also filed for bankruptcy.

Mangum never faced any charges in the case.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #65 on: Feb 20^th, 2010, 4:30pm »

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PMS

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #66 on: Jul 12^th, 2010, 7:44am »

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UNDER THE HEADING OF "CONTINUING KARMA"

I have decided that I will follow and post this continuing saga until the conclusion of what goes around, comes around.

Here's an update:

Durham, N.C. A Durham woman who falsely accused three Duke University athletes of rape four years ago will be in court Monday on a separate case in which she faces multiple charges, including attempted first-degree murder.

Crystal Mangum will be in court at 2:30 p.m. Monday to tell the judge that she doesn't want to be on house arrest at her friend's house anymore. She will also try to regain custody of her three children, ages 10, 9 and 3.

Mangum was arrested in February and charged with attempted first-degree murder, five counts of arson, assault and battery, communicating threats, three counts of misdemeanor child abuse, injury to personal property, identity theft and resisting a public officer.

Police said she assaulted her boyfriend, Milton Walker, set his clothes on fire in a bathtub and threatened to stab him.

"I am being unfairly treated due to preconceived notions that people had about me concerning another case," Mangum said in a news conference last month on the porch of a friend's house, where she is staying while under house arrest while awaiting trial.

The Durham County District Attorney's Office declined to comment on Mangum's allegations because of the pending case, and a spokeswoman said the Durham Police Department had no comment.

Mangum said she had gone to the hospital early in the morning on the day she was arrested to have fluid drained from her spine to relieve migraine pain she was suffering.

"I was barely able to walk because I had a spinal tap done," she said.

She said she got into an argument with Walker and asked him to leave. She said he then hit her in the face, prompting one of her children to call 911.

"I am, if anything, the victim of domestic violence," she said.

She said she doesn't know who set the fire in bathtub, but it wasn't her. She acknowledged that she gave the police a fake name when they arrived at the house in response to the 911 call, noting that she feared their response if they knew she was the accuser in the Duke lacrosse case.

While a student at North Carolina Central University in 2006, Mangum worked as an exotic dancer and performed at a party for Duke lacrosse team members. She claimed three white players trapped her inside a bathroom and raped and sexually assaulted her.

The three players were indicted on rape and other charges on the basis of her allegations, but they were eventually exonerated after North Carolina's attorney general found no credible evidence to support the charges.

During the February incident, Mangum said, she and Walker were both in handcuffs initially.

"It wasn't until the other three police cars got there and said that I was Crystal Mangum, that's when they took the handcuffs off of my boyfriend and they put me in the police car and told me I was going to jail," she said.

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #67 on: Jul 13^th, 2010, 2:34pm »

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oh good grief... this woman needs some serious help

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #68 on: Nov 23^rd, 2013, 5:45pm »

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Hello Folks, It's been a long time since I have been around on these Forums.......the place is and remains deserted........it was a lot of fun while it lasted, we had a great little community here for a number of years. Now, just as the new Interstate highways bypassed the local roads, leaving whole communities margined and later abandoned......new strides in social media have left Community Boards like ours and others........as antique relics of the past. We tried for a while, but when the developers and tech staff cut us adrift.......we were doomed. So here we sit, lot's of pages of text just sitting here until the Company Server needs more space and then that too will be gone.

BUT, just in case.......I wanted to complete a Thread.
Here is the final chapter on a sordid story of deception. KARMA is now complete.

November 22, 2013:
DURHAM, N.C. The woman who falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of rape was convicted of second-degree murder Friday in the stabbing death of her boyfriend.
The jury deliberated for about six hours over two days before reaching its verdict in the trial of 34-year-old Crystal Mangum, who was sentenced to between 14 years and 18 years in prison.
Killed was 46-year-old Reginald Daye, who was stabbed on April 3, 2011. He died of complications 10 days later.
Mangum claimed the stabbing was a case of self-defense, saying Daye was beating her in a jealous rage when she grabbed a knife and "poked him in the side."
Assistant District Attorney Charlene Franks told the jurors during closing arguments that the evidence did not back up Mangum's story.
In 2006, Mangum falsely claimed Duke lacrosse players gang-raped her at a team party where she was hired as a stripper. The case caught the nation's attention, as the coach was forced to resign and the university canceled the remainder of the season.
The three players arrested were eventually declared innocent by North Carolina's attorney general after Mangum's story crumbled and her mental stability was questioned. The Durham prosecutor, Mike Nifong, who championed Mangum's case, was later disbarred.

(should you happen to stop in to visit) I wish all my old friends here much success in all that you do. It has been a pleasure to have known each and every one of you.

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Re: Our newest FN god: Heather
« Reply #69 on: Jan 14^th, 2017, 12:20am »

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
« Reply #70 on: Jul 6^th, 2017, 3:27am »

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« Reply #71 on: Aug 2^nd, 2017, 3:25am »

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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
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Re: Attorneys: No DNA matches in Duke lacrosse sca
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