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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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