Posted on 04/11/2006 9:01:01 AM PDT by Arec Barrwin
Apr 11, 11:38 AM EDT
D.A. Says Duke Lacrosse Probe to Continue
By TIM WHITMIRE Associated Press Writer
Duke Prosecutor: 'This Case is Not Over'
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Durham County's chief prosecutor said Tuesday he will not abandon his investigation of allegations that an exotic dancer was raped and beaten at a party thrown by members of Duke University's lacrosse team.
"A lot has been said in the press, particularly by some attorneys yesterday, that this case should go away," District Attorney Mike Nifong said at a community forum. "My presence here means that this case is not going away."
On Monday, attorneys representing members of the lacrosse team said DNA from the 46 players tested did not match evidence collected from the woman who says she was raped.
"No DNA from any young man tested was found anywhere on or about this woman," defense attorney Wade Smith said Monday.
He said he hoped Nifong would drop the investigation.
No charges have been filed in the case, but Nifong has said he believes a crime occurred at the March 13 party, which according to court records was attended only by lacrosse players. The woman said her attackers were white, so DNA testing was done on every white member of the team.
Nifong, who has said he doesn't necessarily need DNA evidence to prosecute, was calmly defiant at Tuesday's forum, attended by about 700 people on the campus of North Carolina Central University, the historically black university a few miles from Duke where the alleged victim is a student.
"The fact is that this case is proceeding the way a case should proceed," Nifong said to applause from the crowd.
Butch Williams, attorney for accused Duke University Lacrosse players, says the evidence is on his side. Buy AP Photo Reprints
The 27-year-old woman told police she and another woman were hired to dance at the party and that three men there dragged her into a bathroom, choked her, raped her and sodomized her. The allegations led to days of protests on and off the Duke campus.
Robert Archer, whose son Breck is a junior on the lacrosse team, said that while it is Nifong's prerogative to pursue the case if he so chooses, it would be a waste of time.
"I know the kids on the team, and I know they're innocent. We knew it from the start," Archer said by phone from his home in East Quogue, N.Y.
Court experts not connected with the Duke case cautioned that the DNA results could make prosecution difficult, but not impossible.
"There's an old saying that the absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence," said Peter Neufeld, co-founder and co-director of the Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal clinic.
A doctor and forensic sexual assault nurse examined the woman and found evidence consistent with a rape having occurred, police documents show.
Nifong said Tuesday that in 75 to 80 percent of all sexual assault cases, there is no DNA evidence.
"DNA results can often be helpful, but you know, I've been doing this a long time, and for most of the years I've been doing this we didn't have DNA," he said. "We had to deal with sexual assault cases the good old fashioned way. Witnesses got on the stand and told what happened to them."
Loyola Law School professor Stan Goldman agreed that DNA evidence is not necessary to win a conviction but said Nifong would have a lot to overcome without it.
"In this day and age, it's the 'CSI' effect," he said, referring to the popular "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" series on TV. "If you don't find the evidence, then maybe it's not the guy. In 'CSI,' they always find the evidence."
Defense attorney Bill Thomas said authorities found none of the alleged victim's DNA in the bathroom where she told police she was attacked.
"Our experts tell us that being gang-raped by three men would leave DNA material to be examined," Thomas said.
Goldman said the failure to find any matching DNA evidence, is "not the end of the case, but it's kind of damning to the prosecution case."
"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?" Goldman asked. "That's all the defense has to do."
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AP National Writer Allen G. Breed contributed to this report.
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There may not be any SEMEN but there should be traces of skin under her fingernails, hairs (pubic or head), etc.
DNA comes in all sorts of samples.
And Terrorists threats are from Muslims.
Pandering for votes? Naw. Just the usual way DA's handle cases.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Durham County's district attorney says a clerical error is to blame for charges against an accused child rapist being dismissed by his office. In February 2004, police arrested and charged Norman Brooks in the alleged molestation and rape of Bobby Parker's young daughter. But in September 2005, the charges against Brooks were dropped and the case was dismissed. "This is clearly the fault of this office," said Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong.
http://www.wral.com/news/6156268/detail.html
I'm not sure.But I believe that one of the lawyers involved has claimed that no DNA match has been established between the "crime scene" and any of those under investigation.
Such a statement implies that there was DNA evidence found on her.Also,this statement,if untrue,is so easily disproven that one could easily assume that it is true.
But then,I'm not a lawyer so I could be wrong.
"A doctor and forensic sexual assault nurse examined the woman and found evidence consistent with a rape having occurred, police documents show."
I think this is important. Also, I can imagine ways in which an assault could occur without certain DNA material being left behind.
In other words he is going to pander to the mob because he is elected by the racists of the town and not by out of town white boys.
This is why people have such low respect for prosecutors. Mark my word folks, this joker is seeking higher office either as a federal judge or some legislative post.
Furthermore, they tested a bunch of stuff in the bathroom - bath mat, towels, etc. Keep in mind that this woman describes a desperate 30 minute fight in which she's trying to defend herself - scratching, kicking, maybe spiting, maybe bleeding. They got none of her DNA off the bathroom items - NONE! The only DNA they found in the bathroom was on the bath towels. It was from two residents of the house which indicates that their personal hygeine was in order because they had, at some point, used those towels to dry off.
That's it!
The incident occurred on a Monday night on into Tuesday. The purported victim worked for an "escort service" which is a polite way of saying "hooker". If she had been doing some intensely good business over the weekend and then took a bath, I wonder if that would leave her in a sanitized but injured condition?
The DA sees face time in front of the cameras.
The DA does not care about justice. So what if he advances his career at the expense of the lives of some rich white boys.
Perhaps we need a way for prosecutorial media whoring to be controlled somehow. Perhaps we should be a "demand for speedy investigation" in non-death cases in these situations where an investigation is started.
I tend to think the "victim" is lying. Another credibility problem for her:
Excerpt from The News & Observer:
The intense coverage of the story has led to widespread debates. Before Baker explained the search delay, questions had been raised as to whether the accuser's criminal record affected police action.
The woman has convictions on her record from a single 2002 incident involving drunken driving, a stolen car and an attempt to flee from police.
Under a deal with prosecutors, the woman pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors: larceny, speeding to elude arrest, assault on a government official and driving while impaired, according to court records. She was required to serve three consecutive weekends in jail and was placed on two years' probation, which she served without incident.
According to public records in Durham County, the woman had not previously reported being a crime victim.
(Staff writers Joe Neff and Benjamin Niolet contributed to this report.)
Staff writer Samiha Khanna can be reached at 956-2468 or skhanna@newsobserver.com.
If the hooker, (lets be honest about what she is really trying to say with "escort service") is using drugs then hallucinations are not unknown.
Also, why is nobody commenting on the fact there is a potential prostitution case? She the prostitute and potential "johns". Of course if no sex happened, the only reason for this case is PERSECURITION not prosecution.
Essentially these young men are being charged with being white while employing a stripper.
The DA finds out that when you choose to ride a tiger, you cannot dismount at will, can't urinate the minorities don'tcha know. JJ is now coming to Duke and weigh in, smells a shakedown payoff, Bro Al can't be far behind.
Look for Duke to cave in to the shakedown and give millions of dollars to the "Fill In The Blank Here" Fund. This payoff will cause JJ and Fat Al to backoff and ask for the community to "heal".
Same script, same show, different payers.
This is an election year and the DA is posing for the cameras right now. He'll give the whole thing a few weeks to settle down. By then school will have let out. Sometime this summer his office will release a low-key statement that charges are not going to be pressed against the lacrosse players due to 'new evidence' or some such thing. If the rape never actually took place, no charges will be pressed against the accuser, either.
If the rape actually took place, I figure that it's the work of some party-crasher. However, the story is more and more looking like someone was looking for a payout. But that's just my opinion.
Maybe Al learned the "once burned twice shy" lesson on his last time out. As far as Jesse, I am really wondering why he hasn't shown up. Maybe he's investigated and concluded there's no there there.
Note: for those of you out of state, NCCU is not to be confused with North Carolina State University (NCSU) which is in Raleigh.
Have you seen what the Memphis ethnic community has been doing to Hank Williams Jr.? Shakedown....looking for a free handout. Why? Its because they can get away with it with impunity.
Odd that the prosecuter chose NCCU to make his remarks?--This guy has to be the most unprofessional I've ever seen--and heck, I'm from NJ!! Wonder why he didn't choose to make his remarks at Duke? Talk about playing the "Race Card"! I hope folks from Durham remember at election time how this guys has tarnished their city.
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