Duke Lacrosse defense: Stories changed ("No one forced me to have sex")

Hearld Sun ^ | 5/26/06

[Anti-Bubba182]

"...why is Mr. Nifong risking his career over something so completely flimsy?"

To get reelected as a Prosecutor is my guess. Nifong is pandering to the local African American resentment against Rich White College Pukes. Hell maybe the Students have some resentment coming, but not to the extent of a bogus rape conviction.

[monocle]

To quote Raymond Donovan from memory :"Where do I get my reputation back."

[MizSterious]

I don't think he plans to sacrifice his career. My best guess is that he knew this would make political hay during the election, and now he hopes it will quietly sink into oblivion. Once it's out of the headlines, it wouldn't surprise me if he dropped the charges. However, at least three lives have been ruined by these false charges, so I do hope that their lawyers keep it in the headlines. The more they do, the worse Nifong looks, and maybe they can restore a few shreds of these young men's reputations.

And note to college guys: hiring strippers might momentarily satisfy your raging hormones, but as has often been said, if you lie down with dogs, don't be surprised if you get fleas.

[Alia]

Ping.

[maica]

Duke is one of the biggest losers in this disgusting circus. They threw the whole team overboard from the instance the accuser made her charge. I wonder if they would have done the same to their basketball team? Lacrosse is not a money sport for a university, so easy to demonize the boys as elitist. I doubt the Duke girls lacrosse team would have been so strong in their support if they had any reason to think that the boys were guilty of these charges.

[Alia]

Thank you, The Spotted Owl. :)

[Alia]

Me? I want the town of Durham investigated.

[maica]

-- The woman in the passenger seat was "wearing a see-through red outfit, with no undergarments and one white high-heel shoe." She appeared unconscious, so Shelton got an ammonia capsule from his car. In response to the capsule, the woman began "mouth breathing, which is a sign that she was not really unconscious," Shelton wrote.

*****

I wonder what pressure this sergeant has had to endure in the past few months. He knew he was dealing with trouble from the first meeting.

[R. Scott]

Altogether now, say “Tawana Brawley”.

[joebuck]

"The reputations of these boys will be helped by their part of the $Billions in settlements that will be awarded after the civil suits run their course."

What civil suits? Sure, you could sue the hooker, I mean dancer, but to what end? The prosecutor pretty much has immunity and the judge obviously found sufficient probable cause to set a bail. When prosecutor goes wild the only real remedy is the ballot box unless you can show criminal corruption or repeated breach of ethics. These guys are SOL.

[Fido969]

The players’ attorney has insisted they are innocent. But reports that the women’s lacrosse team would wear headbands that said “Innocent” became a flash point in the world of women’s lacrosse and the Duke community.

It's considered "controversal" in the "mainstream" to point out that these players are innocent.

[ishabibble]

Well, now my question becomes, "When is someone going to pander to white resentment over black racism?" I don't want to get dragged into a Durham, NC rape case, but I certainly don't want the New Black Panthers going in and marching about something that isn't their issue, either. Even more, when "black activists" get all upset about something, it is totally understood that somewhere in the mix is alot of money. I am sick unto death of getting shaken down by "black activists"and their incredibly offensive racist rhetoric. We ought to stop lying to minorities, Bill Cosby is trying to tell them the truth and being vilified for it.

[Peach]

But when the dancer was shown a photo array containing Evans' picture on March 21, much closer to the time of the alleged assault, she failed to identify him in any way, the new motion says.

Worth the ping list.

[Enterprise]

Not meaning to spam, but on a similar thread I posted this: "To: elfman2"

"The county or city should be liable for all defense legal fees after these statements were taken."

Agreed. In most jurisdictions, other than Durham, the District Attorney would never get personally involved in a case like this. He/she would want to be kept informed, but the police, the detectives, and the District Attorney investigators would be doing the investigation, with perhaps a lawyer from the DA's office giving advice and direction during key points of the investigation.

The problem is that Nifong is an elected official who became personally involved. And because he is an elected official, there is no one immediately above him to reign him in. Even if the officials of the City of Durham were unhappy with what he was doing, there was nothing they could do about it, and no one could stop him because he is autonomous. Nevertheless, his recklessness has exposed Durham to potentially catastrophically costly lawsuits, and he has exposed himself to potentially severely punitive disciplinary actions in future hearings regarding his own personal ethics and legal tactics.

Perhaps if something changed and the DA's position were appointive rather than elective then the officials could have more oversight. But then, favoritism and shenanigans then revert to the officials with the oversight. And any change might have to be made in the State laws regarding how District Attorneys are selected.

Is it any wonder that now, Nifong wants a gag order?

56 posted on 05/27/2006 6:31:27 AM PDT by Enterprise (The

[ishabibble]

Good morning Miz!

I saw M. Nifong on Greta the night he won his primary. Talk about preening and gloating. After watching that very strange interview, I've become convinced that Nifong has some sort of mental disorder. It is common to just say "crazy' or "nutjob" about someone, but I truly think there is something very unstable about that man. I don't know if there is a Greta archive, but it would be a good thing if these boys' lawyers watched that interview. There is something really off about that guy.

[milford421]

"Nevertheless, his recklessness has exposed Durham to potentially catastrophically costly lawsuits, and he has exposed himself to potentially severely punitive disciplinary actions in future hearings regarding his own personal ethics and legal tactics."

Thanks for this info. I wasn't sure if this was possible.

Are you certain that Durham can be open to lawsuits?

[Sue Perkick]

Absolutely. I hope when this is over, the boys go after every last one of them. I have a feeling these charges are going to be mysteriously dropped. The AV (FA) doesn't want to testify. The trauma, the drama, blah blah blah.

I'm not too happy with Easley at the moment either. He appointed this idiot. There had to have been someone more qualified.

[Andy from Chapel Hill]

I posted this on the other active Duke thread:

There is a ***rumor*** floating around here in Chapel Hill and Durham that a global settlement is in the works. This is why the defense is making rapid fire discovery motions, to increase the pressure on Nifong.

Key points of the rumor are:

1. Accuser admits drug and alcohol abuse clouded her recollection of events (flashbacks of prior 3-man rape) in a letter made public a day or two after she enters lengthy rehab. Social services takes over her case on behalf of her kids. She faces no charges if she completes rehab.

2. Charges against indicted Duke players are dropped.

3. No charges against boyfriend or drivers or Kim.

4. Duke party-goers plead guilty to various underage drinking charges and agree to community service and fines.

5. EVERYBODY signs a mutual release from future lawsuits and agrees to super-high liquidated damages if they talk or write about the case.

ALL OF THIS IS A RUMOR I HEARD FROM SOME LAWYERS IN A COFFEE SHOP. IT IS PROBABLY WISHFUL THINKING, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF LAWYERS INVOLVED IN THIS COMMUNITY AND I AM SURE SOMEONE IS TALKING TO FELLOW, NON-INVOLVED LAWYERS.

Please don't flame me for putting this rumor out for FReepers to discuss. I have been a FReeper for almost 8 years and I generally dislike unsubstantiated rumors floating around, but this one may be an exception.



And, after a few replies, I posted this:


Thanks to everyone for not flaming me. I have always enjoyed the global reach that FR has and how we seem to have a local reporter everywhere a news event occurs. I can't defend or refute a rumor. It is one-sided, although one thing I left out was that Duke would *probably* let the players continue at Duke and also release them to transfer, if they wished to do so. Duke would not participate in the settlement, however.

One thing that was brought up was that the players are Durham residents for three more years or less, then they are going to leave the state, if they have any sense. Everyone else is here for the long run.

As an aside, the black folks I have talked to in the past week simply want this to go away. They read the same reports as everyone else and know there is little to no case to be brought. The drug/booze rehab part is the cover they want and the more radical part of the Durham black community will spend the next 10 years holding Duke ransom for sensitivity training and contributions to bogus town/gown events.

[Anti-Bubba182]

"When is someone going to pander to white resentment over black racism?"

Well, David Duke and others try, but there is not any serious money in it. Black Panther types and NOI have small time success with the race hustle, but it is essentially a losers tactic. White people don't need it.

[MizSterious]

I think I saw that interview, and you're right, he did seem almost deranged. Power is a strong drug, perhaps.