Posted on 09/22/2006 1:20:40 PM PDT by Howlin
Three Duke lacrosse players took five to 10 minutes to sexually assault a woman hired to perform as a stripper at a team party, and not the 30 minutes she originally described to investigators, a prosecutor said Friday. "When something happens to you that is really awful, it can seem like it takes place longer than it actually takes," District Attorney Mike Nifong said.
Nifong's comments came as Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III denied a defense request that prosecutors provide a detailed accounting of the alleged assault, including the exact time, place and type of sexual act the accuser said each defendant committed.
A grand jury has indicted three lacrosse players _ Reade Seligmann, 20; Collin Finnerty, 19; and David Evans, 23 _ on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. The accuser, a student at nearby North Carolina Central University, told police she was raped in a bathroom by three men at a March 13 off-campus party. Defense attorneys have strongly proclaimed the players' innocence.
Kirk Osborn, who represents Seligmann, said the defense needed the "bill of particulars" because the accuser has told several different versions of the alleged assault, and his client has a right to know which version prosecutors will present at trial. In search and arrest warrants issued early in the investigation, police stated the accuser told investigators she was assaulted for 30 minutes.
Nifong said he is not required to state the exact time of the alleged attack, but offered that authorities believe it took place between 11:30 p.m. on March 13, when the accuser arrived at the party, and 12:55 a.m. on March 14, when police arrived and found no one at the house.
Friday's hearing was the first since Smith was appointed to take over the case, and it was scheduled to continue Friday afternoon.
Before the hearing began, Nifong gave defense lawyers 615 pages of evidence, a compact disc and a cassette tape. He said it included much of what was requested by defense lawyers, who had asked for handwritten notes from police officers involved with the case, reports outlining procedures used at the labs that tested the DNA of the players and notes from a mental health facility where police took the accuser after the party.
Did Ashley Move to Raleigh?
In a bizarre but brief article today, the News and Observer seemingly praises Mike Nifong for his unsuccessful prosecution of Timothy Malloy in 1994.
[snip]
Why would the News and Observer present the Malloy case as an example of a prosecutor confidently championing a cause? Do they find something noble in the prosecution of innocent men while failing to see fault or ominous coincidence in the erasing of evidence tapes in both cases?
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/09/did-ashley-move-to-raleigh.html
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2006
Sickening
Nifong's conduct is sickening.
Journalists of the News and Observer: You know. We know you know.
You know that Mike Nifong's conduct is sickening. Every one of you does. And one of you needs to come forward and tell the public. Do not be afraid of retribution.
[end excerpt]
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2006
Black Panthers Welcome, Duke Students Not?
[snip]
Over the past few hours, I've learned from multiple sources of a potentially troubling situation at today's Duke football game. I have been told that DSED activists, along with members of Duke sports teams, were prevented from registering students at the stadium, for reasons that remain unclear.
I'm unaware of any Duke policy that would prevent students with valid Duke ID's from engaging in this activity. After all, credit card companies sign up students at Duke sporting events. Moreover, registering voters has a long association with the academy, dating from the 1960s, when college students sought to register African-American voters in the South.
This item will be updated as soon as additional information is available.
Great. It is now considered noble (and legal) to prosecute someone even when there is no evidence to indicate the person committed a crime. Nifong is turning American jurisprudence on it's head. The Constitution will be lacerated by the time he is through.
If true, this is just sad. I'm starting to get the feeling that the Duke administration is co-prosecuting Finnerty, Seligmann and Evans. Will Brodhead and Burness be sitting at the prosecution table with Nifong? Sheesh.
Regarding the title: Isn't that sort of *ahem* impossible? I mean, there were four of them... Maybe ten minutes each, but that long all together? Nifong is grasping.
I have been invited to a "discussion" with Pres. Brodhead in SF this month. I invite all to supply questions that I might ask. In all honesty, I don't think the opportunity to ask may arise. However, I have no problem asking away should the opportunity present itself. Please respond via PM. Thanks. As to the happening at the game: my student was on a field trip out of state. I have no clue as to what really happened.
No one should be surprised if this is true. Brodhead and the Duke administration threw their lot in with Nifong, Gottlieb, et al and now have to see it through to the end. They do not have the character or courage to admit they may have been wrong. The only person who needs a conviction worse than Nifong is Brodhead since he staked his presidency on the guilt of his students.
See my post 347. My bride and I have been invited to a similar discussion in Washington, DC on November 8. If you scroll down, some Freeper (as usual) have some good ideas. I tend to doubt that Brodhead will field questions because knuckleheads like me will ask questions, such as whether he plans to resign if the boys are acquitted, or what disciplinary action has he taken against faculty who have harrassed Duke athletes, or whether he was duplicitous in Durham's policy of targeting Duke students for arrest and imprisonment over trivial violations or . . . well, you get the drift.
Let's stay in touch about this and try to pinch that bloviating gasbag at every one of these events.
Link to new thread...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1711519/posts
Serves me right for not catching up on the thread. (Student #2 was home from college for a long weekend, and I did a drive-by post. I should know better!! Great idea, Condor!!
A student admitted on her own acdaemic merit on a varsity athletic team and going to two Final Fours? Impossible! Doesn't happen.
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