Posted on 12/12/2006 11:20:19 AM PST by Howlin
(borrowed from another board) :
Write your congressman.
It's Simple.
Just CUT AND PASTE the following into your email or your congressman's (and senator's)
contact form, and put your name after 'sincerely' :
Will you be joining with Congressman Jones' appeal, as reported below?
Thanx!
sincerely,
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 Contact: Kathleen M. Joyce
202-225-3415
Washington, D.C. – In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Third District Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC) requested an inquiry into Durham County, North Carolina District Attorney Mike Nifong’s prosecution of three Duke University student athletes accused of an alleged sexual attack on a woman at a party earlier this year. Specifically, Rep. Jones asked the Attorney General to review Mr. Nifong’s conduct to determine if it constitutes prosecutorial misconduct and has denied the students their civil rights as U.S. citizens under federal law.
“Over the past several months, many of my constituents and a growing number of mainstream media outlets have raised serious questions about the accuser’s allegations and Mr. Nifong’s prosecution,” Jones wrote. Jones highlighted two particular issues which have been brought to his attention:
“First, Mr. Nifong directed the Durham Police Department to knowingly violate suspect identification procedures for police personnel in North Carolina,” Jones continued. “These procedures require that during any suspect identification process, a suspect’s photo must be shown with those of non-suspects. Mr. Nifong not only directed that this not be done, he also directed the police to tell the accuser that she would only view photos of Duke lacrosse athletes who were at the party. By doing so, Mr. Nifong ensured that the accuser could not make a mistake no matter who she identified because she would inevitably identify Duke athletes.”
“Second, throughout the investigation Mr. Nifong repeatedly made prejudicial statements to the media. His statements clearly violate the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct which prohibit a prosecutor in a criminal case from making extrajudicial statements that ‘heighten public condemnation of the accused’ or, if disseminated via public communication, have the ‘substantial likelihood’ of prejudicing the proceeding,” Jones wrote. “Mr. Nifong’s statements ranged from labeling the Duke players “hooligans” to falsely stating that they refused to cooperate with his investigation. Mr. Nifong also continually proclaimed his personal opinion that a sexual attack had occurred and that he believed the accuser. Furthermore, what is perhaps most concerning is Mr. Nifong’s public admission and representation in court that he’s never had the accuser tell him what she alleges occurred that night; Mr. Nifong has stated it was unnecessary to hear her version.”
“Mr. Attorney General, many of my constituents have expressed concern to me that the facts outlined in this letter are indicative of prosecutorial misconduct. I urge you to look into these matters to ensure that Mr. Nifong’s actions have not illegally denied the accused of their civil rights as American citizens,” Jones concluded. “After all, if the American people cannot trust those who they’ve empowered to pursue justice fairly, then hope for this democracy is lost.”
I hope you're right.
Well holy cow, its about time someone did something....
There's always a federal case. How bout denial of due process, violation of equal protection under the law, violation of 4th amendment rights, and I'm sure any crim lawyer can think of 10 other federal interests being assaulted in this case.
Good news! Crossing fingers!
Some different laws there than other states I guess. In most, the State AG can step into any criminal case in any county if he does not like what the local DA is doing. The DA is supposed to be enforcing State Law and if he's not doing his job, it's up to the Attorney General to see that the law is respected.
Bump
YaH!
Thanks for the Ping, and promising news!
Where ya been Walter?
It's always better late than never, but in this case, sooner would have beaten the hell of later!
Nifong must have done something...
Something must have happened...
Is someone finally going to take a look-see?
Actually, I still don't think so, but this inches the pressure on Nifong up another notch to make this case disappear.
Well it's about ding-dang time! Not sure if this is going cool Nifong's jets or just light his fire, but I'm glad SOMEBODY has formally called him on his actions in this case. Where's that 60 Minutes follow-up?
There has been no trial or verdict. I'd say that under Federal law, none of their civil rights have "yet" been violated. The DA sure has has ignored North Carolina procedures, but I don't think that would rise to the Federal level unless they were convicted and the conviction upheld by State court.
They may eventually have civil recourse against the county with the possibility of a criminal complaint against the DAs office for willful misconduct.
Drinking?
Would you rather see this bastard destroy the remainder of these three innocent victims lives??
I don't care who it is as long as something gets done. It's obvious Easley & Cooper are not going to budge. There needs to be some justice. Now.
If continuing a prosecution that the da knows is false isn't a violation of due process, than what is?
AMEN!!!!!
I have little to no use for Rep. Jones. The rumor is he is going to switch back to the Democrat party - he's a former Dem.
Bingo. No need to wait for the North Carolina AG.
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