Posted on 12/21/2006 11:09:37 AM PST by beckett
CHAPEL HILL - Whether the defendants in the Duke lacrosse case are guilty or innocent, Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong should disqualify himself, or be disqualified, from the case.
On Friday, Nifong's own witness essentially accused him of breaking the law. An actual conflict of interest now exists between Nifong's need to defend himself against possible charges of misconduct and his obligation to prosecute the case fairly and effectively.
In court Friday, the head of a lab that Nifong retained to analyze DNA samples testified that he and Nifong intentionally decided to exclude from the expert's report the fact that DNA analyzed from the clothes and body of the accuser did not belong to any of the defendants but came instead from unidentified males.
N.C. General Statute 15A-903 requires that a prosecution expert provide a report of the results of any tests performed and that the prosecutor furnish that report to the defense. Deciding to exclude these results is deciding to violate this law.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsobserver.com ...
No bench trials for felonies in NC. Jury trials only.
Lacrosse on ice!! Now that would be a spectacle.
Do they get to make that choice in NC?
http://www.webcommentary.com/asp/ShowArtic...orm&date=061222
WEBCommentary Contributor
Author: Michael J. Gaynor
Date: December 22, 2006
Duke Case: Professor Baker Still Unrepentant
The state NAACP in April asked Joyner to monitor the lacrosse case.
"Because of the flak that's involved and the credibility of the prosecution, I think that's probably something he ought to consider in the interest of justice and ensuring that there is an unbiased prosecution or if there is to be a prosecution," Joyner said. "I think he ought to consider whether it makes sense at this point to do that in light of all the surrounding circumstances, which look bad."
Maybe Joyner finally saw the light - or felt the heat.
"Plus we are to believe that the accused, who have pictures and witnesses placing them elsewhere, can be in two places at the same time?"
Given as long as I have been closely following this case, it strikes me as odd that it took until now to think of this, but your point helped crystalize the notion:
The defense should call a quantum physicist as an expert witness to explore the very notion you described in your post! How funny would that be?!?
"Is Joseph Kennedy a regular columnist for the NO, a guest columnist, or what?"
Joe Kennedy is not a regular columnist for the Disturber, he is just a Law Professor at UNC-CH who felt compelled to speak out...at last.
"Is there any indication of any change on the part of the editorial board at the NO?"
None whatsoever.
If Joyner has turned on him then Nifong's done. Maybe this can end up that the black community in Durham blames Nifong for procedural screwups that ruined an otherwise "perfect case".
'Way back when, we all speculated who would throw whom overboard when it all came unraveled. We saw a hint of the plan back last summer when Cash (Trash) Michaels wrote "...if this is all Nifong has..." Plus Gretta and Co. this week trying to paint Crystial as the "victim" of the overzealous prosecutor...
Ping. Must see TV
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/editor/index.php?title=headline_saturday_da_mike_nifong_and_the&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Friday, December 22, 2006
Headline Saturday: DA Mike Nifong and the lacrosse case
The weekly N&O-WRAL TV show "Headline Saturday" focuses this week on current debate surrounding Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong's handling of the Duke lacrosse case. Guests are Joseph Kennedy, a University of North Carolina law professor who wrote a point of view article for The N&O opinion pages this week saying Nifong now faces conflicts of interest; Bob Ashley, editor of The Herald-Sun of Durham; and N&O investigative reporter Joseph Neff. Headline Saturday is hosted by WRAL anchor David Crabtree and me and airs on WRAL Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and on the station's digital channel at other times.
Posted at 11:12 am by Melanie Sill in Check this out
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LOLOLOL - my kids are not going to Duke. No way, no how.
http://www.wral.com/wral-tv/tv_schedule/
Is there a way to get streaming video on a pc?
Hockey...Lacross. Well, they are both played with a stick that is used to knock the opposing players teeth out. Understandable mistake.....dont'cha think?
Cheers and Merry Christmas
He got tired of looking like a jackass among his colleagues.
This is a "Me too!" article, a statement from Joyner saying "I'm looking like a real ass on this and if I want to keep any street cred with other law profs it's time for me to throw this honky chump under the bus!"
I'm sure that's what they want. They want Nifong to take the full hit for them so there's no mention of their desire to railroad these boys into a prison cell for retribution because they're white.
Joyner's abandonment probably signals the beginning of the death rattle.
I've been waiting and hoping for the legal community to abandon Nifong. Without approval or at least a noncommittal quietude from his peers, Nifong can't survive.
Maybe Joyner has heard that Mangum won't show on 2/5, so instead of letting "a black girl from Durham" become the bad guy, he wants to pin it all on Nifong, the white chump, in advance of that.
Rape charges dropped today-
Where is everyone?
Nifong dismisses rape charges
Dec 22, 2006 : 2:20 pm ET
DURHAM -- District Attorney Mike Nifong dismissed first-degree rape charges against three former Duke University lacrosse players Friday, but he let stand accusations that they kidnapped an exotic dancer and committed a first-degree sex offense against her during an off-campus party in March.
Nifong had no comment on the development, which caused many legal observers to further question the accuser's already embattled credibility.
In court paperwork, Nifong said the dismissal resulted from an interview that his investigator, Linwood Wilson, conducted with the dancer on Thursday.
The alleged victim told Wilson that "while she initially believed that she had been vaginally penetrated by a male sex organ," she was no longer certain that a penis was used, Nifong wrote.
As a result, "the state is unable to meet its burden of proof with respect to this offense," he said.
Penetration by a penis is necessary to convict someone of first-degree rape.
But under the law, the three suspects -- Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans -- still could be convicted of committing a first-degree sex offense if jurors believed they used a finger or other item to vaginally penetrate the woman against her will. They also could be convicted of first-degree kidnapping if they restrained the dancer in a bathroom during the alleged assault, as she said they did.
The suspects are free under $100,000 bonds as they await a trial that is expected to occur next year.
Defense attorneys have asked that the trial be moved to another county because of massive local, national and even international publicity that, they said, might make it impossible to find an impartial jury in Durham.
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-802013.cfm
over here. you late...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1757369/posts?q=1&&page=537#562
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