Sunday, December 24, 2006

Today's Papers

The post below noted that every time Nifong speaks publicly on the case, he unintentionally winds up providing fodder for future ethics charges. A Neff/Niolet article in today’s N&O confirms the fact.

My post looked at the impossibility of Nifong’s claim that his activities on the quadruple homicide case (where an arrest didn’t occur till October 16) affected his efforts to conceal exculpatory DNA evidence in the lacrosse case.

The N&O story, meanwhile, examines how Nifong’s statements to the Times contradicted his own previous explanations of his actions:

In open court on December 15, Nifong affirmed that he hadn’t even heard of this issue until two days before, when the defense filed its DNA motion.

Dr. Meehan’s testimony gave the lie to this claim; and so in an impromptu press conference after the session, Nifong fantastically suggested that he had agreed to withhold the evidence to protect the privacy rights of the same lacrosse players he previously had referred to as “hooligans.”

Now, as the N&O notes, Nifong has moved on to explanation number three. I doubt either the court or public opinion will find this explanation any more credible than its predecessors.

Nifong’s more serious problem, Neff and Niolet recognize: “Since May, Nifong has repeatedly misrepresented his actions in filings and in face-to-face dealings with judges. Nifong has repeatedly said that he disclosed everything about the DNA evidence.”

Especially damning are comments that—now that we know the facts—look transparently evasive, from the September 22 hearing. In response to questions from Brad Bannon, Nifong stated that in conversations with Meehan, the two only discussed the contents of Meehan’s (cleansed) report. Judge Osmond Smith asked: “So his report encompasses it all?” Neff and Niolet recount the rest of the exchange:

Nifong answered haltingly: “His report encompasses ever -- because we didn’t -- they apparently think that everybody I speak to about, I talk about the facts of the case. And that’s just, that would be counterproductive. It did not happen here.”

Smith repeated his question: “So you represent there are no other statements?”

“No other statements,” Nifong said. “No other statements made to me.”

Nifong has misrepresented the facts so much in this case that it appears he no longer can keep his stories straight.

Neff and Niolet also provide a summary of Nifong’s crumbling case. They note that, with his admitted lack of any scientific evidence, “his case relies on the words of the accuser, an escort service dancer who has told her story on at least 10 occasions to nurses, doctors and investigators. Her accounts have changed with every telling.” Moreover, the district attorney has now dismissed what had been a consistent aspect of the accuser’s tale—that she was vaginally raped.

Moreover, Neff and Niolet bring word of scientific skepticism of Meehan’s incredible explanation for a lack of DNA evidence involving the accused players: “A person can rob a bank and never leave a fingerprint. It doesn’t mean they didn’t rob the bank.” The N&O interviews Arthur Caplan, chairman of the Department of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania, who termed it “next to impossible” for the accuser’s story to be true and no DNA from her alleged attackers to be left behind. He said, “The odds are tiny to zero that you’re not going to find any sample from anybody. It gets hard to imagine that some kind of forced or unwanted activity took place.”

The Herald-Sun, meanwhile, used the occasion to mention, for the first time, Jim Coleman’s legal critique of Nifong’s actions. An article penned by John Stevenson noted that Coleman has compared Nifong to the captain of the Titanic: “Actually, what’s happened is that he’s sort of rearranging chairs on the deck. I mean, his ship is going down.” Nifong, he continued, is “making a mockery of the criminal justice system in this county.” Coleman correctly observed that Nifong is “in way over his head in a case that’s in the big leagues, and the bush league stuff that he does, trying to hide evidence and stuff like that, that doesn’t work against good lawyers.”

As for a final outcome of the case, the result is a foregone conclusion. “I think in this case,” said Coleman, “there’s probably nobody in North Carolina who thinks that this prosecutor has integrity. And so everybody is going to be skeptical of any case that he puts on. And given what we know about the evidence, I don’t see any jury convicting these three students.”

The H-S also revealed that not only had Nifong failed to inform Police Chief Steve Chalmers of his decision to drop the rape charges—but he also had neglected to tell Mayor Bill Bell.

An AP story by Aaron Beard reveals that another figure has stepped off what Liestoppers has dubbed the “short bus” of Nifong enablers. Former Denver DA Norm Early has served as chairman of the National District Attorneys Association; his consistent, vehement, defenses of Nifong have left the uncomfortable impression that Early believes that prosecutors all over the country behave as Nifong does. But he now has changed his view. “I don’t understand why all the charges aren’t being dropped at this time,” said Early. “It’s such an incredible credibility problem that you wonder how the prosecution could rehabilitate her on the other charges.”

And the Charlotte Observer proposes a Christmas gift for Mike Nifong: “The complete ‘Law and Order’ series on DVD, to study during the holidays.”

53 comments:

Anonymous said...

Neff and Niolet at their best. It almost makes up for the N&O's awful performance in late March when it published inaccurate and misleading stories and columns that enabled Nifong. Not to mention the libelous vigilante poster. Professor Coleman, as usual, is excellent.

Unknown said...

All the attention at the moment is on the loser DA.

Shouldn't there also be more focus on the dingbat Duke faculty members who made up that Committee of 88? It looks to me as if none of them yet are ready to own to to the fact that they made a vicious, racist attack on their own Duke students, and now their actions have been shown to be completely unjustified. Any accountability for that?

Anonymous said...

Duke 88

Why should they ?lol

There every thing that is wrong with the University system; who by inmposing left wing ideology into Duke produce this lot of 88!

All seem to be following Marxist doctrine of infiltrate and destroy by manipualtion of the system from within.

Not one of them would survive a full frontal attack.....to transparent!

Just Liberal sycophants

The Dude said...

KC I thought about all the work you have done to help these Accussed persons. Many others have helped along the way and the good work has paid off so far. I could not imagine facing 30 years prison when there is no evidence. nifong is shooting himself in the foot every thime he opens his mouth. He is actually giving information that would have to be "found" during the upcoming civil case. I don't know which is worse, the arrogance or the stupidity.

Your fine posts early on have been made claer by Nifong himself. HE COULD NOT PROVE THE ELEMENTS OF THE CRIME. Thus he had to lie to get an indictment.

I hope the Accussed, the unindicted players, the cab driver, the neighbor, the 2nd dancer and even the Accusser herself win tons of money in the civil matter. it should not be too hard as Nifong has already proven the case for a civil rights action.

The reporters and media that are pro nifong are too stupid to bail out of the sinking ship. Maybe they will end up as reporters for the Duke school newspaper.

Anonymous said...

Lawyer Antoun - At least getting paid (I assume) for his remarks, which is more than we can say for the rest - particularly Crowley.
Add another name including Munson to those willing to expose their stupidy.

Anonymous said...

I know I' am a bit off topic, but I just wanted wanted to talk about a topic that people have not talked about enough in my opinion.

Blacks aren't judging Nifong

I'm a black guy from Canada and I find this appalling. Black people should be denouncing Nifong but for some reason they refuse to do the right thing. The thing is that one of these days they will be on the other side of the debate and you can be sure that their role and silence against Nifong will be remember. Ironically, in Montreal, we've had a case that involved a white women and 5 black guys. The Same rush to judgment occurred, the accused even received death treat. And just like in the Duke case the charges proved to be a hoax.

Unfortunately I was not able to find an english article about this. But the gist of it is that "La Ligue des Noir" which could be considered like the equivalent of local NAACP branch is complaining that the Montreal police where guilty of racism in this case.

How this this apply to current case, well black leaders should know that they are likely to find themselves on the other side on of these days, and when they and find out they are not taken seriously and cry racism because of that, there will be people like me to remind them that its not because of racism that they are not taken seriously, but because of their lack on integrity.

http://www.matin.qc.ca/montreal.php?article=20060804193950

(I'm sorry that this is off topic and that I could not find a link in english, I did try but could not an english link to the montreal story)

Anonymous said...

Now that the rape charges have been dropped, why can't the media reveal the accusers name? CGM, filed a false police report, all the time hiding behind rape shield laws. No is the time for the press to expose her to the public.

Anonymous said...

"Antoun defended Meehan's partial report on several grounds: Reporting all the tests would result in a massive report that no one could understand. It would violate the privacy of the players, whom Antoun kept referring to as "soccer players." And listing all the test results would sully the reputation of the accuser, he said."

Sounds to me like Meehan might just as well defend himself since it is apparent he has a fool for a lawyer already.

Anonymous said...

12:29, I agree with you totally. That is one of the additional issues of this case. Although it's not being ignored competely, Bill Anderson has spoken many times about this exact issue and how it can unfortunately swing both ways. The NAACP, along with many (not all) of the members of the black community down here in Durham are accusing the Lawyers of being racist and attacking the prosecutor and accuser in the media to get the case thrown out. Rather they are unable to see the facts for what they are. This thought process unfortunately I believe is going to have significant reprocussions in the future for the exact reasons you stated.

Anonymous said...

A Google translation of an article on the Montreal case.

Anonymous said...

The sad irony is that even now, the North Carolina NAACP is STILL trying to salvage this case and have Reade, David, and Collin thrown into prison for 30 years. What we are seeing is the NAACP acting like the White Citizens Council during the Civil Rights Era.

The principals of the NAACP would like to think that because of the many ordeals black Americans have suffered, that they are given a special dispensation of justice. That is, that blacks are incapable of acting unjustly.

Unfortunately, that is not true. One would hope that the NAACP would be willing to do what is right, but I guess that the people there have so much invested in this case, they refuse to take any other position. But by insisting on the prosecution of a hoax -- and a very, very transparent hoax at that -- the NAACP has set its credibility back for many years.

Yes, the NY Times and N&O and other media outlets will play up to the NAACP, but this is an organization that has lost its soul. One cannot recover from that.

I know these are hard words, and some will interpret them as being racist. However, I hope that others will understand that doing justice and right is not a function of skin color and ethnicity, but is a matter of the heart.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the comment by Ross, the chair of the PoliSci department, Michael Munger, who is an eccentric figure to say the least, does have some members of the 88 in his department and has in fact come out and said that, in effect, they violated AAUP ethical canons in their ad. However, even though as department chair it would be his responsibility to take action on an ethical violation, he has apparently done nothing. There's a post on this at my blog here.

The issue of violations of the AAUP Statement on Academic Freedom and Tenure, section c, should also be pressed with Brodhead. He or his Deans should be beginning an investigation.

There was a well publicized case of violating Section c several years ago at Xavier University, where Peter Kirstein, a history prof, sent an Air Force Academy cadet an e-mail calling him a "baby killer". Kirstein was suspended due to the ethical violation. My own feeling is that the actions of the Group of 88 are much more serious.

Anonymous said...

Chicago writes:

From what I have read on the quad homicide case, the case is shaky and weak at best.

I think Nifong took that case to try and deflect his time and attention from the lax hoax.

Anonymous said...

I can't stand Wendy Murphy. The article states, "But Wendy Murphy, a former prosecutor who teaches at the New England School of Law, said the decision could help Nifong by keeping any discussion of the results of the DNA testing away from the jury."
She is stupid. If a sexual assault took place, that would leave DNA too.

To the Black guy from Canada at 12:29
I hope that this case brings to light other cases in which accused people are not treated within the legal requirements. I have heard some of the lawyer/commentators say they see this every day. I don't care about race/gender/religous affiliation. I will personally be much more aware of this possibility after this incredible case.

Great job KC.

Anonymous said...

I would urge all of you to read Kathleen Eckelt's latest post on her blog:

http://www.harfordmedlegal.
typepad.com

She has been a real treasure in this case!

Anonymous said...

Chicago writes:

I am also curious, how many cases does an average DA or Assistant DA work on at a given time? My guess is that it is far more than 2.

I find it hard to beleive Nifong is "buried in work." The man had time for 70+ interviews last Spring. Nifong also had time to go to forums at NCCU and campaign all over the place. He also took several lengthy vacations during the summer.

Anonymous said...

Got a kick from reading in the H/S today that "until Friday" (when he made a statement denouncing Nifong) Broadhead had been "a voice of moderation." Since when is spinelessness moderation?

Anonymous said...

As good as the article is, the basics have been known for months. It is impossible for three people to commit a violent assault and not leave any DNA. Not one of the enablers has ever produced an expert willing to say otherwise. All that has ever been said is that DNA is not always available, but that statement is true only if there are collection issues, absent here. So, as we all have known the absence of DNA is conclusive here, as Nifong promised. Not one of the many enablers has ever posited a reason why there is no DNA and Nifong, by virtue of having conspired to conceal the results, is admitting as much. After all, if the super sensitive DNA testing was irrelevant, why not turn it all over.

Anonymous said...

And, as Bill Andersen has tirelessly pointed out, the regular victims of the Nifong's are the less privileged.

Anonymous said...

Chicago writes:

It is amazing the amount of personal agendas that quickly entered the arena when this hoax began.

Nifong had an agenda to get elected

The NAACP had an agenda to payback whites.

The black panthers had an agenda to slam whites and have an alleged excuse to declare acceptable violence towards them.

Victoria Peterson has an agenda to have a microphone in front of her. As did Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, that agenda is sure to never change for those three.

The Group of 88 had an agenda to promote their prejudice views and gain attention. I also think the Group of 88 has a hidden jealousy towards most Duke students.

Easley had an agenda to stay silent so he was not embarassed by the fact that he appointed Nifong.

The Herald-Sun had an agenda to sell Newspapers with the "what lie will they print next" sensationalism to get people to check them daily. As soon as this case dies, so too does the HS. The HS ship has been sinking for several years and the Triangle is simply not big enough or interested enough to have two papers. This was proven when the Independent merged with the other local FREE entertainment weekly.

Nancy Grace had an agenda to continue justify hating men and pretty much everybody.

Broadhead had an agenda to prove to the world he was not a racist. Broadhead did everything but pull a Jerry McGuire and scream "I Love black people!"

I am sure I am missing plenty of other agendas as well.

Concerned Texan said...

The racism in this case has been an awakening for many; certainly this writer has become both older and wiser in the wake of the Duke Travesty. The emotionally driven actions of the accuser's supporters, fueled by their personal agendas of racism, vengence and the need to blame some other group for one's unhappiness, needs a thorough reexamination. Those on the other side who's need for justice has morphed into a vindictive racism ( as observed within some of the comments) likewise needs a tune-up. Nifungus has created, through his blatant (some would say criminal) self serving acts, a boiling cauldren in which we see the ugliness of racism, class envy, discontent and general evil bubble to the surface. Those to whome these thoughts apply need to take inventory of their underlying motivations, put on the blinders of justice and help fix this mess for the sake of these boys and all of us. I fear that the Banana Republic of North Carolina is the tip of the iceberg with respect to prosicutorial shenanigans. Nifungus, those like him and the system that enabled them needs an overhaul. Likewise, the Duke 88, their fearless leader Brodhead and control freak Steel are not unique. Their clones are well represented at Universities across the US. This is not a problem that easily goes away through referendum and legislation, this is a problem that has to be addressed at the most fundamental of levels. This problem resides within each of us and what we are seeing acted out on the legal stage is merely a reflection of troubles and discontent within.

Anonymous said...

"The whole point was the vilification of the district atorney, I believe"

Mike Nifong's verbatim excuse in a 3 hour interview in his office on what he has now portrayed as the ruthless defense strategy against him.

Nifong also conceded he erred in that he didn't give the defense all the DNA results months earlier than he did.

Fong is an absolute fool if he doesn't expect the defense to do everything legally possible to defend their clients, especially in the face of a malicious and illegal prosecution. One that has been tried in the press and the black community by the fong. One in which the DA sided with the New Black Panthers and allowed them to openly threaten the lives of the defendents.
Nifong's real error was not being able to fully conceal the DNA evidence and he is lying if he believes that he just turned over the evidence late. That was never his plan, he was compelled by the court to turn over the hidden evidence and he did so in such a way that he tried to hide the exculpatory evidence in 1800 pages of lab results. Did he really believe that the defense was of such low intelligence that they wouldn't eventially find the smoking gun ? Maybe not, but by blaming the defense, blaming his actions on errors and continuing with this charade, he still believes that the people and the media are stupid enough to allow him to continue with this illegal prosecution.

Orange Lazarus

Anonymous said...

Thank you KC for keeping the pressure on the fong. His lies are being exposed on a daily basis in your blog and you have done a wonderful job of recording them. If I were the defense I would be reading your blog every single day. For that matter the NC AG and the Governor should be reading your blog - if only to gauge the political damage the fong is doing to them.

The true miscarriage of justice is that no one from the NC AG's office, the Governor or the DOJ is willing to lift a finger at this point. The defendants still face a very real possibility that they could spend 40 years in prison yet only bloggers like KC, Liestoppers and Prof Coleman are willing to stick their necks out. Thank You !!

Orange Lazarus

Anonymous said...

Several realizations for me because of this case:
1. I still don't think Liefong, the 88 idiots et al. fully realize what truly derailed the case and their agendas. We truly are in the information age. The power of the internet combined with the insight and intelligence of the average citizen have worked together as never before. Think of what this case would have been without it. Like the industrial revolution and others before it the information revolution will change the face of everyday life. It is the greek marketplace of ideas expanded into every corner of the world with immediate fact checking and feedback. Truly remarkable. It also creates a medium for the millions of very smart people who exist in day to day life to put forth their unmatched expertise.
2. I used to be for the death penalty. After watching this unfold I am having secong thoughts. Not because I oppose death as a punishment but because I no longer trust the state to investigate and present an honest case. Imagine this case, or others in the past, without the workings of #1 above, depending soley on reports from the MSM or those involved like Liefong or the 88 fools.
3. The black community, as a whole, is 50/60 years behind and appear to have little desire to catch up. Entitlement,social/moral problems and hate have left them unable to take advantage of the helps available to them as a community. The naacp is morally bankrupt and it appears that every leader, organization or spokesman is totally committed to keeping the past alive and resisting change for the better.
:

Richard said...

Anonymous 1:10

Good point. I don’t see Broadhead being nominated for a profile in courage award.

Richard said...

The true miscarriage of justice is that no one from the NC AG's office, the Governor or the DOJ is willing to lift a finger at this point. The defendants still face a very real possibility that they could spend 40 years in prison yet only bloggers like KC, Liestoppers and Prof Coleman are willing to stick their necks out. Thank You !!

You are so right Orange Lazarus. So this is what passes for justice in North Carolina. There appears to be no way to put an end to the prosecution (and persecution) of these innocent men. Since the purpose of the bar association is to protect its members, we know that the bar association will not do anything to sanction Mr. Nifong. The judges in North Carolina certainly are not going to stop Nifong because he is just another good old boy. Finally, since the accused are not minorities, the Justice department won’t do anything. Thus we are left with this travesty of justice.

Anonymous said...

from a non-lawyer: The Christian Science Monitor just released an article where they quote KC

Anonymous said...

If anyone deserves a Profiles in Courage award, I think it should be Professor Coleman. He spoke up against Nifong's actions even when the powers that be in his own university were bending over backwards to justify Nifong's criminal conduct. Professor Coleman also risked the wrath of his community (AA's) by speaking the truth about this bogus prosecution. His comments have been both insightful and courageous. He is a credit to his profession, and to his race.

Anonymous said...

Chicago writes:

Anyone else notice the similarities here?

The Honorable Ronald L. Stephens
Judge Stephens received his Juris Doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was appointed special Superior Court Judge in 1994 before being elected in 1995. Prior to serving on the Superior Court bench, Judge Stephens served as the District Attorney of Durham County, practiced law with his private firm of Pulley, Wainio, Stephens & Lambe, and also served as an U. S. Army Helicopter Pilot during the Vietnam War.

The Honorable Kenneth C. Titus
Judge Titus received his Juris Doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was elected as a Superior Court Judge in November 2002. Prior to serving on the Superior Court bench, Judge Titus served as a District Court Judge and also served as Chief District Court Judge. Prior to serving on the bench, Judge Titus practiced law for several years in Durham.

----------------------

Now, I am not saying this is a UNC thing, not in the slightest. After all, EVERY UNC friend I have has told me what a crock this case is. I am simply pointing out that all of these guys have resumes very similiar to Nifong's. They went to the same school (could be any school, not because it is UNC), worked in the same office and for the same county, Stephens was even the DA of Durham when Nifong worked there. These guys have been together for years. Indeed, the actions of Titus and Stephens should also be questioned. While these judges may not have broken specific rules, they certainly turned a blind eye as others did.
These judges also gave Nifong all the breaks in regards to motions while they were still involved.
I want to again point out to people that I am NOT saying this is a Duke vs UNC thing. I think outside of athletics, people from both schools have tremendous mutual respect for each others schools.

Anonymous said...

so, may we now revisit karla holloway's brilliant quote "white innocence means black guilt". we're barrelling towards white innocence at light speed. I, according to holloway, that means black guilt.

Shall we begin to discuss what punishment is appropriate for blacks, since they are guilty based on the criteria they established?

WINDBAG

Anonymous said...

no, that would mean we'd be falling to the level of those select african american's that used the race card (this was not the entire african american population that behaved ignorantly).

Anonymous said...

"[88] ready to own to to the fact that they made a vicious, racist attack on their own Duke students.."

They won't. - Don't even waste time looking for it.

They will revise the facts of the past to suit their agenda - the Nifongian approach - and continue their cry of misogyny and white/male domination. - This is what puts bread on their table, and assures them of being invited to the preferred ultra-liberal dinner parties.

At one level -who cares what these losers think. But, it does cause concern for what passes as "critical thought" in today's Universities - Duke in particular.

Critical thought, as I understood it, was giving equal 'analysis' to the facts and theories of 2 or more sides to an issue(essentially).

It has since morphed into giving equal 'credibility' to any side, and of course where Brodhead and his ilk are involved, giving disproportiante credibility to the 'side' of an issue simply because it has 'suffered' as a minority view - ie, the curiculae of the '88'.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Professor Coleman. I had a difficult time putting a name to Nifongs actions. Bush League says it all and he seems totally unaware that this is the BIGS.

Anonymous said...

To the good Dr. Meehan,

It is true that one might not leave a fingerprint while robbing a bank.

But having conspired with Nifong, the stink of it is inescapably left on you -

Anonymous said...

Richard said...
The true miscarriage of justice is that no one from the NC AG's office, the Governor or the DOJ is willing to lift a finger at this point. The defendants still face a very real possibility that they could spend 40 years in prison yet only bloggers like KC, Liestoppers and Prof Coleman are willing to stick their necks out. Thank You !!

I think Richard has hit the nail on the head here with his statement?

The silence from the above noted folk is deafening and makes ones blood come to the boil!

It would seem that we have not come very far from Judge Bean's western saloon style of justice have we ?

The North Carolina justice system and it's leaders, AG, Easley and others are just political animals and will not turn in one of there own!Cronyism is alive and well in the NC Justice system.

More power to Rep Walter Jones who thank God has had the guts to expose Nifong for the legal charlatan he is to the USAG; Nifong is a bush lawyer and not a very good one at that!

I came to this country many years ago because I thought and believed in your Constitution and Freedoms.I am now sadly very disappointed in the North Carolina leadership cadre!

Where then are the NC statesmen/women who have the guts to know RIGHT from WRONG before political pandering?

It would seem that NC and American Justice is a terminal bed case after this sad miserable affair!

I think there will be a lot of folk that now will have NO confidence in the US and NC Justice systems?

Someone from the DOJ needs to stop this fool and his Durham circus before he destroys the place even more than he has already.

Walter Jones has stood up; where the hell are the rest of you HONEST politicians ???????

We know the Fong is a dishonest buffoon , now lets get it cleaned up and investigated soonest.....PLEASE?

Richard said...

Anonymous 5:03 PM

To set the record strait, the paragraph in italics that you praised was said by Orange Lazarus (Anonymous 2:42 PM). My comments were stated in the next paragraph.

Anonymous said...

5.15

I trust that the both of you will please accept my humble apology ?

I believe we are all on the same side in this matter.

Anonymous said...

DOES THIS HAVE ANY MERIT???
I kind of have this theory about Nifong. By proceeding with this case. even knowing he can not likely win any conviction against anyone charged, I suspect that as long as he proceeds and claims his actions were “for the victim,” then he can probably not be sued afterwards by any of the defense members. I wonder if he were to totally drop all the charges against all three suspects, then Nifong might be susceptible to both possible civil lawsuits and possible criminal charges against Nifong. His “strategy” might be to proceed to avoid the potential negative sanctions against himself, and it really may be nothing about actually attempting to provide “justice“ to the alleged “victim.“ Anyone thinking the same???????

Anonymous said...

Dear K.C.,
Thank you for turning your formidable intellect and discipline upon the Durham Hoax. I am one of, no doubt, hundreds, perhaps, thousands of people grateful that you stay with this awful thing, offering new perspectives laying out the perfidy of conspirators and enablers every day toward the freeing of the LAX boys of all charges, and toward the historical record that will eventually help define American culture. My family wishes you Merry Christmas and a happy and health New Year. With gratitude, and every good wish, sic semper tyrannis

Anonymous said...

This is from Linda William's (N&O) explanantion of why certain parts of the accuser's interview did not make it into the printed story.

" The accusers' speculation about the actions of the second woman was also not printed. If we had printed that utterance- an admitted speculation without the slightest foundation to suggest the possibility of truth-- it would have been a conscious act of libel. ........ Nonetheless, having made the decision not to print the speculation that was highly probably to be defamatory to several people, we have no legitimate reason to ever discuss publicly the specifics. Some of you have suggested that we should have printed it simply to show that the accuser was not credible.
Such reasoning is curious. Morever, it is neither legally nor morally defensible."

Why - and I am really asking here - did this logic not apply to the "utterance without the slightest foundation to suggest the possibility of truth" that was the accusation? What makes one utterance legally and morally acceptable to print and another not? The Duke men have endured horrendous libel and have been defamed based on nothing more than the word of a shielded, media-proof accuser supported by a corrupt prosecutor. I assume the indictments gave the media free license to print anything about the lacrosse players - shouldn't this add an extra layer of culpability on the prosecutor since if he had done his job, the accuser's lies would have been exposed before the accused suffered a media bloodbath?
Also - in this particular case, I think that the usual practice of keeping the accuser's name and face hidden contributed substantially to Nifong's ability to pervert justice. Shame used to be the issue - shame about being raped....but these days it is more likely to be shame about the activites and lifestyle of an accuser. How can we legally or morally justify allowing males to be slandered while females are shielded? Are male college students/athletes lesser beings than female prostitutes? I would love to hear opinions from those with media or legal backgrounds on this......should the media keep the identities of those accused of sex crimes secret until convicted or should they stop giving accusers a shield of secrecy to hide behind?

Anonymous said...

7.41

Yes I hear you....We all give in now then ?? Corruption rules in NC OK??

I think I will go and locate an Alaskan travel brochure....time to leave town.


Disillusioned in NC

Anonymous said...

I'm telling you that if this thing goes to trial the very best the defendants can hope for is a hung jury. I don't want anyone to think this comment is racial, but the black population of Durham will vote to convict. If there are enough whites on the jury that they can support each other, maybe a hung jury.

Anonymous said...

"I trust that the both of you will please accept my humble apology ?

I believe we are all on the same side in this matter.

5:20 PM"

No problem 5:20 - the key as you said, and I agree, is that we are all of the same mind regarding this issue. Lets all keep the drum beat going for truth and justice.

What the 88 Duke professors and the fong need to understand is that we will not be swayed by their smokesceens or their social deconstruction rationales. We expect this case to be proven or disproven based on our strict system of jurisprudence and within the guidelines of the Constitution and NC State laws. If wrong doing is found on either side we expect the law to apply and the wrongs to be corrected in a just and legal manner.

"It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error."
Robert H. Jackson, 1950
Source:American Communications Association v. Douds,339 U.S. 382,442


Orange Lazarus

Anonymous said...

BILLY'S GAY DANCER DAD

Billy was at school this morning in Chapel Hill and the teacher asked all the children what their fathers did for a living. All

The typical answers Came fireman, policeman, salesman, carpenter, captain of industry etc, but Billy was being uncharacteristically quiet and so the teacher asked him about his father.

My father is an exotic dancer in a gay club and takes off all his clothes in front of other men. Sometimes if the offer is really
good, he'll go out with a man, rent a cheap hotel room and let them sleep with him."

The teacher quickly set the other children some work and took little Billy aside to ask him if that was really true.



"No" said Billy, "He's a District Attorney in Durham but I was just too embarrassed to say."

Anonymous said...

Does anyone think this is the accusers blog page...says it is
http://blogher.org/member/crystal-gail-mangum

Anonymous said...

To anonymous 10:15:

That page describes the person as an "all around bad girl lookin for a free ride". Somehow I suspect that the accuser is not going to publicly describe herself that way. The page was obviously written by somebody else as a portrayal of her.

Anonymous said...

But her name was not public until recently

Anonymous said...

Cedarford,
loved your summary. i hope kc will post about naacp's latest comments. there was one part of your essay... it is a little off topic on the duke hoax, but i'd love to comment because i don't think osama is a fairy tale. He is the real mccoy who slammed planes into the buildings with men chanting praise god.
>Just as we went almost a year after 9/11 with a grand delusion that radical Islam was all Osama, Osama, Osama, Osama and how "getting him to trial would make "everything all right again". Some still believe that fairy tale. >

I would have loved to get Osama to trial. I don't believe in the death penalty for any reason because Jesus suffered the death penalty no one else should.

But Osama needed the biggest police action ever done. With battering rams and bombs chasing his ass to Pakistan or where ever. If we invested the $$$, lives, insurance for the contractors we have hired. the shame of lowering of the eyes of the world towards the usa. My father was a copy. I would say he is wanted dead or alive.!!!

To me the magnitude of the error in the GW's war against radical islam is equal to Nifong in sheer incompetence for a government employed civil servant. If I may humbly share my opinion.

The problem with the build up after 9/11 was sadam, sadam, sadam.. It should have been osama. once the usa let all his family get out of the country right after, hot leads in the trail of osama disappeared. I would love to know who signed off on those orders.

We took our eyes off the real one who had already declared war on the US, which for all the evil puke that sadam is he hadn't declared war on us.

kc i have a job for you after you win your pulitzer prize. happy to have voted against nifong here in durham.

Anonymous said...

Bravo Cedarford.

Right on; Nifong is just the tip of the iceburg,a product of the liberal PC cancer that is destroying the this country!

I am afraid our enemies abroad know this and play to our media and other left wing organisations.

Abe Lincoln informed us that this great country could never be destroyed from the outside....but we could allow ourselves to be destroyed slowly from the inside!!!

The PC cancer is spreading, it requires radical surgery if we are to survive and clean up this country.

If we call these folk to account we are instantly called RASCISTS!

Balderdash to them all.

Anonymous said...

go cedarford

jc

Anonymous said...

Orange Lazarus, 2:42 post.

You must be blind! Look around a little more and you will see who you are ignoring, a very calculating move no doubt. For God's sake, wait until these three kids are safe and sound before you start the fight for credit grabbing. What an utterly ignorant statement that was, but how very revealing too!

Truth Hurts

Anonymous said...

KC,

Your name is being taken in vain on the Duke Chronicle discussion board. In April, you supported Brodhead's decision to end the lacrosse season. Why don't you revisit the subject and tell us what you think now that we know more about what Brodhead knew and when he knew it.
The link

curtisroys said...

I still want to know where the Hell is the North Carolina State Bar is in all this? In most states the Bar has an interest in maintaining the intergity if its profession. Evidently, the North Carolina State Bar is not all interested in reigning a rogue prosecutor despite numerous (17, at least) (unanswered?) formal complaints filed against DA Nifong, not just in this case, but in others as well.