Saturday, January 06, 2007

The Rust Belt Weighs In

Three papers from the old center of the steel industry have joined the media chorus of Mike Nifong’s critics. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review noted the supreme irony of this case: “that while Nifong conspired to get three young men and win an election, he may have gotten himself.” The bar wants him out, good evidence exists that “candidate Nifong played the race card and sacrificed three young men on the altar of his political aspirations,” and the Nifong-Meehan conspiracy “may be a crime.”

No wonder, the Tribune-Review observes, Nifong took the oath of office in private.

A bit to the west, the News-Herald, based in northeastern Ohio, awards a brickbat to Nifong, for barring the media and public from a swearing-in ceremony of a public official. Nifong’s excuse: “The whole point of this was this was not a media event . . . We’re not here to basically help you guys sell newspapers or press coverage.”

As the N-H comments, Nifong “didn’t seem to mind helping to sell newspapers when he brought the charges in the first place, making daily public statements smearing the players and calling them ‘hooligans.’” That the D.A. clings to the case “defies logic, and the whole sordid tale raises serious questions about his integrity.”

Meanwhile, the N-H appropriately awards a bouquet to the Duke administration for lifting the suspensions of Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty. “Duke administrators,” the editors observe, “apparently see what Nifong refuses to admit, which is that there is overwhelming doubt about the guilt of the accused players.”

The most devastating editorial comes from Ohio’s largest and most prestigious paper, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. Under the headline of a “rotten case,” the line for the editorial reads, “As the prosecution of Duke’s lacrosse players unravels, the evidence favors a day in court for the district attorney.”

It goes without saying, the P-D reasons, that “Nifong has so badly managed the matter that he must recuse himself.”

Correctly, the editors realize that while “Nifong’s prejudicial comments spurred a formal disciplinary complaint to the North Carolina State Bar, . . . they have turned out to be the least of his offenses.” The procedural monstrosity of the April 4 lineup and the Nifong-Meehan DNA conspiracy far exceed the prejudicial comments on the scale of wrongdoing. The latter, according to the P-D, offers “the strongest evidence yet that the prosecutor himself should be the subject of an investigation, and that he should have no further connection with this case.”

It’s “ridiculous to believe an impartial jury could convict the defendants on the remaining charges,” the P-D concludes.

With virtually every major paper in the country (absent the New York Times) and dozens of smaller papers denouncing Nifong, for what is AG Gonzales waiting? ABC news reports that Walter Jones wants to know the answer to this question: yesterday, he sent a third letter to the AG demanding a federal inquiry into Nifong’s misconduct. While David Price has reverted to the states’ rights position of civil rights opponents in North Carolina’s past, the DOJ should follow Jones’ recommendation.

60 comments:

Anonymous said...

Isn't it an embarrassment to the NYT that it continues to hide it's head on this?Is there anyone here who knows NYT personnel and can speak to this?Is their stance being discussed in the hallways oftheir own building or is it hope the problems will go away.
Corwin

Anonymous said...

I know first hand about grade retaliation, for I experienced it while at college in a public speaking class.

The professor was radical left. I'm conservative. I sensed that he did not like me (I gave him no reason to dislike me other than being a conservative), but until halfway through the semester he kept his dislike in check. This particular professor was in charge of the college debate team (Debate Coach). He was in his mid 30s maybe early 40s and projected that he was God's gift to the female gender. Bad for me, one of his female debaters liked me. She was in my public speaking class and when she started liking me, she relocated her classroom seat next to mine. Even though the quality of my classroom work didn't go down, my grades in this prick's class did go down. I suppose I was guilty of some sin for liking one of his debate team "girls". Sometimes he would openingly make fun of me in class for my clothing, because it no longer fit me (I was lifting weights, trying to keep the $400 a semester walk on track scholarship money that was so desperately needed - and had put on quite a bit of muscle). We were poor and my folks didn't have enough money to just go out and buy me another a larger wardrobe. Just because it no longer fit wasn't reason enough to replace it. New clothes were only purchased when the old were threadbare and no longer patchable. My parents went without just so they could scrape by. My father wore shoes until there were holes in the toes. He was elated when my shoe size matched with his size, yet my foot would not longer fit my shoes due to growing so fast, for he got my old shoes! My mother always insisted that our feet not be cramped in our shoes while we were growing, perhaps she knew something about foot anatomy, so the shoes were the only exception the the wear until threadbare policy. My mother wore clothing purchased at the Salvation Army, Good Will, or Thrift store so there would be money for our shoes when my sister's feet and my feet became too big for our shoes.

My mother would ask the butcher at the grocery store if he had any throw away scraps for our dog. Some of you might find this hard to believe, but some of those free scaps never made it to the dog, for sometimes she trimmed the scant amount of meat and from that would make us a beef stew to eat. If a bone was too big for the dog to eat, she boiled it in water to get the nutients out of it and the dog got the broth. Hardly anything went to waste.

When I departed home for college in the autumn, my first trip home was Thanksgiving. Even though it was pretty much a suitcase school (most kids went home weekends), I didn't have the money to get home until Thanksgiving. Until the day I die, I will always remember the look on my Mother's face when I arrived home for that Thanksgiving. She had not seen me since I departed for college in August. In 3 short months her scrawny son had gained nearly 20 pounds and every bit of it was muscle from the weight lifting and track workouts. I was popping at the seams. She was there at the front door waiting for me, gave me a big hug, and her first words with a big smile were: "Look at you, my my you sure have grown!". Her smile remained but I could see tears welling up in her eyes as she uttered her next words: "I know what you are getting for Christmas". I too knew what Christmas would bring, and it would be just a few sets of proper sized clothing, so I quickly returned her hug and held her a long time to hide the tears in my eyes. We had practically nothing, but had all the love in the world.

What does all this have to do with "adjustment" of grades? To sit there in my Public speaking class while this professor openly humilated me about my tight fitting clothes and to get poor grades for no good reason, is something that explains the parking lot justice mentioned earlier. I didn't adminster parking lot justice to my professor. I just sat there and tried to let it run off my back, realizing that the most important lesson in his class was: I didn't want to grow up to be anything like him.

So, to the poster in the previous thread who said something like no harm, no legal case, grades got corrected. I say back to that poster: YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. The temptation is to call you an ignorant azzhole, but nope, I won't do that, for in a way, I'm happy for you, because you clearly have led a nice insulated life of comfort. In another way, I feel sorry for you, for your comfortable insulation has not allowed you to realize empathy.

Don't anybody here feel sorry for me, I don't want that. The take away lesson is: It doesn't matter what you have in life. What matters is what you make of what you have. So, if there is a legal case about those grades, and there is the money available to take that case to court, go for it. Right that wrong, kudos for using your money to fight the incorrectness of the PC cancer that is everywhere.

AMac said...

KC Johnson wrote --

"With virtually every major paper in the country (absent the New York Times) and dozens of smaller papers denouncing Nifong..."

My hometown paper, the Baltimore Sun, was delighted to have its news section serve the agenda of the NYT during the Happy Time of the spring and summer of 2006.

The Public Editor doesn't bother to respond to my (always polite) emails on the paper's performance. Perhaps being tarred by association with "hooligan right-wing blogs" disqualifies me from being seen as a paying subscriber.

Once this matter reaches its sorry conclusion, the Sun's editorial board may find the courage to weigh in against prosecutorial misconduct.

Another case of Leadership from the Rear.

Anonymous said...

The NYT is showing itself to be precisely what it's critics claim - an organ of the left wing body politic. The NYT had article after article on this case when it was leaning their desired way. Now that it tilts the "wrong" way, they are silent, even while small Midwestern papers are covering the Nifong malfeasance.

There is no excuse for the change from vociferous attack to silence, save that the NYT wishes to serve their own defined version of "social good" with their coverage. Bias of the highest order.

Anonymous said...

Let's not be so sure that the Feds are not already on the case. They typically work in stealth, or at least until the point where they question a sufficient number of people that secrecy is no longer possible. Quite often targets of investigation discern that they are a target relatively late in the process.

Anonymous said...

10:53am Anon spake thusly:

"Isn't it an embarrassment to the NYT ..."

No, it's not an embarrassment to them, although it's an embarrassment for them.

There might be a few in the news & editorial sections that are embarrassed, but I doubt it.

Anonymous said...

Im sure all it would take to end this HOAX is if AG Gonzales interviews the FA.

Anonymous said...

It's not necessary for the feds to be stealthy. Nifong's conduct is so egregious and likely criminal that the feds don't need to keep quiet. The Justice Department and the FBI should be all over this white-collar crime and abuse case. Stop Nifong now.

Anonymous said...

Great cartoon re: Nifong's swearing-in.

It did surprise me w/ 1 detail, though - is Judge Hudson black?

Anonymous said...

I never really understood the bruhaha over calling the players "hooligans". Hooligans seems a fairly mild insult without great animus attached to it.

"Rapists", on the other hand is a pretty loaded term.

Anonymous said...

11:56am Anon:

Just the fact that the DA is publicly calling the team (remember, no ID'd perps at that point) any names is bad enough.

Anonymous said...

gp
this is 11:56

I agree with you and stand corrected.
I think my post could be misread to indicate it was ok to call them hooligans. I did not mean to indicate that.

Anonymous said...

Re the 10:56 am post: I read your comments with particular interest. I am female, and years ago when I spent one year as a visiting student at a women's college other than the women's college I graduated from, I participated in intercollegiate sports. My morning practice concluded just prior to my Economics class, so I generally had to head right to class in my sweats, with my gear and books in tow. The professor was a young guy who fancied himself God's gift to the students in his class. He repeatedly made fun of my clothing as well, adversely comparing me to the other students in his class who he felt made more of an effort to dress up for his class (sadly, some of them seemed to buy into his game and made a point of complying with this nonsensical and transparent attempt to flirt with them.)

After I explained to him in front of the class the reason for my sports attire (which I felt as a 19-year-old compelled to do because I was somewhat intimidatd by this unpleasant experience), he thereafter regularly made fun of the notion of female athletes and indicated his belief that they were less serious students.

I finally complained to him (again, in front of the class) that I felt his comments were inappropriate -- I ended up with a C for my efforts, despite the fact that my work in that class had been B's prior to my complaint.

In hindsight, I should have gone to the University about my situation, but it was 30 years ago and not a climate quite like that of today, where one would hope that such antiquated behavior would have ceased to exist. I was so embarrassed and disillusioned that I never said anything. I just went back to my former school, relieved to be far away from the violation of that experience.

It still turns my stomach to think about it -- I have thought about it a lot of late when reading about the way that a number of the Duke lacrosse players were treated last spring. Reading your story only confirms for me that same feeling of disgust for these grossly inappropriate and bullying comments made by so-called professionals who use their positions of power to mistreat other people. What a terrible thing to do to anyone, particularly to an impressionable, powerless and defenseless young person whose education has been entrusted to you. Didn't their parents ever teach them how to treat another human being?

Clearly, grade retaliation is as alive and well as sophomoric behavior by some professors.

Anonymous said...

K.C.,

The federal intervention aspect of this case seems harder than you allow. Generally, states should be allowed to run their own criminal justice systems, even if mistakes are made. I realize that 9 months is a long time to be mistreated by Nifong and some others, but it is still only nine months. This matter seems to be proceeding in the right direction without federal intervention. The case against the players will likely be over with one or two more hearings and the main culprit faces disbarment proceedings.

It would be interesting to see the DOJ's written policies and procedures for handling matters like this. I doubt that they provide for intervention this early in a case.

Anonymous said...

I have a slightly off topic question - I've kind of been waiting for KC to post on it, but here it is.

How many of Nifong's previous convictions have been because of behavior like this?

If he's willing to conspire to supress exculpatory evidence here, doesn't it seem likely that he's done so before? If he's willing to arrest an alabi witness (Moez Mostafa) on absurd charges to pressure him to lie, has he done that before?

How many innocent people are sitting in jail, or have had their lives destroyed with felony convictions, because Durham has a dirty DA and police force?

Unknown said...

It's no surprise that the Pittsburgh Trib-Review came down against Nifong (and not for the first time), given that the editorial page is distinctly conservative. That more liberal editorial pages are also coming down against Nifong is a good sign.

Anonymous said...

Nifong will get any sanctions. State bar investigation team has three members, one is local democratic party hack (appointed by the democratic governor) and probably one the bar members is african-american. Nifong wins 2-1, if we assume there is one honest bar member. Otherwise, 3-0. take that,

Unknown said...

"So, to the poster in the previous thread who said something like no harm, no legal case, grades got corrected. I say back to that poster"

I have made errors reporting -- but not calculating -- grades. I have always issued grade changes as soon as I have discovered them, and with many abject apologies to the student. Errors in reporting grades, even errors in calculation, are one thing; grade retaliation is another entirely. The first is to be expected from time to time; the second is not tolerable at any educational institution.

Anonymous said...

I hope all earlier actions by Nifong and the Gang of 88 will be investigated. If Curtis acted similarly against the ROTC member, it would be logical to sue Duke and Curtis (since now it is obvious that Curtis is doing things like that).

Anonymous said...

I wonder when the NY Times will leave Nifong's sinking ship.

It sad that they can not admit they were wrong. The paper has become a joke. I guess they too busy telling terrorist how to attack theUS to oprint the truth.

Anonymous said...

Is there any real difference between the group of 88 and nineteenth century lynch mobs? Thank God we have enough rule of law today that the mob has to use grade retaliation instead of rope. Times change, people don't, unfortunately.

Anonymous said...

New York al-Times is a joke.

Even NYT public editor admits this:
Truth, Abortion and Times
It just serves left-wing propaganda and fake but accurate news.

Anonymous said...

"It's time to drain the swamp" that this Nifong miscarriage of justice represents. Yes, it's a borrowed phrase from 2006, but I cannot think of a more appropriate analogy.

For the legions familiar with this historic case, there are few doubts that it absolutely lacks merit, it is depriving three young men of their civil rights, and it is a national embarrassment to the justice system.

Whether it's a state or federal case is unimportant. This hoax has gone on far too long, and the time for mere words of indignation has long passed. Once again, it's time to drain the swamp, so let the bailing begin. Nifong must go!

Anonymous said...

How many innocent people are sitting in jail, or have had their lives destroyed with felony convictions, because Durham has a dirty DA and police force?

That's the elephant in the room, isn't it?

Durham County is 38% black (the reason Nifong went down this road to hell in the first place). I can't find the statistic on the black NC prison population, but I saw it a few weeks ago, it was something like 65%.

If Nifong has been doing this his whole career, he's probably put a LOT more innocent black people in jail than white people.

It would be interesting to start interviewing prisoners and ex-cons that Nifong worked, and see if they have a reasonable claim of actual innocence. If you could get a couple of dozen of them, you get the ACLU, NAACP, Jackson, Sharpton et all to change sides, and it's a whole new ball game.

Anonymous said...

An important point (which has been for the most part overlooked) is this:

It is not unusual for young men (not just Duke LAX members) to find themselves in questionable sitations where DNA is transferred (Lap dancing, etc). This happens all too frequently (bachelor parties, military bases, trips to Vegas, and so on).

I'm not saying this is a good thing, or right, or moral--just that it happens.

Given the explosive nature of this case, what chance would these guys have had if such activity did take place?

Much of the mainstream media (which seems to accept virtually any form of sexual activity)acted as if these boys behavior was unheard of. Its not (go ahead and ask any retired military man).

This case almost certainly would have gone to trial and they may well have been railroaded to jail. Its very scary how much of this case ultimately rested on the lack of DNA on the accuser.

I'm curious if anybody else has any thoughts of this.

Anonymous said...

The NY Times pretty much has backed off its original theme. However, you have to remember that the Times does not want to be seen as following the herd, but rather leading the herd.

Thus, if the Times can break a good one that helps to take Nifong down, it will do it. My sense is that the paper does not want to be caught on the losing side, and also does not want to be seen as a follower.

Thus, these guys are laying low for right now. But I have no doubt that they have abandoned Mikey. The question is what the Times will do to pull the rug from under him.

Anonymous said...

I am a recent male Duke grad, and I can too attest to the leftwing bias. I am an econ major, and I needed to take an econ elective. I was overloading that semester, and the only econ elective I could take was "Woman in the Economy," which was cross listed as a Womans Studies course. The course was pathetic and the teacher was horrible. I learned nothing in the course . We had three tests in the class, all short answer essay questions. Basically, the teacher would give us a statement, and we had to write our opinion about it. The first test I wrote my own opinion and got a C on the test. I studied my ass of for the test, and did not understand why I did so poorly. I spoke to other students, and found out that overall guys averaged a C on the test, while the girls averaged an A. I read the answers for the girls who got an A on the class, and basically they regurgitated what the teacher said in class. So, on the next test my answers basically stated exactly what the teacher said in class. It was an opinion test, and I wrote her opinion, not mine.I ended up getting a 100 on the desk. I noticed that all I needed to do was repeat the teacher and I would get an A on the test. No thought process whatsoever. On the third test I did the same and got a 97.

The problem with left wing professors is that they get mad when you disagree with them, and it is very sad.

I told my parents that I am not going to donate a cent to Duke until Dick "fair weather friend aka spineless jellyfish aka windvain" Brodhead is fired. I am very proud of Duke, but not proud of its leadership.

Anonymous said...

The Times had their chance when they wrote up the "3 hr interview".

Anonymous said...

It also seems likely that he railroaded other guilty defendants in the past, but did so in a way that could result in the convictions being overturned, now that the way things operate is out in the open. I count the original judge, the former DA, as among the very guilty in all this and would not be at all suprised if he didn't have a similar record.

Really, it is hard to believe how far Nofing was willing to go -- fabricating a case out of whole cloth against those he knew to be innocent.

Prison is to good for him, but I hope he gets put in with people he sent there.

Anonymous said...

KC, can you fix up the picture on one of your articles from yesterday that your hosting company has replaced?

It was such a perfect portrait of injustice.

Anonymous said...

12:34 - I agree with your sentiments but have to believe the feds are watching this closely. Yet, as you aver, they won't spend political or investigative capital at this stage.

Anonymous said...

Time/CNN:

Teacher Support for the Duke Players

"Now that rape charges have been dropped, some faculty members are expressing regret over what some saw as bias against their own students"

Anonymous said...

anon 1:43pm


The first test I wrote my own opinion and got a C on the test. I studied my ass of for the test, and did not understand why I did so poorly. I spoke to other students, and found out that overall guys averaged a C on the test, while the girls averaged an A. I read the answers for the girls who got an A on the class, and basically they regurgitated what the teacher said in class. So, on the next test my answers basically stated exactly what the teacher said in class. It was an opinion test, and I wrote her opinion, not mine.I ended up getting a 100 on the desk. I noticed that all I needed to do was repeat the teacher and I would get an A on the test. No thought process whatsoever. On the third test I did the same and got a 97.


You have just solved a problem for me. That is, how is it that females do so well in high school and some college courses compared to males and yet do so poorly in the technical marketplace.

I have worked in the computer field for almost 30 years and there are so few competent females in the technical area. Most females who start in computing pretty quickly move out of technical areas into areas like QA, mid-level management, or marketing.

Perhaps you should start a blog where we can look at your papers in that course.

Anonymous said...

Thus, if the Times can break a good one that helps to take Nifong down, it will do it

No they won't. Just like UN corruption case that was going on few blocks from NYT HQ they were silent for months until one day they had a headline "Texas oilman caught in UN Oil for Food Scandal" indirectly hinting that Texas oilmen (wink wink) are evil.
As their own public editor admits (see link above) they are willing to lie and refuse to correct it (if it would be against their left-wing ideology).


Maybe we see headline in coming months, along the lines of "Bush connection to Nifong", "Nifong's second cousin is a republican" etc.

Anonymous said...

1:40 maks a good point which I have not yet seen. If this was a gay party and the dancer was a man in drag, you can bet that the partygoers would not be criticized and those who did would be accused of being homophobic. It is too bad that the Lacrosse players chose such conventional behaviour.
If only the dancer had really been exotic!

Anonymous said...

Some commenters continue to offer reasons of why the feds haven't intervened — it's only been nine months, for example. Actually, Gonzales and the FBI have no excuse for failing to intervene. North Carolina's attorney general and Nifong buddy Mike Easley, the governor who appointed Nifong, have neglected their duties. And please don't say that Cooper and Easley can't do anything. What if they spoke out against the Nifong frame and asked for Justice Department help?

Anonymous said...

I think Dowd was treated poorly for reasons others have already mentioned, but he has no claim for damages.

I look at it like this, if peoples anger at Duke, the angry being mostly white conservatives like myself, spout off about Duke owing Dowd for damages or they hope that Dowd gets what he can get from Duke, these beliefs are very similar to the blacks who believe the Duke players are guilty or want them to pay for years of treating blacks poorly despite evidence of their innocence.

Dowds case is crap but the approach of the people who support his lawsuit and want Duke to pay are probably the same people who are so angry at people in the black communtiy for their opinions and attitudes against the lacrosse players.

We need to watch our own hypocrisy simply because we support innocent players and loathe what Duke has done.

Anonymous said...

4:07- I dont see the similarity. Could you explain more?

On the face of it, Dowd appears to have been wronged seriously. Based on the evidence in the rape case I still dont know what to think 'really' happened and am reserving judgement.

Anonymous said...

During my time as an undergrad and as a grad student, I had good relationships with most, if not all, of my professors. I was never a brown nose, but I spent a lot of time asking questions during office hours and came to every class with at least one question on topic. I was not the brightest student either, but I am sure of several instances where my grade was a little too good.... perhaps a B+ turned into an A, or a minus disappeared, but I am sure it happened I am sure it was because the professors sensed my genuine interest in the topic and I made their classes better than if I just sat there taking notes -- and I was a physics major.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps Linwood Wilson, the chief investigator for the Durham DA's office and Duff Wilson, the NYT, fiction writer are related. This could be one reason they received Gottliebs fairyland story, about the Duke case. Just curious, does anyone one know if the two Wilson's are related?

Anonymous said...

I've always been a big fan of Thomas Sowell. He sums the situation up very well....
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell010207b.php3

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell010307.php3

Anonymous said...

Anon 4:07: There is a difference.

Those who support suits against Duke 88 faculty for wrong grades are crying out for punishment. That punishment is to be doled out to those who did the misdeed.

Those who think like Chan Hall don't care if punishment is doled out to the innocent, or great great grandchildren (who had NOTHING to do with the misdeed) of the guilty.

Do you see the difference?

Anonymous said...

I understand what anon 407 is saying. You basically have two sides with polar opposite views and cultures who want justice for the so called victims on their side, but both sides so called victims have no merit to their claims.

Precious the victim was not raped or assaulted and does not deserve the support, including a claim for damages or convictions of the accused, of people who wouldnt otherwise support her if not for the color of her skin and the fact other blacks have suffered from opression or misdeeds of whites years ago.

Dowd does not have any damages but his lawsuit is supported because of the damages owed to the three accused players and because he is also a lacrosse players.

The only people who have a claim for damages are the three indicted players. Dowd is looking to capitalize on this and is going to take Duke for a money grab for the wrong reasons. The environment is ripe that any lacrosse player could probably sue Duke over a grade and be successful. Dowd will be successful just like many blacks who went for the money grab or the not guilty grab like OJ.

Anonymous said...

12:40, 1:36, et al

I think this is a classic case of the Peter Principle, with a dose of extremely poor judgment, less than remarkable self-control, unremarkable intellect, and just a sprinkle of malevolence.

The Peter Principle is the theory that employees within an organization will advance to their highest level of competence and then be promoted (or in this case, appointed by the Governor to D.A.) to and remain at a level at which they are incompetent. [After Laurence Johnston Peter (1919–1990).]

Nifong was appointed mid-term to the position of DA, a position he conceded he did not have the “perspective” to seek earlier. When it came time to campaign for (re)election, he found himself falling behind his rival, Frita Black, who he had fired shortly after his appointment, and who would certainly fire him if she were to win the election. His efforts to win the election and keep his newfound title, power and pelf included lending his campaign $30K of his own money -- and yet he remained behind in the polls.

Then along came the FA, CGM, his salvation-turned-damnation.

It is conceivable to me that Nifong started down this horrific road, a road that he may never have been down before, and shouldn't have gone down in the first place. But once he took the first fateful step, he got increasingly further in over his head with each utterance, with each nefarious act.

Someone on this blog said Nifong is riding a tiger that he can’t get off. I agree, and it’s a tiger of his own making. It started out with a few inflammatory (okay, not a few, a lot) statements, then the evidence didn’t support those statements so he ignored the evidence, then, when additional evidence out and out refuted those statements he starting hiding it…

I doubt Nifong started out on day one with the thought he would just railroad these three. It was, more likely, a slippery slop that a guy who had risen to the level of his own incompetence ,with extremely poor judgment, less than remarkable self-control, unremarkable intellect, and just a sprinkle of malevolence, started down – and now we are at this point in this Greek tragedy…. And it is time to take his head, and those of the enablers who advanced their own agendas …

Could there be others, before his days as traffic prosecutor, that were railroaded in a similar fashion? Sure, but the forces acting on Nifong were clearly different back then, when he didn’t need to win the election to retain his job…

Anonymous said...

Bottom line is Dowd has a good case against the professor and Nifong has no case against the lacrosse players.

Anonymous said...

I bet you are a white oppressor.

Anonymous said...

4:53, ALL the lacrosse players were drug through the mud at the beginning. The "wanted" posters, "wall of silence," "houligans," and more, to include all of the players lumped together as rapists. So, no, I do not blame Dowd for calling this professor on her injustice towards him.

Greg Toombs said...

In my imagination, I see many more claims against Duke and Durham.

These claims will be filed, one by one, every week or so over the next few months.

Some of these claims will be strong, some weaker.

All of them are likely to result in significant discovery before any settlement or judgment.

These discovery files will be voluminous, venemous, vindicating and very, very useful to Collin, Dave and Reade as their attorneys pursue claims against many Duke and Durham employees.

Depending on your point of view, you will find the discovery process, results and subsequent embarrassing publicity to be agonizing or, perhaps, satisfying.

I hope this puts a very large stake into the heart of the grievance industry.

Anonymous said...

Wait we really dont know what happened with Crystal, but we do know what happened to Dowd- and he was damaged with maliace by an agent of Duke.

I dont support Dowd as a proxy for the three indited players- he and his family undoubted suffered anguish at the thought of not being able to attend Graduation Weekend Ceremonies that he had earned by his 3.4GPA because he was being defrauded out of a grade the in POLSCI 183 that he paid Duke for in good faith.

Curtis exploited her uneven power relationship to punish Dowd because he belong to a group she did not approve of. She sought to endanger his career, his academic standing, defraud him out of the $4,000 or so that he was paying her for the course and knew that not graduating was going to cause him anguish. Do we really know what that could do to the mental makeup of a kid who is accused of a felony, has had his team season cancelled, wont graduate and will be unemployed? Did Kim consider any of that?

If he had to retake the course that is probably at least 100 hours of his time and another $4000. Assuming that he has to spend another 3 months in Durham for summer school and his NYC job might being paying $75K, Kim's actions might reasonablly be expected to disadvantage Dowd by $23,000.

The fact that he was diligent in foiling her schemes does not mean that she should be allowed to continue doing this.

Everyone on the LAX team would have benefitted through a sucessful season. The fact that they were all deprived of a chance to be a national champion in a sport they had probably been competing for 10+ years because of an arbitrary and unfair decision by the University is also actionable. The team could easily have been allowed to play out the season based on the information available to the administration.

Anonymous said...

The most sickening thing of this whole topic is the cost of 4,000 for a course like this. The essntial info. can probably be contained on a single 3x5 card.
Fricking unbelieveable. Academic fraud. Can you imagine a product like this on the open market at this price?

Anonymous said...

I forgot the team. Yes, the team should also be able to sue Duke for cancelling their season. I wouldn't be happy to see my season cancelled after 10+ years of hard work preparing for it.

Anonymous said...

I hope pseudo-science departments are shut down. If Duke Alumni continues funding these they are morons. At least they should restrict the money going to real academic programs only. Dubious "middle eastern studies" depts continue to thrive thanks to Wahhabi saudi oil money but that's another story.

Anonymous said...

After reading Cedarford’s description of the possible resolution of this case, I kept thinking that it sounded familiar and then I realized it is exactly how I resolve conflicts among my children. “Make nice”, “think of others’ feelings”, “consider how lucky you are” and so on. Trying to appeal to sentiment, dampen feelings of hostility, rage, aggression and basically throwing a maternal blanket of mushiness over everyone in order to return the house to peaceful calm ASAP. Very effective in the family environment. Sounds initially like progress toward a more “kinder, gentler” world for this to happen in the public arena. Think of the violence and conflict and wars potentially averted! So what is wrong with this PC, feminine, noblesse oblige sort of resolution? The same thing that hoses it up in the realm of the family - when there has been a genuinely bad action, the perp getting away with it completely wrecks attempts at peacemaking. A fair penalty being assigned to the perp and any co-perps restores true balance and peace. Additionally, the others tend to feel a bit more compassionate once this is done and the perps usually get a little quicker sympathy and forgiveness. BUT that is AFTER some penalty or punishment is assigned.
Selecting a scapegoat is a time-honored way of letting the many purge blame and guilt by assigning the evil to the few (or one). Jesus was a scapegoat. History is rife with scapegoats. The Duke three are scapegoats - they are taking the hit for Durham’s resentment of Duke, blacks’ resentment of whites, poor resentment of rich, and for that matter, they are taking the blame for some negative actions of their teammates. “Broom comment boy”, McFayden, “cotton shirt boy” and any other teammates whose words or actions contributed to the general perception of the thug athlete stereotype the Gang of 88, locals, and the media were salivating for - they all added fuel to the PC fire that these three young men are being roasted in.
Nifong deserves the harshest treatment, but making him the scapegoat will allow everyone else to skate on their responsibility. How very liberal....avoidance of responsibility and assignment of blame elsewhere. Fits right in with the entire belief system of the Gang of 88, most of the MSM, and the Crystal apologists. It is all Nifong’s fault, so now
1. Gottlieb can continue treating his law enforcement position as a personal vendetta support and evidence manufacturing cover.
2. Crystal can continue playing possum when the heat is on and spouting lies whenever it suits her purpose.
3. The MSM can continue confusing opinion with fact and enjoying the inflated sense of self that this confusion about their role engenders.
4. The Gang of 88 can continue posturing that THEY are the voices of good in an evil and corrupt world, while never acknowledging that personal integrity and responsibility are the true basis of all social good.
5. The potbangers can continue to believe that there is a bogeyman at the root of their problems and if they bang loud enough, it will go away.
6. The race baiters’ glass podium will survive and they can continue to loudly proclaim that black failure = white prejudice.
And life in America goes on...

Anonymous said...

Left out a damage. Dowd is seeking under relief #6 their Attorney's fees.

It is quite possible that Dowd had to consult a lawyer after he got he hell out of Durham to force Duke to finally address his inaccurate grade. This was not resolved for another two months.

No malacious actions by Kim, no necessity of Dowd (speculated) incurring what was a reasonable cost given his position.

I dont see how anyone can say the kid wasnt damaged by this....

Anonymous said...

No one likes to be falsely accused of a crime, but other then the indicted three, the other lacrosse players had minimal expense from a financial standpoint.

With few exceptions, when do people who are suspects of a crime who get lawyers and eventually not charged, entitled to have someone else pay their attorney fees? The minute that girl made the accusations, they were going to face what they did. Sue the false accuser I agree, but not Duke over some grade. I am sure the professor hated lacrosse players long before any of them were accused of rape. Why not get all ex lacrosse players from past years have grades changed to their favor.

The non indicted lacrosse players no doubt suffered a dent in their reputation, but tell me how they were damaged in a sense that requires the financial compensation they are seeking.

Dowds lawsuit is the first revenge lawsuit for money that has no basis in law or common sense but will ultimately be a winner because you have a deep pocketed Defendant who would prefer to reduce the amount of negative publicity it is already receiving so its going to settle them all.

That makes Dowd no different then a lot of people who file lawsuits which have no merit and that ultimately hurts those that have legitimate claims.

By the time all these petty lawsuits are filed and settled, the three indicted players who have the real claims for damages will face a jury pool that will be a little less sympathetic to them because of the lawsuits filed by their teammates.

Anonymous said...

If I were the lawyers for the Duke three, I would get the whole team together, tell them not to sue, and offer each of them a slice of the pie for the big money they will get.

These other lawsuits are ultimately going to reduce the amount the indicted three will get because public opinion wont be so strong by the time they get around to their civil claims.

Is there a class action lawsuit that could be filed? That would be fun.

Anonymous said...

"Why not get all ex lacrosse players from past years have grades changed to their favor. "

Why not have anyone who received a fraudulent grade have that wrong righted? Were you attempting a reductio absurdum there? Because it certainly sounds like a reasonable principle that people should get the grades they earn and pay for. Unless you are suggesting that principal should be violated if they are on a lacrosse team.



"By the time all these petty lawsuits are filed and settled, the three indicted players who have the real claims for damages will face a jury pool that will be a little less sympathetic to them because of the lawsuits filed by their teammates."

Ha ha ha. A petty attempt to play the sides off. In fact, its not one OR the other- all of these players were damaged. The fact is that early cases will disclose a lot of unsavory practices will only butress the later claims. Thanks for your concern about the three players cases though....

Anonymous said...

Great informative Article.
Thanks KC

Anonymous said...

Let's not forget why the media is in business, it's not to keep the uninformed, informed, it's $$ bottom line. Innocence doesn't sell, scandal does! Once the story is no longer "shock and awe" end of story no need to give it anymore ink.

Anonymous said...

KC,
Some of my lawyer friends, I know I am slumming, made the point today that the new congress. aka Dems, will slow down the US AG.
I don't think anything will be done in Washington until, the case is dismissed. Then all hell could break loose. I still keep hearing something is going to happen THIS week with the NC Bar and Nifungu.

We'll see.
Kemp