In a whisper, Nifong is suggesting that it does not serve the cause of justice for Durham for him to remain as DA.
"Whatever mistakes I made in this case are my mistakes"--though not the mistakes of which the Bar has accused him.
"My community has suffered enough." His actions in the case were "honorably intended but had unforeseen consequences.
Apologizes for his actions causing pains to the three families (as he continues to mispronounce the name of the Seligmanns).
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Comments and analysis about the Duke/Nifong case (2006-2014).
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- The Bitter-Enders
- Brodhead Wins a Sheldon
- Cline on Quadruple Homicide Case
- The Group in Action
- 9-22 Transcript
- The Meehan Deposition
- Smith Sets Date
- Nifong Hearing
- Nifong Deposition: Personal Issues
- Nifong Hearing Tomorrow
- Freedman: Communication Matters
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- Responding to Syl Jones (and Nifong)
- Linwood Bails on Nifong
- Nifong Deposition, Part II
- Nifong Rationalizes His Statements
- More from Wonderland
- Nifong Deposition, Part I
- Linwood Is Out
- Ethical Dimension
- More Foolishness
- Nifong Hearing
- Weekly Roundup
- "Mr. Obfuscation" in Action
- The Herald-Sun: Wrong Again
- "Mr. Obfuscation"
- The Gottlieb Deposition
- Nifong as "Unique Person"
- The Wacky World of Dr. Meehan
- WRAL Headline Saturday
- Still Foolish
- Nifong: An "Old-Fashioned" Guy
- The Sanctions Motion
- Eviscerated
- The Worst of Witt: "Egregious" Mistakes
- The Worst of Witt: The DNA Evidence
- The Worst of Witt: The Neophyte Defense
- Hardin's Choices
- Nifong: What?! Non-Laxers Were There?
- Nifong: "I Don't Read Discovery Requests"
- Nifong Explains His Approach to DNA
- Nifong & Emostafa
- Chronicle Op-Ed
- "Something Happened"
- Judge Tjoflat's Perspective
- Nifong: Politics and the Press
- Jones Renews Call for Federal Inquiry
- Easley: Hardin as Interim DA
- When Suspects Aren't Suspects
- The Great Dissembler
- Nifong Defends the "Old-Fashioned Way"
- The Origin of Hooligans
- Nifong's "Law Enforcement Purpose"
- McClain: Group of 88 Defiant, Despite Settlement
- On the Bookshelf, II
- Montgomery-Blinn and NC "Innocence"
- Praising Beth Brewer
- Lane Williamson
- A Wild Day
- Nifong Is Out
- Nifong and Williamson
- Easley: Nifong Should Go Now
- Bannon on Absolute Innocence
- Duke and Three Families Settle
- Nifong Resigns . . . Eventually
- Marsha Goodenow Testimony
- Professor Bannon's Lecture
- Reflections on the Hearing
- More from Wonderland
- Beard on Nifong
- Nifong Defends Linwood Wilson
- The Himan Smoking Gun
- Brad Bannon on Nancy Grace
- Williamson Remarks
- Sunday Hearing Roundup
- Findings
- Nifong Accepts Disbarment
- MaryEllen Finnerty
- David Evans
- Bar Character Witnesses--Jerry Parnell
- Verdict
- Brocker Follow-up
- Freedman Closing
- Nifong: "Old-Fashioned Guy"
- Nifong Closing Statement
- Nifong Inconsistencies
- Nifong and DNA: Closing Statement
- Nifong False Statements
- Bar's Closing Statements, Continued
- Closing Arguments: "Minister of Injustice"
- Nifong's Selective Memory
- Mike Nifong's "Flexible" Apology
- Nifong Trial, Day Four
- Bar Rebuttal
- Nifong Character Witnesses
- Tara Levicy
- Nifong: "Something Happened"
- Nifong: "I Don't Read Files"
- N&O: Nifong Is Out
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- "From the Scottsboro Boys to Clarence Gideon, some of the most memorable legal narratives have been tales of the wrongly accused. Now “Until Proven Innocent,” a new book about the false allegations of rape against three Duke lacrosse players, can join these galvanizing cautionary tales . . , Taylor and Johnson have made a gripping contribution to the literature of the wrongly accused. They remind us of the importance of constitutional checks on prosecutorial abuse. And they emphasize the lesson that Duke callously advised its own students to ignore: if you’re unjustly suspected of any crime, immediately call the best lawyer you can afford."--Jeffrey Rosen, New York Times Book Review
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Motions and Documents
- Attorney General's Report
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- Bar amended complaint/Nifong response
- December 15 hearing
- State Bar v. Nifong
- Brewer removal motion
- Nifong December 28 letter to Bar
- Nifong January 16 letter to Bar
- Group of 88 statement (removed from Duke website)
- Group of 88 membership
- Transcript of relevant sections, April 4 "identification" "procedure"
112 comments:
Resignation is not enough. He must do real, hard time.
Now that is an implosion.
Taking the easy way out!
He is resigning on tv.
Is he trying to get out of cross examination ??
Agreed. Financial ruin and loss of physical are only just desserts.
Grow a sack, Mike, take the bullet like a man.
Is Nifong trying to equate his family to the hoax victims' families!!?? What an ass. Fry him, just fry the POS.
an OJ moment
Too late, jackass.
He's offering his resignation in trade for keeping his law license.
Punk ... he's resigning before he can get fired.
Will he have a future as a used car salesman?
3:48-- That was my first thought, but would it work?
will he resign from the bar?
He's still going to lose the license.
If the bar lets him keep his license...well, there really is no justice in Durham.
How dare he subject his son to this. Why are they letting him go on and on?
Resignation is not good enough.
Even now, the lies continue.
What a con man. Anyone who buys his BS is a fool.
This is the same guy that told Easley he would not seek elction. Take his license!
Will they cross?
you can't imagine the look on his son's face when they cut to him. He wants to disappear. that poor kid---what a dick for a dad!
I really, really hope they cross him...
Who is the woman crying?
WRAL showing family showing support for Nifong.
wow
Will they forego cross? I hope not, cuz it'll put a finish on this mess.
I assure you they will cross him
Certainly full of pathos; however, the comparison between his and the LAX families is not analagous.
Ed
I think they should give him a .38 and one round then point to a vacant room.
News says they're surprised. I'm not. He was cooked before he stepped in the oven.
An cynical and obvious ploy to retain his license. Totally planned
The Bar committee isn't trying his fitness to be the D.A (although that is already been demonstrated) - they are contesting his continuing privilege to enjoy his license to practice law. Resigning from his job may make him the martyr (in his mind) he wants to be, but the Bar committee still has its responsibility to fulfill. They will disbar him in a written opinion to follow that notes he resigned his job in the midst of the hearing.
He may not be able to say it but we all know he is a liar.
It has no effect on the bar case. His license is still on line. He will be crossed unless he gives up the license.
"To the extent That I have caused pain...I apologize."
Weasel words.
JR
JLS says....,
The better disbar him. He is a liar who might just show up at work on Monday saying he was kidding if they don't disbar him.
He is offering his resignation in return for not being brought up on criminal charges. His license is long gone.
"An cynical and obvious ploy to retain his license. Totally planned"
Exactly. That's why he needs to be fried--totally fried. Bankrupt the guy, his family, everyone around him. And then go after Duke and Durham.
Unleash the hounds.....
What an amazing liar. he even lies about telling his lies.
What a scam artist! By resigning, I'll bet he THINKS he will stop all this and keep his nice retirement... bull! Charge him criminally! I hope he doesn't return from the break... hari-kari time nifong!
He is full of shit!! but Court TV buys it! They said it was moving!! even as he lied through his testimony. God help us God help us
Best thing he could have done at this point. He needs to lose his license for a while so Durham can strip his pension, and the families of the victims can go after him for financial restitution.
Let him work so he can earn enough to pay his settlement obligations.
This is a ploy to 1. Not get sued by the families, 2. Be given a pass on cross, 3. Hope to keep his license doing traffic court.
We need to complete the proceeding to 1. Remove his license, 2. Open holes in his immunity for civil actions, and 3. Be sure the people who set out to hurt get back their monies.
If he gives up his license, makes sure the families get re-imbursed, and make public apologies in Durham (declaring the men innocent) and promises to expose all the other lies in this case, then maybe I will have some compassion for him.
BDay
JLS says...,
Exactly Ed, this moron comparing himself to the victims would be like Danny Rollins or Ted Bundy getting on the stand and saying who he and his family have been similarly affected as their victims and their families.
All it comes down to is that he's crying because he got caught. Morally-speaking, I think he would have had no problem with seeing three innocent people go to prison.
JLS says....,
I want a thorough cross still.
He should've said "I wasn't raised to be the liar you've proved to everyone, except perhaps me, that I am".
As for his son ... I hope he paid rapt attention while Reade described what it was like to be falsely accused by his father, and have his life destroyed as a result. I'm sure those Durham cops were right there for him when a bunch of angry black "panthers" were all over him too.
I really have to compliment WRAL's webcast. Rarely have I watched such a high quality, reliable stream for as long as I've been watching today.
Now, Mike ... about that ass rippin' you figure Crystal got by these three guys. Let me show you what it would've looked like, under the general description of "cross examination".
I think that Mike beleves his own lies. Kind of like CGM. If she can't be prosecuted for making false statements because she is seperated from reality then perhps the same is true for Lifong? Regardles, they are both sick people that pose a threat to society as a whole and the only sensible is the incarcerate them both to protect the rest of us. Let the cross begin.
He wanted to put away the LAX3 for 30 years. He acts like his mistakes were unintentional. Very hard to believe.
Jr
I feel sick....
blaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh
We're supposed to be a 15 minute recess... anyway, isn't it more likely that his lawyer managed to convince him that he'll be destroyed on cross--so if he wants to try to make a good impression, now's the time, before cross?
Anonymous said...
I think they should give him a .38 and one round then point to a vacant room.
Horrible, but true.
My question for KC is how did he know Nifong would implode and when did he know it?
Looks like more grandstanding by Nifong in a last ditch attempt to save his law license. He's been harpooned by the evidence and is only looking for sympathy to avoid what his ultimate justice should be. If this were heartfelt, he would have done it months ago! No sympathy here!
Ditto on WRAL's quality and you know this is likely the hardest hit they've ever been bandwidth wise.
News will now feel sorry for him. POOOOR Mikey, they will say. Just watch. What goes around, comes around. Mikey is shamed. POOOR Cy. Waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh.
why would he even want to stay a lawyer? No one would hire him and is he hangs his own shingle, he will have no clients.
Is he willing to face cross for those options.
Give up the license, liquidate your assets and disappear. Answering the civil complaints is a complete waste of time
Great job nifong. Way to try and use your child as a human shield.
You think they will go easy on cross because your son is with you? Well I hear different.
Your child is about to get a lesson in what kind of person daddy really is, all afternoon.
Personally, I might not want my kid to hear what is about to be said to me.
Tears or not, it is totally impossible to feel sorry for someone who was so blatantly trying to ruin 3 innocent men's lives.
It is nauseating to see and hear comments about his family in court. The idea that he was trying to deprive others of this right for a very long time whilst thinking he was able to go home to his wife and son every night is horrific.
I have zero sympathy. Now for some of the uber-feminists who were complicit in demonising these guys, either through their actions as Duke employees, or as "journalists". Hello Nancy Grace.....?
There's the joke about the Japanese clerical assistant who steps into the shamed CEO's office; gives him a hari kari blade and says; "sometimes resignation is not enough."
Put another way: Nifong has apparently decided he's going to lose before the Bar, but he still has a chance with Duff Wilson. If he ends direct on a sympathetic note, stories filed _now_, around 4 PM, will lead with that, regardless of what happens during cross.
Still sick
BBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAHHHH
ugh...dry heaves....
That was the just a minor league softball game compared to what is about to come....
Time to toast lieFong.
I was saying that it is not good to watch him because he is such a lier--but on second thought it was worth it because it removed the thoughts that I used to have that he at one time really believed there was a rape. I no longer believe that he ever thought there was a rape. I think he is a terrible terrible person.
JLS says....,
re:rob
Exactly, Nifong caused all of this and any damage to his family. Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann were just innocent victims who happen to be vehicles for Nifong winning his primary. That is a pretty big difference.
I would be very surprised if he returns to heraing room. But I have been wrong at every juncture.
Time is running out for the 88. Nifong has apologized for getting caught. Not the 88 and Brodhead.
Mike Nifong's testimony was truly moving.
I had to RUN to the bathroom.
Whatever the maximum sentance is for rape in North Carolina, multiply it by three and put Nifong in the toughest Carolina prison for that long.
No parole, sentences served consecutively.
He did what he did with malice aforethought. Simple as that.
Any crying, etc from the family? Tell it to the Seligman family, etc.
Next should be Crystal whatever. Toss her in the toughest NC can too for the max perjury sentance times three.
Waaaah! I ruined three lives and now you are mad at me. Waaaah!
why would he even want to stay a lawyer? No one would hire him and is he hangs his own shingle, he will have no clients.
Retainers from NAACP, Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition ....... etc etc
I hope Frontline does a story on this case. I love their pieces.
JLS says....,
Whether he retains his license or not, I fully expect he will be commenting on rape cases on Nancy Grace's show very soon.
Be prepared to watch barrages of sympathetic Nifong stories for the next month. He's a strong, moving hero with a supportive family. What a man to do what he did on national TV. What a sacrifice for his community. You watch --- every enabler is B A C K !!!!
He is not the first dick for a Dad and won't be the last.
you know, how could he have been appointed to the DA position. The AG gave that no thought what so ever. He did Durham a terrible disservice. No wonder he declared the boys innocent---he felt the weight of responsibility. Nifong is nightmare.
Damn, Woody Vann just said that Nifong believes he's the smartest guy in the room! Well, maybe if Crystal Gayle and Himan are the only other two people there...
It is time for Nancy Grace and the other windbags at Court TV to follow Mike Nifong's example and resign for the "good of the community."
His resignation is irrelevant at this point. His further participation in the hearing is not necessary. He will lose his license. He will be sued. He is finished.
Cheers!
How can he seriously imply that it is somehow kosher for him "not to have an opinion about the credibility of the prosecuting witness as late as December 2006, when he gained three indictments based solely on her word the prior Spring? Is that seriously his argument?
The Bar will at a minimum suspend him. Neglect in the face of a duty to investigate is not benign. If they find evidence he intentionally withheld the evidence, he's toast. As an NC lawyer, I think that is the line: if you neglect to do something, you should be reprimanded or suspended, depending on how eggregious. If they prove he lied to a Court to ruin three lives, he is done for good.
This was a ploy he doubtless discussed with his lawyers.
Once it became absolutely clear that Williamson didnt believe his preposterous lies, he resigned to try and blunt the bar's decision, hoping they will say 'well, he's out of the DA's office, so we won't have to disbar him'
This may not be as much an act of attrition as an effort to save his pension, which he might lose if booted out.
"Despite my utter disgust with Nifong, I find most of the comments on this blog nearly as repulsive."
You believed Mike Nifong, didn't you?
...or this is sincere.
It's possible.
Like a ton of bricks it hits him.
"...or this is sincere.
It's possible."
It's amazing how sincere people get when they decide that's the only way they can save themselves from an even worse fate.
Drop the other shoe, Mike. Just stop in mid cross and point out you don't have to be there. Tear up your license on your way out the door.
Hey, now THAT would make the 6:oopm news!
I think he is sincere. He is sincerely sorry it all turned out this way. He is sincerely sorry "to the extent" his honest mistakes hurt others. He is sorry that he is being exposed as a liar, and for the shame it is bringing him and his family.
Nevertheless, he has not apologized for executing a railroad job on the three. He has not apologized for lying, and/or intentionally distorting the truth. He has not apologized for refusing to listen to the three and their defense, for pandering to the community racists, etc., etc.
JLS says....,
People who indict others to win a primary are not sincere people. They are people who will do what ever it takes at any moment even if that is to resign or say you will resign.
He's sorry he got caught, nothing else.
How long did Mike Nifong need to hold this job to get the next big bump in his pension?
Nifong never said when he would resign as DA. Could be 4 years time when he has enough time for his pension increase!!
Lord, he just admitted that he began to make those outrageous comments to the press before he read the reports of the three reponding officers, all of whom indicated that there were major inconsistencies in the accuser's accounts. I think Nifong decided to ride a tiger and then he couldn't figure out how to get off.
JLS says...
Gee, Mike it does not matter if you appear on Good Morning America or not.
JLS says....,
Great, Nifong nailed with trailing in the polls prior to this case.
Motive is established.
JLS says...,
Is this the bar or Professor Johnson doing the cross?
KC Johnson, for your part in this struggle, thank you!
You came in from nowhere and through your intelligence and hard work, have had an impact on key parties.
Most of the bad guys wish they never heard you existed.
Most of the good guys involved know of you, are grateful, and have benefited from your work and analysis.
For those accused and those suffering, your Blog was a solace. They weren't going crazy. The MSM was generally wrong, they knew one place that they could go to that made sense.
I will miss your Blog on Durham once you leave for Israel and move on to other projects. I hope you get some good insights in your academic field from the Jews there that are American expats that look on America and it's history with that wonderful detached lens like de Toqueville used.
Of course you realize you traded in one looney bin (Durham) for another (the Middle East).
JLS says....,
Gee Mike didn't YOU SUGGEST that all 46 might be charged for aiding and abetting? Those are crimes aren't they?
Nifong Resignation = Gang of 88 Guilt
KC, thanks for helping Durham take out its trash!!
This is the second step of the "Southern Democrat Populist Politican" strategy
(1) Get elected by any method
==> (2) Apologize for any mistakes made
(3) Gain forgiveness
(4) Get re-elected
Just look at the history of the South (BTW: I'm a Southerner). Huey Long, George Wallace, LBJ, even Bill Clinton has a bit of this in him... only Jimmy Carter doesnt fit this mold.
But... Nifong didnt reckon on the internet. Doh!
JLS says...,
"Each of them is a true statement..."
Professor Johnson you have a new pull quote.
Now we look to Richard Brodhead for his resignation and apologies.
Mikey- open your mouth and slide the barrel in.....
Where is KC Johnson going? What will happen to the blog?
What a bunch of shit.
After he saw how Reade Seligmann was able to move the audience, he knew that Reade would have the same effect on a Civil Jury.
He knew there were terrible consequences ahead for him - both with Civil litigation and with the Bar - so he tried to cut his exposure.
When he finally does something right, its way overdue, and again only for his own selfish purposes.
At least he'll have time to read fiction now.
Brodhead should be the next to resign, I bet we could fill four days with witnesses who could testify to his administration's damage to 48 plus families.
Brodhead ~gets some tears and Shakespeare quotes ready
Brodhead~maybe you want to take back your apology to CGM from last Spring, that would be YOUR only apology to date
Reade~if you see this; you were magnificent and you represent your teammates so well. Thank you
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