Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Lawsuit Q&A

Q: What are the most troubling items in the lawsuits?

A: Legally, Duke seems to be most vulnerable on two items:

1.) The FERPA claim—that someone at Duke gave the Durham Police federally protected student information (student keycard records) and then Duke, at the very least, remained silent as (a) Nifong subpoenaed these records, after-the-fact; and (b) the court ruled that Nifong shouldn't have access to them.

2.) The failure to enforce its anti-harassment policy. Friday's lawsuit recounts in considerable detail the way in which various professors and (in some cases) students violated the policy in their behavior toward the lacrosse players; despite repeated requests from representatives of the team that Duke enforce its policy, the University, it appears, chose not to do so.

In terms of policy, the two most troubling allegations are: (a) the assertion that, in a campus disciplinary proceeding on a wholly unrelated matter, Matt Wilson was asked by Duke representatives about the party; (b) the claim that Duke pressured its own police officers to modify their reports in such a way to make it appear as if a crime could have occurred.

Q: Why are there two lawsuits?

A: In part because the students in the Ekstrand lawsuit suffered unique, individual harm—Ryan McFadyen through the release of his e-mail, Matt Wilson through what appears to have been disproportionate punishment by Duke and abuse of his campus disciplinary process.

Q: What's the difference between the two suits?

A: For the most part, the suits are directed at the same people. The Ekstrand suit also names DNA Security and Dr. Brian Meehan, but it seems to me unlikely that a suit against either will survive a motion for summary judgment.

The lawsuit filed last week goes into somewhat more detail about Duke's responsibility for the dubious record of Tara Levicy. Both lawsuits touch on, in somewhat different but complementary ways, the haphazard manner in which Duke appears to have dealt with FERPA-related issues.

Q: What is Duke's likely response?

A: I suspect that the response (which is due in around three months) will revolve around three points:

1.) It was all Nifong's fault, and so any civil suit should be directed only at him.

2.) Even if the players suffered harm, they didn't suffer that much harm, and whatever harm that did occur was unintentional.

3.) Perhaps some Duke professors (Reeve Huston, Grant Farred) did behave inappropriately, and perhaps some Duke rules (like prohibiting departmental funds paying for political ads, or requiring that departmental endorsements of ads come from actual votes of the department) were broken, and perhaps some Duke employees (like Tara Levicy) did some improper things. But the administration can't be held responsible for the behavior of individual professors or the wrongdoing of individual employees.

Q: Why didn't Duke settle?

A: That question is very hard to answer. Despite BOT chairman Bob Steel's commendable commitment to transparency in his position as undersecretary of the treasury, in dealing with the aftermath of the lacrosse case, the Brodhead administration has embarked upon a policy widely ridiculed on the Liestoppers forum as "moveon.duke"—i.e., there will be no investigation (or even critical self-reflection) into the conduct of either the administration or especially the faculty.

Judged strictly from the standpoint of the Brodhead administration's self-interest, this approach is unsurprising. The quickest way for a university president to be deposed is to experience a faculty revolt (think Larry Summers). Any inquiry into how the faculty behaved and why so many rushed to judgment would, at the least, ask some hard questions about one-sidedness in Duke's personnel policy and, at the most, recommend punishment for those professors who violated the Faculty Handbook. Either outcome would surely trigger faculty unrest. Better, from Brodhead's perspective, to do nothing.

The drawback with this policy, however, is its expense: a civil suit—complete with discovery and depositions—is the functional equivalent of an inquiry into Duke's conduct in the case. Thus far, then, Duke has settled all civil suits before the discovery phase.

It's unclear why Duke has elected to change its policy now: when it previously settled with the Dowds, the falsely accused players, and former coach Mike Pressler, the University surely knew that a suit from the unindicted players was likely.

Q: What's next?

A: As with the falsely accused players' civil suits against Nifong, the city of Durham, and DNA Security, Duke and Durham have 12 weeks to respond; both sides then get a chance for an additional filing.

At that point, the case would go before a judge to consider a motion to dismiss. Keeping in mind that, at that stage, all facts of the case must be considered in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, it seems unlikely that Duke and at least Sgt. Gottlieb and Cpl. Addison could prevail in the motion.

Duke then would have to choose between settling and allowing discovery to proceed.

---------

We're around two months away from the next stage of the civil suit against the city, DNA Security, and Nifong; therefore, the blog will return to hiatus, but when the next filings are made, I'll have some analysis.

28 comments:

John said...

KC--Duke will have a strong defense in federal court to the FERPA claim. The Supreme Court has ruled that FERPA does not have a federal private right of action and that the sole enforcer of FERPA is the U.S. Department of Education. In Gonzaga Univ. v. Doe, 536 U. S. 273 (2002), the Supreme Court precluded plaintiff's Section 1983 claims as means to enforce federal laws without any express statutory authority which FERPA lacks. In fact, the Gonzaga case also involved information regarding sexual assault allegations shared by a private university with a third party (in that case the state board of education).

Anonymous said...

KC. Thanks for your continued clear and thoughtful presentation of this case and the aftermath.
It has been the single most important contribution to the successful outcome that has occurred for the three accused.
Durham is a unique environment and Duke is a unique institution. With a new president,board and some house cleaning of faculty,they could be whole again. But I think the status quo will remain.You've highlighted the basics.
Duke can spend university money to have a traveling sex show about the rights of sex workers, but they can't keep their own faculty and staff from trampling on the rights of their own students. Duke has learned nothing in the aftermath.I hope all the lawsuits succeed. I hope that all the little details of how the school so ineptly handled the events are exposed by the same media who was so bent on putting three innocent students in prison for 30 years.I hope the guys get lots of money,they deserve it for the outrageous way that were treated by their school.

Anonymous said...

In Federal Court the Defendant(s) have 20 days to answer unless the state rules of civil procedure provide for longer. In NC, it's 30 days. Did Plaintiffs stipulate to extensions already?

Anonymous said...

To me, the FERPA claim is not necessarily the FERPA violation itself, but the fraud that followed. Duke knew that FERPA information had already been disclosed when the request for its information went to court. Hence, one could consider this obstruction of justice or at the very least, contempt of court. It adds to the claim that Duke's behavior was abysmal in the case amd contributed to the ongoing frame.

BDay

mac said...

If the attorneys need testimony with regard to harrassment, maybe they'll only have to interview the women's Lacrosse team, and their coach? The women were allegedly subjected to abuse by certain professors for merely sticking up for that accused. How much worse for the accused, if even their defenders were treated disrespectfully!

Wonder if there was any grade retaliation against any of the young women who were castigated for sticking up for the accused players? (Maybe Kristin Butler oughta interview the players on the women's team?)

Not to mention that some Duke professors have alleged harrassment. They're bound to be valuable - to the players in both suits.

Anonymous said...

Thanks KC,
Hope all is going well for you way over there!

John,
I read KC's post addressing FERPA to illustrate the rules Duke intentionally broke in an effort to enable the case to move forward, not to identify any "private right of action". Add it to all the rules, regulations, policies... they violated. The motives for such conduct are?

kbp

Anonymous said...

I think the question is not why they didn't settle with the lacrosse players. The question is why they didn't preempt the suit by coming to grips with what had gone wrong.

I think the answer to that question is simple and explains their behavior from the beginning. They were more afraid of the accusations of being too lenient from the gang of 88, particularly those from African American Studies and Women's Studies, than from the claims of unjust prosecution from the player's and their supporters.

They are still so afraid of this group of professors that they are willing to risk millions in legal fees and settlement costs rather than publicly criticize statements and actions taken by this group.

This cowardice is still a problem at Duke (and elsewhere) and it will affect the running of the university adversely until the administration is willing to stand up to identity studies people and their allies in the administration and other departments.

The lawsuit helps but I don't know if they will succeed. You can't retrieve emails that have been deleted and the damage to the non-indicted is small in comparison to what happened to Evans, Finnerty, Seligman and the coach. So it will be much harder to prove actionable offense and there will be less sympathy for the plaintiffs. As the case goes on and the legal expenses pile up on both sides the money will become more central and the focus may tend to get lost.

Nonetheless, in the absence of a true CCI that seriously reconsiders the stifling culture of political correctness that underlies everything that happened the last two years at Duke, the lawsuit seems the only pressure on Duke to reform.

Anonymous said...

"Duke then would have to choose between settling and allowing discovery to proceed."

It seems conceivable, if not probable, that a major goal of at least one of the three suits is to force discovery. Thus, it would appear Duke is caught on the horns of a dilemma. Discovery if they settle and discovery if they don't settle.

The truth wants to be free.

Anonymous said...

In today's Chronicle, Kelly Akhiemokhali wrote an editorial which belittled the 38 Duke Lacrosse (2006)students' suit. (See http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2008/02/27/Columns/I.Too.Will.Sue-3237713.shtml )
What I find most startling about this piece is that the author should know better as she has "conducted research analyzing how educational systems can engender trauma." (See http://baldwinscholars.duke.edu/about_us/kelley_akhiemokhali.html )

Anonymous said...

KC - a comment on your suspicions of Duke's likely response:

"Q: What is Duke's likely response?

A: I suspect that the response... will revolve around three points:
...
3.) ... perhaps some Duke employees (like Tara Levicy) did some improper things. But the administration can't be held responsible for the behavior of individual professors or the wrongdoing of individual employees."

If that was Duke's response Ms. Levicy, for example, would still be a defendant.

However, DUMC/Duke almost certainly has a contractual obligation both to defend and to indemnify such employees in lawsuits such as this one.

The only grounds for avoidance of such obligation would be that the employee was acting outside the scope of her employment. In my experience such a ploy does not work, she would be held to have been acting within the scope of her employment and Duke would have to defend her.

Furthermore, in trying to prove that she was acting outside the scope of her employment DUMC/Duke would not evade its worst nightmare - Discovery, and if she was left to defend herself the associated discovery could be even worse for them.

Duke should want to avoid discovery at all costs.

Anonymous said...

With regard to deletion of e-mails, it is almost impossible to delete e-mails, for a variety of practical and technical reasons. Also, under the recently revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, there are now increased penalties for destruction of evidence, including a presumption that the missing document will be construed most favorably to the opposing party.

Finally, while KC's opinions are thoughtful and interesting, they should not be confused with legal analysis, which in the end may well offer a very different result than one arrived at by a lay person's logic :)

mac said...

12:16 pm

Mostly good points, except...

Emails can be deleted, but you never know how far one has gone after you've sent it!

Send an email; it gets saved in someone else's computer (depending upon the server site.) Or it is resent tomultiple sources. Or it is sitting, waiting to be extracted from hard drives by professionals. About the only way you can really delete stuff like that is with a hammer.

So if Brodhead et al deleted numerous emails that were incriminatory, but somehow these survived (which is likely?) It makes it look like evidence-tampering.
He (or other characters) could be better off if they've deleted nothing.

The fact that people like Saunders keep spouting off shows that the damage to ALL the team members isn't just a vapor, an apparition. And the damage was spread all over the nation (and to remote parts of the world, judging by the people who've kept up on this case) by all sorts of media to all manner of observers.

Who can count the damage?
Measure it by the amount of reistance put up by the BoT and Brodhead and the Sitty of Duhhh; measure it by the number of people who still insist that "something happened."

Indelible.

The only way these young men can reclaim their reputation is for Duke to be subjected to discovery, and the only way Duke can recover it's reputation for its part in the Hoax is for it to change the BoT, remove a large chunk of the administration and to fire many of the principle offenders among the professoriate.

That would at least allow both Duke and the young men to start over with a clean slate.

Anonymous said...

It's now official - the actions of the Duke administration qualify as WEIRD :-) - See http://www.newsoftheweird.com/archive/index.html - Week of February 24, 2008.

Anonymous said...

The problem Duke has with FERPA not only involves the release of information, but also lying in court when Nifong and Duke held the sham hearing before Judge Titus. The attorneys for Duke lied about Duke's having released information, and I remember a certain prosecutor named Michael Nifong being cited for lying in court.

We are seeing the height of arrogance. Duke University might accept tuition payments from the families of these young men, but the leadership and much of the faculty apparently does not believe them to be human beings. I really think that Brodhead believes his is so morally and intellectually superior to the LAX families that he should be able to do whatever he wants, and they should be willing to bow down and take whatever abuse he serves up.

Anonymous said...

It is stunning to consider how much worse it could be on the college campus of today were it not for the efforts of William F. Buckley, Jr.

"Eternal Rest grant unto him, O Lord, And let Perpetual Light shine upon him. May he Rest in Peace, Amen."

Anonymous said...

JLS says...

re; John

So SCOTUS has held FERPA does not convey an individual right. Could an individual still seek damages under civil RICO with a claim that Duke, DPD and Durham DA's office conspired as a criminal enterprise to break a number of federal laws like conspiracy and FERPA? Duke might not find it very amusing to be sued as a criminal enterprise, but I think one could make such an argument.

Caveat: I am an academic not an attorney and I am in general not that sympathetic to the way private RICO suits can be abused to intimidate others, but it is the current law.

Anonymous said...

Phi Beta Cons:
Remembering WFB [John J. Miller]

On the day William F. Buckley, Jr. has died, let's recall one of his great quips, circa 1956, in which he announced that he'd "sooner be governed by the first two thousand people in the Boston telephone directory than by the two thousand members of the faculty of Harvard University.

http://phibetacons.nationalreview.com/

Anonymous said...

To me, one of the most disturbing allegations in the lawsuit is that various Duke administrators 1.) told lacrosse team members not to tell their parents about the party and allegations, 2.) told them not to hire attorneys but to agree to work with an attorney who didn't actually represent them or their interests (and who had apparently been previously censured by the bar for a conflict of interest situation--which this most definitely was), 3) when convenient, invented a bogus "student-administrator privilege" to encourage team members to talk (and then allegedly volunteered to share the information discussed with the police). Whether or not this behavior is legally actionable (I don't know), it's surely the most fundamental violation of a university's ethical obligation to behave responsibly toward its students, even in an era when we have pretty much abandoned the idea of in loco parentis.

Anonymous said...

My name is Rhonda Fleming, and I am writing this letter and posting it on every news and blog site possible, to seek recognition, aid, and to educate the masses to the unfathomable abuses and crimes that are allowed to be continued without ANY help from our government concerning the murder of my brother in Durham, North Carolina in 2005, and many other crimes involving a very long list of injustices committed by Law Enforcement, and not just in the Carolina's.

The media and world have focused too much attention to this one case, as countless other cases have been completely left at the wayside! During the three years I have spent gathering evidence that they have completely ignored, have made numerous official requests and complaints to countless officials in NC, and Washington DC, all to no avail.

The focus is on one case by a city that is totally corrupt, yet the Department Of Justice, Administrative Office Of The Courts, Congress and many other official legislative, and judicial branches sits idly by, watches and does nothing!

The lawsuit made by the Duke LAX team will shed a bit of light onto the deliberate attempt and conspiracy of many, to care less about the lives, laws, and rights of citizens, and instead use them and us as political pawns on their nefarious road to perdition.

What is the big shock here? The families have every right to sue the city for negligence of an entire political system that failed miserably! This is by far NOT the biggest case to be media worthy, but one that has brought to the light of day a sample of what people in power do every single day and nobody even knows or cares!

Well, I am here to tell the WORLD and every entity watching, that As God is my witness I will not go to my grave without speaking out about the same system that has not only covered over my beloved brother's murder, but have mocked us, threatened us, and continue to deny us the right to know not just how my brother died, but everything that was done and NOT done!

I have contacted EVERY person their is imaginable, excluding the President, and still have been denied not just documents, but the right of a family to know how their loved one met their death, and to know what was done, and not done to his body!

We have been lied to and threatened by the Durham Sheriff's Department, have been shuffled through 3 years and 3 District Attorneys, countless complaints filed to numerous governmental agencies, even our own Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and STILL NOTHING!

We have sent our documents that we have been able to glean from the system to Mr. Seastrand, but due to his obligation to the LAX team is unable to represent us but would if he could. I have sent him, the FBI, and several others copies of the BLUE blood coming from an entrance wound, none from 2 exits wounds, a inconclusive and actually negative GSR screen, proof of fraud and collaborative deception, and have been to hell and back in this maddening chase to expose this city and system for allowing crimes against humanity to go unannounced, while innocent people suffer from the hands of the very powers who took oaths before God and man to protect and serve!

So, here my family and I are coming forward to beg the media to help us to solve my brother's death, and expose a system of debauchery and evils that not only baffle the mind, but leaves you breathless and speechless! I have tried and done all that I can alone, and now have 2 months before the state can be held liable for not just one mans death, but expose a system that feeds off the helpless, then leaves them for dead!

So, I will say the purpose of this letter now is to also gain attention to the enumerable failures within the system, to right a countless injustice done to a plethora of lives that have been left completely devastated, and to make our government be held responsible and accountable for FAILING us the citizens, and the dead who have no voice but scream beyond their graves! The truth is worse than a nightmare because it is REAL and more HORRIFIC than you could ever
have imagined!

Never could I have guessed such wickedness by not just individuals, but extremely organized and calculated, and failed by the very country and leaders we so blindly put our hopes and faith into! My heart bleeds for the truth, and mourns those who have been so wickedly tortured! My brother and countless others did NOT die in vain, and I will be damned if I will let fear keep me from Justice For Jack, but JUSTICE For ALL!

Imagine instead, your child or loved one MURDERED, and not only does it take Law Enforcement over a YEAR to send ONE single report, they LIE to you from the beginning, and not only REFUSE to do any investigating, but fail to adhere to ANY role of conduct and protocol, then threaten you and LAUGH at you?!

Yes, I have the utmost sympathy for the team, but let us not forget just how many OTHER cases have been corrupted by the exact same system! WHAT has been done to answer and solve the murders of my brother, Janet Araboa, and Michelle Young?! What voices have they now they are dead?!
Where is the outrage, and public and media attention for our families?!

Nifong is by far the only knave on the long list of miscreant marauders who care nothing about rights of citizens, and care only for what is in "their" best interest! Wake up people and ask why the Department of Justice has not intervened, and why do our nations leaders just watch and do nothing about an abjectly corrupt and politically ran city?!

I never would have imagined what I now know, and am sick that nobody has taken our pleas, and heard our cries! Our loved ones not just dead, but murdered, and we will never see them hear them, or feel their touch ever again! Unfair?! Unjust?! Impossible?! The cesspool of corruption flows deep into a murky quagmire of wickedness that should expose our own government for allowing it to continue!

True and REAL crimes against humanity ranging from organized crime and drugs, to kidnapping, slavery, prostitution, and murders for global sale of body parts! Google human trafficking in organs, and learn exactly what is going on behind closed doors "the powers that be" never want to see opened! The reality is not only horrific and unimaginable, it IS happening every single day across the world, and Durham is just one of the many links in this chain of the grisly, dark underworld!

I have fought for nearly 3 years to restore my beloved brother, and best friend's respect, and JUSTICE he, and all of the others desperately deserve, and will never quit until something is done and things are changed! NOBODY deserves what mine and countless other families have endured, and for us I am begging the people and media to make a difference and care about all of the other serious matters that have fallen to the wayside for needless years!

Where IS the SBI report on my brother? Where is the details of what was done to his body and organs after he was killed? What was done to investigate his death? What was done to provide the family with documents and reports we should not just have public access to, but to every iota of information, as they closed his death as a "suicide" yet did no autopsy and lied they did?

What was done to my brother is so horrifically twisted and unreal that the city has gone out of it's way to not only deny him an investigation, but to hide facts, alter reports, and fail to adhere to any semblance of protocol?!
Where is the OUTRAGE for our family and others of unsolved and purposely neglected murders, just from 2005?!
Does anybody out here give a damn for us?!

Imagine instead, your child or loved one MURDERED, and not only does it take Law Enforcement over a YEAR to send ONE single report, they LIE to you from the beginning, and not only REFUSE to do any investigating, but fail to adhere to ANY role of conduct and protocol, then threaten you and LAUGH at you?!

Something MUST be done, and I have come forward to beg the media and government to hear what I have to say about my brother's case, and the crimes being done to many innocent victims that MUST be acknowledged, reported, investigated, and DESERVE action and resolution!

To contact me directly, please send SERIOUS media and legal inquiries to:
justice4all2005@yahoo.com
Rhonda Fleming
Cleveland, Ohio
Sister of Allen Jackson Croft Jr, murdered in Durham on May 11, 2005 fighting for JUSTICE
For legal reference please refer to Mr. Ekstrand for personal contact:
Robert C. Ekstrand
Firm: Ekstrand & Ekstrand
Address: 811 Ninth Street, Suite 260
Durham, NC 27705
Phone: (919) 416-4590
Fax: (919) 416-4591

Anonymous said...

If Duke pressured its police officers to make false reports, that is its point of greatest legal vulnerability.

As mentioned above, there is no private cause of action for FERPA violations, but Duke's willingness to go along with Nifong's subpoena charade in front of the court certainly shows it wasn't acting in good faith.

In a veiled way, the second suit essentially accuses Duke of entering into a criminal consipiracy with Nifong to violate the civil rights of its students. Duke's FERPA shenanigans add credibility to this accusation.

Anonymous said...

Re: Tara Levicy
D-I-W
“In short, if Duke Hospital had provided a competent and qualified SANE nurse, rather than Tara Levicy, “the false rape charges would never have become public.”
---------------
An article I read referred to the video of Tara Levicy. In case anyone has not seen her in action, the Google video will give you a glimpse of her demeanor. I think we need one of those expert ‘eye blink’ deciphering types to enlighten us about her comfort level.

A comment: “The questions she encountered at the Nifong hearing are nothing compared to the questions she will be asked when she is the subject, not Nifong.”
--------------------
The Google video is:
S.A.N.E. Nurse Tara Levicy testifies for Durham D.A. Michael Nifong at his North Carolina Bar Disciplinary hearing on June 15, 2007.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1806227667809321070

Unknown said...

The damage to the defendants in all these suits is NOT the possible financial hit the endowment or city fund will take. It is the loss of confidence in the very institutions so many hold dear.

The judge and jury are not wearing robes and not sitting in a box. They are the same public who, despite politicians' promises, media distortions, and spin doctors galore, honestly and intelligently evaluate the facts and make the decisions that count.

As a lawyer, I recognize that justice is often not won in a court room. The public will pay attention to the facts, and they will judge these plaintiffs and defendants based on the discovery. OJ was found innocent by a jury of his peers but guilty in the court of public opinion.

The lawyers just need to get the facts out there. The public will do the rest!

Anonymous said...

As a person who followed this case from the beginning, and WAS an ardent supporter of the 3 LAX players and Coach Pressler, I was disappointed the other players filed this suit. I have a hard time convincing myself their "injuries" rose to the level of filing a formal lawsuit against the University.

Good lawyers do what good lawyers do...file briefs that sound convincing in terms of the University's culpability, but I think it has created a public relations disaster for many objective thinking people who may feel like I do... the 3 boys and Coach Pressler deserve compensation; these other suits are piling on and appear to be money driven by bitter people who just can't let go.

Just a word on this so-called jurisdiction issue between Duke and Durham PD. It would not be unusual in a serious case like a potential rape or robbery, for a University Police Department to turn over the investigation to the City or County where the University is located.

With all due respect to officers who work at University-type departments, they normally do not deal with serious crimes against persons like a potential rape. It would be perfectly acceptable and in my opinion a wise decision to turn a case like this over to Durham or Durham County Sheriff's Office who have more experience in these type of offenses.

This type of case, in police jargon, would be termed a "shit" case. The victim is hours away from the crime scene, her story changes every time she tells it, she appears to be intoxicated when she does tell her story, and she just came from a party where she performed as a stripper. I'm sure Duke PD was all too willing to let Durham handle this one.

The rest is history...

William Jockusch said...

Since the Feds have wimped out, the civil suits are the only way the whole truth is likely to come out, and the responsible parties are likely to pay.

Fortunately, they have a good chance of doing exactly that.

Debrah said...

H-S letter:

It's not about the money

You do Durham and your declining reputation for honest discourse a disserivce when you characterize the legal action filed by nearly all of the non-indicted Duke lacrosse players and family members as trying to "reap a monetary award." In an ironic complement to the words used to fire the coach, "It's not about the truth," this lawsuit is all about the truth. The goal is to force the defendants -- under penalty of perjury -- to finally tell the truth about their sorry failure to uphold federal law and human decency in how the team members were threatened if they didn't cooperate with the lie that was being bandied about.

Maybe instead of serving as the puppet mouthpiece for a failed investigation, someone at The Herald-Sun could actually read the lawsuit -- available on-line at http://www.dukelawsuit.com -- and not just parrot the company line.

Ask the team and parents if it is money they want, or if money is the only way to get Duke and Durham to pay attention. What they want they state clearly in the suit: accountability, responsibility and change.

ROBERT M. PANOFF
Durham
February 29, 2008

Debrah said...

TO 9:58 AM--

This is not a new item for anyone on the various lacrosse blogs.

Many people have responded positively and tried to help; however, you must help yourself through action. Not this repetitious yelling.

The lacrosse internet blogs cannot assist you.

If your local representatives--state and U.S.--cannot help you, then money is the only way for you to get attention from those who might be able to answer these questions.

If you find deep enough pockets, you can get anything done in this country.

Anything.

We are all different in the way we approach challenges; however, if I suspected that a close relative had been murdered---which you really have no proof---I would be in Durham, taking up residence in both Raleigh and Durham, until I had actively found the answers for myself.

You would have much more success writing these letters to someone like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, or Donald Trump and begging them to help with your cause.

Seriously.

A phone call from any of them to the requisite politicians would reap more benefits than your 3 years on internet blogs.

It might be difficult to think rationally; however, a low key logical approach is the only way to achieve your goals.

Sometimes less is really more.

Anonymous said...

to KC :

It is many days since Duke's inept filing was answered by Duke Lawsuit.

We await your promised comments with eager anticipation.

Anonymous said...

RE: John. Exactly right. The only reason that the FERPA claims are in the lawsuit is to support the other claims. That said, even if there is no private right of action, the players CAN file a formal complaint with the Department of Education. I'm sure this will come up at some point, but they are not focused on it now because all the DOE has historically done is issue fines.