Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Cline: Symbolism and Prosecutorial Ethics

Newly inaugurated Durham County district attorney Tracey Cline--fresh off a campaign in which she at best misled and at worst lied to Durham voters regarding her position on the lacrosse case--sent a powerful message about the role that ethics will (or, in this case, will not) play in her office.

From Anne Blythe's article in the N&O:

Nifong, who was stripped of his law license for prosecutorial misconduct in the Duke lacrosse case, attended the ceremony at Cline's request [emphasis added]. He stood in the back of the courtroom and at the end hugged and shook hands with many of his former colleagues.

At least now we know why Cline didn't list upholding ethics as one of her desired qualifications for Durham County assistant district attorneys.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

If there was ever any doubt (which I guess there really wasn't) this proves that Cline marks a return to the Nifong era at the Durham DA's Office.

If Nifong gets his license back when he's eligible in 2012 and Cline is still serving, anyone want to bet against her hiring him back into the DA's Office?

Debrah said...

The fact that Cline would ask Nifong to show up for her "ceremony" illustrates how comfortable she knows the residents of Durham are with this disbarred cretin.

Cline was right in there with him aiding him in the framing of the lacrosse players.

As I commented below Blythe's article, I feel as though I need to take a bath after reading this.

Gary Packwood said...

It almost seems that a group of elected officials and sworn officers of the law in Durham were stalking Duke University and got caught with the smoking gun.

Now community members who were enablers of this harmful stalking behavior have elected Tracy for the sole purpose of keeping her thumb in the dike so the real truth won't seep out. The real truth about the Duke lacrosse rape hoax and all the other cases where Duke students have been the target of group-think and stalking.

I wonder if Duke law school faculty members know about scores of other case involving Duke students that may come forward creating other leaks in the dike that Tracy can't control.

Someone is talking and the truth will come forward if those of us who care keep stirring the pot.
::
GP

Debrah said...

By the way, as luck would have it I found the missing archive from Zane's blog.

I had bookmarked it long ago and just forgot.

Many of you might want to keep this as a bookmark as well for future reference into Tyson's undoing.

LIS!

Anonymous said...

Cline escaped criticism of her record (Leon Brown, Frankie Washington, the lax case) because the media never questioned her credentials.

Just as it has never reported on the full facts of the lax case; nor even tried to explore what the case revealed about Durham government.

It never bothered to ask why a city police chief could be absent on full pay for months.

It never bothered to ask how DNA could be absent from THREE people at a supposed gang rape,
or why this didn't prove them innocent.

It never bothered to investigate Mangum's background, or to interview her co-workers.

It never bothered to question Irv Joyner's absurd commentaries on the case.

Maybe somebody figures that as long as the people of Durham are kept ignorant, they will just keep voting for the existing machine.. .(MOO)

Anonymous said...

These people are amazing. They truly are above the law . . . part of a small group of like-minded people who think that they are the law . . . don't say you are sorry, . . . don't say you were wrong, . . . don't apologize, . . . it's a sing of weakness.

Anonymous said...

Strange person to have witness your advancement like a father.

skwilli said...

Only in Durham can having Nifong attend your swearing-in ceremony be seen as a positive. I won't be visiting that part of NC any time soon.

Anonymous said...

Nifong will never regain his law license. He lacks the capacity to acknowledge his misconduct, which will be required for him to have even the slightest chance of reinstatement.

Anonymous said...

Lest anyone think that truth matters in Durham, think again. The Cline swearing-in is yet another example of how K.C. is right: Durham IS Wonderland.

While the newspapers stew at the ongoing lawsuits against Nifong, Duke, and Durham, it is plain to see why people are suing. When a city and a university team up to wrongfully indict people, and then give the middle finger to people who demand accountability, one should not be surprised when lawsuits follow.

Anonymous said...

This is just unbelievable to me! I would think that Cline would want to distance herself from Nifong. What benefit does she get from associating herself with him? Is she beholden in some way? Is it ignorance? I'm sorry, I just don't understand.

RoadKill

Gary Packwood said...

Moral Turpitude

After reading the Tim Tyson interview (Thanks Debrah), I am stuck again at the number of faculty and staff members at Duke and members of the Durham community who were screeching about the 'stripper party' and the silence of lacrosse team members who would not talk to Nifong or the police.

I can't help but wonder if Nifong and Company have been telling Duke students for years that they were being charged with an offense of Moral Turpitude and therefor would be ineligible for employment in professional level positions UNLESS they 'settled-up' and 'shut-up'.
::
Moral turpitude is a legal concept in the United States that refers to "conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty, or good morals."

The standards for offenses of Moral Turpitude are available via The US State Department and apply of course to both citizens and non-citizens of the United States.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86942.pdf
::
I would think that members of the Duke Law School faculty were aware of such changes yet I see no evidence of a campus wide effort to educate students about this slippery slope of Moral Turpitude.

If someone wants to rid a prestigious university of privileged white male athletes with a swagger ...then bending the definition of Moral Turpitude ever so slightly would do the trick.

How many parents have paid a fine to avoid what they thought would be charges of an offense of Moral Turpitude against their sons?

The new DA knows that answer!
::
GP

Anonymous said...

"What benefit does she get from associating herself with him?"

Are you joking? The social circles of Durham in which Nifong and Klan88 are the heroes will appreciate this gesture.

Anonymous said...

What is an oxymoron? Well, you could start with law abiding and Durham. If these Duke people had behaved in the manner of brave and stout hearted people upholding the law and the rightness of the law and applying it with honesty and integrity and straight forward common sense the horrible forces of the street and the wretched politics of the feminist and racist would have been forced down. The facts would have shown that we were still being led and governed by men who had strong hearts and good minds . . . gosh, it sounds like the myth that made America a great nation or at least gave us good movies . . . enjoy the Burris debacle . . . Durham rules.

Anonymous said...

Is Blythe a Communist?

Anonymous said...

Cline's election shows that the people of Durham are unaware or in denial that a grave injustice was done. It seems that the only way to expose this injustice is to do exactly what the lacrosse players are doing with this class-action lawsuit. Can anyone give a reasonable estimate as to how long it will take for the lawsuit to go to trial?

Anonymous said...

Victoria Peterson scares Cline.

Anonymous said...

"I'm saying that when the *DA* does it, that means it's not illegal!

Nixon/Nifong/Cline

Anonymous said...

@Anon...1/7/09 3:00 AM

Victoria Peterson scares ME.


And I live on the other side of the planet.