State bar files a complaint against Nifong. Analysis to come, posted by 7pm.
This complaint involves solely the procedurally improper public statements; it's entirely possible that there could be more to come.
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Comments and analysis about the Duke/Nifong case (2006-2014).
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2006
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December
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- The Wendy Murphy File
- Washington Post: Drop the Charges
- "The Prosecutor Is Guilty"
- The Last 200 Hours
- Conference of D.A.'s: Recuse
- The Reaction
- John Stevenson: Reporter
- Analyzing the Complaint
- The Complaint
- The Hammer Drops
- Wilmington Star Demands Resignation
- Mike Nifong, on the Rape Evidence
- A Switch in Times?
- To Nifong
- Durham "Justice"
- Dead on Arrival
- Bazelon Targets Nifong
- L.A. Times: Drop the Charges
- The Meehan Transcript
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- Only in Durham
- Nifong in the N.C. Media
- Nifong's Sinking Ship
- Comparing Versions
- The Last Enablers
- What Mike Nifong Is Now Saying
- Brodhead, Finally
- The Beginning of the End
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- Questions and Answers
- Nifong: DNA "Excludes" (Except When It Doesn't)
- Closing In
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- Leadership, Not Leakers
- Accreditation Agency Will Investigate Meehan
- Another Durham "Gang Rape"
- Gonzales' Remarks
- Sunday Hearing Round-Up
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- Nifong and the Naïf
- Atmosphere
- Jones the Prophet
- Meehan: DSI Doesn't Follow Its Own Policies
- More from Meehan
- More Meehan
- The Perry Mason Moment
- DSI
- Meehan, Nifong, and Exculpatory
- Change of Venue Motion
- What To Watch For
- Coincidences
- The Lineup Motion
- A Few More DNA Items
- DNA Motion
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- The Jones Letter
- Finally
- Creating Wahneema's World
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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
Links
Motions and Documents
- Attorney General's Report
- DNA motion
- Lineup motion
- Supplementary lineup motion
- Change of venue motion
- 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"
64 comments:
State Bar opened the case on March 30. I guess it'll take another nine months for any action on his ethical issues that have recently come to light.
KC I am listening to your interview now I love it. Nifong is getting his just desert.
As KC assured us many months ago... Nifong will be disbarred.
Justice is coming!
Can you get another hour with Avi? Boston could
really use a show on this
topic given the heavy
concentration of colleges
in the area.
I bet the DisgrAce is hiding in his office making this classic pose:
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/7490/44si6.png
Time to start packing things up scum bag. Enjoy some time off before your the one on the stand.
Great job, K.C. And you are blogging while being interviewed. Talk about multi-tasking!!!
the wral has just started to cover the Ethics Complaint here is the link
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1120129
KC Johnson:
Great interview!
I'm delighted that Nifong will be getting his just desserts.
Still, as I keep saying, he is not the worst among the villains here. By far, the most evil characters in all this are the Duke Gang of 88.
There is very little that any of you can do to make things worse for Nifong. What you can and should do, however, is to shine a very bright light on the Gang of 88, expose the injustice and immorality of their words, and actions, and put pressure on Duke students and administrators to publicly shame them.
Thank God the NC Bar is finally acting!!
duke2009mom
I guess the rats that jumped ship must have had a bad feeling the past few days
The Bar wil disbar Nifong over the statements (especially "They must be guility, why else would they have lawyers").
They don't want to have to start another case on Nifong about the DNA (Nifong II).
What a great interview!! I'm in my office trying to get work done, but can't because I am on the edge of my seat!
And another sweet article on this travesty from Charlotte's No. 1 News station, 1110 WBT, here.
Ah, the avalanche that is karma...do you hear all "theman" and "justice" cretins screaming as the bandwagon runs them over?
Thank God, he's an embarassment to all of us.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
Nifong's goose is cooked..."Those were the great old days,you know... And we was like the Roman Empire... The Corleone (Nifong) family was like the Roman Empire..."
Pity the poor Judge who has to give Nifong the oath of office next week.
He will have to keep a straight face.
I bet the judges are lining up for that job.
NOT HOLDING MY BREATH
The NC bar will just slap over the wrist with a wet bus ticket.
Depressed Moi!
I am not overly optimistic, sorry.
The guy has to vanish from making a living at law, or his version of it!!!
Bar complaints are devastating. You have no presumption of innocence, protection of the public is paramount and the primary concern, and any false statement in response is itself a violation that heightens the punishment. So, as to the condom statement that is nighlighted, Nifong either has to admit that it was false, or, if he fudges, he justs ups the ante.
That is not to say that will or will not do a good job, but the stakes are very high for an accused lawyer. Most choose, upon receiving appropriate advice from an experienced grievance lawyer, to admit to the facts underlying violations that do exist, fight the others, and cut a bargain. Nifong's typical strategy, lie and delay, is a sure road to disbarment.
Wow! i went to school down south and thought the people were a "slower paced people" than those of the northern states. Now we have a State Bar that acted 8 months after the complaint. KC and his band of bloggers did the hard and dirty work. Now the pretty boys come into the room for the PR photos.
Kweep going KC until this whole thing is vetted in public. That may stop it from happening to someone else.
In North Carolina, is being a lawyer a requirement for being a district attorney?
True 6:11, very true. It is every lawyer's worst nightmare.
No, folks, this is definitely not good for Nifong. NC has to do more than slap him on the wrist, because the rest of the legal community is watching closely. They would be perceived as the ultimate joke given the outrageous things he has done to date.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
I agree...the bar is NOT going to just slap him on the wrist, even if that is what they would like to do...not with the ENTIRE country watching...they will be forced to come down hard on Fong, thanks to people like KC and all the other spectacular bloggers who have kept this case front and center all these months...without all this (unwanted) attention, it surely would have been business as usual down in the People's Republic of Durham...
What makes NC Durham attorney Woody Vaan tick ?
Is he just a NIFONG sicophant?
Sickening to have to listen to his grovelling on Greta's show..ugh!
I think we just heard the sound of Cash Michaels becoming irrelevant.
Nifong's goose is cooked.
First, I think he has to recuse himself from the prosecution. And who else is going to polish this turd of a case.
Second, the country is watching--no way NC bar sweeps this one under the rug.
Third, the civil case probably gets much easier.
6:18 - It gets better, really.
Nifong, accused of breaching the Professional Rules, now has himself a whopping conflict of interest in this case. First thing the Judge will probably do is to strike his appearance (basically to sabe Nifong from himself), and a new prosecutor will have to be appointed.
Too bad so sad.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
It is about damn time, I too have been following this whole mess closely and appreciate the diligence you have shown to expose this travesty from the beginning.
Thanks for everything -
Duke Alum Class of '90
Interesting Timing.
Days before Nifong Oath of Office.
Did the bar serve him today to send a signal? Do the honorable thing and resign before the Jan 2 oath?
If so, they don't know Nifong. I doubt "doing the right thing" matters to him.
For the NC laywers out there.
Does having ethics charges filed "based on this case", create a conflict of interest for Nifong or the court?
Surely we can see him hanging from a gibbet soon ?
Wait! Don't you remember Nifong's comment that innocent people don't need lawyers? Thus, if Mikey hires counsel, HE IS ADMITTING GUILT. That is from Mikey's mouth!
And, as theman has told us, Mikey always tells the truth. Even when he is lying.
6:25 Kemper said
He can have an attorney represent him.
Who needs an attorney if you have done nothing wrong. Thats what Liefong said of the Duke Lacrosse team
My gut feel is that this particular complaint, dealing with the public statements only, is probably not enough to get Nifong disbarred. As KC mentioned, however, there's probably more to come in the way of complaints.
That being said, I can't see how he can continue to be the prosecutor on this case w/ this hanging over his head. I'd look for moves to replace him w/ someone from another Judicial District within the next few weeks.
This is fantastic news! I really think Nifong will be replaced shortly, and a new DA will drop the charges before the scheduled Feb 5 hearing.
Bill beat me to it....Well anyway Liefong the Fed's are coming next
The complain is 17 pages long...the n&o has the story...
Haven't read the pdf yet, but I just can't help but wonder if they just copied & pasted from several of KC's entries!? ;>)
N&O report dishonest,fraud,deceit and misrepresentation.
http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/526147.html
Great interview KC. I'm not happy about a DA being disbarred or the failure of our legal system or the the false prosecution of the defendents for that matter. It troubles me that it took a high profile case for you and others to publically expose prosecutorial misconduct. I suspect this type of misconduct is a lot more common occurence than we all want to believe.
Hopefully some good will come out of this in terms of more oversight of prosecutors, laws that require transcripts of GJ proceedings and some minimum level of proof before a GJ can indite, and uniform clear cut penalties for prosecutorial crimes.
In the bigger picture, I hope the Group of 88 and President Brodhead have the intellectual and academic honesty to admit what they did to their own innocent students and to explain their motivations behind their behavior. That's probably to much to ask, but they need to be held accountable for their actions.
As far as the media , I have no expectations other than maybe they listen to bloggers like yourself before they decide which bandwagon to jump on...
Orange Lazarus
The complaint saids:
"Nifong engaged in conduct involving "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation."
That sounds like more than a slap on the wrist is going to happen.
from a non-lawyer: I doubt if this will even get to the February 5 hearing, but the state bar action certainly would have some implications for the pending change of venue motion.
KC listened to your interview on the radio, great job. The host was also great. One question is how did the NC bar come up with this: Among the rules, the bar complaint says Nifong violation is a prohibition on making, "comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accuser."
I thought that it was the suspects he publicly condenmed?
liestoppers has a posting on this now.
Among the four rules of professional conduct that District Attorney Mike Nifong was accused of violating was a prohibition against making comments "that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused."
Typo on Lie Stoppers should be accused not accuser.
America's version of Lavrenti Beria will be getting his due.
Congratulations.
Don't like Nifong but he's not a mass murderer like stalin secert police.
He simply evil.
Lynching is lynching.
I'll give you that.
6:44pm Anon:
Good point on the change of venue aspect, although I think that will be mooted by dismissal of all charges.
As a few others have pointed out, the complaint refers to "Nifong engag[ing] in conduct involving "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation." It's mentioned several times in general, but not with any of the specific statements. The only(??) statement that the Bar specifically mentioned as misleading was the one regarding use of condoms.
Point is - the veracity of his statements doesn't have to be questioned, although the lies, half-lies, and omissions add to the toxic brew. It's simply the fact that he made the statements in the first place that make them actionable.
I quickly scanned the pdf, & the latest statement I saw referemced was in June, 2006. Did anyone note a later statement?
I would be very surprised to see Nifong disbarred based only on all the comments he has made. I could, however, see him disbarred when all of his actions, especially the withholding of exculpatory evidence, and the apparent conspiracy to deny the defendants their civil rights, are taken into account. I'm not sure how often the NC bar disbars someone, but in California, it has to be for pretty egregious conduct (e.g. Dec. 06 California disbarments: embezzlement; stealing from client's trust; extreme legal incompetence; practicing law while license is not active). I would think that, based on this bar complaint alone, the most he'll get is a suspension and/or fine. Any NC lawyers out there know more about the likelihood of the outcome of this complaint?
Also gotta love the fact that the complaint requests that Nifong be 'taxed' (charged) for the cost of the proceedings against him!
So the pecuniary pressure starts earlier than we had dare hope! lol
Re 6:57
e pluribus unum
Dolt!
et unum pluribu!
Can the NC State bar Keel Haul the Fong or make him walk the plank?
This dunderhead is only fit for shark bait and the sharks are circling now !
7:08pm christi:
I agree with you, christi - this one alone isn't going to get Nifong disbarred, but there's more to come in the way of complaints that will seal Nifong's professional doom.
Why did they file this now? Only file they had complete enough for filing. It takes a while, some or most would say too long, for these things to come. I think that this one was sitting in someone's pending folder, and the subsequent egregious acts you mentioned made it impossible to ignore any longer.
Not just the acts themselves, but the exposure of those acts by the constant pressure on the media from the likes of KC, Bill Anderson, LieStoppers, JiC, CM, etc.
Are there any grounds on which the Duke 3 could sue Duke University (administration or the Gang of 88)?
WJD (6:47 post) asks:
"One question is how did the NC bar come up with this: Among the rules, the bar complaint says Nifong violation is a prohibition on making, "comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accuser."
I thought that it was the suspects he publicly condenmed? "
It probably is a typo, but actually Nifong did make a pretty outrageous statement about the accuser. Remember when he said that a stripper probably wouldn't be anybody's first choice for unprotected sex?
WOW the entire bar complaint has taken almost evry last word that came out of Nifong's mouth and used it against him.
I have a feeling that Nifong is looking for a bus to through himself under right about now.
I also have a gut feeling that there will be more charges to come. I really hope the city of Durham has really good insurance, they are going to need it.
Can someone link up KC's interview? PLEASE
Re: Sword of Justice 7:31pm
I don't know what sort of liability Duke University would have for the Gang of 88's actions, given "academic freedom" and free speech rights. There would exist possible defamation c/a against the Gang as individuals, I would think. Not sure how strong that case would be, however -- just b/c I haven't studied their ad & actions in depth. I think the University is in the clear legally for suspension of the defendants b/c it is University policy to suspend any student indicted of a felony. I guess there would need to be research into whether the Administration has followed that rule in all cases, or just in this one?
Thanks, Christi.
This is absolutely the very least the timid bar association could have done and it's at least four months late. If the bar association doesn't file additional complaints soon, it will be yet another embarrassment for the association. Why did it take the bar association this long to complain about the conduct of this nasty, arrogrant prosecutor? And where are Cooper and Gonzales?
to 7:31
Hee hee! You think Brodhead wishes he hadn't given up his cushy spot in New Haven?
NEWSFLASH: We Yalies dinna like-a you anyway, Dunderhead. Sap was tired of playing third fiddle, gonna be da BIG man down at Dukie--ha! Spineless slitherer...
The gang of 88 is not going to apologize.
I wrote to three of the gang, Plesser, Lee and Petters, the only three from the hard sciences and thus the most likely to apologize. They declined to apologize.
This is a tragic commentary on faculty hiring in U.S. academia. There ought to be minimum ethical standards in professorial conduct.
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