Lara Setrakian of ABC's Law&Justice Unit has reported that Mike Nifong has sent a letter to AG Roy Cooper requesting appointment of a special prosecutor.
Under North Carolina law, as we all have learned, only the DA himself can recuse himself from a case. Significantly, the Nifong request removes his entire office from the case--including Linwood Wilson, or any of the ADA's who could be subjected to pressure from Nifong to try the case regardless of evidence.
If Cooper accepts the request, the special prosecutions division will have to review the entire case file. It seems extremely unlikely, however, that any prosecutor would go ahead with the current version of events, as laid out in the notes produced by Linwood Wilson on December 21.
The N&O's Shawn Rocco has an illustrative photo of the embattled ex-lead prosecutor here.
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203 comments:
1 – 200 of 203 Newer› Newest»The entertainment value of the case just went down. :-(
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh see ya!
Sick, but true 5:32.
Finally. I suspect the motives were something less than admirable.
Thankfully, due to the bloggers, this man is still going to face civil and hopefully criminal charges.
I hope this rat fries..
Kethra
It's got to be what people have been predicting - the counsel he retained advised this.
Foxnews' website reports that Nifong met with the AV for hours yesterday. Now he wants out. Should we assume that he will blame the AV for everything? Let's hope it all ends soon. Prior to today, I was worried that Vicki Lawrence's song about "The Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia" would become the theme song for the Duke 3.
Now, he needs to resign. Let's keep the pressure on!
Had the blogs not taken on this massive injustice and done so to a degree that MSM never could or would, there would have been no recusal and maybe not as potentially lethal an action by the NC bar. .
JLS says....
re: 5:32
Not really, Nifong's 11 May hearing is the next big hearing. The 5 Feb. hearing is probably gone. Also Nifong will be on the stand in lots of civil cases. So the leading comic is still on the stage.
Has anyone thought of mounting a suicide watch for da Fong...I suspect our entertainment value might disappear forever if this remedial remedy isn't adopted immediately.
from a non-lawyer/retired professor: Will this all be over before the scheduled February 5 hearing? Will the appointment of a special prosecutor drag this out longer since this will all take time?
JLS says....
I am really surprised he recused himself rather than droppping the charges himself and claiming that Mangum changing her story again was his reason.
By not doing that he just drags these people through it a while longer for no reason. What a jerk.
Throw him in jail with Bert, I say. Show old Mike what its like to have a hand up your ass to make your mouth move.
Nifong will blame the FA, and seek to stay in office. He should resign, and if not, the Bar should see to it with disbarment.
60 minutes is reworking Sunday's segment right now.
KC Johnson, Jinc, et al deserve a lot of credit. (Of course, the attorneys were first-rate).
KC was blogging away intensely in the spring, summer, and fall, when the resolution of this matter was far from certain.
Don't worry. The lawsuits will be entertaining. Does that sound mean and merciless? Sorry, but the subjects of these lawsuits are a bunch of truly rotten people. It's like- I'm against the death penalty- but I couldn't feel bad about the hanging of Sadam Hussein.
"The entertainment value of the case just went down. :-("
- A nice scripted perp walk for Nifong might bring those spirits up. Unlikely, but we can hope.
To 5:44 PM
Stand by for some fantastic blaming to commence.
Woo-hoo!
I bet Liefong stayed up all night, shredding documents from the file, to cover his own criminal ass.
Finally, I can get back to work... I think I was pretty close to getting fired too.
However, justice will not be served until the DisgrAce pays for what he did.
JLS said:
"I am really surprised he recused himself rather than droppping the charges himself and claiming that Mangum changing her story again was his reason."
I don't think that he could do that without the "apperance of impropriety". It might look like he dropped it for personal reasons, i.e. covering his own ass.
"from a non-lawyer/retired professor: Will this all be over before the scheduled February 5 hearing? Will the appointment of a special prosecutor drag this out longer since this will all take time?"
Does anyone want to bet that the groundwork for the recusal and transfer to a special prosecutor was worked out in advance? In other words, could the AG already have a new special prosecutor lined up?
I'm 5:32 and I haven't felt this let down since they replaced Dick York on Bewitched. :-(
FINALLY !
Let's uncork a magnum of Dom Perignon and toast to KC !
(Also, Dan Abrams is another one of my heroes. Love you Dan!)
Debrah
JLS says....
Re: 5:48
We were told over the weekend that plea negotiations were underway between the Bar and Nifong?
Any bets on how many days it will take for the entire case to be dropped?
How long will it take of the AG office to call the FA unreliable?
The Fong is gone! Hopefully the people that take over this case are able to quickly realize this case for what it is, a hoax.
i dare nifong to even suggest that this african american princess, mother of the universe lied or misled him. the black community will not stop until they push a bone through his nose.
he's toast.
JLS says....
"I am really surprised he recused himself rather than droppping the charges himself and claiming that Mangum changing her story again was his reason."
He should not drop the charges himself. He has a conflict if interest, as all of us have been saying. If he has a conflict, which he does, then any action by him other than getting out of the case would be unethical. I suspect Nifong's lawyer refused to take the case unless Nifong got out of the case immediately. Otherwise, the lawyer would be assisting Nifong in a continuation of unethical conduct.
I bet professor Joyner says this will improve the likelihood that the AV will get her day in court.
I hear corks popping all over the blogosphere!!!
But this case will be interesting for some time, yet. What happens now to Mr. Nifong and friends is so important. Non-lawyer, the new prosecutor (when we have one) can drop this anytime he/she sees fit. I doubt anyone has a very good idea, yet, how long it will take for the AG to accept Mr. Nifong's recusal, appoint a new prosecutor, and see things back on a reasonable course. Two weeks sounds reasonable to me--just around the Feb. 5 hearing date. Maybe I am too optimistic.
Observer
Now I wonder why Nifong met with CGM for so long yesterday. His attorney Freedman had to have told him already that he had to get off the case. Was Nifong trying to convince CGM to give up and didn't succeed? Or maybe he succeeded but is leaving it for the the special prosecutions branch to announce it?
We need to see the evidence in a trail so we know a jury had a chance to judge the facts!!
Yes, we need Nifong and CGM in the defense chair, along with Linwood, and the group of 88.
Yes, a trail is needed to ensure justice is done.... but since the FA is clearly a liar, we don't need to waste the court's time on that one.
So what do we do to nominate K.C. Johnson for a Pulitzer Prize? I for one think he deserves it.
I dont think it will be dropped right away. That would be wrong. I think the new prosecutor should follow proper procedure, even if it is obvious that the case is bs. The new prosecutor should meet with the defendants and review the evidence. The new prosecutor should interview the av and the notes. Why? For the same reason that Nifong should have done it, to give as many people as possible reason to trust the court system. If the new prosecutor actually reviews the evidence and makes a considered decision, then all but the most radical racists will accept the decision. If the new prosecutor just drops the charges, it will create uneeded dissension.
Keep in mind, assuming the delay is not too substantial, it benefits the defendants because a prosecuctor who reviews the evidence can dismiss the charges after stating a thorough review shows innocence.
I can't imagine that any prosecutor would cut corners now.
I think the 2-5 hearing is off so the case will continue on a bit longer. Not to worry though. The new prosecutor will drop the case as soon as he can review the file.
JLS says....
re: 5:53
You have a point. Certainly someone else dropping the charges might be a clear signal to some people that there was no crime here. And the special prosecutor could say that.
But I would say some that might believe that if Nifong did it, will argue the fix is in and the new special prosecutor is a tool of the rich white boys.
Jerri Lynn is right (as always -- she is very insightful in these matters). Nifong did not just decide this afternoon to punt. He has been planning his exit all along.
As for another DA taking this thing to trial, forget it. It was the EVIDENCE that doomed this case, not Nifong's conduct nor anything the attorneys did to the Fong. Fong's troubles are due to the fact that he tried to spin this crap into a criminal case.
For any other DA to try to push this case would also be a rush to disbarment. No, it is radioactive, and it will be dropped. When or how, I don't know, but I DO know it will be over.
JLS says....
re: dukeparent09
He may have been pressuring her not to turn on him. He may have subpeonaed Mangum to show her he was still the DA knowing she would not really know what that was about?
But it could be that something happened today to cause Nifong to give up the ghost and yesterday he was still plowing ahead?
It would have been better for Nifong defense to have dropped the case. He could say he dropped it after reviewing the case with the accuser.
That way he could say he always did the right thing. Now he has the worse of both worlds.
He did not drop it after talking to the accuse.
He actual supported the accuser by dropping the rape charge. He is saying the state believes her latest story.
Now when a new DA reviews the case and interviews the accuser, The new DA will review the entire case. The world will get a fair evualation of the case.
Anybody want to script the conference between NC Atty General and the newly appointed prosecutor? I suck at predictions today but here's mine:
AG: Go review that file and get that piece of s___ case dismissed as soon as possible. You'll need to write a report and press release. There ought to be enough contradictory statement material in there to say her recollection of the events and identities are so clouded at this time that the state cannot in good faith proceed with a prosecution of these defendants. Don't just nolle proseque the case, have it dismissed with prejudice.
In a way this is bad for the defendants. The recusal could lengthen the proceedings – a lot.
Whoever takes over, cannot simply move to dismiss the charges without going over any evidence. To do so would indicate a decision made on news and blog coverage. The 2/5 hearing could be moved back months. The state of NC has to, at the very least, maintain the appearance that they have thoroughly gone over all case documents before taking any action.
It’s interesting to note that Nifong did not ask the judge to dismiss him from the case (if applicable in NC).
It will be interesting to see what Nifing’s sucessor does in relation to the 2/5 hearing. It will also be interesting to see what the judge does. Will Nifong’s successor move for a postponement and will the judge grant it? The judge could hold that such a postponement would unduly hurt the defendants, given the amount of time already taken by the case, through no fault of the defendants.
My guess is that the state of NC would secretly wish such a ruling and that the judge would then rule for the motion against the ID procedures. Then NC could say that without the ID they’re forced to drop the case.
By the way, I’m guessing that Nifong’s lawyer prevailed on him to recuse. He could easily see that his client was in the hole and digging like mad.
My husband, a lawyer, had told me that if Mike had allowed the FA to testify on Feb 5 and perjure herself, that his career would definitely be over. Someone must have explained this to him.
Why did Julia Lewis talk to someone who looks like he is twelve about Mike's immunity?
Durham's DA finally admits he's not the sharpest Nifong in the drawer.
I doubt Nifung wanted her to drop it, he met with her to see if she could survive the cross. If she could, then they both could get to trial and survive. However, his meeting revealed what he never wanted to know (I bet at the start he assumed a plea bargain) that she was frickin hopeless and that his investigator's story was so hopelessly screwed up that ....dare I say it
POULTRY, he chickened out.
What case?
To 6:12 PM
He met with her so he can now say he had met with her.
the new prosecutor will be a black female....
6:12,
That makes sense. After that session yesterday he could have met with Freedman today who advised him to cut bait and try to save what's left of his career.
Let's hope the bloggers and those of us who have been so rightly indignant about the handling of this case make use of the technology for every innocent man and woman falsely accused of a crime.
We've seen the power of a collective online community, seen what it can accomplish, may we continue to do so.
And as for the accuser, before you tar and feather me, I still hold a soft spot in my heart for her. I am intimately aware of the damage and sadness that are part and parcel of drug and alcohol abuse. I make no excuses for her behavior, but I'll stand by this statement -- the injustice here lies at Nifong's feet, not at the drug and alcohol addled accuser. I know ya'll will hammer me for that, but hell, he's the villain.
""In other news Nifong met in his office Thursday with the accuser in the Duke lacrosse case.""
This is the big news.
Now he'll say, "When I personally met her, I realized something was wrong, blah blah."
Blame the victim, blame the cops.
Mr. Elmostafa, please sue now!
This has been an exercise in a game of chess involving humans. However, the challenger used his pawns in an absolutely abusive, proposterous way.
I am a lay person. I do not know the intricacies of the law.
I have been following this blog and am extremely impressed with the posters here.
My hopes are, that future cases for those without significant resources may be helped with the same dedications that have been displayed here.
WRAL:If you get a quote from Joyner, give equal time to Coleman from Duke. Also, can there be someone in the AG's office who isn't up to par on this case already? Please, end the pain for these families! Get the FA some psychological help! Let the boys come back to school this semester by dropping this fiasco now.
6:19 PM #3
Chess has rules that are followed. This was a circus with victims being sacrificed while corrupt individuals promoted themselves. The 'legal system' leverages manipulation of human nature for good and bad. This is not chess.
Poor Justice 58. If you see him out on the curb sobbing into his Yoohoo, just toss him a buck so he can buy a Little Debbie cake and tell him better luck with the lynching plans next time.
With Nifong off the case, and assuming dismisal, do the defendents have a vialable civil case against Nifong, the City of Durham or Duke? In other words - does NC law allow for wrongful prosecution?
JLS says...
re: 6:19
In the past in what appeared to be a transparent injustice like the Scottsboro cases the US public and the press rose up to put a stop to it. [Unfortunately this time at least at first the press did not join the blogs and some of the press, but rather the press had to be made to see the light.] Really the entire civil rights movement was about that. The internet hopefully will make things faster than say in the day care cases.
But keep in mind there are few attempted frameups that are as transparent as this one. Had this been done a year ahead of an election rather than the two months. Had Mangum not had her past accusations. Had Mangun been able to stick to a consistent story. Had Mangum accidently picked up some Evans, Finnerty, Seligmann or any Duke lacrosse player DNA when rolling about the floor or when some players carried her to the car. Had Seligmann not had such a good alibi. Had Nifong, Linwood the faux Christion and Gottlieb not been so transparently trying to frame these guys. We would all have some level of lingering doubt here. There are few cases this transparent. Not necessarily few cases of prosecutorial abuse, but few cases this transparent.
So I agree with your sentiment. I think cases will arise the bloogians will come together on as in the case of the fake TANG documents CBS used. It is hard from afar to be sure a frame is going on sometimes.
Nifong is a coward. Nifong is doing this for the sole purpose of protecting himself. He knows he is in a world of shit and he would be crushed on Feb 5. This is his way of running out the back door.
RE SETONHALLMOM i think the justice system @ academia are just now finding out what the MSM has known for a couple years, its not resources that are doing them in, its the web...instant info by experts in any given field. KC Johnson has done a masterful job here
6:31
excellent point, and that transparency is what got me interested in the first place. That led me here, to this amazing community. KC and the legal minds that have told us the emperor has no clothes have done us all a service.
With regard to the last sentiment, one of the enduring falsehoods of the case is that people ONLY cared because the Duke defendants were white and "privileged." However, for twenty years, many people have given themselves to the issue of wrongful convictions including high profile teams such as Barry Scheck's group and many lesser known teams. So, there is much to build on but it is not starting from scratch at all. The fight here was a continuation of other fights that work to both free the innocent and convict the guilty. The fight here was for everybody, even those who opposed the fight, because it makes our society freer and safer.
My guess is that he is trying to back-door some nice parting gifts from his friends, the Governor and the Attorney General. If they can look at the case and even superficially give him some credibility while still dropping it, he'll be better off than just dropping himself and blaming the lying accuser.
6:35
well said, for I, with all my inherent biases, particularly to Lacrosse, a sport played by rich white boys as opposed to poor white boys like myself when growing up, had me thinking GUILTY!
I was quickly disabused of the premature judgment
News & Observer is constantly updating their story, about every 10 min. over the past hour -- they have quotes from Wade Smith and Prof. Coleman:
Link
There's a LOT of blame to go around in this case, but let's not let CGM off the hook here. Unless she has been drunk and high continuously for the last nine months, she must have had a moment of clarity at some point and realized the damage that her accusations did and could cause.
Does anyone have that exchange of email between dowd and holloway?
Don 't rule out the possibility that there is some sort of bargain hidden in this.
For the 6:43 poster:
Email Exchange
Kevin ...
Agreed, I don't want to let her off the hook, I do have sympathy for her, however, as misguided as that may be.
Then again, it pales in comparison to the sympathy I have for three falsely accused men. Reading statements from the Moms is gut-wrenching, as it was listening to CGM's father.
6:43
follow the link at 6:41
on the related stories are the emails.
balding.lawyer 5:41
Couldn't agree more. Gone are the days where citizens simply sit back and wait for MSM to spoonfeed a limited and slanted and misleading and above all else incomplete and glib account of whatever public issue is in play.
Blogging literally does rule!
anon 6:45
Very good point. We'll have to watch and see how this all plays out over the next few days, even weeks.
CGM should be sued just so she can not sell her story
Thanks for the links folks ... you guys are amazing, and so is the web. Information at the click of a button, what a world we now live in.
To 6:38
You said: “well said, for I, with all my inherent biases, particularly to Lacrosse, a sport played by rich white boys as opposed to poor white boys like myself when growing up, had me thinking GUILTY!”
I guess it depends on where you come from. Here on Long Island (NY) it’s played everywhere. Every public school has it, and it’s anything but “elite”. The Duke lacrosse roster had quite a few Long Island kids, many from very nondescript, middle class areas.
Matter of fact, parents look at as a good way to get scholarship money. There is a big nationwide pool of players, so Long Island kids have an advantage. The kid across the street from me got a full ride at a school in Indiana for Lacrosse.
6:51
I was a Delaware kid, grew up in the 70's. LAX was an elite sport when I was a child, scarred me forever ... well, not really, considering that Jim Brown is still considered one of the best the sport has ever seen, and he was po', if not quite white
anon 5:42
Yes, it is certainly possible that this could be dragged out even longer now, the new prosecution team being saddled with at least the appearance of fully reviewing the facts of the case, and providing a deliberative assessment of what should be done going forward.
The good news is that today is 1.12, not 2.1. It is not out of the question that the charges will be dropped even sometime next week.
Still...the default scenario is that the new team will use the 2.5 date just as Nifong would have: a credible way to have the judge exclude the lineup, enabling the prosecution to then drop the case under the theory that no credible evidence remains to justify going forward.
According to Duff Wilson's article, the woman wants to go forward with this case.
Many people believe Jim Brown, the famous NFL running back, may have been the greatest lacrosse player ever. He played football and lacrosse at Syracuse. That's a long way from Cobb County, GA, where our local high schools have both boys and girls lacross.
Good bye Herald Sun.
6:51
At the high school level, Lacrosse seems much more an East Coast thing. I attended Duke in the 80's. I'm was a white boy from the mid-west. I never even saw a lacrosse stick until my first week at Duke. It seemed that every other man in my dorm had played before.
Now I live in California, and the high schools out here don't have much of a lacrosse program. However, all the colleges have teams.
I originally saw it as an upper-class thing, but early at college, I realized it was just average on the east coast, from New York to Florida.
anon 6:51
I grew up in Maryland, where Johns Hopkins showed up in numberless national LAX tournaments. As you say though, not withstanding that Hopkins is an "elite" school like Duke, lacrosse was such a popular sport in Maryland that kids from all backgrounds saw it as a meal ticket to a full scholarship; lots of these kids were from working-class backgrounds. U. of Maryland and some other Maryland schools also had nationally ranked lacrosse programs--mabye still do.
The mid-Atlantic area, which broadly speaking includes New York, was the fountainhead for LAX in the late 20th Century; maybe even today.
what does a coward sound like?
somebody that anonymously emails and threatens somebody. shameful.
Here on Long Island, almost all of the high schools have lacrosse teams.
Certain high schools (Garden City, etc) have a long history of success in the sport, going back 20-30 years.
6:58 - You got it. We learn to throw a lacrosse ball around Annapolis, MD like you would learn to catch a baseball as a kid. It's our sport, and the best athletes in the area, from all demographics, tend to play Lacrosse. That includes David Evans, who began playing in the summers around here probably at age 5.
As for the case, stick a fork in this baby, it's done. That little talk with the accuser even did Nifong in. He can't suborn perjury, he knows she is lieing, and the AG will know that as well. Dismissal is in the air, folks.
Thank God.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
Good news that Nifong is off the case. Any replacement has got to be an improvement.
I am bracing myself for what is soon to come: The False accuser will be released from all responsibility. Likely we will hear that she has a serious mental illness and Nifong just yesterday realized the depth of her illness...or something like that. One way or another the false accuser will be found blameless and the fong and the 88 and brodhead will all have escape hatches for their hatred. Oh how could they know she was so ill???? Oh woe.
This is sweet. Or a taste of sweetness. Hopefully everything is downhill from here.
The suits need to punish the guilty as an example to NC and the rest of the country.
An apology from Nifong would be a nice gesture but I expect that like I expect one from Hollowell.
Perhaps the ripping apart of the new story by the defense, bloggers and the media (yes, they finally did come around) nailed the coffin shut for Nifong.
NYSOM ...
I was quite familiar with Hopkins and UM (fear the turtle), but in the First state, it Salesianum, AI DuPont, the preps (private) that played. Down south we were football guys
6:35 posted:
The fight here was for everybody, even those who opposed the fight
GREAT post, and very true.
7:05 - My HS coach in the 1980's started Lacrosse at Annapolis High School in 1929. Yeah, he was an old guy when I played.
It has a long regional presence in NY and MD that it seems only we know about. Every public school in my County has a team, and some of the poorest kids I knew were some of the best players. People delude themselves when they think it is "only" played by kids who went to "elite" private schools.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
7:07 - I played at Loyola College. The JHU/LC game was a war.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
Duff Wilson's latest:
Prosecutor Asks State to Take Over Duke Case
I did not realize people had a view that lacrosse is like squash and polo.
Here on LI it is standard, though I could never get the silly ball into the net.
This case is over, Go home.
thatisall.
I didn't mean to get us off-subject with lacrosse memories. Go defense team, go parents, go three accused lads
7:13 - They do, unfortunately.
And it took me years of practice to perfect throwing and catching a lacrosse ball with both hands. People forget how difficult Lacrosse is to play, and the hours of practice at wall-ball it takes to get decent at the game.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
7:05 PM
So, it was Evil Mental Illness by Environment in Durham all along...I was guessing Colonel Mustard with the Candlestickin the Billiard Room!
This turn of events holds a BIG risk for Nifong that has barely been mentioned.
It becomes even more likely now that CGM will tell the next prosecutorial team that Nifong (and Linwood) pressured her to change her story to build his case.
If I were CGM that would be the surest way out of any criminial difficulties on her part.
And a highly likely scenario.
CGM: Witness for the (NC Bar) prosecution.
This case is over, Go home.
Bluto: What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is!
anon 6:35
While I agree with your points generally, I take a bit of exception to your hoisting Barry Scheck's legal team as the tribune of the poor and downtrodden. When I was at Yeshiva University's Cardozo Law School in the mid-80s, I had occasion to observe a couple of essential truths about Barry Scheck:
One, he had a fabulous taste in port wine.
Two, while some of the cases he was drawn to involved defendants who were at least plausibly innocent, in others the defining theme of the case (whatever his underlying motivation may have been in taking these cases), seemed to be the gruesomeness of the crimes at issue, and the attendant media attention and notoriety these cases brought. And then there was his joining with Dershowitz in the team that represented OJ--not exactly first on my list of an Innocence Project priority.
So far I have called this case right though off by 1 day. I think u will see FA on TV this weekend.
It's Fri night.
I'm having a glass of wine.
I'm thinking of how proud I am of my Dukie son.
And I am thinking of how connected I feel to all of you...
and especially to Colin, Dave and Reade and their folks.
Could we have a little get-together and hug each other?
6:19pm#3, You are correct. The games that are played at that level do not appear to have a concise written set of rules. Or any rules at all, for that matter.
We all run into that scenario quite often in life. I faced teachers of the same low caliber in my college days. I worked hard to overcome a lot of that.
I wish to state again, how impressed I am with J.C.'s postings and the replies here.
I intend to pass this on to high school students that compete in debate and extempt as an example of 'looking beyond'. (I am not a teacher, but I feel that this is that inspiring.)
My son's life dream was to attend Duke. He was accepted on advanced application. However, we fell into the 'section' of not qualifying for financial aid.
My interest in this was because I saw a travesty occurring. However, I am now of the opinion that my son is better off where he is.
7:17 -- very perceptive post. Nifong's risk of disbarment goes up markedly now.
It is impossible to read CGM's new "statement," as put down on paper by Linwood Wilson, without realizing she has been coached to tailor a new story to fit now-established facts.
So who helped her fashion this new story? The bar may well be interested in finding out. If it turns out to be anyone acting at the behest of Nifong, then criminal conspiracy comes into play.
6:41
The following e-mails were exchanged between Patricia Dowd, mother of Duke University Lacrosse player Kyle Dowd, and Duke faculty member Karla Holloway.
The e-mail from Dowd questioned Holloway’s motives for speaking out about the lacrosse case in a September article in an online publication.
Holloway's son, who is central to the e-mail, was adopted at age 4 after he was abused in a series of foster homes. He also had mental illness. He was later convicted of the rape and stabbing of a Raleigh schoolteacher. He died in 1999, shot dead when he escaped from a prison work detail. Holloway has written about the events.
In an interview Thursday, Dowd asked that her e-mail be read and considered in its entirety.
Begin forwarded message:
November 6, 2006
Prof. Holloway,
I am the mother of a Duke Lacrosse player. After reading your article in September, I penned a response. I held off sending it, to see if my thoughts would change as my anger subsided. Unfortunately, my anger has not subsided. I do not want to prejudge you as those who prejudged the innocent Duke Three and the entire lacrosse team. Therefore, I respectfully request you respond to my letter so I may better understand why you would write such a vile article. Below is my response to your article.
I sit and ponder, how could any woman be so cruel and callous, and judge a whole class of individuals without any facts. What was more puzzling and definitely more alarming was that you had a son convicted of rape and attempted murder, and who was going to be tried for the murder of two others. It has always been my belief that educators not only had a moral obligation but a duty to have an open mind and to encourage your students to do the same. I teach History to high school students. Clearly, you do not understand this obligation. My first reaction was to attack, but what would be the sense. I wondered, do you attack our sons, because you feel guilt for your own failures as a mother? Do you attack our sons, because you are so selfish that you cannot stand the thought of our sons leading successful lives, when your son did not and can not? Do you attack our sons to justify your own short comings? Do you attack our sons because it's easier than looking yourself in the mirror? Do you attack our sons because they are innocent and your son was not? The answer may be yes to all of those questions. How sad for you that you have been reduced to a pathetic, heartless individual. While people with souls and hearts, would suffer and wallow in their own pain for a while, when the dust settles, they would fight to turn a tragic situation into something positive. Instead, you are so self centered, you have made yourself the victim in your son's death and in the Duke hoax.
"We all leave footprints in the sand, the question is, will we be a big heal, or a great soul." - Source Unknown
This week I was touched by two families who have suffered the worst imaginable loss in any parent's life, the loss of a child. One was Rachel Scott, age 17, the first person killed at Columbine, the second was Louis Acompora, age 14, killed while playing the game he loved, lacrosse, by a syndrome known as commotio cordis. What struck me is that both these remarkable young individuals were able to leave a lasting legacy that has and will continue to touch million of hearts and souls. Rachel Scott's legacy has been the formation of Rachael's Challenge which challenges us and inspires us all to do random acts of kindness. Louis Acompora's foundation has saved countless individuals by making defibulators available in schools and other public areas.
Though I cannot compare the loss of a child, with the loss of a child's trust in the kindness and goodness of man, I wrestle with what will be the legacy of our sons and our families as we emerge from this travesty of justice. Rachel Scott said, "Look hard enough and you'll always find a light." So I have challenged myself to find "my light".
At this time the path is dim for I have not let go of the anger and rage I feel against Nifong for creating and continuing this hoax for his own personal and political gain; against the Duke administration for abandoning our sons, even today as the evidence clearly shows their innocence, and using the lacrosse team and Coach Pressler as the scapegoats in a feeble attempt to protect Duke's reputation; against some of the Duke faculty for condemning and harassing our sons without a scintilla of evidence to further their own philosophical agendas; and against [accuser's name withheld] for not having the courage to end this charade by telling the truth.
However, I also recognize that to find the light I must choose forgiveness. Forgiveness does not mean I do not want Nifong disbarred or Duke to walk away without an apology to our sons. Forgiveness is just the ceasing to feel resentment and anger. I am not there today, but I am at a point that I must consider the possibility that there is a "light", for if I do not, I will find myself like you, Professor Holloway, a sad, bitter, resentful woman, attempting to squash the dreams of others because after your own personal tragedy you were not able to find your "light" and therefore have no dreams of your own.
When Colin, Reade and Dave are exonerated, what will be our legacy? I believe these three courageous young men will be great souls. They have showed us over the past six months how to handle adversity with class and dignity that is beyond their years. Each one of these young men will leave lasting imprints on all those they touch. They will have entered the eye of a hurricane and come out to tell others abut it. The legacy of the lacrosse team will be that of "truth". We will not stop, no matter what, in our quest to let the world know the truth of what transpired on March 13/14, the lacrosse team has stood steadfast in the events that occurred, even after being vilified publicly.
But what will my legacy be? I need to find a goal, as do many of the mothers and fathers of the lacrosse team, so we will be able to try to make sense out of something that has no sense. It may be a crusade to protect the "accused's" identity in rape cases much like the accuser's. Sadly, even when the young men are exonerated, there will still be many who will characterize the lacrosse team as "rapists". There will still be whispers. Many still want to turn a blind eye to the facts. Without any evidence the Durham Police Department, put our son's pictures on a "Wanted Poster" and published it in main stream national media for days. Colin, Reade and Dave's pictures, continue to be shown in the mainstream media. I hope I am able to emerge from this travesty with a vision to make the choice to make a change to protect other innocent young men.
I live the negative impact of this hoax daily knowing the three families live it greater than I do. I hope that one day I have the strength to choose to make a positive impact for if I don't, I may waste my life, like you, Prof. Holloway, wallowing in self pity. You are a big heal in the sand, I chose to be a great soul.
The Scott and Acompora families will be my inspiration! They will lead me to my light. You have also inspired me, of what I choose not to become.
Patricia Dowd Mother of Duke Lacrosse Player, Kyle Dowd
Nov. 6, 2006
Dear Patricia Dowd,
Indeed, you should have held off sending it. Your letter reflects nothing so much as an impoverished spirit and intellect. What a shame, for you, and your family.
Karla FC Holloway
Newyorkstateofmind
I don’t think Dershowitz was involved with OJ. Perhaps you meant Cochran.
I could never understand the white-black divide on that case. I’m a white conservative male. While I didn’t follow it closely. I was certainly familiar with it because I have to go through 5 newspapers and keep the all news radio on due to my work. If I had been on that jury, I could not have gotten beyond reasonable doubt.
Just after the verdict I was at a friend’s house, an ADA in Suffolk County. He asked me what I thought and I told Him I could not overcome reasonable doubt. He said that is exactly what his father had said.
7 24
Similar.
My daughter was recruited by Duke but went to Wash U.
Since this blew up I have been delighted she was elsewhere.
I wonder if Nifong is going to watch 60 minutes on Sunday. It would have to be pretty painful. Especially Rae Evans.
Does the Bar do victim impact statements?
Without a doubt, Nifong is evil. But it appears he was trying to get Crystal Mangum to drop this farce over the past few days, and she refused. This finally shows that SHE is the real villain here -- hideous.
Barry Scheck and the Innocence Project was on the record in this case only to say that one did not need DNA to gain a conviction in a rape case. (Peter Neufeld actually made the comment.)
I wrote an open letter to the IP, and one of my friends, an attorney who has worked many IP cases, personally emailed it to the principals of that organization. None of them ever wrote me, and when I emailed the organization, no one wrote back.
It seems to me that the people at the IP did not like the idea of rich white boys being exonerated because of DNA. Granted, these guys often take cases AFTER a wrongful conviction, but I thought it strange that the only thing anyone from the IP said about the case was, in effect, DNA was irrelevant.
As for the case, it will drag on longer, but no DA will want to take it to trial. The evidence is STILL the evidence that would have to be presented in court, and it is so bad that no self-respecting prosecutor would want to risk disbarment by trying to get a conviction with it.
In short, the charges will be dropped. I don't know when, but there no longer is an "if" about this one.
6:19 anon
While Nifong is clearly the kingpin in all this, the following should be kept in mind: It was CGM who started this whole machinery in motion with her false accusations. Absent those, no Nifong, no case, no travesty.
[The district attorney’s request also indicates that the accuser still wants to press ahead with the case.]
NY Times on Nifong's letter to AG
She needs to be squished like a bug.
Law & Order will have a episode based on this story by the end of the year.
Of course, as usual, some modifications are made so the episode is politically correct and approved by New York al-Times. In the Law & Order episode 975, Nifong is a republican appointee, Crystal is a white prostitute who served in Iraq and Klu Klux Klan is the external hate group harassing black victims (black basketball players) on campus. David Duke is the leader of Gang66, intimidating students.
Starring: Matt Damon, NY lawyer working for NAACP who helps the poor black players. In the end, Damon proves the existence of global warming.
Ben Affleck: A common man who gives alibi to the accused players despite being threatened by the prosecutor
George Clooney: Cab driver, who is harassed by racist police and DA but who eventually gives alibi to the accused player.
Susan Sarandon: Feminist professor at Duke who speaks against the injustice during the public lynching (mob is wearing George Bush bumber stickers).
The headline I am looking forward to is "Nifong and CGM are in the cooler!"
ISN'T IT TIME FOR SOMEONE TO REVEAL WHAT THE DUKE "RAPE" CASE IS REALLY ABOUT?
THE NEGRO AGENDA (or, the real story of the duke rape case)
I find it extremely humorous that posters are trying to link this case to low-IQ black leftists, or low-IQ town-dwellers.
[to be continued]
Re: 7:18
OK, "Nothing is over until we say it's over"? You've got a Napolean complex....
Re: 7:18
OK, "Nothing is over until we say it's over"? You've got a Napolean complex....
Nofing met with CGM to coach her not to implicate him, perhaps even to make a deal. From here on in, this is all about back room deals, made to try to save various peoples' interests. Negotiated in private, scripted, then played out in public.
Nofing can trade on whatever goodwill he has remaining in some circles, not making even more of a mess of things (and/or helping things to end in a certain way), and not dragging others into this.
CGM will clearly say anything he asks in order to avoid consequence, she will do whatever is asked if she thinks it will save her skin.
Other state officials have an interest in not appearing to be so backwards and opaque and in just ending things without further disaster. It is possible Nofing could make them look even worse. Hate to say it but this is true of most attorneys also.
The DPD and city of Durham have shown themselves to be corrupt, spineless, and incapable of action. They should be doing anything they can to limit civil liability and to distance themselves from this whole sorry affair -- but they don't seem to catch on very quickly.
Many interests are aligned in there not being further criminal proceedings. Perhaps CGM will agree to a plea, knowing in advance the punishment will be made as small as possible, out of the spotlight. Nofing will not be charged -- he may have to plea to something but this avoids further bad PR and setting a precedent (except that it does continue a very bad tradition, taking it to the point of a precident of sorts). The Bar proceedings will probably also end in a negotiated settlement, unless there is so much pressure that this won't be accepted.
This sorry excuse for a human has caused an incalcuable amount of damage and is likely to largely escape all but civil proceedings.
By stepping aside as soon as he got the advice of competent council, he limits this a bit -- but undold damage has benn done and on all sides. Of couse, there are not all that many individuals with specific cause against anyone and, unlike the harm done, the limits on the awards is finite.
JLS says...
re: 7:31
Mangum CAN NOT drop anything. She is not even a party to the case. The state of NC can drop these charges at any time they want. They don't need permission from Mangum to charge, not to charge to drop after they charge.
She is merely a witness in the cass of NC v. Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann. She has not standing in this case to do anything.
And don't believe for a second Nifong was trying to get her to recant. He was trying to get her not to turn on him.
Re my 6:35 post.
I am not a Barry Scheck fan. My point is that the idea that nobody cared about wrongful convictions until this case is racist nonsense. I used Barry Scheck as a high profile example, but there are many others (Dorothy Rabinowitz, the Northwestern Innocence project). I dont care if he is scum or great, he and many others are out there on this issue and so when racist liars say that nobody paid attention to this issue before they are either ignorant or dishonest. My god, sixty minutes has run wrongful conviction episodes before the Duke stuff. That was my point, not to debate one person or another. I mean, I am no George Ryan fan, but his pardoning of all illinois death row inmates was worldwide news. That was my only point.
I agree on the OJ case. In my opinion, it was not jury nullification as much as it was a horrible job by the prosecution. Cochran and company did what they were supposed to do: represent their client vigorously.
Yes, the black jurors might have been disposed to acquittal, but the prosecution was dreadful, and I am not sure I could have faced Marcia Clark for six months. It was the LA prosecutor's office that gave us the fake and ridiculous McMartin Case, so I was glad to see this bunch of criminal prosecutors meet their match.
Now, I believe OJ did it, but that does not mean that the jurors simply ignored the prosecution's evidence.
As for this case, there IS no evidence, only Crystal's numerous mutually-exclusive tales. Maybe a Durham jury would convict, given no evidence, but that never will be known, as there will be no trial in Durham or anywhere else.
This case won't go forward for the same reason that it went forward before, if we want to be cynical. Nifong prosecuted the hoax because it was in his politica interest to do so. No elected statewide politician in North Carolina is going to sully his career for the false accuser, even if this was not the ultimate hoax. I would like to think that the AG would do the right thing, but, removed from Durham, the right thing is also the politically savvy thing to do, so long as it is bathed in proper procedure and appropriate rhetoric about healing and rape victims and other stuff.
Trust me. As we speak 60 Minutes is talking with the accuser.
NYSOM ...
I know ... I know ... it's just me I still feel for her
Of course Mangum can't drop anything -- but if she had for once wavered and told the truth, instead of a series of differing lies, the ones with the power to drop the case (Nifong's office) would have. In a situation with no shortage of villains (K. Holloway, W. Lubiano, etc.), Mangum is absolutely #1, with Nifong not far beyond.
To 7:33 PM:
I think that is about the storyline that Law and Order would give. I have some friends who were "featured" in one episode, and, not surprisingly, L&O did a real leftwing hatchet job.
You are right in that there is no way that Law and Order will let the story be shown as it really was.
JLS says...
Re: Bill Anderson and the OJ case
I agree. To win the evidence handling part of that case all the prosecution needed to do was ask a single rebuttal question.
That question was to every DNA expert: what is the chance that any mishandling of the blood or other evidence to morph into blood that contained DNA that matched Mr. Simpson.
Now handling this was an LA PD frame up part of the defense would have taken more work, but first they needed to show that all that talk about evidence handling was a smoke screen.
7:29 anon
Yes, indeed, Scheck and Dershowitz were both on the so-called Dream Team (their presence on the defense lead to the Dream Team designation) defending OJ. It is true that when Cochran took the case, it was some weeks, even months possibly, before S and D signed on. But sign on they did and, notwithstanding the patheticness of the prosecution, and the inclination of the jury to "send a message," S and D imparted their thorough and methodical skills and talents in their winning ways, and doubtless are one of the reasons OJ was acquitted.
It should also be said that their role was always a supporting one, not a starring one; they were brought in to address forensics issues, a specialty particularly of Scheck. And I believe at least Scheck eventually disassociated from the case, but not before imparting the essential help OJ needed in refuting the substantial evidence in the forensics area.
JLS says...
re: 7:41
Mangum's family to Van Sustren that she twice tried to get Nifong to give up this case. Hard to know who to believe, but I know who needed the case to continue to win an election.
7:24
I think I'm in love...
Let me guess: Nifong enters rehab next week, blaming alcoholism.
I'm sure he will run for congress in 2008. Isn't this a safe AA district for dems?
Will this prevent or delay the Judge from ruling on the pending motion at the Feb. 5th hearing?
It seems there was a reasonable chance the case would have been thrown out at that point.
Could this be a cynical attempt by Nifong to dealy that?
HumboldtBlue said ...
I reside on the other side of the country and have been riveted by this case since day one.
I'm amazed, absolutely amazed at power of an internet community. KC and all the others deserve rich kudos for their work, and may the spirit of this experience stay with us all.
(well, except for the three accused and their families, may it soon be erased)
Ya'll are amazing
So, instead of dropping the charges, Nifong passed the buck.
Witness the cowardice.
From an alumna: fry nifong. Then go after Brodhead and the 88.
Doesn't Nifong being off the case mean two things:
1. The recusal will greatly lengthen the proceedings, as there are thousands of pages of legal documents for the new prosecutor to review. This means more legal expenses and prolonged mental anguish for the LAXers. Given the inflammatory public statements that Nifong uttered about them, it's reasonable to conclude that Nifong isn't disappointed about LAXers suffering longer financially and emotionally.
2. Nifong increases his chances of staying employed longer, getting closer to 100% vesting.
I think his bailing is strictly for selfish reasons. He realizes he can't win the war, but can win some more battles, minimally the two above.
The interesting drama about to unfold will be what happens to his "team". The surely see that he is no longer "captain of the ship" so it can only be a matter before they jump ship to save their own ass. Sharks like blood, even their own, for if gutted (but kept alive), they will have a feeding frenzy eating their own entrails. That analogy may not be too far from where the Nifong team is now.
Where was Nifong on the evening of March 13th? And is his middle name Adam, Brett, Matt, Dan, Dave, Reade, Collin, Kim, Crystal, Nikki or Precious?
He is heavy set with short hair and weighs about 260 pounds. I think a jury should hear this one.
I think this is effectively over and that we can all be a bit proud that in some small way we helped these boys and their families get their lives back.
I wish them and you the best.
Hopefully if something like this happened to any of ours there would be people of conscience who would do the same.
It ain't over until it's over. If this woman wants to go forward, who is to say when it's going to be over?
The recusal wont lengthen things unduly. the prosecutor needs to go through a normal investigative process and not a legal fight. The defendants are willing to meet with him, Wade Smith said so, and the false accuser either will or wont meet. Prosecutors do this all the time and it should be done in less than a month maybe even less than two weeks if people work around the clock. In the meantime, people can put the legal work on hold
It's not over. Now, hopefully, we get to watch the bad hang (figuratively speakimg).
Things I note:
1) Somehow the AV's story has "CRYSTALized" into a set of facts she thinks she can fudge her way through on the stand, because the letter apparently says she still wants to go to trial. Based on the audacity of that belief, it appears to me that Wade Smith and Joe Cheshire missed an affirmative defense: there is no way any of these twenty/five/four/three/two guys could have penetrated her with their mystery sticks, because nothing could get past the ginormous, bispherical he-parts this girl must have, if she still wants to go to trial.
2) Anyone want to help me throw together a "RALEIGH RESIDENTS ARE OUTRAGED" sign? Candlelight vigils outside the State Bar?
3) Anyone else holding out for the version that Dave Evan's penetrated CGM with his removal mustache and then through it into Jordan Lake?
4) For all that can be said about Nifong, he is pretty media savvy. Dropping the charges? Friday afternoon before the biggest holiday of the year. Punting the balance of the case onto the unluckiest sap in Ol' Roy's office? Friday afternoon before a Federal holiday. The guy sure knows how to handle the dirty deeds right before the media B team checks in for weekend duty.
8:06 PM #1
That is precisely the point of the Minister of Justice and why Nifong needed to step down. It is not up to her.
To KC Johnson, 7:24, commenters, and Duke families,
As I sip my champagne tonight, I am toasting all of you. High fives and hugs and kisses all around!!
Even though Prof. Coleman stated it could take a while for someone new to sift through this case, I would expect, as Jerri Lynn indicated, someone in the AGs office probably has been getting up to speed already. Absolutely, no corners should be cut, but the case is not really very complicated, is it?
I understand the decision to proceed with or drop a case rests solely within the DA's discretion, regardless of the wishes of the accuser. Mr. Nifong could have dropped it any time, but the Special Prosecutor route seems the most proper to me at this juncture. The conversation between Mr. Nifong and the accuser for the past couple of days must have been fascinating. Wouldn't we all love to see a transcript of that exchange?
Here's to all of you,
Observer
To BA- See that's where you nicey-nicey streak comes back to hurt you.
I understand the mentality of the Upper West Side rich red diaper baby Marxist better than you do. And how much they love a fight.
-------------------------
At the time of Neufeld's media tour supporting Nifong, I sent a letter to Neufeld and 500 of his IP workers at every office...
and got a 3-page whiney rebuttal that made Neufeld looks like the malicious Marxist that he is.
In front of all of his colleagues.
Your post reminded of that episode so I just sent the PN and his IP crew this followup entitled:
"Perhaps Peter "Nifong" Neufeld would care to comment publicly again on the Lacrosse case in the wake of today's events"
-------------------------
To the IP crew:
Now that we are 8 months after Innocence Project
Co-Director Peter Neufeld first took to the media to
shill for Durham DA Mike Nifong.
Now that it is obvious that the DA's hand-picked DNA
lab submitted a fraudulent report to cover exculpatory
evidence, at Nifong's urging.
Now that it seems likely from the 12/21/06 accuser "interview"
that the accuser, LE and the DA's office conspired on
multiple occasions to tailor a narrative to get
around exculpatory evidence.
Now that the Durham DA is facing multiple ethics (and
likely criminal) investigations of his conduct.
Go ahead, Mr Neufeld, tell us all about your stellar
public conduct in this case.
A case that was an obvious hoax from day one.
Tell us again all about your interest in defendant's
right, Mr Neufeld, you race-baiting fraud.
C'mon, Mr Neufeld, call up the NYTimes and the AP again and flog your political program like you did before.
Now would be the perfect time.
-----------------
I'll let you know if I get a response.
"He feels, as a result of the accusations against him, that he would be a distraction and he wants to make sure the accuser receives a fair trial," attorney David Freedman told The Associated Press.
The accuser gets a fair trial, what about the accused getting a fair trial? Ppl. are so backwards.
A great day for all fair minded people !
Nifong's defense will be that there were breakdowns in commuication between his office and the DPD.
- Gotleib's reactions in next 30 days will be very interesting - seeing what develops there - he's the linchpin to the broader ugly story.
I would say that most prosecutors are just like Nifong, maybe a bit more intelligent. Going after the enemies of the mainstream leftist media (=rich whites males or successful companies that are led by rich white males) is the way to go.
Spitzer is now the governor in NY and Fitzegerald (who knew from day 1 who the leaker was) will probably be the next Attorney General if Nifong and Freezer Jefferson are "unavailable".
Anon 7:07...
I was quite familiar with Hopkins and UM (fear the turtle), but in the First state, it Salesianum, AI DuPont, the preps (private) that played. Down south we were football guys
I played in college in Texas.
Football is what LAXer's do in the off season to stay in shape. It's a sport where they don't worry too much about getting hurt!!!
BTW...LACROSSE: What men do during boy's baseball season!!!
To KC or Maryland Esq:
WRAL is reporting defense attorney's had the subpoena served on the FA yesterday to appear Feb 5th while she was in Liefong's office. Are they correct? All other's saying Liefong had the subpoena served on her. Pretty good move for defense if they did it. Turned up the heat!!!
"well said, for I, with all my inherent biases, particularly to Lacrosse, a sport played by rich white boys as opposed to poor white boys like myself when growing up, had me thinking GUILTY!"
Hmmm. That's interesting. We had lacrosse at Texas A&M University during the 1970's. It never occurred to me that the sport had anything to do with being rich.
(There's probably a joke about an Aggie lacrosse team in here somewhere.)
CEDARFORD ...
point taken, that was my post you quoted.
I don't understand why Nifong found it necessary to talk to FA for several hours yersterday and today, since rhe reasons for recusal are unrelated to anything she might or might not have told him. And if he merely wanted to inform her that he planned to recuse himself, it wouldn't have taken him hours to do so. This makes no sense.
HumboldtBlue said ..
Jerri, great website, I have been following Balko's work for quite some time
8:19 PM
Now he can say that he DID interview the accuser.
in an unrelated news: Gang of 88 have resigned from all Duke non-paying committees blaming blog hooligans to intimidate people and using their white male privileges to get rid of Nifong.
HumboldtBlue said ...
Amazing, I began posting here less then 1.5 hours ago and there were 37 posts ... 156 oops 157 and counting
Nifong seized on the "rape", sure that enough evidence would come, and if it didn't -- well, in Durham he guessed he didn't really need it. That's the problem; only if a desperate DA tries to hang onto a rabid, snarling dog like this case do we get to see his true colors. And the rest of the cases he handled, the ones not so obviously bogus? Maybe they were all marked by prosecutorial integrity, but what are the odds?
Same with Brodhead and the "progressive" 88: could be when an issue like this isn't around, they aren't all bigmouthed cowards, incapable of admitting error, seemingly incapable of shame. Maybe they are, instead, shining lights of fairness in academia, but how likely is that?
A whole lot of rocks have been turned over in this case.
Oh Dear - Does this mean Mikey can't be part of the Healing process now. Coward!! A true believer that he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day. Is Freedman about to destroy his reputation dealing with the Fong?
HumboldtBlue said ...
Let's hope the biggest rock turned was that of prosecutorial misconduct and just how powerless one can be in the face of officials lacking in ethics.
Also, can we now turn some of this energy to getting rid of bullshit college courses?
Freedman is only seeking to gain notoriety in representing Liefong. Like Liefong said about the defense attorneys, it seems sll of you wnated you client indicted for the media exposure.
As to the February 5th hearing it will likely not be postponed. Assuming a special prosecutor is appointed before then and there is no reason to believe that won't happen in a matter of days. The issue before the hearing is the identification of defendants and the methods used by Nifong. This is a matter of law not a question of fact. Hence the judge can hear all arguements and make a decision.
If Judge Smith isn't smoking the same stuff Nifong does he must throw out the identification the accuser made of the defends in the ineup. That will be all the cover the Special Prosecutor needs to dismiss charges. Probably Feb 6th.
excuse the typos....Rushing to get back to KC's latest post
anon 7:30
Wash. U. St. Louis was a great school when I was there back in the late 70's, early 80's. I think it is still less PC than other elite colleges because of its location in the middle of the midwest, and it puts more time into recruiting math-based National Merit Scholars than creating the latest faddish "social justice" course.
8:16 - Yes, the sheriff served the subpoena when she was in Nifong's office. I would say that definitely turned up the heat, because she was not in "hiding" anymore, and would testify at the hearing accordingly. The last card he may have had, in hiding the accuser for months, was now gone.
Nifong really backed himself into a corner in this case. The AG was clearly his only way out in order to save him from the wrath of NC Bar Counsel if he suborned perjury on the stand. Ethically, there is simply no way he could sit her up there and ask her questions with his knowledge of her former statements. He did the one smart thing he has done so far, and it may well be after he read these blogs (don't kid yourselves people, a blog is very powerful and your statements really do count), when he turned it over to the AG.
Will it be enough to save him? I don't think so. They are sharpening their knives. He has embarassed the State in front of a worldwide audience, and they will now fillet him.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
anon 5:46
Well said.
Thank you HumboldtBlue. :)
I have great admiration for Radley Balko.
Did anyone just see 'Paula Zahn'. Her so called experts do not even know the details of the case. They basically just blasted the boys for the party and the hiring of poor black 'prostitutes'...OMG make me want to scream!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello....that was the LAST thing on their mind.....AND THEY DID NOT ASK FOR BLACK WOMEN!!!!!!!!! AND NO, SOMETHING DID NOT HAVE TO HAVE HAPPENED IN THAT HOUSE!!
READ MY LIPS....NOTHING HAPPENED IN THAT HOUSE THAT NIGHT!!!
Get your facts straight 'experts!!
The NYT article says that Nifong had planned to recuse himself after the State Bar filed charges but waited to talk to the accuser. And yesterday was the first day she was able to talk. Hmmmmm I don't buy that one either Mr. "I have to be part of the healing process" is recusing himself because State Bar charges have been filed against him. Nothing the accuser says changes anything so why is the recusal tied to the chat with accuser? No reason its just one more Nifong lie
bill anderson 6:05
Very much in agreement. No new prosecutor would even try to spin this set of fraudalent "facts" a la "evidence" into something that could be presented in court. To do so would subject that same prosecutor to disciplinary charges.
Paula Zahn is irrelevant to anyone of sense and intelligence. I can't stand that woman.
Ignore her, everyone else does.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
Paula Zahn still has a TV show?
JLS says...
I taught on sabatical at Wash U. in the 1990s. I got no heat for being the free market economist I am. But I could tell from some of my students that there was certainly a very PC group in the usual department there.
Thanks Maryland Esq.
I think Liefong may have a rat in his own office. Somebody had to inform defense attorney's when she would be there in order for the subpoena to be served.
anon 8:23 Thanks for the update.
So now we know...Setting the record straight after months of meticulous documentation by way of blogging is using our "white male privilege" to "intimidate people."
I guess the counterpart to this "truth" is that covering for a low-life prostitute and a Stalinist attorney who used her sordid story as a framework for railroading three innocent men, in effect conducting a totalitarian-style show trial, is equivalent to "seeking justice" and "holding accountable irresponsible males of white privilege."
if the paula Zahn Show infuriated you tonight, wait till Cash Michaels joins that panel next week.
His talking points are all from the NCNAACP website filled with outrageous inaccuracies and falsehoods for months.
It may have been removed in the past two weeks, but it was copied onto LS>
http://z9.invisionfree.com/LieStoppers_Board/index.php?showtopic=1142
Cedarford 8:49
Al (Sharpton) must be busy tonight.
I wish some of that white male privilege I'm supposed to be enjoying could turn a few thousand dollars my, I feel pretty underprivileged right now
You folks seem to be forgetting that it's a crime to file a false police report. CGM is painted into a corner - if she says "sorry I made the whole thing up" then she goes to jail. (BTW, this is how it all started in her addled brain. She asked the cops at the beginning something to the effect of "am I in trouble?" and somehow it occurred to her that if she accused the others of rape that she herself would not be "in trouble". Then like Tawanna it took off beyond her control but it was much too late to pull back - for a while it seemed like she could take it all the way - Jesse Jackson offered her a full scholarship, etc. Why with a little luck she could have had her own TV talk show .... at the start of the show she'd do a little pole dance and then she'd interview a brother or a sister who had been a victim of white racism. The show would be called "A Magnum of Crystal")
Well, it's beer time folks (unless my whiteness and my privilege means I have to drink some fruity California wine) .. keep up the good work and be sure to read Wendy Murphy's latest rantings ...
damned white people
8:50 - I was thinking along the same lines. Either that, or I want to hire their investigator.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
should we set up white male privileges department at Duke? If Gang88 can have their own bizarrofantasies recognized as a tehory or department why not this?
I accept the position of a tenured professor. $150,000 should be ok, just like at AA dept. Of course, requiring publications or actual work is racist. Instead, I can rant on internet forums 24hr per day and organize voter fraud..ups voter registrations.
Now that it is clear Crystal Mangum does not want to drop this pathetic hoax, she can be coupled with Mikey Nifong as part of the villain-hood.
This is a woman pushing 30. No child, she.
If she has no authentic mental deficiences, then she must be prosecuted.
If mental illness is found to be her problem, then she should be committed post haste.
No more damage to society.
BTW.....just catching up on this thread, I am appalled that Richard Brodhead allows someone of the caliber of Karla Holloway to remain at Duke. While she isn't as psychotic and childish as Houston Baker in his ranting e-mails, Holloway is clearly not ready for prime time.
Holloway's response to Patricia Dowd was barbaric.
Debrah
Happily, I was able to actually make a toast to KC during my dinner snack.
Didn't have a bottle of Dom Perignon for the occasion; however, I do have a bottle of "Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut"...Reims, France of course....left over from New Year's Eve.
So I have opened it.
Cheers, KC! Good job!
Debrah
Regarding Barry Scheck on the OJ case...I'll never forget him eviscerating Dennis Fung (the crime scene investigor/forensics cop)..."What about THAT Mr. Fung?...and THAT...and THAT?"
Since this case has a DNA component, I have for months cherished the potential of Scheck saying "What about THAT Mr. Ni-FUNG..." yada, yada , yada. And to learn now that the Innocence Project is being of no help whatsoever is quite disheartening. This would be Scheck's chance to rejoin the rank of decent human beings. Pity.
I have long maintained that AAS and WS and all those other "studies" areas should be merged into the "Department of Grievance Studies" and call them what they are.
Barry Scheck is a personal friend of David Rudolf.
Both are opportunistic turds. Sh!t on a stick.
I'm just sayin'.....
One down.....89 to go. The job ain't done.
Trinity60
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
Yachtsman
No?
10:49 - But of course. How could I resist?
Esquire from Maryland is so hot and brainy. He must be a Taurus.
11:00 - Worse, a Pisces.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
Esquire--Pisces is the best. Sensitive, creative, and very passionate.
Sprightly. Is that you?
Does this mean the FA gets to tell a whole different story to a new prosecutor? Where does it stop?
11:55 - It stops when she tells the new prosecutor the new story, and he then dismisses the charges as he is bound to do in such a case.
Don't assume all prosecutors are as woeful as Nifong. The normal DA would have heaved this case long ago.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
When does it stop? I'm betting on the Feb 5 hearing - maybe the AG will ask for a delay but this would be a good time to bail out - AG recognizes that the lineup cannot be salvaged no matter when the hearing is, has no vested interest in the case, allows the judge to rule that the lineup should be excluded (which he'll do whether or not they oppose). At that point, there's nothing left of their case so they dismiss. They are not at all bound by Nifong's bogus promise to take this to trial no matter what.
Should we organize a dead pool?
Anon 6:19PM,
The FAs drug and alcohol abuse are the result of her abuse as a child. They are not the cause of her problem they are a symptom.
Heroin
The Durham DA will have a new name:
Jailfong.
I am thankful that God hears and answers prayer and I believe His hand, in response to prayer, has been working to expose injustice in this case.
God is powerful and He has influenced sharp minds to gather and work to expose this injustice, and in so doing influence others in our legal system to clean up their acts; thereby bringing greater justice to our entire country for all people of all races and gender.
Much thanks to God, KC, Bill Anderson, Gaynor, Liestoppers, Crystal Mess, LaShawn and so many commenters, hate to try to list them and risk leaving out one or two as many are responsible for assisting to bring this case to an end.
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