Here's an early version of the cast of characters.
Some new figures: Katherine Jean and Doug Brocker--bar prosecutors
Dudley Witt and David Freedman--Nifong attorneys
Lane Williamson--DHC chair (de facto judge of proceedings)
Tara Levicy--SANE nurse, feminist zealot, and one of the last of the Nifong enablers
Marsha Goodenow--Charlotte ADA who spoke for NC prosecutors against Nifong
Duff Wilson--New York Times reporter whose biased coverage received a rebuke from Brad Bannon, on the witness stand
Liestoppers has a photo array from inside the courtroom.
Trial, 1st phase: to determine whether Nifong is guilty or not guilty.
If not guilty, the trial is over; if guilty, the trial moves into the 2nd phase, to determine punishment.
Finally, one of the cast of characters, Victoria Peterson, is alleging discrimination because of her expulsion from the proceedings--even though at the start of the trial, DHC chair Lane Williamson told the entire courtroom that people were not to approach the parties to the case, an order that Peterson blatantly violated.
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23 comments:
One aspect of this case has not been given much coverage: the NC law that stipulates that grand jury proceedings cannot be recorded in any way. There is a good reason why testimony before a GJ must be safeguarded and, at times, kept secret, but the fact that NO RECORD OF ANY KIND is kept of the proceedings just blows my mind! NC resident: write your representatives and demand the law be changed. If the Duke LAX3 GJ proceedings had been recorded, a judge could order them unsealed and we could see what Himan and Gottleib said to the jurors. As it stands, there is no way to know--this protects only two people: Himan and Gottleib. Nifong is beyond protection at this point, so any protection for him is now moot. Alright, let's get on with the hangin'
Nifong used the grand jury to indict, because if he just had them arrested, they would have had the right to an evidence hearing in front of a judge.
Nifong let these "dangerous" players walk town while he wanted for the next grand jury to be seated.
Guess he know that a judge would laugh at is evidence.
Thank you so much for the recap, especially the links. I now understand more thoroughly Nurse Tara's role in this.
I live in Raleigh and have been following this story since it broke, but I just stumbled onto this blog a couple of days ago and all I can say is "WOW!"
I'm hooked on this all of a sudden and eagerly anticipate the testimony of Mr. Seligmann and "he who must not be named."
And, yes, I too have renewed respect for Bannon who I have in the past referred to as "Cheshire's lackey."
Thanks for this blog.
MMD, Raleigh
KC> Thank You again for keeping everything clear.
Williamson seems like a very competent and fair person, I hope he puts the stops on the trashing that Reade is likely to get when they put him on the stand.
With Ms. Peterson planning for her next move, bad things can still happen in real time to the families and their lawyers. We know from past experience that the local police cannot handle things well when it heats up, and I believe Ms.Peterson when she says that many citizens still think the players are guilty.
Maybe Duff WIlson could write about why that is so.
Why did the NC bar put Jim Fox on the stand? Who was the target audience for his testimony?
Mr. Fox unnecessarily described the grievance process. Then he gave examples of how Mr. Nifong's behavior met the minimum standards for referring the case to DHC.
The panel did not need to hear about the process, and there was no new evidence in the description of Nifong's behavior.
What motivated the state to have Mr. Fox testify?
Nifong's latter to the Grince commitee was entered into the record. It includes Nifong one set reasons for his actions, and shows he did not mention the dna report from state lab.
They are just locking Nifong down. Now if he has another set of reasons, then he lied to the commitee.
OK, to help get today's juices flowing, what do folks think about how long the Panel will be out before it returns a guilty verdict?
For appearances sake, I think they'll need at least one hour (but not much more than that). From a practical standpoint, at some point they'll lose access to the hearing room.
Welcome MMD! KC has been doing an excellent job with Durham-in-Wonderland for over a year, and is one of the heroes of the hoax, for sure! Be sure to order a copy of his book UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT!!
There are more pictures of yesterday's proceedings at the N & O.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/photos/story/604539.html
Thanks for all the latest from the courtroom, KC!! Today's hearing is about to start!!
duke2009mom
They are just locking Nifong down. Now if he has another set of reasons, then he lied to the commitee.
The two "DEATH PENALTY" violations from the Bar perspective are:
1. Lying to the Bar
2. Thinking the Bar is Stupid
Nifong committed both. That was the point of the Fox appearance.
8:04 has a very valid point here. But why couldn't the jurors get subpeonas to to testify as to what was presented to them in the GJ?
This 'secret' indictment rule sounds like stuff you hear on the Discovery Channel...when they are talking about the hisotry of the KGB in the USSR!
Mr. Seligmann now on the stand.
A classy gentleman.
Maybe we should form a meta-narrative of this in the context of the Simpsons (in the absence of race, gender and class meta-narrative)
Nifong defense attorney 1: Lionel Hutz
Nifong defense attorney 2: Ralph Wiggam
Tara Levicy: Dr. Nick Riviera (or assistant to Dr Nick Riviera)
DPD Police Chief: Chief Wiggam
Spineless Duke President: Principal Skinner
Victoria Peterson: Crazy catwoman
RE: jamil
And Nifong would be Homer (idiot) or Montgomery Burns (unethical sneaky old bastard)?
nifong's doesn't have enough brains to be Sideshow Bob, but he's mean enough, for sure.
Then again, everywhere the fong steps, he lands on another rake.
Homer and Burns are both (in their own ways) lovely and funny guys. I would not ever compare Nifong to them.
I'm afraid that the Simpsons does not provide the necessary contextual meta-narrative for Nifong so perhaps we must look him in the context of race, gender and class and form the meta-narrative that way?
9:06
No doubt, I was surprised to find out she hated gays and was a religious freak.
I knew she would claim racism, but, really, who cares, she's a joke and if the Durham black communtiy wants her as a leader and supporters her, well, you gets what you pays for...
VP has no claim to being discriminated against.
The last time I checked STUPID PEOPLE are not a protected group. And in Durham they are definitely not a minority.
Duke2009mom permalink
I enjoy the Simsons analogy, but Tom Wolfe really wrote the story in three separate novels long before it ever broke. Bonfire of the Vanities = bitter rogue prosecutor pursuing rich white defendent who committed crime against poor black victim. Man in Full = girl falsely accuses star college athlete of rape (Wolfe missed the mark in that the college actually tries to defend their student). I Am Charlotte Simmons = college athletes going wild with sexual activity, set on the thinly disguised campus of Dupont University, a rich private school in North Carolina with a strong athletic program.
The names in this case even rival Wolfe's over-the-top style of naming characters:
Mike Nifong - the villain
Joseph Cheshire V: fifth generation southern attorney
Reade Seligmann & Colin Finnerty: rich white East coast WASP defendents
Dick Brodhead - Ivory tower academic with a tofu spine, useless in a crisis
Duff Wilson - newspaper hack
Linwood Wilson - gospel singing but thoroughly corrupt investigator
Dudley Witt - bumbling attorney for Nifong defense
Marsha Goodenow - solid but reliable DA
Obviously, one could go on and on.
One of the few names that doesn't completely match their profile in the story:
KC Johnson - he should be named Clark Kent, Jack Ryan, or Atticus Finch
(If a Pulitzer is ever given for blogging, KC deserves the first one for the work he has done, and I have been reading blogs actively for ten years.)
Jack Straw
sorry for the permalink - don't know how that happened.
Jack Straw
N&O Photo Gallery
Hat tip to Duke2009Mom...excuse the misfire on my previous link
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