"Mr. Obfuscation" in Action

In this clip, Dr. Meehan explains that his usage of the term "non-probative" in an obscure passage of the May 12 report should have alerted defense lawyers (and, bizarrely, "councilmen," though why elected officials ever would have looked at the report Meehan never said) to the fact that the rape kit contained unidentified DNA from multiple males. (Meehan made no such claim in the Dec. 15 hearing; and, indeed, opened his testimony by saying there was no unidentified male DNA.) The implication: he just "expected too much" from his readers, who it seems, weren't that bright.

"Mr. Obfuscation"

Lane Williamson provided a refreshing dose of common sense in explaining Mike Nifong's apparent intent in putting Dr. Meehan on the stand--and getting in one of the best lines of the hearing.

Nifong as "Unique Person"

In perhaps the most (unintentionally) hilarious item of the Dudley Witt closing argument, the defense attorney attempted to defend Mike Nifong's failure to turn over exculpatory evidence on the grounds that Nifong was "his own unique person."

The Wacky World of Dr. Meehan

This clip gives a sense of DNA lab director Brian Meehan at his most bizarre. First, as a witness, he offers commentary on an objection. Then, he compares DNA to understanding a roadmap in a peculiar fashion. For those not from North Carolina, a piece of information to get a sense of Meehan's final comment. Route 40 goes through Raleigh. Route 85 does not.

Nifong: An "Old-Fashioned" Guy

Perhaps the most bizarre moment in the entire Nifong hearing came when Nifong character witness Anthony Brannon recalled the good ol' days, when prosecutors could withhold everything from defense attorneys. For the last 15 months, Mike Nifong had sanctimoniously claimed that he opposed such "old-fashioned" attitudes--only to see Dudley Witt invoke them to explain why Nifong never had any interest in exculpatory evidence.

Eviscerated

In these exchanges, Lane Williamson overpowered Nifong attorney Dudley Witt, whose case was so weak that he almost sounded as if he were making arguments for the prosecution.

The Worst of Witt: "Egregious" Mistakes

After seeing Lane Williamson dismiss his apparent defense--that Mike Nifong, in effect, should receive a "mulligan" for his handling of the lacrosse case--Dudley Witt sums up the thesis of his closing statement: Nifong committed "egregious mistakes." Keep in mind: that was Nifong's defense lawyer speaking.

The Worst of Witt: The DNA Evidence

In what passed for a closing statement, Nifong attorney Dudley Witt rationalized his client's failure to mention that he had attended a meeting where the lab director passed on notice of exculpatory DNA test results.

The Worst of Witt: The Neophyte Defense

I doubt that even the state's finest lawyers could have saved Mike Nifong from disbarment, but Nifong co-counsel Dudley Witt turned in an almost embarrassing performance. In this clip from his closing statement, Witt is intellectually overpowered by Lane Williamson, as the defense lawyer suggests that Nifong, a 28-year veteran of the DA's office, should be treated as a neophyte.

Nifong: What?! Non-Laxers Were There?

In this clip, Nifong admits that even though he delivered a barrage of public statements targeting the lacrosse players, he knew from his very first day on the case--by reading Dave Evans' statement--that non-lacrosse players attended the party. But, he suggests, he forgot that crucial nugget of information.

Nifong: "I Don't Read Discovery Requests"

In this clip, Nifong admitted to Doug Brocker that he did not read defense discovery requests in the case, including a critical June request from Joe Cheshire.

Nifong Explains His Approach to DNA

In a torturous cross-examination from first Doug Brocker and then Lane Williamson, Mike Nifong attempted to explain why he did not consider the unidentified male DNA never reported to the defense relevant to the case. Eventually, he told Williamson that the results weren't "probative"--coincidentally, the very same legal phrase that had appeared in the May 12 Meehan report.

Nifong & Emostafa

In perhaps his least credible set of assertions the entire day, Mike Nifong suggested that he had no involvement in the decision to arrest cab driver Moezeldin Elmostafa--and, indeed, that he didn't even know Elmostafa was going to trial until the day the trial occurred.

"Something Happened"

In a statement that sealed the fate of his law license, Nifong proclaimed that he still believed--all evidence to the contrary--that "something happened" to Crystal Mangum.

Nifong: Politics and the Press

In a brutal cross-examination, Doug Brocker reviewed Mike Nifong's March 27 calendar. Just after he finished his initial briefing with police--when he remarked, "You know, we're fucked"--Nifong had an array of pre-scheduled appointments with members of the local and national media. But Nifong denied a political motive for his pre-primary publicity barrage: publicity, he claimed, was irrelevant to success in Durham politics.

In a hearing where Nifong repeatedly claimed he couldn't remember events that had occurred in court, the DA did remember that while he had spoken to Good Morning America, he hadn't actually appeared on the program. Nifong had his priorities, I suppose.

When Suspects Aren't Suspects

This somewhat lengthy clip (a little over five minutes) features Nifong attempting to explain why the 46 white members of the lacrosse team were not suspects--even though his office had obtained a non-testimonial order explicitly identifying them as suspects, and even though Nifong continued to use evidence obtained from that order in his quixotic crusade to obtain indictments.

The Great Dissembler

In this cross-examination from Doug Brocker, the disgraced DA floats his "I-didn't-read-the-report" defense.

Nifong Defends the "Old-Fashioned Way"

Mike Nifong attempts to explain to Lane Williamson his preference for handling this sexual assault case the "old-fashioned way," even when lots of "modern" exculpatory evidence existed. This clip also features a shot of two of the victims of Nifong's bizarre theories, in horror, watching him rationalize his approach. One row behind Collin Finnerty is among the last of Nifong's enablers, SANE nurse Tara Levicy.

The Origin of Hooligans

This clip features a revealing example of Lane Williamson's effective cross-examination style, as the DHC chair obtained from Mike Nifong an admission of the relationship between "hooligans" and sports teams in the popular mind--suggesting that Nifong's use of the "arcane" word was hardly accidental.

Nifong's "Law Enforcement Purpose"

In this brief clip, Mike Nifong unconvincingly explains why some elements of his pre-primary publicity barrage had a legitimate law enforcement purpose.