TODAY.
Posted on 04/11/2007 7:46:54 AM PDT by Howlin
RALEIGH, N.C. — Three members of Duke University's lacrosse team could learn Wednesday whether state prosecutors will drop the remaining charges accusing them of sexually assaulting a stripper at a team party more than a year ago.
"I think it's likely that they will do that," said Wade Smith, an attorney for charged player Collin Finnerty. "We certainly hope that would be true. But until we hear it, we're not going to acknowledge that's the truth. We'll wait and see."
The state Attorney General's Office has scheduled a 2:30 p.m. news conference to discuss the case. It is unclear whether Attorney General Roy Cooper will be at the news conference at the RBC Center, which can accommodate the crush of national media interested in the case.
The Associated Press, citing sources close to the investigation, reported Wednesday morning that all charges would be dropped in the case.
The Attorney General's Office took over the case in January after Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong was charged with several ethics violations tied to his handling of the sensational case.
No notice of dismissal had been filed at the Durham County Courthouse by early Wednesday. But a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office told WRAL that the investigation into the case has been completed.
"We are relieved that this day has come,” Smith told WRAL. “There will not be a celebration because this has been a train wreck.”
The families of Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans arrived in Raleigh Tuesday. Officials told WRAL that the three lacrosse players would be present once a decision had been made as to how the prosecution would proceed with the case.
A grand jury indicted the three players on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense last spring after a woman told police she was assaulted at a March 2006 team party where she was hired to perform as a stripper. All three have steadfastly maintained their innocence, with Evans calling the allegations "fantastic lies."
Nifong dropped the rape charges in December after the accuser changed a key detail in her story. He recused himself a few weeks later after the state bar charged him with violating several rules of professional conduct.
Among the ethics charges, Nifong is accused of withholding potentially exculpatory DNA evidence from the defense and lying to both the court and bar investigators. Nifong faces a June trial before the bar and could be disbarred if convicted.
Nifong faces a Friday afternoon hearing in the ethics case, and he spent Wednesday morning with his attorney in Winston-Salem.
Nifong's recusal put the players' fate in the hands of Cooper, who promised "a fresh and thorough review of the facts" when he took over the case in January.
Smith said the players, their families and the defense attorneys were pleased that the special prosecutors took over the case, saying they brought "sanity to this situation."
“The special prosecutors have looked under every rock, and they have searched for evidence in places even the defense did not,” he told WRAL.
While Evans graduated the day before he was indicted in May, Duke temporarily suspended sophomores Finnerty and Seligmann in the wake of their arrest. Finnerty was also convicted in July in an unrelated assault case in Washington, D.C., and sentenced to six months of probation.
Finnerty and Seligmann were both invited to return to campus, but neither has accepted. John Danowski, the former coach at Hofstra who took over the Duke program last summer, has also said that both are welcome to continue their lacrosse careers with the Blue Devils
Three Players Were Facing Charges of First Degree Kidnapping, First Degree Forcible Sexual Offense
By LARA SETRAKIAN ABC News Law & Justice Unit
April 10, 2007 — - The office of Attorney General Roy Cooper will announce that he is dismissing all charges against three Duke Lacrosse players, ABC News has learned from sources close to the case. The reasons that will be cited for the dismissal are not yet known.
The three players, Reade Seligmann, David Evans and Collin Finnerty were facing charges of first degree kidnapping and first degree forcible sexual offense. The charges stem from an off-campus party on the night of March 13, 2006. In the hours after the party, one of two dancers hired to perform for the players claimed she had been violently raped in a bathroom by members of the lacrosse team.
The players had also been indicted for first degree rape, but that charge was dismissed on Dec. 22, 2006.
Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures
Here's a live thread for all that is being reported today!
I am holding by breath. Praying this is about to finally be over.
That giant thunderous “BOOM” you just heard was District Attorney Nifong’s anus slamming shut...
It looks like this nightmare is finally coming to a close, we can only hope that the nightmare is only beginning for Nifong and Mangum and everyone else who put these young men through hell this past year.
TODAY.
Beyond mind boggling
Thanks for pointing that out. I’m unable to differentiate his anus from the rest of him.
I think his nightmare starts on Friday.
This is what happens when the sixth amendment is taken away from non preferred portions of the population....
Wonder how long that gets to stay on? I had a similiar one deleted yesterday on the ANS thread.
I hope they go after the administration and faculty of Duke as well as the NC AG’s office. What are they gonna get from the accuser, that scholarship that Jesse Jack-sun promised? You can’t get blood from a stone.
The “accuser” should be arrested, or at the very least sued. Any book deal, etc. should fund the TRUE victims, the ones she slandered.
I want to see suits against Nifong, the County and Duke University. I am sick of this business where white men are considered fair game for any unwarranted attack like this was.
Hey Howlin, since I’m down here in Derm now, can you add me to the Duke lacrosse ping list? Thanks.
PS: honk!
}:-)4
It’s gone already. : )
Brace for all of the backlash that will happen if indeed all charges are dropped. All of the ‘do-gooders’ are going to scream racism, white privilege, poor black girl reduced to being a stripper to feed her herself and her kids, and on and on.
April 11, 2007
Attorney General Announcement at 2:30pm Today
Watch the Live Stream Online at 2:30 Right Here
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=5193700
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.