DA on the spot for comments

Raleigh News &Observer ^ | April 22, 2006 | Michael Biesecker, Benjamin Niolet and Joseph Neff

[abb]

Defense lawyers and legal experts say District Attorney Mike Nifong may have crossed ethical lines in public comments about rape allegations involving Duke University lacrosse players, potentially prejudicing jurors and setting off a media maelstrom.

Nifong says that he has done nothing wrong, though he has ceased talking with reporters about allegations made by an escort service dancer hired to perform at a March 13 team party. He would speak only about his handling of the case Friday.

"In terms of what I said, no, I wouldn't say I regret anything I've said," Nifong said. "I think what I have learned, basically, is that if you cooperate with the media out of a sense of duty to public truth, you make yourself a victim."

Local observers were hard-pressed this week to remember a case with so much back-and-forth between the prosecution and defense playing out in a 24-hour news cycle. It has some suggesting a judge should step in with a gag order.

Defense attorneys for the lacrosse players say it is their clients who have been victimized by Nifong, and they blunt criticism of their own extensive public comments by saying they are just attempting to limit the damage. Some also said photos, ATM receipts and other evidence they claim exonerates the two team members arrested Tuesday were given to the media only after Nifong refused to look at them.

In its ethical rules, the N.C. State Bar orders lawyers to refrain from statements outside the courtroom that they know might have "a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing" legal proceedings. But once one side talks to the press, ethics rules say the other side can make statements "a reasonable lawyer" would believe are required to protect a client from bad publicity.

[Locomotive Breath]

I am in a position to judge Brodhead and I think the only way for him to atone for his sins is to make sure that Duke plays lax next year. The current-year seniors are screwed and he's probably lost next year's recruiting class, but the current-year frosh, sophs and juniors will mostly likely be back and they deserve an opportunity to play. I'll bet they're rather motived to make up lost ground. I wouldn't want to have to play against them.

[Jrabbit]

I think the team has been treated horribly by the powers that be at Duke. Hopefully, all will get the heck out of there. But what's a handful of students going to matter? They are expendable and were tossed aside for political correctness. Heaven forbid the blacks of Durham get upset!

I would say that Duke is not a user friendly environment unless one leans far, far left.

[GAgal]

I agree, and if it turns out the McFayden email was taken out of a context in which it would seem stupid but not psychopathic, then Pressler should be offered his job back as well. That email seemed to be the straw that broke Pressler's back.

[Dukie07]

Has there been anything that indicates that next season was cancelled? I guess I just assumed they would play....

[Howlin]

That certainly could have been the case. Would you have been surprised?

[Neverforget01]

Do you think it would be possible? Without Pressler, I would suspect most players to high-tail it out of there. Who wants to play a sport they love where they are not welcome?.

I have a prediction: One current player's Dad is the head coach at #2 ranked Hofstra. Although Hofstra is not as highly academically ranked as Duke, the players might feel more at home. My prediction is several will be attending next year.

[za_claws]

What day did she id Seiglimann? and what day did she ID Finnerty?

I been working on a timeline, and want to make it to date. and I can't find that.

Here is the time line from several sources I have so far...is this correct, is there any salient events to add? at the bottom is JASON BISSEY account, I'm fuzzy about his times, does anyone know his time line?

11:02 p.m.: The first picture shows at least 10 students hanging out in a living room, apparently waiting for the dancers to arrive. Most of the students appear to be drinking. By the number of people in this photo, it appears only a fraction of the 47 lacrosse team members are there.

11:15 the other stripper arrives at the party.

11:30 according to alleged victim's affidavit she arrives at party.

11:45 the accuser is dropped off at the party.(according to defense)

Collin Finnerty is said to be at a local restaurant having dinner with teammates, this is backed up by a waitress, credit card receipts and there are no photos of him at the party. according to defense.

12 a.m.: This is the first picture of the strippers. Students are watching the show, but not grabbing or attempting to touch the women. Bruises are clearly visible on the legs and thighs and she is missing false nails of the alleged victim. The two are almost naked on the beige carpet in front of their visibly happy audience

12:00:40 a.m.: Another picture taken 40 seconds later shows bruises on the accuser's knees. Her right knee appears to have an open cut.

12:03, the mood has turned: in a photo, the women are standing and the second stripper appears to be reaching toward the guys, all of whom have lost their smiles. She slaps one of them for suggesting the alleged victim use a broom as a sex toy.

12:03:57 a.m.: A picture shows the strippers leaving the room. The photo clearly shows that the alleged victim left behind one of her shoes.

Then both women lock themselves in the bathroom. The party goers get nervous about what the women are up to and start slipping money under the door asking them to leave. Defense attorneys said the first stripper changed her clothes and the accuser paints her nails at this time.

Between 12:10 a.m. and 12:30 a.m.: No photos were taken between this time.

... CGM and her dance partner Kim performed for several minutes, left after feeling threatened by the boys' growing "excited and aggressive," returned after being persuaded by team members to dance some more, and then she was forced into a bathroom, beaten and raped for 30 minutes. Her time line I'm unsure of....

12:07 a.m. Seligmann makes a cell phone call.(girlfriend)

12:09 a.m. Seligmann makes a cell phone call.

12:11 a.m. Seligmann makes a cell phone call.

12:14 a.m. Seligmann calls a taxi cab to pick him up.
...walks...runs...block and a half...from 12:?? to 12:19
12:19 a.m Seligmann and one other male leaves in Taxi. The Taxi picks him up a block and a half away from the party.

12:20 a.m. The women go out to the other stripper's car, but the accuser has left her purse behind; she goes back inside to get it.

12:24 a.m., a receipt shows Seligmann's ATM card was used at a nearby Wachovia bank.

12:25 a.m., Seligmann makes a phone call to a girlfriend out of state.

12:30 a.m. Seligmann and friend eat fast food in back of cab.

12:30 a.m Neighbor sees woman going to house.

12:30:12 a.m.: The next photo shows the alleged victim on the back porch, carrying what appears to be her purse and a makeup bag. Her clothes are intact. She's wearing only her scant red-and-white outfit and one shoe. By the time she realizes she's missing a shoe--a few minutes later--the guys have locked the door to keep her out, say the attorneys.

12:30:47 a.m.: A photo taken 30 seconds later shows the alleged victim on the porch and she appears to smile.

12:31:26 a.m.: But 30 seconds after that, a photo shows the alleged victim stumbling down the back steps of the house.

12:37:58 a.m.: A series of photos are taken, all showing the woman lying on her left side on the back porch, seemingly passed out or asleep. She had visible cuts on her legs and buttocks that did not appear in the previous photos. Her elbow is dusted and scraped, and her ankle is cut and bleeding.
The cuts may be from falling. The cuts on her buttocks line up with the edge of a screen door she may have hit on the way down. Many of the photos taken on the back porch show pink splotches, which the defense says is undried nail polish.

12:41 she gets into the car, and one of the party goers appears to be helping her.

12:41 a.m.: The final photo shows the accuser and the second dancer in a black car. The accuser is in the passengers seat.

12:45...1:01? Party backups and players cleanup evidence of a party a begin to leave quickly.

12:46 a.m Duke University records show that Seligmann's card was used to gain entry to his dorm.

12:53 AM a woman made a tearful 911 call saying that she was black and that racial slurs had been made against her and her friend by a white male at the same house where the alleged assault occurred. Defense attorneys claim that the call was made by the other dancer(Kim) at the party and point to material inconsistencies in the call (e.g., she alternated saying they were driving and then walking past the house) to suggest suspicions in regard to the call's validity.

12:55am Police go to the house after a call and find nothing unusual. no women present

1:01am? same cabbie goes to house, picks up 4 players, they are yelling at the other dancer.
one player in the cab says she is just a stripper.

1:22 AM the two strippers are in a Kroger's parking lot where a female security guard, who possibly was the first person to see the alleged victim, said she did not mention anything about a rape and that there were no signs that a sexual assault occurred.
"There ain't no way she was raped — ain't no way, no way that happened," the guard purportedly tells a private investigator in the recording, ABC News reported. The guard had called 911, after which police found the alleged victim at a grocery store parking lot, where the guard was working.
The guard said the driver (the other stripper Kim) said she picked up the alleged victim, whom she had never met, after hearing people yell racial slurs at her as she was walking down the street, ABC News reported.
The guard further says on the tape that she smelled alcohol on the driver , but not the alleged victim, and that the alleged victim was unable to talk, ABC News said.

1:30 In a call to a police dispatcher, one of the first officers to see the accuser, in a parking lot, said she was "passed-out drunk" but "not in distress."

1:58 AM Ryan McFadyen, a member of the team, sent an email announcing that the following night he planned to "have some strippers over" and made references to "killing the bitches," then cutting off their skin while ejaculating "in [his] duke issue spandex."

2:00am The Accuser is taken to the hospital, where she underwent a battery of tests.

The accuser claimed she was raped by 3 men named Matt, Adam, and Brett at the party

*****
JASON BISSEY account

JASON BISSEY, LIVES NEXT DOOR TO ALLEGED CRIME SCENE: I noticed a car drive up and two young women get out, met with the gentleman and then walked back to the back of the house. Two young women, one of them dressed in a short skirt and high heels, and the other woman was dressed a little more conservatively spoke with the gentleman outside of this door here briefly, and then at this point, all of the young men were inside. They spoke amongst themselves for about five minutes or so and then entered the house.

And at that point, I went inside to take a shower. And when I came out, this entire alley was full of men kind of yelling, and I overheard a lot of talk about getting money back and the money they'd spent or whatever. And the young women were back in the car in front, and one of the young men was leaning into the driver's side door, speaking with her. But at that point, the situation seemed to calm down a little bit, and they were able, I guess, to convince one of the girls to go back inside.

And that's at the point where I overheard her talking about going back and getting her shoe. So the young ladies went back into the house, and at that point, nobody was out in the alley. The situation seemed pretty calm. And I was back in the house, just kind of hanging out, checking my e-mail and stuff, and I overheard the situation starting to boil up again outside.

And at that point, the young women were coming back out of the house, getting into the car and driving away. And there were a lot of young men running this way, towards Duke's east campus. And that's the point, when the girls were driving off, that I overheard the racial slur. One of the young men yelled, Hey, "expletive," thank your grandpa for my nice cotton shirt.

And within two minutes, everything was totally dispersed, everybody was gone, and the police showed up shortly thereafter.
*******

[TexKat]

Call to Escort Service Began A Night of Trouble at Duke - NY TIMES

The accuser said later that both women re-entered the house after one player apologized for the behavior during their dance. She said two men then pulled her into a bathroom, locked the door and said, "Sweetheart, you can't leave."

It was then, she told the police, that Mr. Seligmann forced her to perform oral sex, and Mr. Finnerty raped and sodomized her and the third suspect strangled her, according to a transcript of a photo identification session with police on April 4.

[TexKat]

See post #128.

[Krodg]

What the heck kind of PR firm is that, where you send them a confidential email, and the next time you see it, it's on Dayside on Fox?

That would probably bother most people, but we're talking about Kim. Everyone remembers this quote...

"I'm worried about letting this opportunity pass me by without making the best of it ..."

And don't forget the one where she shows compassion for her friend who was just raped and tortured...

"Don't forget that they called me a damn n####," she said. "She (the accuser) was passed out in the car. She doesn't know what she was called. I was called that. I can never forget that."

Besides, who could resist a PR firm with clients like this...

"If this person is indeed who they say they are, I would be happy to speak with her," said Torossian, whose firm has represented the likes of Sean "Diddy" Combs, Ice Cube and Lil' Kim.

[Neverforget01]

I'm not sure the cabbie was specific on his return time to the house..If Seligmann swiped at 12:46, cabbie must have gone straight to the house for more party-goers. I have no idea how long it would take from an Eden's drop off back to the house? Is there a parking lot close to Eden's where Reade could have been dropped?

[Neverforget01]

that Mr. Seligmann forced her to perform oral sex

Does Crystal have teeth?

[Dukie07]

As I said earlier, I think the students have been treated worse by the students and faculty. However, the DNA non-evidence seemed to turn the tide as far as student opinion goes.

Yes, with a freshman campus in the middle of black Durham, I'm sure there was consideration given to correctness/reprisal avoidance. He was damed if he did, and damned if he didn't and something happened. Would you take the chance that students could be hurt if you didn't make a concession? Let's see, possibility of physical injury vs. lost sports season and angry lax team members/parents/boosters? I know what I would choose.

"Many lives have been touched by this case. It has brought pain and suffering to all involved, and it deeply challenges our ability to balance judgment with compassion. As the legal process unfolds, we must hope that it brings a speedy resolution and that the truth of the events is fully clarified." R. Brodhead

I think there are just as many conservatives at Duke as there are liberals - during the last presidential election, the dorm room doors were pretty much 50/50 in their endorsements.

Sorry for the dis-jointed post.

[Neverforget01]

firm has represented the likes of Sean "Diddy" Combs, Ice Cube and Lil' Kim.

Difference with those clients is that they could pay the firm.

[TexKat]

At 1:58 a.m., Ryan McFadyen, a lacrosse player from Mendham, N.J., sent an e-mail message from his Duke dorm, according to a search warrant affidavit.

[TexKat]

Does Crystal have teeth?

Funny you would ask, however she does not remember!

[za_claws]

NY Times says this

"The police responded to Ms. Roberts's 911 call about 12:55 a.m. They found the house quiet, lights off. No one answered a knock at the door.

Mr. Mostafar said he went to the house again at 1:07 a.m. and saw about 20 students outside the house and picked up four. The time discrepancy between his account and that of the police has not been explained."

[Neverforget01]

I think it's the faculty that's liberal. The same is true for my daughter's college: kids are 50/50, faculty is 90/10.

Would you know how long it would take for a cabbie to get from an Eden's drop off for Seligmann to swipe his card @ 12:46 back to the 610 Buchanan?

[Fido969]

I sent Ruthie Sheehan a little email (Apologizes to Freeper women - who we know are the only REAL women):

---

I'd say an apology is in order.

Or is it only men who need to take responsibility for their actions?

Are you "man enough" to apologize, Ruth?

I didn't think so.

Keep pretending you're "as good as a man" Ruth. Maybe if you say it enough times you'll fool yourself.

Meanwhile, me and the rest of the men have houses to build, cars to design, coal to dig out of the mines, telephone lines to repair and scientic inventions to make so you and the rest of the ladies can get together in nice warm houses and have your little feminist fantasies that you are a fraction of what a real man can be.

Never is it so clear the width of the gender gap until now. Thank you for exposing it for all to see.

[TexKat]

At 12:53 a.m., Ms. Roberts called 911 to report that men at 610 North Buchanan had shouted racial slurs at her and a friend. About that time, Mr. Bissey said, he heard one partygoer yell, "Thank your grandpa for my nice cotton shirt."

The police responded to Ms. Roberts's 911 call about 12:55 a.m. They found the house quiet, lights off. No one answered a knock at the door.

Mr. Mostafar, the cab driver, said he went to the house a second time at 1:07 a.m. and saw about 20 students outside the house and picked up four. The time discrepancy between his account and that of the police has not been explained.

At 1:22 a.m., a security guard at a grocery near Duke's main campus dialed 911 because a woman, later found to be the accuser, would not get out of Ms. Roberts's car in the store's lot. One responding officer told the dispatcher: "She's not in distress. She's just passed-out drunk."

By 2:31 a.m., the police took the accuser to Duke University Hospital. At 2:50 a.m., police classified the incident as a rape investigation.