Posted on 05/15/2006 7:14:12 AM PDT by pissant
DURHAM - A Durham grand jury is scheduled to meet today, and the session could mean new charges in the investigation of a reported rape at a Duke lacrosse team party.
Two of the team's players were indicted in April on charges of first degree rape, first degree sex offense and first degree kidnapping. They are accused of assaulting an escort service dancer in a bathroom of a house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. Their lawyers say the men are innocent, and lawyers representing dozens of team members say that no sex or assault occurred at the March 13 party.
But the woman says she was attacked by three men, and Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong said he has been working on bringing charges against a third person.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TODAY? If Nifong decides to submit the case, police investigators and possibly other witnesses will try to convince grand jurors in a secret session that the state has probable cause to bring a case forward. Grand jurors will hear only the prosecution's side of the case. The standard required for a true bill of indictment is far lower than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard required for a conviction.
IF INDICTMENTS ARE ISSUED, WHEN WILL THEY BECOME PUBLIC? On April 17, a judge ordered the indictments in the lacrosse case sealed. The names of the players who were indicted were not released until 5 a.m. the next day when the players surrendered at the Durham County jail. If Nifong again requests that the indictments be sealed, the law allows a judge to keep them secret until the person is arrested or appears in court.
WHEN WILL ALL THE EVIDENCE BE REVEALED? State law requires prosecutors to turn over all of their case files to defense lawyers, but nothing requires the evidence to be turned over to the public. In open court hearings, lawyers often discuss some of the evidence, but the state's case may not be revealed until trial. No trial dates have been set. When a report on the DNA testing is complete, Nifong is required by law to turn it over to all 46 members of the lacrosse team who submitted DNA samples.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? The cases against Reade William Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., and Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y., are moving forward. Finnerty has a court date in June. Seligmann is scheduled to appear in court Thursday. His attorney, Kirk Osborn, has filed a series of motions challenging Nifong's handling of the case and asking a judge to bar the prosecutor from further involvement.
/Of course, you do realize, don't you, that because Nifong refused to even LOOK at those pictures that Cheshire tried to show him that this entire indictment can be thrown out, right?
Since Nifong refused to meet with Cheshire or Evans, wouldn't it have made sense for Cheshire to have hand delivered the exculpatory evidence to Nifong's office. If Nifong then decided not to look at this evidence, it seems that Nifong would have looked even worse.
Kroger could very well be a meeting place. Maybe Kim's pimp was there? Maybe Crystal's pimp was supposed to be there?
Could Kim have called CM's boyfriend/pimp, made arrangements to meet at Kroger but cops beat him to it?
Or...maybe Kim knows someone on the department. "What to do? I'm stuck with Skank 2, I just can't throw her out on the street."
Kim's phone records are essential.
I'll go back to Chalmers, LOL!
Or a girlfriend was over and they're not even the AV's nails.
Bingo. Nifong HAS to establish chain of custody of said fingernails to the FA...
Yeah, I mentioned Cheshire's strong statement about the nails. Something about "Wait till you see..."
I think we may learn something very interesting about these nails.
As far as I know, there is no chain of custody since the players handled the nails a couple times before the police collected them.
Pirro spoke of the nail at the end of her comments ... sort of a 'oh, btw, I understand the DNA was found on top on the press-on nail.'
I mostly posted at LittleGeenFootballs. My nic there is "Baldy" The Pres got a bum rap on Katrina. Even I know to get out of the way of a hurricane (and to have at least a few days worth food & water), and I live in Pittsburgh. I just have always assumed people should be prepared for disasters, and to not expect the govt to get there as quick as some in this country. I guess common sense isn't so common in NOLA.
OK, so it is wrong to proclaim your innocence before the trial.
I'm wondering why the other two boys haven't come forward and said the same thing before they got him. It just doesn't add up to me
OK, so now they are guilty because they did not proclaim their innocence before the trial. Well except that they both have fairly stong records that prove they left before the alledged rape occurred. The thing that doesn't seem to add up is the prosecution and this lady's story. If there was a rape, I really don't think she knows who did it and without DNA effidence or other eye witness accounts, there should be no convictions.
Maybe the DPD didn't take Kim's name because they are familiar with the AV. They picked her up drunk, half dressed, and minus a six inch white shoe.
Hmmm; I hope that's true.
So, the entire case indeed was a sham from the get-go, from the DA's pov? Sure seems like.
The DNA of Crystal should absolutely be on the "underside" of the nail if they had been used for scratching and fell off because of how these are applied. If she dumped them on the vanity or whatever and never applied them, no sticky and no DNA on the underside.
On the Today Show Abrams just made the same comment about DNA found on top of the nail.
Where is this 90% DNA match coming from? I know some confused poster was saying that last night, but I figured she/he just got the 90% ID and the consistent with DNA mixed up, and was calling it a 90% DNA Match, Have I missed something has something come that states there was a 90% DNA match?
WOW! Excellent! Thanks for reporting that here, maggie.
It comes strictly from marajane.
She changed the AV's "90% sure" to "90% DNA match".
Apes are closer than a 90% DNA match to humans, I believe.
I believe that came from the mind of the poster.
96.4%
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