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.
I don't watch NBC so I didn't see it. Abrams is on right now on his own show, but hasn't discussed the case so far.
Can you explain some more of what he said with regard to the nail and anything else?
Thanks.
No, you didn't miss anything. The person who said it is someone who doesn't follow the case closely.
Sean is saying something about new allegations coming up. I don't know if it's NEW allegations or new allegations as in "stay tuned". Anybody?
What I find interesting about Baker's statement is that he confirms, obviously through the detailed information he has received from DPD, that the alleged attack occurred early on the 14th, not late on the 13th which is the timeline Nifong would like to embrace due to Reade's documented alibi. You'll recall that Nifong used a hypothetical "What if I have a different timeline?" in response to questions he was asked about what he thinks or has to say about Reade's alibi. Since the party photos came out and Reade's alibi was established, Nifong has tried to back the timeline up to discredit both, even going so far as to suggest that the 12:41 photo showing Crystal's leg hanging out of the door and the player standing there were taken an hour earlier and is actually her arrival, not departure. But Baker says the alleged attack took place early on the 14th, and his info would come from DPD reports, meaning he's not pulling it out of his butt the way Nifong does.
Maybe Kim wanted her identity to remain unknown and used the good samaritan routine because she drugged and robbed Mangum herself. That would also explain why she changed her clothes.
Abrams hasn't mentioned one word about the Duke case which is strange; he's been on top of it for weeks.
And this morning a freeper reported he was on the Today Show and talked about how the DNA was on top of the fake fingernail found in the trash.
That's HUGE news and I thought he'd open his show with it.
What do you mean "share"? Do they actually know each other? Did they know each other before this case?
Now Sean is saying "explosive new developments". This had better be good. He did say that the evidence was mounting up against Nifong.
That's big if they knew each other before!
Is this on the radio?
Post what you hear; the channel that carries his show locally doesn't come in well here.
Not only that, he probably would have charged them with administering it.
I still will be surprised if Mangum consented to a tox screen.
And why hasn't Nifong released the tox and medical reports to the defense?
There is a question in the rape kit interview that asks the alleged victim when was the last time she had sex. Is that what Nifong is hiding? It was never confirmed, but supposedly she answered this question with "three weeks". Why haven't motions to compel Nifong to release the discovery the defense is entitled to been filed? I thought they filed the necessary documents for discovery some time ago. No?
Ill do my best. I do have to drive a boy to Lacrosse but its close.
Is it the radio? I'll try and listen on the radio even though it's filled with static.
Yes. You need xm. He is on there too. I'm listening to am though but he is still talking about immigration.
I just turned to the channel I thought his show was generally carried on and it's someone else so I guess he isn't carried in our area at all anymore.
Well, anybody paying attention knows it wasn't any 3 weeks with her pimpfriend's live sperm still in her when she was tested. :-)
So, it shouldn't be shocking news.
I'll report
I might spot you on the lax field this summer? Lots of tourneys this summer down your way.
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.