Posted on 06/22/2006 2:23:47 AM PDT by abb
DURHAM -- District Attorney Mike Nifong plans to give defense lawyers at least 300 additional pages of information about the Duke University lacrosse rape case, adding to 1,298 pages of documentation surrendered previously.
Without describing their contents, Nifong said the new documents would be handed over during a preliminary hearing today for three recently indicted lacrosse players: Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans.
The three are accused of raping, sodomizing and restraining an exotic dancer in a bathroom during an off-campus party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. in mid-March.
All are free under $400,000 bonds as they await a trial that, according to Nifong, might begin next spring.
None is expected to attend today's hearing.
In addition to a transfer of documents, the hearing will include a request from Seligmann's lawyers that his bond be lowered to roughly one-tenth its current level. The lawyers filed an affidavit in support of that request Wednesday.
Signed by Philip Seligmann, the defendant's father, the affidavit said that Seligmann had been recruited by every Ivy League university to play football or lacrosse, and that he accepted a 90-percent scholarship to be on the Duke lacrosse team.
"This case has taken an unbelievable and horrendous emotional toll on all my family, especially my wife," the elder Seligmann wrote. "We are committed as a family, along with Reade, to do everything necessary to restore our good name."
According to the affidavit, Seligmann's bail money was provided by a family friend whose "loss of income is substantial" as a result.
In a related matter, the News and Observer Publishing Co. moved Wednesday to make public certain documents -- reportedly pertaining to the alleged rape victim's medical records -- that were filed by defense lawyers under seal.
"In this case, the fact that there are charges of sexual assault is unfortunate and controversial -- either because a woman has been sexually violated or because the defendants have been wrongfully accused -- but neither is a justification for sealing a court proceeding," a lawyer for the newspaper wrote.
The lawyer, Hugh Stevens, also said the sealed documents raised questions about Nifong's handling of the case. He said that when the conduct of public officials is at issue, it is an added reason for making the pertinent files public.
Meanwhile, several defense lawyers predicted Wednesday that Nifong's latest 300-plus pages of documentation would do little to help him, since earlier paperwork -- in their view -- was more beneficial to the defense than the prosecution.
For example, attorneys Joe Cheshire and Brad Bannon have said the earlier documents showed a "very significant and disturbing deficiency" in Nifong's evidence.
Specifically, there were indications that Nifong began making public statements about the accuser's medical records even before they were in his possession, according to the two lawyers, who represent Evans.
Cheshire and Bannon said the District Attorney's Office subpoenaed the accuser's medical files from Duke Hospital on March 20 -- six days after the alleged rape.
However, the files were not printed out in compliance with the subpoena until March 30, and Police Investigator Benjamin Himan didn't pick them up until April 5, Cheshire and Bannon wrote in court paperwork last week.
But the lawyers said Nifong told a local television station on March 27 that he had no doubt the exotic dancer was raped, based on a "personal review" of her medical records. They quoted the district attorney as saying, "My reading of the report of the emergency room nurse would indicate that some type of sexual assault did in fact take place."
Citing the 1,298 pages of documentation given them by Nifong earlier, various defense lawyers also have contended there were numerous inconsistencies in the accuser's version of events, along with unacceptable omissions in a sworn affidavit prepared by police. The affidavit was used by Himan to obtain judicial permission for his evidence-gathering efforts.
Among other things, Himan failed to mention that a co-dancer had described the rape allegation as "a crock," even though she was with the accuser for all but about five minutes on the night in question, according to defense lawyers.
Nifong has bristled at that and other defense characterizations of his evidence, while attacking the national press corps for -- in his opinion -- blindly reporting the characterizations without checking their accuracy.
"Is anyone surprised that the defense attorneys are spinning this case in such a way that things do not look good for the prosecution?" Nifong wrote in an e-mail to Newsweek magazine last week.
"Their job, after all, is to create reasonable doubt, a task made all the easier by an uncritical national press corps desperate for any reportable detail, regardless of its veracity," the district attorney said.
The e-mail traffic was made public by Nifong on Monday.
URL for this article: http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-746370.html
thanks abb!
This is interesting, as I think the Cab-driver intimidation has the best chance of getting traction with the public:
"Cheshire said he was struck that police apparently had not investigated the escort services where the two dancers worked, yet they conducted an extensive investigation of a taxi driver whose sworn statement is part of Seligmann's alibi."
Can you give me the short story on Michael Peterson? I'm not familiar
Two years ago in Durham, Michael Peterson was found guilty of killing his wife Kathleen:
http://www.vanceholmes.com/court/trial_mp_background.html
The 7 black and 5 white jury members seemed to get along well together, but race was not an issue as Peterson and his wife were both white.
The lack of detail is redeemed by the enhanced character list.
The day before, the investigator, Linwood Wilson, interrupted lawyer Joseph B. Cheshire V as he talked at a news conference Thursday after Nifong gave hundreds of pages of evidence to defense attorneys. Wilson asked to see the document that stated the woman had changed her story.
[snip]
"Cheshire said he was struck that police apparently had not investigated the escort services where the two dancers worked, yet they conducted an extensive investigation of a taxi driver whose sworn statement is part of Seligmann's alibi."
______________________________________________
[Note to self-- Linwood Wilson is the guy who investigated the cab driver Cheshire is referring to]
______________________________________________
A lawyer for Seligmann, Ernest Conner of Greenville, was quoted Thursday as saying the misdemeanor arrest was an apparent attempt to intimidate Elmostafa in the lacrosse case. But Linwood Wilson, an investigator for the Durham District Attorney's Office, denied the allegation.
Wilson said the warrant originally was sworn out by a Hecht's security guard, long before the lacrosse incident arose. And when officers attempted to serve the warrant nearly three years ago, Elmostafa could not be found, according to Wilson.
But when the cabbie began giving interviews about the lacrosse case, authorities finally were able to track him down, Wilson added.
"When I did a record check on him, I found there was this unserved warrant," he said. "It was my obligation to have it served. If I had not had it served, there would be people complaining about that, too. It had nothing to do with trying to intimidate the man."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1653541/posts?page=1030#1030
I guess my question is: Do we know absolutely that she went to the hospital on the next day? Did the cops AND NiFong know about it? Did they advise her in any way? Did her attorney advise her in any way? Who was with her?
Did the same agency that did the second DNA testing do any additional testing....separated from the Duke case? Is THAT why NiFong went to pick up the "stuff" himself? The "separated" test would not have to be under the "rules of custody" if Crystal gave NiFong permission.
I'm sure there are "rules" for NiFong but he hasn't followed any of them yet!!
Is this why the defense wants ALL of Crystal's medical records?
I could be "way out" this morning. I'm tired.
So Kim has aliases? What a crazy case :(
mark
Excellent point. Why do some of these women choose to defend absolute dawgs and liars? As a woman, I have no clue. Your gut is supposed to tell you to run from these people, not idolize them.
"But if that we the case Kim would have no reason to not disclose they had visited a bank.."
OK, is there a bank deposit record somewhere??
Do you really think these people put this money in the bank? I'll bet the only thing that gets deposited is: Welfare checks, child support checks. The object is for people like Crystal to create a "poverty" Federal form to get more free money. Yes, it's for the kids!!
Thanks for the ping. The News and Observer's slogan should be, "If it happens in Durham, it's news to us" Old joke, but plainly applicable.
I get so tired of hearing the commentators say, "We don't really know what went on that night, do we?" Well, no we don't, but sadly neither do the police, nor the D.A., and most unfortunately, neither does the AV.
The most chilling comment I have heard come from Nifong was contained in his e-mail to Newsweek where he stated that it didn't matter what anybody else thought -- he only had to convince 12 jurors. That summed up this man completely, and I'm not sure that he doesn't speak for most prosecutors in this country. It's not about justice, it's about what I can convince 12 people of. That's our legal system in a nutshell. He doesn't have to put the entire evidence out for examination, just what he thinks he'll need to get a conviction. We all need to think about that long and hard and try to get a good night's sleep.
Do you know, or does anyone else know, if this reporter has been given any of the information collected so far? Just a thought...
The NandO reporter? I do not know. The only reporter as far as I know who's seen everything is Dan Abrams. I imagine the defense team is very leery of the NandO since they were leading the charge for a lynching early on. Perhaps now that the NandO is more balanced, they may let them have more stuff...
Hahahahaha! Your letter was great :)
In OTHER news:
http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-747000.html
Deputies seize drugs, guns, cash
Jun 23, 2006 : 9:31 pm ET
DURHAM -- The Durham Sheriff's Anti-Crime Narcotics Unit seized more than 2.5 pounds of marijuana, 1.5 ounces of cocaine, nine guns and a stack of cash from a house at 8715 N. Roxboro Road, according to Lt. Derek O'Mary.
O'Mary said an investigation led deputies to raid the house, which was occupied by 32-year-old James Wheeler Mangum.
(snip)
In the LE Sutton report attached to the letter Cheshire wrote to Wilson, the LE claims the AV said that Nikki (aka Kim) stole her money and her cell phone or she might have deposited the money...
I just noticed in re-reading the report that the AV claims she arrived at 2300. Might be the time line lapse that Nifong is pursuing which makes RS's alibi worthless...
mark at 204
I saw his name on the DPD inmate list.
Travis has a brother named James
What Wilson could argue, with Clintonian logic, is that the AV has made only one formally attested to statement. In that narrow sense, his assertion may be correct. However, that certainly does not mean the accuracy of that statement cannot be questioned by what the AV said to others at differnet times.
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