Lacrosse players' defense: Documents being withheld

HeraldSun ^ | September 1, 2006 | William F. West

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Lacrosse players' defense: Documents being withheld

By William F. West : The Herald-Sun
bwest@heraldsun.com
Sep 1, 2006 : 11:20 pm ET

DURHAM -- Attorneys for the three Duke lacrosse players charged with assaulting an exotic dancer claim District Attorney Mike Nifong and police still haven't provided several vital documents in the case, as required by law.

As a result, the defense lawyers have filed papers in Superior Court calling for Nifong to produce those documents.

The request to Judge Osmond Smith comes after Durham County's chief prosecutor told Smith and defense lawyers at a recent meeting that a toxicology report indicated the accuser's tested negative for the presence of controlled substances.

That undercuts public hints by Nifong in April that the woman might have been given a date-rape drug, defense attorney Kirk Osborn said.

In court papers filed this week, the defense argued it hasn't seen the written report despite indications Nifong would provide copies.

In addition, the defense is calling for Nifong to hand over complete copies of information regarding laboratory testing in the case by the State Bureau of Investigation and by the testing firm DNA Security Inc.

The Herald-Sun was not able to reach attorneys for the three indicted athletes -- Reade Seligmann, 20; Collin Finnerty, 19; and David Evans, 23 -- for comment Friday.

Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans maintain their innocence on all counts -- rape, kidnapping and sexual offense -- in connection with allegations surrounding events at the lacrosse team party March 13 at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., next to Duke's East Campus.

Nifong didn't respond to a request for comment left with his office Friday.

In its filing this week, the defense also is pressing for more information about what happened in the hours after the alleged attack, particularly information regarding the accuser's trip with police to the Durham Access Center, a mental health and substance abuse facility, for involuntary commitment.

The accuser reportedly began making rape allegations while at that center.

The defense cites the lack of a substantive report about the accuser's presence at the center, and the defense points to a blank check-in log as an example of inadequate information.

In addition, the defense wants to find out what was said at a meeting Nifong and police had with the accuser April 11 at the county courthouse.

The defense said Nifong argued to an earlier judge that such information was off-limits to the defense.

More specifically, the defense argues Nifong claimed at a case hearing June 22 that the defense was not entitled to know because facts regarding the legal action were not discussed with the accuser. And the defense adds that Nifong considers that to be a confidential communication.

Debunking that argument, the defense says, is that an investigator -- Sgt. Mark Gottlieb -- in a typewritten narrative said Nifong and the accuser met and talked about the case.

The defense points out, additionally, that a police major issued a memo stating all police personnel involved in the investigation were directed to produce all e-mails to and from one other about the case.

The defense said that while the message specified a June 5 deadline for compliance -- with threats of disciplinary action for failure to comply -- there is evidence police have not fully complied.

The defense argues that, in one instance, a crime scene investigator produced a number of e-mails -- but only after defense attorney Brad Bannon found them in the investigator's case file July 18 while at the police station.

The defense goes on to contend that nearly a dozen law enforcement officers who have been involved in the case have not provided all their handwritten notes.

The defense also wants to know more about what police have on file about the woman's background in Durham and about her interaction with the local criminal justice system.

The defense, again citing the July 18 date, argues that Bannon's review of an investigative file at the police station reflects the accuser was involved -- as a suspect, witness or otherwise -- in at least five other probes.

And the defense wants to see what police may have communicated to the Durham City Council.

According to the defense, Gottlieb, in a typewritten document, said that on April 4, he was asked by a captain to produce a timeline of events for the city manager, Patrick Baker, for possible presentation to the council.

The defense wants a copy of that timeline plus a report of the substance of any meetings between or among law enforcement officers, the manager and any council member.

Baker soon afterward briefed the City Council on several points about the case.
 

[RecallMoran]

A lot of people have mdae similar remarks. Even Brodhead made similar remarks about "if they are innocent, how unfortunate," and giving them an opportunity to "prove their innocence," like it is no big deal to them or their families. And who can forget Nifong's statement about "their daddies" will get them off. Arrogant and childish, and not one of them has learned a thing.

It is unbelievable, and we can only hope that these folks will be held accountable at the end of the day. Absent such accountability, they will believe in their bones that they did not do a thing wrong.

[JLS]

Cash Michaels moves a step further away from rape and towards a commercial dispute. He is certainly undermining Nifong with the black community. Still he wants to hang on something went down at that party.

[darbymcgill]

Still he wants to hang on something went down at that party.

That's right, still pandering...

This article it just a prelude to some other indefensible charge... Michaels now wants the guys to prove they didn't push the AV down the steps and rape her in the 5 minutes she was out of Kim's sight at 12:36.... Where does that leave him on Reade?

He has gone to making up statements... Bissey said she went back to get her shoe... We can see that she has her other stuff on the porch... Why doesn't CM tell us that in their voluntary 8 hours statements the unindicted players told the police they found the AV's stuff in the back yard where she dropped it after falling down the steps

Unless he is privy to more of Bissey's statement than I've seen reported, Bissey didn't say they yelled B!tch..

Also, why didn't he mention that the players with something to actually tell the DA were denied access. Remember the "I know more about this case then they will ever know" comment.

And ultimately are we to believe from CM that his community is really so shallow as to believe all they needed to hear to prove guilt was.....

For the Black community, allegations that the alleged victim and Kim Roberts Pittman were taunted with racial epithets, a broom handle, called “niggers,” and the target of one player’s quip, “Bitch, thank you granddaddy for my cotton shirt,” cemented the stark picture drawn by D.A. Nifong that race was an essential catalyst to the alleged crime.

There was little doubt that the players knew something they weren’t talking about.

I don't for a second think CM has turned. He's just trying to avoid the koolaid drinker label by dancing around the edges...

[Mike Nifong]

Unfortunately, as soon as the case heats up - people like Cash are going to run back to the side they're comfortable on.

Our Culture doesn't assign any negatives to black racism - and Universities even teach there is no such thing.

Notice how Black people aren't afraid to get on TV and say that they support the woman whether she made it up or not - and the players are guilty - even if they didn't acutally rape her.

[Jezebelle]

Take it how you like, but after 32 years in LE, including several years in uniform before I went to detectives, I have a pretty good idea of what cops do when responding to this kind of call. They had no reason at the time to be suspicious of Kim. She was ostensibly a good samaritan making a minor complaint. It was basically a drunk in public call, very common, and very minor. If this had been a call that involved an injury, accident, fight, theft, weapon, something like that, that would be different, but it didn't.

With regard to Kim calling the cops, we were talking about the earlier 9-1-1 call, not the SG's call from Kroger's.

[Jezebelle]

It isn't odd if your objective is to make the facts so vague as to not be prosecutable.

[Jezebelle]

She could have the account in her pimp's name or her kid's name or a relative's. All she has to do is get somebody to open another account, get a debit card, change the password so only she has access, and she can deposit withdraw, use an ATM, whatever she needs to do.

I would be surprised if she had a bank account in her own name for exactly the reason you specified.

[Jezebelle]

Exactly. Weak, dependent people like Mangum who can't or won't take responsibility for their screw-ups have an immature habit of blending one event with another. Teenagers are famous for doing this.

When bi-polar people are in the manic cycle, they commit a lot of dramatic acts, big gestures, and so forth, and self-injury and accidents are a common result because they aren't at all mindful of what they're doing.

[Jezebelle]

I agree. And if Durhamites don't like it because Delbarton is white privilege, they can just get over it.

[Jezebelle]

I don't understand what is wrong with being white or wealthy.

[Jezebelle]

LOL!! :>

[Jezebelle]

Ditto, bravo, and well said!

[Jezebelle]

Yeah, get a black sweatshirt and a pair of jeans four sizes too big, and start walking with a side-to-side bounce, pants dragging, and make weird, rather spastic shapes and gestures with your fingers. Don't forget to turn your ball cap around and to leave early for wherever you need to go, otherwise you'll end up having to hold your pants up while running like the black dudes in the Cincy riots did. You know the guys I mean - pants falling down around the bottom of their asses, boxer shorts puffed out covering their butts, no shirt or else a filthy T-shirt, pink curlers in their hair, primal, gutteral, unintelligible enunciations emanating from their mouths, and running the streets of Cincy rioting, burning and looting.

Brave, new world.

[Jezebelle]

"Wife"-beater? Homey don't think so. They never marry them bitches and ho's.

[Jezebelle]

Then most likely he's Mangum's pimp.

[Jezebelle]

......which explains why Mangum is afraid of him.

[Jezebelle]

I just think they should use whatever they like and to hell with those who are "offended" if there's a white privilege connotation to it.

Tough. They can get over it. Personally, I admire them for doing that instead of adopting some "multi-cultural" appeasement theme. If they and their parents are successful, it's most likely for the same reason others are successful - they worked for it.

[Jezebelle]

Maybe she went in there to buy a pack of smokes or a loaf of bread.

[Jezebelle]

I explained before how pimps operate. They take brutal control of these women, and most of these women live in perpetual fear of these animals.

[Jezebelle]

As usual, he concludes his article with something he probably considers to be a zinger but is really just stupid.