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Lacrosse players' defense: Documents being withheld
HeraldSun ^ | September 1, 2006 | William F. West

Posted on 09/01/2006 10:19:41 PM PDT by 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.
 



TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: duke; dukelax; dukerapecase; durham; durhamdirtbag; elmo; lacrosse; nifong
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To: maggief

I THINK Monte Christopher Pittman

He has a record in Montgomery County VA.


361 posted on 09/06/2006 9:19:14 AM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights (quent)
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights

Doesn't he drive a Honda Accord?


362 posted on 09/06/2006 9:21:52 AM PDT by maggief
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To: maggief

I want to say yes, but have to find it to be sure.


363 posted on 09/06/2006 9:29:51 AM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights (quent)
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights

btt


364 posted on 09/06/2006 9:56:32 AM PDT by Sacajaweau (God Bless Our Troops!!)
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To: Neverforget01
I was born in Greensboro 49 years ago and have lived in NC for 38 of those years.

Durham is the Newark, NJ of NC. Poor, violent and lacking a real business center downtown, especially considering its population.

When Duke University was founded through the purchase of Trinity College, the Duke family positioned the University in the middle of the multi-thousand acre Duke Forest that abuts Durham. It was done that way to provide a buffer from the tobacco factory employees that worked for American Tobacco, Duke's company.

There has ALWAYS been a feeling among the Durhamites that they worked on a big plantation with Duke University representing the Tara manor home.

When tobacco cratered in the 70's and 80's, the hope was for the Research Triangle Park to provide jobs. Unfortunately, these jobs (IBM, Cisco, Glaxo Smith Klein, etc.) went to degreed professionals and not unskilled factory workers.

Duke University then began a growth phase based on cheap labor to expand its hospital and support services. The VA hospital next door to Duke expanded as well. The displaced tobacco workers got low level jobs at Duke University Medical Center (DUMC), which is now the #1 employer in Durham.

From the Durhamites point of view, Duke University and DUMC are still the manor houses of the plantation.

The property values at the county line tell all -- a new house in Chapel Hill will sell quickly at 30% more than an identical Durham house next door, which may take 1-2 years to sell.
365 posted on 09/06/2006 10:27:31 AM PDT by Andy from Chapel Hill
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To: All

http://www.wral.com/news/9795879/detail.html
3 Wake Deputies Investigated After Restaurant Fight


366 posted on 09/06/2006 11:12:38 AM PDT by abb (The Dinosaur Media: A One-Way Medium in a Two-Way World)
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To: abb

And to add to the Wake deputies having a bar fight...

http://www.newsobserver.com/145/story/483144.html

DURHAM -- An inmate in the Durham County jail died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack.

John Arthur Umstead III, 45, was in a cell on charges of assaulting police officers when he complained of chest pains about 2 p.m., said Capt. Paul Martin of the Durham County Sheriff's Office.

(snip)

Umstead had been in jail 17 days awaiting trial.
(Are the dockets that crowded that he has to wait 17 days in JAIL?)

(moral : don't assault a Durham officer; the guys who assaulted the Wake officer only ended up in the hospital)

And . . .

http://www.newsobserver.com/145/story/482973.html

DURHAM - A Duke student reported that she had 50 $100 bills stolen from an unsecured desk in her dorm room over the weekend. . .

(Well, I'll bet it wasn't taken by a LAX player. . .)


367 posted on 09/06/2006 11:49:47 AM PDT by CondorFlight
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To: CondorFlight

SPECULATION ALERT, and most likely unrelated, but --

http://www.medhunters.com/employer/13546.html

John Umstead Hospital has affiliations with Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There are 6 distinct units of the hospital with specialized patient populations: Geropsychiatry, Nursing Care, Children and Adolescents, Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Adult Rehabilitation, and the Acute Admissions units. . .

John Umstead Hospital is a state psychiatric hospital, located in the peaceful community of Butner, North Carolina. Butner is centrally located approximately ½ hour away from Raleigh, Durham and Research Triangle Park.


368 posted on 09/06/2006 11:56:05 AM PDT by CondorFlight
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To: CondorFlight

ANOTHER SPECULATION ALERT --

Umstead seems to have gotten around (or at least, his father or grandfather did)--

http://www.doc.state.nc.us/DOP/prisons/Umstead.htm

Umstead Correctional Center in Butner is a minimum security prison for adult males.

The prison's history dates back to 1949 when State Representative John Umstead of Orange County authored a series of bills requiring the State Hospitals Board of Control to establish a modern prison for youthful first time offenders, 25 or younger by converting the old prisoner-of-war camp located on property at Camp Butner.

(snip)

Effective July 1984, legislation made Umstead a state minimum security prison for adult males.


369 posted on 09/06/2006 11:58:59 AM PDT by CondorFlight
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To: CondorFlight


MORE SPECULATION

http://psychology.unc.edu/general/jobopportunities.html

UNC--
Adult Admissions/Geropsychiatry Units, John Umstead Hospital and Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Unique opportunity to combine academic and clinical skills in a diverse population. Position is 80% clinical and 20% academic. Duties include psychological evaluation and treatment of adults with severe psychiatric disorders, supervision of graduate students, teaching and research. Experience with cognitive assessment of older adults as well as assessment and treatment of persons hospitalized with severe behavioral symptoms, including aggression, is desirable.

(OK, was the AV treated at any of these facilities? Were any of the figures in the case treated--or incarcerated--at any of these facilities? Was John Umstead connected with any of these facilities in any way, and did he know anything about this case?
Of course, ALL OF THIS IS PURE AND WILD SPECULATION, and may be TOTALLY UNRELATED. But if John Umstead died while in custody in the Durham jail, forgive me if my nose pricks up a little bit...)


370 posted on 09/06/2006 12:04:13 PM PDT by CondorFlight
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To: All

Is Nifong stuck with claiming the rape occurred after the dancers left the house?

The affidavits all claim the rape occurred after Crystal went out to the car when the dance was over. The dancers were asked to come back in and then separated. Then Crystal was attacked.

Is Nifong stuck with that?

If he changes it, what about the affidavits?

I don't see how he can say it was before that, because Crystal walked out of the bathroom and into Kim's car on her own, and then wanted to go back to make more money and/or get her shoe.



371 posted on 09/06/2006 12:22:43 PM PDT by ltc8k6
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To: CondorFlight

FURTHER PROOF OF MY PARANOIA. . .

http://www.newsobserver.com/145/story/483144.html

DURHAM -- "An inmate in the Durham County jail died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack.

John Arthur Umstead III, 45, was in a cell on charges of assaulting police officers when he complained of chest pains about 2 p.m., said Capt. Paul Martin of the Durham County Sheriff's Office."

OK, so when, where, and why was he charged with assaulting police officers? Which officers did he assault? (Gottlieb?)

Was he beaten in return? Did he suffer injuries?

Probably there is nothing unusual about all of this. But, OTOH, this is Durham.

Remember Demorris Lee, arrested for "harassment".

If he was related to the famous NC Umstead family (a relative was a governor of the state in the 1940s),
why was he still being kept in jail after 17 days and not out on bail?

Just questions. . . maybe this has nothing to do with anything. . .


372 posted on 09/06/2006 12:25:48 PM PDT by CondorFlight
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To: CondorFlight

Oh, great! Let's reinforce the image of the rich Duke students who can afford to leave 5 grand lying around...... I have a hard time believing this one. I say something happened to the money (she blew it or lost it) and had to tell mom and dad something..... That's not to say that thefts don't happen on campus, they do. There's just something weird about this one.


373 posted on 09/06/2006 12:32:19 PM PDT by Dukie07
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To: CondorFlight

Right now, anything is possible....


374 posted on 09/06/2006 12:32:21 PM PDT by old and cranky (You! Out Of The Gene Pool - Now!)
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To: CondorFlight

http://www.co.durham.nc.us/departments/elec/votersearch/VoterRecSearchResults.cfm?VRN=000000539410&PA=05

Voter Information:
Voter Registration Number: 000000539410 Party: Democratic
Name: John Arthur Umstead Status: INACTIVE
Residence Address: XXXXXXXXXXXX
Durham, NC 27705 Mailing Address:
Registration Date: May 11, 1982 Precinct: 05
Gender: Male Polling Place: [Currently
Race: Black Or African Ame
Birthplace: NC


375 posted on 09/06/2006 12:36:58 PM PDT by maggief
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To: Dukie07

"That's not to say that thefts don't happen on campus, they do."

I'm assuming no one can get into the dorm without a dorm card? So it's literally an "inside" job?

And what student ever carries $5000 cash? Haven't they heard of credit cards? What specifically would they need that much CASH for?


376 posted on 09/06/2006 12:37:54 PM PDT by CondorFlight
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To: CondorFlight

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/camp-butner.htm

In 1947, Mr. John Umstead, brother of Governor William B. Umstead, started a move in the North Carolina Legislature for better care of the mentally ill. Camp Butner was purchased by the State of North Carolina from the federal government for one dollar. The state took over the camp and assumed the police and fire services on November 3, 1947. John Umstead Hospital was created out of the abandoned army hospital. The Butner Training School for the mentally retarded open on June 9, 1948 . It was known as "The Colony" and was located on 9th and 10th streets between C and D streets in twelve rows of old army barracks. In 1953, the voters of North Carolina approved a $22,000,000 Bond Issue for Mental Health Projects, part of which was designated to build a new Butner Training School to replace the temporary, military site. Contruction began in mid-1955 as the Butner Training School would see its name changed twice before the era ended. In 1959, shortly after the death of Dr. James Murdoch, the name was changed to Murdoch School and finally in 1963, to the Murdoch Center, a title which better reflected the role and client population of the facility.



Mmmm if he is of these Umsteads (son of a State Rep) DPD might be in deep doo-doo.


377 posted on 09/06/2006 12:40:19 PM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights (quent)
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To: maggief

Couple of Umsteads in the cemetery :

http://apdew.com/cemetery/durh/cem251u.htm

Umstead, John A. (b. - d. 12 Jan 1977)

Umstead, John Arthur Jr. (b. 1922 - d. 4 Sep 1984)
Age 62 years


378 posted on 09/06/2006 12:41:01 PM PDT by CondorFlight
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To: CondorFlight

UMSTEAD, JOHN ARTHUR
Associated names:
UMSTEAD, JOHN A
UMSTEAD, JOHN ARTHU
45 Available Available(2) DURHAM, NC

http://www.veromi.net/Summary.asp


Possible Relatives

UMSTEAD, WILLIAM R
LAVONUMSTEAD, MARY (age 42)
UMSTEAD, CONNIE L (age 74)
UMSTEAD, WILLIAM
UMSTEAD, SABRINA CAROL (age 43)
UMSTEAD, MARY L
UMSTEAD, MARCUS


379 posted on 09/06/2006 12:43:46 PM PDT by maggief
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To: CondorFlight; Protect the Bill of Rights

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_B._Umstead


380 posted on 09/06/2006 12:50:38 PM PDT by maggief
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