Posted on 09/18/2006 5:19:53 PM PDT by abb
I have read the affidavit another time with an open mind. The questions are fair and valid; there is nothing push-poll about it. The defense does have have an obligation to substantiate a change of venue motion and despite how liquored up Ms. Gurney may be about it, the questions are perfectly fair and appropriate. Based upon her affidavit, Ms. Gurney is the one doing the arguing and raising issues, not the pollster.
If this is the besat the Fong has got, the defense must be in better shape than I had thought. And I thought they were in very good shape.
Yes, the defense is in good shape. They're defending innocent people who have been wrongfully accused. That's about as good as it gets. While I realize that innocent people are railroaded every day, it still is much easier to defend innocent people. I think sometimes we all overlook that as we study and analyzed tactics and strategy...
Another question is why would Nifong ask that the survey be stopped if it's already been done. I think you're right - he's got nothing.
The schools that Reade and Collin went to are basically college prep schools where everyone goes on to college. I think Dave's school is similar.
That may not be true of everyone on the team but they have a high number of students on the ACC academic honor role so alot of them seem to be doing very well at Duke whether they were prepared for it or not.
Who was probably the finest athlete of his generation, so thats not a very good example. He would have been good at almost any sport. The only Black kid on Dukes team was probably the last sub on the team, and he didnt prep either. Most kids playing lacrosse in college started playing when they were 6 or so, playing for years on youth travel teams . For the most part, its still a rich kids game , like tennis and golf historically were.
And Given that the middle 50 % of Duke students admitted had SATs between 690 and 780 or so, I am sure they averaged under that, but so what? They probably worked as hard as the average kid there, and 600 or 650's on your SAT's are nothing to sneeze at (probably what they got, based on anecdotal knowledge)
And, oh yea.. This whole thing is a scam and a frame-up and a railroading. . No doubt about it.
Lacrosse rape case hearing set for today
By WILLIAM F. WEST : The Herald-Sun, Sep 21, 2006 : 7:56 pm ET
DURHAM -- K.C. Kercher will be in a Durham courtroom this morning to watch a much-anticipated hearing in the Duke lacrosse rape case.
She isn't shy about saying why.
"I am absolutely amazed that this continues to move forward," Kercher says.
She doesn't believe 2005-06 players David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann are guilty of the charges against them.
"I'm embarrassed," said Kercher, a Durham real estate broker who has sold wristbands to help raise money for the trio's defense.
"And I've been in contact with a lot of the moms [of Duke lacrosse players] that are looking at Durham as a very scary place," Kercher said, referring to the local justice system.
At 9:30 a.m. today, District Attorney Mike Nifong and lawyers for Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann will appear before Superior Court Judge Osmond Smith in the Durham County Judicial Building. The session will be held in the sixth floor grand jury room, which has a capacity of 66. Court officials say people should arrive about an hour early if they hope to get in.
While Nifong and defense attorneys couldn't be reached for comment Thursday, it is believed the court today will address several motions filed by both sides. Any other action the court might consider is not clear.
No electronic or photographic recordings will be permitted during pretrial hearings.
Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann maintain their innocence against charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense.
The allegations stem from events at a lacrosse team party March 13 at a house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., across the street from Duke's East Campus.
The accuser, a student at N.C. Central University, was hired to perform as a stripper.
But the defense lawyers last month and earlier this week filed motions contending Nifong hasn't provided several pieces of vital evidence in the case, as required by law.
"Every day some new piece of information comes out that seems to undermine the case," said Jason Trumpbour, a Duke law school graduate who teaches law at the University of Maryland.
Trumpbour also is a spokesman for an organization -- not affiliated with Duke University -- known as "Friends of Duke." The group feels the university has received much unfair publicity, worries about the welfare of the three accused players, and wants the university administration to speak up in support of a fair trial for them.
Trumpbour said he and fellow Friends of Duke believe Nifong is going ahead with the prosecution with little evidence to support the charges, and they favor a special prosecutor to handle the case.
Another legal issue surfaced late Wednesday afternoon, when Nifong filed court papers about a phone survey of potential jurors. His wife, Cy Gurney, was one of those called Sept. 11.
Nifong contends the questioning -- conducted by market research firm Central Research Services Inc. -- constituted a thinly disguised attempt to influence people who responded toward the defense.
Attempts to obtain comment from a representative of the company were unsuccessful Thursday.
The defense attorneys, who approved the polling, say they had to protect their clients' constitutional right to a fair trial following a series of what they view as prejudicial public comments by Nifong early in the case.
Dick Ellis, public information officer for the state Administrative Office of Courts and a former Raleigh broadcast journalist, said there's nothing new about a defense team in a high profile case gauging public opinion.
"If you get the average feel of the guy on the street, then that's what you're going to bring into the jury pool," he said. "And so they've got a feeling of what they're walking into."
As for contentions that a jury pool has been tainted, Ellis said AOC attorneys say all Nifong has to do is ask potential jurors in court whether they've received a call from a survey company, thank them and then excuse them from serving.
Most of the laws deal with someone after he or she has been seated on a jury panel, Ellis added.
On Thursday afternoon, some students at Duke and N.C. Central had different opinions about the case.
At Duke, Omari Wallace, 20, said he believes the lacrosse rape story has cost Duke prestige nationally.
"I know for a fact it had some implications for people deciding to come here, for prospective students," Wallace said.
Duke has a program geared toward recruiting minority students, he said, and many indicated they weren't coming to Duke because of the scandal.
Wallace, who is black, did make clear he believed the situation didn't exclusively affect recruiting minorities, but rather "across the board."
At N.C. Central, Justin Carr, 18, said he believed the accuser had been wrongly portrayed as "just a nobody" and believed part of the depiction could be traced to spin by the defense.
Carr said the accuser should be given a fair hearing in court.
"I mean, no matter what her profession is, nobody deserves to be raped," he said.
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-771916.html
http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/hsletters/
Low bonds are a major concern for residents
In regards to the Sept. 12 article on low bonds: The emphasizes is on the constitutional rights of the accused to have their bail set not as a punishment, but only to ensure that the accused will appear in court.
The community wants the courts -- magistrates and judges -- to set bonds according to the seriousness of the crime, the defendant's previous criminal history and the probability of the defendant appearing at the trial or hearing.
Bail can be denied in certain non-capital cases if there are findings of a substantial likelihood of harm to others, or if the court finds clear and convincing evidence that the accused has threatened another with great bodily harm and there's substantial likelihood of public harm or danger to the community.
There is a real possibility that murder suspects out of jail on bond will threaten viable witnesses, intimidate surviving family members and continue to endanger the community. Just recently, four murder suspects of murder, Breon Beatty, Roy Bodden, Anthony Copeland and Justin Hatch were released from jail on bond while they awaited trial for murder charges. All four have been arrested for other crimes in the past month. They all made bail for the second time within 24 hours.
Between releasing accused murderers on bond and plea bargaining murder cases, Durham continues to be an unsafe place to live. I ask that magistrates and judges use all their constitutional powers to help keep the citizens of Durham safe. I think our elected public officials including our elected judges have lost contact with the citizens they serve.
NELLIE TAYLOR JONES
Durham
September 22, 2006
A blatant conflict
You report that the city of Durham is about to award a $186,107 grant to a non-profit of which the mayor is the chief operating officer. Such a grant presents a blatant conflict of interest.
The fact that the mayor "stepped out of the room" while the grant was being discussed does nothing to purify this improper transaction. A person cannot be mayor and do business with the city at the same time. The mayor needs to choose between his two jobs.
All of this is made more problematic by the city's recent history of some of its grants and loans.
DONALD L. HOROWITZ
Durham
September 22, 2006
Durham residents should elect the next DA
Here are a couple of questions: Why allow the governor to choose our district attorney again?
Why not vote ourselves for a local candidate who wants to be held accountable to those who elect him?
We have a man of ability, integrity, 18 years of experience in the criminal court room – thus his experience is right for the job of DA. He's a good communicator and great with people.
He's an administrator of experience, having managed a very large law firm in Houston and, presently, four offices in the Triangle.
He's active in his church and community. He is a choice. Write his name on your ballot. Vote yourself a new DA --Steve Monks.
SALLY STAUNTON
Durham
September 21, 2006
A campaign mistake
On Sept. 10, an unknown person or persons left flyers on car windows in the parking lot of my church in northern Durham (Aldersgate United Methodist Church) requesting a vote for their candidate -- Lewis Cheek. What were these people thinking?
I was outraged as well as other members of the congregation I spoke to that this "Don't vote for Mike Nifong" group took advantage of unsuspecting people inside a church. A church is a place where people should be able to go and worship in peace, away from politics and other daily distractions.
What this group did was just plain stupid. It was not very well thought out and totally inappropriate.
Mike Nifong is a friend of mine and has never and would never do something like this -- he certainly has more integrity than that. He had my vote in May, and he certainly has my vote again on Nov. 7th. You can count on it!
MARY PORTWOOD ARTLEY
Durham
September 21, 2006
Gottlieb rocks
I want to offer a word of appreciation for the way Durham police officer, Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, has conducted himself. He was accused by a whole host of defense lawyers for the indicted lacrosse team members of targeting Duke students in taking them downtown in handcuffs. It is later revealed that Gottlieb was simply doing as his boss had told him to do based on the problems the Duke students were causing in the community.
When two veteran Durham police officers were fired recently for attacking a cook at a Raleigh bar, I discovered that it was Gottlieb who called in to the Durham shift chief to report the attack shortly after it had happened.
Gottlieb could have claimed that he didn't see anything. He could have attempted to shield his fellow officers as best he could, but he chose to do the right thing and he chose to do it immediately.
The Gottliebs of the world are difficult to find these days. Folks who do what he did are often vilified. But it is folks like him who provide the glue to hold our society together.
I think Gottlieb is one of Durham's finest. He's one in a million. The lawyers have picked the wrong guy to go after.
LARRY BUMGARDNER
Durham
September 21, 2006
MARY PORTWOOD ARTLEY's letter is about as stupid and incoherent as I have seen. If attitudes like hers are prevalent in Durham, then I pity the folks of Durham including the students and faculty at Duke. Nifong is already a nightmare and if he gets elected he will become a nightmare of Kafka-esque proportions.
mark
Another signal piece of writing from Liestoppers' Joan Foster. Once you get over the initial chuckle, you read where she actually will attend the hearing and report directly on what happened. No filtered news from WRAL. No spin from the HeraldSun. No bullsh$t editing from Melanie and Ruth. Just the facts. Real citizen reporting. Bravo, Joan!
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/
Sue Rose Higgins covers the Hearing
If there was moonlight last night I missed it...sitting in that late-night diner on the outskirts of Durham, jumpy as a cat with a coyote on his tail. I had this hearing today on my mind. I'm Sue Rose Higgins, friend of Tony Soprano, and sometime arm piece of Sam Spade himself. I keep myself in lingerie and long gin drinks by freelancing for the local news rags. They call me and I go. No strings...a phrase Sam helped me swallow but never understand.
- snip -
Although Duke is not one of them, my nephew attended Duke for a non-revenue sport (not lacrosse) and he was accepted over classmates with higher grades and higher SATs. He wasn't a poor student , just not top 10 as most Duke students are. Incidently he attended one of the prep schools one of the accused attented.
Ping. Court TV covering hearing at this time...
I can tell you from doing work with some very large and demanding firms that participation in college level athletic programs plus a strong GPA (3.3 plus in the sciences) is seen as the equivalent if not more attractive than a 3.8 and no participation in these activities.
There are also countless studies that demonstrate that professional success is not correlated with GPA above a certain minimum.
The Duke faculty attitude towards student athletes is IMO not based on any assessment of actual data but merely reflects their prejudices and their gene pool envy.
Hey, thanks Lar. Guess hurling the n-word and inciting the Blinco's incident are okay in your book.
Interesting hobbies ...
http://profiles.yahoo.com/larrybum
Hobbies:
Discussion of Politics
Writing Letters to the Editor
Lol, is FreeRepublic THE investigative source, or what? In Inspector Clouseau's immortal words, "It is my business to know..."
Well, actually, now instead of 300 "tainted" jurors, the local papers have seen to it by publishing the "questions" that he's got an entire jury pool that is "tainted." Of course, there are those who don't read the paper. Wonder what kind of potential juror that leaves?
Court TV reporting more discovery turned over today...
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