Posted on 10/01/2006 1:40:53 AM PDT by abb
DURHAM - Anyone who asks why Mike Nifong won't drop the Duke University lacrosse rape case doesn't know Mike Nifong.
In his long career, Nifong has earned a reputation as a prosecutor who charges hard at his opposition and relishes going to trial. Although his unpredictable behavior might puzzle some observers of the lacrosse case, it is vintage Nifong.
For six months, Nifong has been the public face of -- and the driving force behind -- the case against three Duke lacrosse players who are accused of raping a woman hired to dance at a team party. Even after DNA tests came back negative or inconclusive, and evidence emerged that contradicts the state's case, Nifong pressed ahead.
He was so confident in the accuser's story and his case that he refused to meet with lawyers who said they could prove players' innocence. He bickered with the lawyers in the media and needled them in court. The faith in his case was a familiar posture for a man who, with talent and the resources of the state on his side for nearly 30 years, is accustomed to having the upper hand.
In more than 300 felony trials and countless pleas, Nifong's confidence and bluster have served him and Durham County well. For most of his career, he has been sending to prison people who belonged there.
But Duke lacrosse is not just any Durham case. The defense team is well-funded and includes some of the most highly regarded lawyers in the state. In filings and the media, they have counterattacked in an effort to dismantle Nifong's case against David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann.
The case has drawn national media attention, and Nifong's saber-rattling has been on display for the world.
Nifong, 56, is a prosecutor, not a politician. The lacrosse case was the first time he had to be both -- the investigation began a year after the governor appointed him district attorney. And when Nifong's early assurances that lacrosse players raped a dancer didn't jibe with the evidence that became public, his critics accused him of using the case for political gain. The weaknesses in the case have led to an election challenge from a write-in candidate and an organized effort to have voters pick anyone but Nifong on Nov. 7.
If Nifong wins the election, he will face the fight of his professional life when the case goes to trial next year. "He's staked his reputation and probably to a larger extent his career on this case," said Jim Cooney, a Charlotte criminal defense lawyer who is not involved in the lacrosse case but has been involved in many high-profile criminal cases.
Nifong declined to answer questions for this story. The News & Observer interviewed nearly two dozen people, reviewed court files and listened to recordings of him in court. The interviews and documents help shed light on why, when saddled with a case that another prosecutor might have dropped, Nifong has chosen to continue.
Faith in key witness
At the trial, Nifong's key witness will be the accuser, who will presumably testify that she was raped by Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann. Under North Carolina law, her accusation is enough evidence to take the case to a jury.
From the start, lawyers for team members have said her story is a lie. They have highlighted every inconsistency in her account as evidence that she is a "false accuser," as one of Evans' attorneys, Joseph B. Cheshire V, calls her. When the time comes for her to testify, she will be under fire. She can expect questions about a history of bipolar disorder and her career as an exotic dancer, performing for private parties or couples in hotel rooms.
Although Nifong has never heard the woman tell her story, he believes her. He said in court last month that he met with her and detectives April 11 to discuss the judicial process. Nifong said she was too traumatized to speak about the incident. The day after that meeting, Nifong told a judge he was planning to seek indictments.
Even though an accusation is enough, it does not require a prosecutor to pursue a rape case. In general, part of a prosecutor's job is to use judgment, said Robert L. Farb, professor of public law and government at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Government.
"Prosecutors evaluate cases all the time," Farb said. "They decide whether to go forward or not, offer a plea or dismiss or whatever."
Echoes of '94 case
Twelve years ago, Nifong prosecuted a man in a rape case that bore some similarity to the one he is focused on now.
As in the Duke lacrosse case, Nifong had on his side the word of the woman. And the defense said it had plenty of evidence that no rape happened.
Even before the case made it to trial, Nifong taunted the defense attorneys.
"Poultry," Nifong said when a defense attorney asked a judge to delay the trial date.
"They're a bunch of chickens," he told the Herald-Sun of Durham to explain his comment. "I have the impression sometimes they are afraid to try cases."
The case was State v. Timothy Malloy, and the defendant was a prison guard and convenience store clerk accused of raping a woman at gunpoint. The testimony was preserved on a court reporter's audiotape.
In 1992, the accuser told authorities that after a night of heavy drinking, two friends, who each thought the other had driven her home, left her at a bar. The woman walked to a convenience store where Malloy was on duty.
After the woman used the store phone several times to try to reach friends, Malloy propositioned her. He said that she agreed and they had sex in a storeroom. She said he pulled a gun from his waistband and raped her.
The defense was aggressive. The woman said she was anally raped, but the medical report introduced by the defense showed that there was no physical evidence of injury and that the accuser had not complained of pain during the exam.
Police never found a gun, despite a thorough search of the store and Malloy's car. A newspaper delivery man testified that just after the incident, he saw Malloy and the woman talking and thought they were friends.
If Malloy had a gun that night, the defense asked, how would it have been held up by the flimsy elastic of the sweat pants he was wearing? And after being raped, why would the woman tell Malloy to come see her at the topless bar where she served drinks?
"The one thing this case really boils down to is whether or not this lady's telling you the truth," defense attorney Bob Brown told a Durham County jury Aug. 3, 1994. "There's no other evidence that backs her up."
The accuser had waited a long time for her chance to tell her story. She said in a recent interview that until Nifong got involved, she had thought about dropping the case.
"He believed in me, and until that time, I didn't feel anybody else believed in me," she said. "I felt like the system let me down until Mike took the case."
The News & Observer generally does not identify complainants in sexual assault cases.
She faced a grueling cross-examination. Brown, the defense attorney, found at least half a dozen false statements the woman had made on job and credit applications. He also asked her about written statements given to police that contained inconsistencies.
"That was a false statement?" Brown asked each time. "That was a story," he said.
Brown's questioning lasted several hours. Nifong took just one minute to question her again.
"What you've told the jury yesterday and today has been after you've taken an oath on the Bible to tell the truth?" Nifong asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Have you told the jury the truth, both yesterday and today, in everything that you've said?"
"Yes, I have."
Nifong had no further questions.
After a five-day trial, the jury deliberated two hours and 40 minutes before reaching a verdict: not guilty.
In a recent interview, Malloy, the defendant, said, "I guess once he sets his mind that he's going to prosecute, there's nothing you can really do. What could you do?"
Starting his career
Nifong, a native of Wilmington and the son of a federal Treasury agent, graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill law school in 1978. He interviewed for prosecutor's jobs in Raleigh, Durham and Greensboro but couldn't get a job. Eager for experience, he told Durham's then-district attorney, Dan Edwards, that he would work for free.
Edwards agreed, and two weeks later he placed Nifong on the payroll. Within two years, Nifong was trying cases in Superior Court, where felonies are resolved.
He liked the courtroom. "When you got in there, it was about winning," he said in a 2005 interview with a News & Observer reporter just before he was sworn in as district attorney.
Defense lawyers trying to squeeze a plea out of a prosecutor often threaten to go to trial. Nifong would happily call their bluff.
"How is that a threat?" Nifong said in the 2005 interview.
It took a lot of preparation and sometimes a little luck to beat Nifong in court, said Lisa Williams, a Durham criminal defense lawyer and former Durham prosecutor.
"If I walked into a courtroom and there has to be a DA in there, I would want to see anyone but Mike Nifong," she said. "His expectation is always that he's going to win."
Norman Williams, who is not related to Lisa Williams, started practicing law in 1965. Over the years, he has fought some tough cases against Nifong.
"He has some equals in Durham, but he has no betters," Williams said. "If you had to pick a DA to run this courthouse, you couldn't find a better person."
By the mid-1990s, Nifong was getting assigned to the county's most serious felonies. In the courtroom, he showed not just a command of the law but a certain art about trial lawyering.
In 1995, he prosecuted Walter Goldston, who was accused of killing a convenience store owner. Nifong sought the death penalty.
Brian Aus was one of Goldston's attorneys. He remembers that in closing arguments, Nifong started talking to the jury about the angles of bullets -- the state thought that Goldston fired as he lay on the floor. Nifong said, "I hate to do this in a suit," Aus recalled. Nifong flopped on the floor to describe the shooting.
"It was something," Aus said.
Goldston was convicted and sentenced to life.
"He's always very polished," said Aus, who has known Nifong for 22 years. "He doesn't rely a lot on notes or stuff. He just gets out there, gets to his point and moves on."
In his prosecutions, Nifong opened up his entire file to defense lawyers -- something the law didn't require until 2004. It was a matter of fairness, he said in the 2005 interview, but it also added to the intimidation factor. He would tell a lawyer what he had and what he was going to do, and then in court he would do it.
"I was very good at what I did, but I was kind of cocky," he said.
In 1999, Nifong was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He endured surgery, radiation and a year of hormone therapy.
After missing months of work, he said in the 2005 interview, he returned less convinced that things were black and white. His illness changed the way he thought about the courtroom.
"What you may lose sight of when all you're worried about is winning ... that's not really what the DA's office is here for," Nifong said. "This is really supposed to be about justice."
At the time, the District Attorney's Office was reeling from a scandal in traffic court. A judge, two prosecutors and a defense lawyer were implicated in a back-hall deal to clear a drunken-driving charge against a dentist.
Then-District Attorney Jim Hardin assigned Nifong to negotiate cases in the troubled court -- an important, if unheralded, assignment. Nifong was regarded as highly ethical, and he seemed a good choice to clean up traffic court.
Moody, demanding
On busy days, lawyers would wait outside Nifong's closed door to negotiate speeding tickets or revoked licenses. At times, those gatherings had the feel of schoolchildren waiting outside the principal's office. Behind the door, Nifong always had the power.
"Working with Mike, you never knew from one day or the other who you'd be dealing with," said Glenn Gray, a lawyer who handled a high volume of traffic cases. "He would curse you, scream at you, call you names over nothing."
Nifong's moods became just part of dealing with him.
"He cannot stand unprepared people," said Aus, the veteran lawyer who has known Nifong for two decades. "He'll go off on you like that. He's the first one to tell you, too, 'Don't bother me right now, I'm not in a good mood.' "
Durham lawyer C. Scott Holmes said Nifong's behavior stemmed from his passion about his cases.
"I have seen him lose his temper and berate attorneys in an unprofessional manner," Holmes said. "But I also have seen him dedicate years of service to the Durham public."
Gray remembers asking Nifong to offer his client a plea that would allow him to get his license back so he could drive to work. Nifong asked Gray, who at the time did a volume business of hundreds of clients, where the client worked. Gray didn't know.
"You don't know what he does? He's your client and you don't know?" Gray remembers Nifong asking, loudly.
Gray knew that lawyers on the other side of the door could hear the tirade. He had heard similar outbursts, sometimes profanity-laced, when other lawyers were in Nifong's office.
When asked in 2005 about traffic court, Nifong said he expects lawyers to be prepared.
"I expect them to be able to answer questions about the case," he said.
In 2005, District Attorney Jim Hardin was made a judge by Gov. Mike Easley, who then picked Nifong to fill the job until the 2006 election. For many at the courthouse, the choice made sense; Nifong had devoted his entire professional life to the office and had been chief assistant for years.
At the ceremony where Hardin and Nifong took their oaths, Hardin jokingly warned the new district attorney that his new job was often thankless. He gave Nifong a gift: a white T-shirt with a bull's-eye on it.
The lacrosse case
On March 13, 2006, members of the Duke lacrosse team gathered at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., a home just across the street from the university's East Campus. By early the next morning, one of two women hired to dance there was saying she had been gang-raped.
Ten days after the party, Nifong's chief assistant got a court order that required 46 members of the team to submit to DNA testing and other identification procedures -- and Duke lacrosse became national news.
Four days after the team gave DNA samples, Nifong granted his first of many on-the-record interviews about the case. He told a News & Observer reporter that he planned to prosecute the case himself. He said he would consider charges against bystanders at the party who did nothing to stop a brutal assault. The interview began a week during which Nifong, by his own accounts, gave more than 50 interviews and spent 40 hours responding to media requests.
In those interviews, Nifong said that when the DNA tests came back, the state would have proof of who raped the woman. The interviews were unusual for Durham prosecutors, who normally avoid talking to reporters on the record out of court.
When asked about his frequent interviews in those early days, Nifong said he has always tried to answer reporters' questions because he believes the public should understand how the courts work.
But the media interest in the lacrosse case was different.
"Back in the days when I started and he was going full tilt, before he got cancer, we didn't have the Court TV coverage," Aus said. "I chalk it up to it was a learning experience for him. ... He was trying to be accommodating, and it just got out of hand. It's not his style to do that."
It was not just his media presence that was new. Behind the scenes, Nifong had staked out an unusual role as the leader of an investigation that had yet to even identify suspects. Typically, police investigate cases and turn them over to prosecutors.
On March 31, Nifong sat with the two main Durham police detectives on the case. The accuser was having trouble identifying her attackers. According to notes taken by Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, Nifong suggested that the officers have the accuser look at pictures of 46 team members to see whether she remembered seeing them at the party.
The lineup procedure Nifong suggested violated the police department's guidelines, which call for photo lineups to include at least five nonsuspects for every suspect. The guidelines also call for an independent administrator to conduct the lineup, not an investigator in the case.
It was during this lineup, criticized by a defense lawyer as a "multiple choice test," that the accuser picked out Evans, Finnerty, Seligmann and an unindicted fourth player as her attackers.
By early April, Nifong had stopped granting interviews about the case, although he still made occasional offhand, newsworthy comments. Reporters followed him wherever he went through much of April.
Nifong refused to hunker down. Several times, he walked out of the courthouse to a restaurant across the street, braving the gantlet of camera crews that had framed the courthouse in the backdrop of their live shots.
Lawyers for the players also had a hard time getting time with Nifong. Just after Seligmann was indicted April 17, his attorneys tried to show Nifong that they had phone records, sworn statements and photographs that would prove that the player had an alibi. Nifong refused to see them.
Defense on offensive
If the reporters now had to struggle to get a quote out of Nifong, it was much easier with the defense. Lawyers representing the lacrosse players took the offensive. They declared that no rape or sexual assault occurred and marveled at the statements Nifong had made on national television.
Nifong bickered and squabbled with the lawyers.
After lawyer Kirk Osborn asked a judge to remove Nifong from the case, Nifong said, "If I were him, I wouldn't want to be trying the case against me either. ... The best comment I ever heard about Kirk was he was the best-dressed public defender in North Carolina."
At one court hearing, Nifong suggested that attorneys for unindicted team members had put their careers ahead of their clients:
"It looked sometimes over the course of the last few months that some of these attorneys were almost disappointed that their clients didn't get indicted so they could be a part of this spectacle."
The tensions between Nifong and the defense boiled over May 15, a Monday, the day Evans was indicted.
Late on the previous Friday -- after Nifong had left town for the weekend -- defense attorneys called a news conference to denounce a second batch of DNA tests that the prosecutor had ordered. The lawyers said Nifong was persecuting innocents on the word of a liar.
That Monday, Nifong stormed out of his office, blowing past the reporters in the hallway. He marched to the judges' chambers, where he bumped into one of Evans' attorneys. He lit into the lawyer, his voice carrying across the sixth floor. He made liberal use of profanity, including the word "mother[expletive]."
By the end of the day, the defense had stolen the story line. Just after Evans was charged with rape, he stood before dozens of reporters and declared on national television that he and his teammates were innocent.
"You have all been told some fantastic lies," Evans said.
On defense: talent
Nifong's opposition in the case is formidable. Rick Gammon, a prominent Raleigh defense lawyer, said the defense includes some of the best legal talent anywhere.
"Joe [Cheshire] and Wade [Smith] are probably two of the best trial lawyers in the state and probably in this country," Gammon said.
Cooney, the Charlotte defense lawyer, predicted that the case will involve more research by lawyers and investigators than many capital murder cases.
"There's a heck of a lot of preparation," he said. "You're going to say something, and somebody is going to be able to pull out ... something that shows it's not true. The first liar loses, and you don't want to be the first liar."
If Nifong is elected district attorney next month, what the people of Durham and the nation think about him -- his media statements, his angry outbursts, his wisecracks in court and his seemingly unwavering belief in the accuser -- will not matter in the Duke lacrosse case.
"The only people I have to persuade will be the 12 sitting on the jury, and if you want to know how I am going to do that, you will need to attend the trial," he told a Newsweek reporter in an e-mail message.
If Nifong's statements and actions in the lacrosse case, and indeed his actions over his 28-year career, are an indication, he is not likely to drop the case.
Lisa Williams, the defense lawyer, said Nifong is sometimes slow to come to decisions -- but then rarely wavers.
"No matter what the tide of public opinion says, if he's made a decision, he's going to stand by it," she said. "People either like him very much or hate him very much, and the other thing about him is he doesn't really care which one you are."
(Staff writer Joseph Neff and news researchers Brooke Cain and David Raynor contributed to this report.) Staff writer Benjamin Niolet can be reached at 956-2404 or bniolet@newsobserver.com. Staff writer Joseph Neff and news researchers Brooke Cain and David Raynor contributed to this report.
MICHAEL BYRON NIFONG
Age: 56
Family: Married to Cy Gurney, a regional administrator of the state's Guardian Ad Litem program, a state advocacy program for abused and neglected children. They have a teenage son, and Nifong has an adult daughter from a previous marriage.
The name Nifong (NYE-fong), often mispronounced by national television reporters, is of German and Swiss origin.
Nifong was born in Wilmington. Both of his parents went to Duke University. He got his undergraduate and law degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill. THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY ELECTION
Nifong is the Democratic nominee for district attorney. He faces a challenge in November from write-in candidate Steve Monks and County Commissioner Lewis Cheek.
What's at stake: In 2003, his salary was $87,082. When Gov. Mike Easley appointed him district attorney, he began earning $133,082.
Lacrosse -- and specifically Nifong's handling of the case -- dominated the Democratic primary for district attorney. Nifong faced Keith Bishop, a lawyer, and Freda Black, a former prosecutor. Throughout the campaign, Black and Bishop hammered Nifong on his statements about the case and questioned whether his statements in national news media brought unfavorable attention to Durham.
Nifong won the race with 45 percent of the vote, and with no Republican opponents, it appeared he had won the job. He vowed to move forward with the case.
After the primary, more of the state's case became public, either through defense motions or news reports, and opposition to Nifong grew.
Some who were unhappy with Nifong banded together, circulated a petition and collected thousands of signatures to place Cheek on the ballot.
Cheek announced that if he were elected, he would not serve. A political action committee has been collecting money to have Cheek elected anyway. If Cheek wins but declines to serve, the governor would appoint a district attorney. What that would mean for the lacrosse case is impossible to predict. ON THE DUKE LACROSSE CASE
Nifong believes the accuser's story and believes the indicted players are guilty. He wrote in an April statement to reporters that he had a duty to pursue the case.
"If the prosecutor personally believes in a defendant's guilt, it would be a violation of his moral responsibility to the victim and to his community not to prosecute a case because doing so was not popular, or because he was worried that he might not win at trial," he said in an April news release.
for your edification....
http://crystalmess.blogspot.com/
"Your response was, “Duke is private property, so they (Duke) can do what they want,” and “No one is preventing the students from going downtown and registering.” You said that you had not heard any complaints from the students themselves and would like to hear from them directly. You also questioned whether or not Duke students would be eligible to vote."
If he was
1) that ignorant of what is going on; or
2) that indifferent;
then I don't want to see someone like that on the federal payroll. Duke receives lots of federal money; the feds require a great deal of schools that get federal money (even in only via the payment of student scholarships).
I assume it might even be alleged that Duke, which knew
of the intention of this group to register voters beforehand and then tried to stop them, might even be
guilty of attempting to intimidate persons from registering
on the basis of their political viewpoint.
(Does Duke
ever allow anyone else to register to vote on the campus? Have there ever been drives to register voters by any other on or off campus group? Feminists? NAACP? Peace and Freedom party? ACLU? If those are allowed, on what exact basis do they single out this group--students for an ethical Durham--and exclude them?) Anyone know a good civil rights lawyer? Maybe the students can sue?)
It was obvious in my phone conversation with Mr. White from the getgo that it was a lost cause. He had no interest whatsoever in pursuing the issue. So I decided the best course of action was to document every conversation I have with them.
My next phone call will be to his boss, the USA for that district. I will then document that conversation and copy the DOJ. They'll at least have to start a file - bureaucrats are genetically incapable of throwing away paperwork lest it come back to bite them.
I figured from the start that it was unlikely to make any progress with them. But at least they know we're watching every move made on this issue. And they know we know...
If he is that ignorant and indifferent it actually explains why he is on the federal payroll. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I have relatives on the federal payroll myself. I'm just aggravated because the post office lost a package of mine.
Some animals are more equal than others...
http://calendar.duke.edu/calendar.nsf/EventID/6TYS5P
Law School - Voter Registration!
http://www.durhamcountync.gov/departments/elec/Documents/Guide_to_Voter_Registration_Drives-Revised.pdf#search=%22duke%20voter%20registration%22
Durham County Board of Elections
Guide to Voter Registration Drives
A reference tool to help Durham County citizens conduct effective voter registration drives
Durham manager feels heat
The City Council wants answers about a yard waste dump fire and the lack of a permit
Michael Biesecker, Staff Writer, N&O, Oct 03, 2006 12:30 AM
DURHAM - Durham City Manager Patrick Baker told the City Council on Monday that he will spend "100 percent of his time" in the coming days to prepare a full report of his administration's supervision of a yard waste dump that caught fire.
The manager will make a presentation to the elected board at a work session Thursday.
Baker and his immediate subordinates have been under intense scrutiny over his administration's handling of the fire that started Sept. 10 and burned for 14 days, smothering nearby homes in smoke and forcing some residents to flee for hotels. Council members were further upset by revelations that the dump had been operating without the required permit for more than two years after state inspectors had uncovered numerous violations at the site, several of which related directly to insufficient fire prevention. The dump had previously caught fire in 2004. -- jump--
Some members of the council indicated they were not impressed with the city manager's rebuttal. Bell said he looked forward to a more complete report Thursday about his core concern -- who knew what when.
Jackie Brown, a resident forced to leave her home because of the smoke, sat in the front row of the meeting room as Baker spoke, shaking her head. A close political confidante of the mayor, Brown is the president of Durham's Northeast Neighborhood Association.
"Either they're lying or they're incompetent," she said of the city manager and his aides. "Take your pick."**
http://www.newsobserver.com/145/story/494007.html
-- from City council meeting---
Stith changed the tone of the meeting by criticizing the City's "lack of action" in light of high crime and chronic poverty.
"Maybe I'm a bit too conservative for the fashion folks, but a band-aid isn't going to fix [Durham]-we need major surgery," Stith said. "The citizens of Durham are fed up. I know I am."
Further debate arose when City Manager Patrick Baker addressed an Oct. 1 N&O article that said he did not tell the truth about permits involved in a recent landfill fire.
Baker defended himself from the criticism at length. Bell eventually extinguished the debate. -jump--
"We need to put pressure on these companies to hire our local citizens," Durham resident Victoria Peterson said to Bell.
"There are very few people working out there who look like you and I," she added.
http://www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/10/03/
News/Council.Debates.New.Performing.Arts.Center-2328202.shtml?norewrite
200610040222&sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com
** Good quotes. Things seem rather testy downtown lately.
Easley testifies at Geddings trial
By J. Andrew Curliss, Staff Writer, N&O, Oct 03, 2006 05:27 PM
Gov. Mike Easley briefly took the stand this afternoon in the federal trial of former state lottery commissioner Kevin L. Geddings. He described the process by which Geddings was appointed to the state commission, saying he had learned of House Speaker Jim Black s plans to name Geddings to the commission on the same day the appointment was announced.
Easley testified for less than 15 minutes as Geddings began his defense in the trial. The prosecution rested its case this afternoon after nearly two weeks of testimony.
Geddings, 41, is charged with eight counts of fraud. Prosecutors say he participated in a scheme to deprive the public of his honest services by hiding his financial ties to Scientific Games as he gained a seat on the commission.
Geddings has maintained he complied with the state s financial disclosure laws and did not take part in a scheme to win a seat on the commission.
Easley confirmed that Black recommended Geddings for a seat on the commission after the governor had blocked an earlier choice by Black. Easley technically appointed Geddings because the legislature was not in session, but did so on Black s recommendation.
Asked when he learned that Black intended to name Geddings, Easley said, He, Jim Black the speaker, called and told me the day that we released it.
Reporters tried to question Easley as he left the courtroom, but Easley simply threw up his hands.
I have no idea what s going on with the case, he said. -cut--
http://www.newsobserver.com/1229/story/494057.html
** Lots of money in those lotteries.
http://www.webcommentary.com/asp/ShowArticle.asp?id=gaynorm&date=061003
No County Has A Right to Try the Duke Case
http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/493936.html
Choices children face
http://eurweb.com/story/eur28932.cfm
THE BRIDGE: Black Women And White Men
http://www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/10/04/Trends/Student.Athletes.And.The.Internet-2330783.shtml?norewrite200610040754&sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com
Student athletes and the Internet
Duke responds to national trend of athlete expose's
[Where's the freaking outrage?]*
10/4/06
2 students attacked off West
Iza Wojciechowska, The Chronicle
Durham Police Department officers responded to an armed robbery at Partners Place apartment complex Tuesday morning and to an assault call at The Belmont apartment complex Saturday.
Senior Brian Lewis was robbed at gunpoint shortly after 1 a.m. at Partners, located on 929 Morreene Rd., DPD public information officer Kammie Michael wrote in an e-mail.
Three men approached Lewis in the parking lot and took his laptop, cell phone and wallet, Lewis said. At least two of the men were armed. One put a gun in his face and the other put a gun at his back and demanded his possessions, Lewis added.
According to DPD reports, the men's faces were covered and they fled in a gold car. Lewis said there are no leads about the suspects, but that DPD is pursuing an investigation. He said no one from Partners management had contacted him as of 8 p.m. Tuesday.
"It surprises me, in terms of off-campus apartments, with the amount that they're charging Duke students, that they're incapable of providing adequate security," Lewis said. "Partners has no security whatsoever-they have a gate that doesn't really open or close, and they have no cameras at all."
Lewis said he does not live at Partners and was visiting a friend's apartment when the incident occurred. He was not injured in the robbery. Partners management could not be reached for comment.
"While such crimes can happen at any hour of the day, many crimes of opportunity take place during late night and early morning hours," Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, wrote in an e-mail to students Tuesday night. "Please continue to be mindful of your surroundings at all times and... travel in groups whether on or off campus."
DPD also responded to a call at The Belmont Saturday morning. Senior Sebastian Moreno was arrested and charged with assault by strangulation and assault on a female, Michael confirmed Tuesday.
The incident occurred at about 9:30 a.m. Sept. 30, Duke University Police Department officials said.
The victim was Moreno's roommate, a senior who wished to remain anonymous. She said the assault was alcohol-related. The victim added that although she is not romantically involved with Moreno, the assault is classified as domestic violence because the two live together.
She said she will not pursue the felony charges, though she added that the district attorney may still pursue some sort of charges that will likely result in a plea bargain.
She now has a restraining order against Moreno, the victim said. Moreno declined to comment.
S--- W----
posted 10/04/06 @ 8:27 AM EST
Typical Moneta... Students get assaulted off-campus and it's "Let's implicitly blame the victim by making reference to 'late night and early morning hours.'" You're right, definitely the students' faults, Larry. Can you see the world out there beyond your twisted agenda? "This is what you get for not being safely in your dorm room (where you should live for four years) at 10 p.m. with your helmet and padded safety suit on, reading a book about multicultalism. can't say ol' Uncle Larry didn't warn you... Oh, and by the way, if you commit any serious crimes like making too much noise off campus, we've spent significant time and resources making sure that we have coordinated with the Durham PD so that it will be a serious pain in your a$$ now, and to a lesser degree, every time you fill out any kind of application, etc. for the rest of your life because it's such an affront to the good people of Durham, but not much I can really say or do about this one... I mean, seriously, you brought this one on yourself. This is what you get. Your on your own out there..." What a joke!!!! Where the freaking outrage?????* I'd ask whose side he's on, but any student knew it wasn't theirs well before this, although his lack of tact and never-failing ability to underwhelm continue to amaze.
Ben
posted 10/04/06 @ 9:08 AM EST
Partners really isn't a safe place to live. My girlfriend and her three roommates had their laptops stolen out of their first floor apartment. The guy busted out the window, walked in, grabbed the expensive items, and was gone. It must have been the easiest robbery of his life. There is NO security at Partners...Thank god nobody was asleep in their apartment when the guy broke in.
http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/
2006/10/04/News/2.Students.Attacked.Off.West-2330770.shtml?
sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com
10/4/06
Hit-and-run car found at Duke Manor
Driver still at large, alum remains critical
Saidi Chen, The Chronicle
Durham law enforcement has found the car that struck and critically injured a Duke alumna this past weekend, Durham Police Department officials announced Tuesday morning.
A sheriff's deputy found the 1988 Honda Accord in a Duke Manor apartment complex parking lot at 311 S. LaSalle St. The police are still looking for the driver of the car.
Duke Manor is less than half a mile from where Caitlin Donnelly, Trinity '06, was struck in a hit-and-run accident in front of The Belmont apartment complex late Friday night.
The driver of the car did not slow down or stop after hitting her, police said. Donnelly suffered severe head injuries, including brain swelling and skull and facial fractures.
* [Where's the freaking outrage?] [in Durham, at Duke?]
Wow, bigotted air heads are even stupider when they are liberals, aren't they?
Ms. Swanson:
1. Really, really not very smart.
2. Implicitly admits predjudice in her column.
3. Writes a weird column that is very ODDLY published at this time.
4. As Bill Clinton would clearly have been a southern race baiting politician a generation earlier, Ms. Swanson would be a bigotted southern air a generation earlier and I bet if you scratched the surface very deep with her now you would find a racial and sexist bigot today.
http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/05/letters-from-friends-2.html#c115999274219845893
(Originally published in Duke Magazine, September-October Issue)
Views from Lacrosse Parents
Duke University is a huge source of pride in our family. I went to Duke and have a son, Robert, who graduated in 2004, and a daughter, Lane, a past member of the women’s lacrosse team, who graduated in 2005. I have had the privilege of serving on the executive board of the Annual Giving Fund for the past six years and chaired our 30th reunion last year. I have enjoyed the many opportunities to know Duke administrators, faculty members, and students through my children and frequent visits to Duke for meetings, ice hockey, lacrosse, and basketball games. I treasure the opportunities to reconnect with “old” friends and classmates. Our lives have revolved around Duke in the past eight years.
We were thrilled when our third child, Gibbs, was recruited by Mike Pressler to come to Duke to study and to play lacrosse. Gibbs, like many members of this talented team, could have gone to a number of schools, and we are proud that he chose Duke without a moment of hesitation. He was well aware that he was undertaking a heavy, difficult commitment to academic and athletic excellence and he looked forward to the challenge with healthy trepidation. I will always remember coach Pressler’s words to the freshmen at their lacrosse orientation. These words sent a shiver through me last August and have echoed repeatedly through my mind in the past two months. “Boys, remember you have one chance in life to ruin your reputation. Every step you take represents you, Duke University, Duke alumnae, and your families. And you have one chance in life to make a first impression. Don’t blow it.”
I have to admit that this group of skilled, capable individuals joined by their love for, and talent in, lacrosse blew it. They had a party over Spring Break and briefly let two strangers into their lives. It is still impossible for me to believe that this decision could so damage this group, Duke University, and Durham and resurrect emotions and fears that were considered if not buried, at the least dormant. Issues of race, class, and gender collided and formed what has been called “the perfect storm” and thrust this team and Duke University into the national limelight. On a smaller scale, this horrific incident also exposed a known problem at Duke-many students feel that there is no social life on campus. As ironic as Coach Pressler’s words to the freshmen lacrosse players was my encounter with our dear friend, Sterly Wilder, in the Duke Forest, the morning before the Georgetown—Duke lacrosse game. That day, almost a full two weeks after the infamous party, I still had no idea of its repercussions. But I was aware of the dangers lurking in that neighborhood, and I interrupted Sterly’s run with concerns about the social scene at Duke. Our older son lived a few doors down from the house imprinted on our minds, and I know that many Duke kids flock to off campus parties in that neighborhood. When I attended Duke, the drinking age was eighteen and keg parties in sections, on the quad, and Wannamaker terrace were weekly events. Now alcohol consumption by college students is considered one of the biggest problems facing college administrations, and Duke like many other campuses has become essentially a dry campus. Consequentially, the Duke social scene is driven into the surrounding neighborhoods where it is unsupervised and less safe, and where neighbors, understandably so, are fed up with antics of college students.
In the Duke Magazine article, “A Spring of Sorrows,” Robert Bliwise uses “the lacrosse episode” as a spring board to focus on “issues that have been of concern on this campus and this town for some time” (President Brodhead’s words). I completely agree that the tragic sequence of events ignited by that evening has highlighted problems that exist at many colleges and universities and in society as a whole. What I do not agree with because it is not true is that this Duke lacrosse team is a microcosm of these problems. It is not the behavior or culture of this team that exposed issues of race, class and gender. These issues were thrust to the forefront because of a black woman’s false allegations against white men. I was not aware that the hiring of strippers is a popular occurrence at college parties and that there had been over twenty parties with strippers given by Duke student groups this year. I am quite sure that there will be a lot more caution in the future when students are considering their party entertainment. I am also positive that the Duke lacrosse players did not hire these strippers because of any lack of respect for women and for race.
The Coleman Report commissioned by President Brodhead to study the culture and behavior of Duke lacrosse teams refutes the generalizations that are promoted by the quotations of journalists and faculty members in the article. Alcohol violations among the lacrosse team are comparable to other groups on campus. There are more general citations attributed to this Duke team than other teams because lacrosse players are the only athletic group that lives in two of the houses off East where the neighbors are most bothered by Duke students. In fact, there are fewer citations attributed to this team than there are to other Duke groups who live in this neighborhood. The Coleman Report found no incidents of racism among this team—it states, “The current as well as former African-American members of the men’s team have been extremely positive about the support the team provided them.” There are no incidents involving lacrosse players that in any way show a disrespect for women-in fact quite the opposite. Kerstin Kimel, the coach of the women’s team, attests to the comraderie and mutual respect between the boys and girls and points out that the smart, savvy young women on her team would not hang out with “arrogant jocks.”
It’s sad that I feel compelled to continue to justify, explain, and prove this team’s innocence of the damning charges brought forth by the media. They are not arrogant, swaggering, privileged, surly, violent hooligans and “jocks out of control” to quote the journalists. What a different picture the Coleman Report paints of these young men after a lengthy, thorough investigation. “By all accounts, the -lacrosse players are a cohesive, hard working, disciplined, and respectful athletic team. Their behavior on trips is described as exemplary. Airline personnel complimented them for their behavior…..Both the groundskeeper and the equipment manager spoke about the players’ respect for and appreciation of efforts for the team. They described the members of the team as the best or among the best group of athletes they served in their long tenures with Duke athletics. Although they give coach Pressler credit for instilling these values, they emphasize that the players are a ‘special group of young men.’ The female manager for the last three seasons, a Duke senior, echoed these sentiments.”
“Lacrosse players also have performed well academically. In 2005, twenty seven members of the lacrosse team, more than half, made the ACC Honor Roll. The lacrosse team’s academic performance generally is one of the best among all Duke athletic teams,” according to the Coleman Report. The team also has an impressive, lengthy community service record both on campus and off.
And finally, one more truthful, factual explanation of lacrosse team behavior. The “vile” email is a direct quote from the movie American Psycho, examined and discussed in three Duke psych classes as an example of today’s pop culture.
The lacrosse team had no intentions of malice and no idea of the “perfect storm” that would envelop them and their university. This group of boys is changed forever, and, though I’m sorry for my son’s loss of faith and trust, his newly found maturity and disillusionment will ultimately serve him and his teammates well as they cautiously proceed through life. And because I am the ultimate “cup half full” person, I know that good will come out of this horrendous experience. I know truth will prevail and that we will eventually heal. I know that these boys and the whole Duke community will be stronger and more aware. I know that this team will play again, will represent Duke with honor and pride, and will serve as an example of excellence for all teams in the country. I know that the insecurities and realities stirred up that evening will continue to prompt a continuous, internal investigation and that Duke will change and adapt in its constant mission to be the best it can be. I would not expect any less of this team and our university.
by Sally Johnson Fogarty
Trinity, 1975, Parent-’04, ’05, ’09 and hopefully-‘12
Chevy Chase, Maryland
At 4:18 PM, October 04, 2006, Anonymous said...
(Originally published in Duke Magazine, September-October Issue)
Views from Lacrosse Parents
I am from a Duke family. My wife and I graduated from Trinity in 1980. My parents, mother-in-law, sister, four brothers-in-law, cousins, aunts, and uncles all went to Duke. When my second son arrives as a freshman in the fall, he will be the 18th member of my family to attend Duke. I have always been very proud of my family's ties to Duke University. However, the most defining point in my connection to Duke may be that my oldest son is a rising junior and a member of the men’s lacrosse team.
My son made the team as a walk-on his freshman year. I was very proud that his years of athletics had enabled him to become a NCAA Division 1 athlete and especially a Duke athlete! The first time I met Mike Pressler, the former head coach of the men’s lacrosse team, he talked about the team’s GPA and the number of players who were named to the ACC academic honor roll. It became clear to me that he cared very much about academics, and I wondered if my son would live up to the standard. Mike’s nickname is “Iron Mike”, earned because of his belief in hard work. My son’s experience on the lacrosse team was very positive for him and gave his life at Duke discipline, direction, and led him to academic success. I was and continue to be proud of my son because of his hard work, dedication, and connection to Duke Lacrosse.
The last few months have been painful since the fateful party on the evening of March 13th. The article in the last issue of Duke Magazine, “A Spring of Sorrows” did little to ease that pain because it didn't tell the full story of the young men on the team. That Monday night in the middle of March, these young men ignited a debate in the Duke and Durham communities, the basis of which was laid by many generations before them.
This pain has often resulted from the characterizations of the young men on the team. All the members of the team were vilified and found immediately guilty by the press and many in the Duke community as well. This story is one that lends itself to extreme depictions. The story of young rich white men raping a young poor black mother was an easier sell than the complex truth. Given the media frenzy led by the likes of Nancy Grace and others, it is amazing that there was not riot in Durham. One of the great successes of the last few months was the dialogue of cooperation between NCCU and Duke in the wake of the often-polarized press coverage. Full credit goes to NCCU Chancellor James Ammons and Duke President Dick Brodhead for this accomplishment.
One editorial writer, Kathleen Parker, asked her readers to identify a college group. She went on to say, “The group has a 100 percent college graduation rate. Sixty percent have a 3.0 grade point average or above. During the last four years, 80 percent have made a national honor roll. Members regularly volunteer at more than a dozen community agencies, building houses for the homeless and serving in soup kitchens, while raising more money than any other group for the Katrina Relief Fund.” She pointed out that, although no one would know it from the press coverage, this group was the Duke men's lacrosse team.
More pain followed from watching some people use this event as a platform for their causes. Rush Limbaugh and Jesse Jackson weighed in, although on different sides. Houston Baker, then a Duke professor, used it to further his ideological agenda on racism and sexism at Duke. He was part of a group of 88 professors who bought a full-page ad in the Duke Chronicle to discuss the current “Social Disaster.” Much of this dialogue was and is important. However, it is difficult for those of us so close to the center of the storm because it often used caricatures to make a point with less regard for the truth than normal. The pain peaked when the New Black Panther Party, an extremist group known to protest while carrying guns, appeared in the media telling us that they would “interview the players individually” to ensure that the “prosecution” was carried out. As a parent, and one who has trusted our system of justice, this terrified me. That weekend, it puzzled me that no one at Duke thought to call and let the lacrosse parents know what was being done to protect their sons.
In the case of the Duke Magazine article, the pain was not caused by the author’s desire to discuss the culture at Duke, nor was it due to a retelling of the story. Rather it was the result of a total void of any positive statements about the young men on the team. This was another example of the whole story not being told. Clearly these young men displayed behavior unbecoming to a member of the Duke community. However, they were also good students, athletes, and volunteers, and worked tireless hours each day at a sport for which they held great passion. The Coleman Committee, created by Dr. Brodhead to examine the culture of the men's lacrosse team, stated in their report, "The lacrosse team's academic performance generally is one of the best among all Duke athletic teams.” They went on to say, "In 2005, twenty seven members of the lacrosse team, more than half, made the Atlantic Coast Conference's Academic Honor Roll, more than any other ACC lacrosse team. Between 2001 and 2005, 146 members of the lacrosse team made the Academic Honor Roll, twice as many as the next ACC lacrosse team."
The Duke men's lacrosse team was a very tight group brought together by the amount of time they spent together during the season and off-season. Regarding this, the Coleman Report said, "The committee has not heard evidence that the cohesiveness of this group is either racist or sexist. On the contrary, the coach of the Duke women's lacrosse team has expressed her sense of camaraderie that exists between the men's and women's team; members of the men's team, for example, consistently come to the women's games. The current as well as former African-American members of the team have been extremely positive about the support the team provided them.” However, these are young men growing up, and they are not perfect.
I have learned many lessons, some of which are the following: Don’t pay too much attention to press coverage, because they are selling newspapers and not always reporting the truth. Don’t ever prejudge anyone regardless of what one reads in the press. Free speech is good, but the down-side is having a public that can say anything and a press that can print anything. Beware of the 24-hour news cycle and reporters claiming to be your friend. An independent justice system is good, but it doesn’t always work perfectly.
My son has learned lessons as well, and I know there will be many more. Early after the allegations became public, when responding to a message from his uncle, he said, “Never again, regardless of the information presented, will I pass judgment on any other person or group, before I know the facts.” The week following the news of the allegations, my son was in class and was subjected to a professor's personal editorial barrage regarding the guilt of the entire team. He left the class rather than be subjected to assertions that he knew were not true. During his next class, two hours later, another professor led his class through a balanced discussion of the racial issues surrounding the news of the party and allegations. My son learned much from both professors that day; some that he will emulate and some that he will not.
As I think about the future, I hope and pray that my son is better as a result of this situation and the ensuing chaos, dialogue, and healing. I hope he emerges less judgmental than many who have participated in the debate. I hope that he is less naïve. I hope that he has a better understanding of the power of unintended consequences. I hope that he is able to believe in our system of justice, as I always have, until now. Finally, I hope that the caricatures of the team which have been painted in the press are realized by all to be untrue. David Brooks, in a May 29th New York Times editorial said, "Maybe the saddest part of the whole reaction is not the rush to judgment at the start, but the unwillingness by so many to face the truth now that the more complicated reality has emerged."
Some poignant moments come to mind from the last few months. One was a few days after the news of this event became public, when I had to explain to my 11 year-old daughter the definition of rape. That day my wife and I discussed with our five daughters that sexual assault was wrong in any form, but that false accusation was as well. Watching my other children all find ways to support their oldest brother has been touching. One wore a Duke Lacrosse hat to school each day; another talked proudly about her brother; and one prayed for the team in youth group at church before the story became a fixture in the press.
With time the pain will subside, and, while this may shock you, I believe my son and family will be better off. I hope the Duke community will be as well. In the meantime, I pray for the three young men who have been indicted. While my son looks forward to the school year and season ahead, these young men fight for their reputations at the hands of false accusers. What we have encountered is a sliver of what they live each day amid a university that has turned its back. On April 1, Dean Wells’ gave a sermon in Duke Chapel about “naming our silences.” I only wish we now would debate the university’s silence as these young men have gone home to fight their battle alone.
by George K. Jennison, T’80, P ’08, P ‘10
Richmond, Virginia
The families of the unindicted players may come out of this stronger and better off but I doubt the families of the indicted players will. Sons facing 40 years in prison, sons whose names will be linked with a violent sex crime forever no matter what the outcome is, massive legal bills, wrecked reputations, the trauma of a potential trial. I can't even begin to calculate all the damage to those families. I understand the importance of a positive attitude but I think it's going to be very difficult for them.
All you can do is all you can do. But all you can do is enough.
Yeah, I suppose you're right. Ya gotta look out for yourself these days. It can be a cruel world.
You can't possibly be serious, fifty schools better than Duke!! Of couse, I went to Duke so I am biased, but I also attended two other top schools, know tons of Duke alums and alums from other schools and know the prestige factor as well. By any measure, Duke is one of the top twenty universities and almost certainly one of the top ten including academic excellence.
One thing that has always bugged the Duke haters (including the Duke students who have a chip on their shoulder because they are not walking around Cambridge), the same thing that makes the current Duke president such an anomaly, is its origin. Duke grew around the idea of producing talented professionals and not egghead academics. As such, from the start, it lacked (which I always liked) the egghead mentality that so deformed other schools. It is true, for many years that the focus on doing hurt the schools image and Duke has aped its northeastern competitors in a succesful effort to boost its image and actual studies.
But, despite these changes, it is the same Duke, a school and university different from other schools.
You have everything backwards. The media jumped all over this scandal precisely because Duke is special, both in image and in practice. Do you really think that an alleged rape at Wash U or Emory would be on the cover of Newsweek? Of course not.
I replied to your post LB, just cuz :)
Thank you, abb, for the posts: I find Mr. Jennison's comments heartfelt, possibly fairly common among many Dukies and, therefore, relevant observations.
darby - please do not think I am insensitive to the plight of the Duke Three. My only point was that Duke students are there for the education and that, in fact, a Duke degree does provide entree into many desired corporation's consideration. I do care about Evan, Seligman and Finnerty equally. That is why I wear a wristband - a constant reminder of their situation. My apologies if my statement came off as uncaring. If I didn't care, I would not be here.
JLS - I am not going to debate you as to what is a good vs. a bad university. I will state my personal opinion and be done with it. A good university is one which can produce a graduate who is happy - with himself and with his career - 10, 20 and 30 years after graduation. In my opinion, that universtity has done it's job to guide it's students in the right direction. You may say that this is not the university's job. You may be right; in which case, the university is merely a foil - everything is up to the student. As I said to Sarah earlier, an excellent student will excel regardless of what their alma mater happens to be. Will a "prestigious" alma mater help them to land the first job (and possibly even the second)? Absolutely! But it is up to them to make it work. In the most conservative of business philosophies, "If you don't produce, you're outta here!" Tenure and seniority are liberal concepts.
bjc: How do we get faculty to voice an opinion? (and should we?) Good question. I have to work on my thoughts about that one....
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