Posted on 12/03/2006 2:04:47 AM PST by abb
Mike Nifong's detractors in the Duke lacrosse case want him punished for forcefully pursuing charges
In the war that is the Duke lacrosse case, Mike Nifong's fierce fight will not end with the trial.
Durham's district attorney will face a barrage of attacks on the federal and state level from foes who are determined to have Nifong investigated, punished and disbarred for his actions in the rape case against three Duke University lacrosse players.
Dozens of people, some connected to the accused, have asked the governor and the state attorney general to intervene. Many have complained to the N.C. State Bar, the agency that licenses and disciplines lawyers. And a lawyer for one of the indicted players has urged members of Congress to have the U.S. Department of Justice open a civil rights investigation.
The request for federal intervention is aggressive and rare, said Richard Myers, a UNC-Chapel Hill law professor and former federal prosecutor.
"It's a fairly strong indication the defense has nothing to hide if they want more eyes on the ground," Myers said. "How effective it's going to be, who knows? You cast a wide net and hope someone gets interested."
The attacks are a sign of the long and vicious battle ahead in the Duke lacrosse controversy.
Three former players, Dave Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md.; Collin Finnerty, 20, of Garden City, N.Y.; and Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., are charged with rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. They are accused of gang-raping a woman hired though an escort service to dance at a team party in March.
Nifong has been criticized for statements he made in the week after the investigation became public, when he called the players "hooligans" and said he was certain a racially motivated rape had occurred.
After that first week, Nifong's torrent of comments slowed to a trickle. In his silence, the players and their attorneys have attacked Nifong, using his own documents and statements to accuse the veteran prosecutor of misconduct and to highlight weaknesses in the case.
Nifong declined to comment for this report. But in court, news releases and at news conferences, the prosecutor has responded to the criticisms against him, at times using language that sounds like an opening argument he might make to the State Bar in his defense.
At a July news conference, Nifong explained his early statements to the media by saying he was trying to inform the public that an investigation was in progress and to encourage cooperation from witnesses. Bar rules specifically allow prosecutors to make public statements for those reasons.
The request for a federal investigation came from Michael Cornacchia of New York, one of Finnerty's attorneys. He wrote to the U.S. attorney general, the FBI director, the congressional delegations of North Carolina and Long Island and others, saying Nifong had violated the civil rights of the three players. The case merits an immediate investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, wrote Cornacchia, a former prosecutor who recently served as chief investigative counsel for the probe of the United Nation's oil-for-food program.
N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper and Gov. Mike Easley received scores of letters requesting that they take over the case, something North Carolina law does not allow. These letters ranged from well-researched, artfully composed missives to profane rants from phony e-mail addresses. They came from family friends and business colleagues of the accused. Some were from outside observers. Many were sent from out of state, and a good number came from Durham.
Although State Bar complaints are confidential, at least 17 became public records when they were copied to the governor or state attorney general.
"I would think of this as misconduct by a DA and that for some reason, maybe political, he has painted a fabricated picture," wrote Edwin G. Beusse, a New York developer who works with Finnerty's father, in a letter Aug. 9. "Isn't there a check or balance for situations like this that are so far out there, that they're obviously false?"
Molly M. Maguire of Darien, Conn., wrote June 13, "It is frightening to think of any American being victimized by our own legal system and devastating to know that three promising lives are held hostage to a not-so-hidden political agenda." Maguire is a friend of the Finnerty family.
The chances of a federal investigation are unknown; a State Bar investigation is more likely. The bar complaints accuse Nifong of violating the ethics rules governing pretrial publicity and bringing disrepute to the justice system. The complaints cite specific actions by Nifong throughout the investigation as violations of State Bar rules.
Bar officials have responded in writing to the complainants, saying they take the matter seriously. State law prohibits them from saying whether an investigation is under way.
Whatever happens at the State Bar, the organization will be under pressure. The bar has been smarting from its handling of two high-profile cases involving prosecutorial misconduct over the past two years.
In 2004, David Hoke and Debra Graves were reprimanded for withholding evidence during the trial of Alan Gell, who spent nine years behind bars, half of that on death row, for a murder he did not commit. The withheld evidence included statements showing that the murder occurred while Gell was in jail on a petty charge and a tape-recording of the star witness talking about "making up a story" for police.
Bar sharply criticized
The State Bar came under withering criticism for its prosecution of Hoke and Graves. During its investigation, the bar interviewed only Hoke and Graves and did not talk to key witnesses such as detectives or other lawyers. The uproar prompted the bar to conduct an unprecedented public self-examination, which found deficiencies and flawed practices in the case. One of the ensuing conclusions was that the bar should consider hiring outside prosecutors in high-profile cases.
In the second case, also involving a death penalty trial, the bar's prosecutor went after Kenneth Honeycutt and Scott Brewer aggressively, charging them with lying, cheating and withholding evidence. The bar alleged that the former Union County prosecutors had committed a string of felonies, including hiding evidence from the judge and jury, altering documents and lying to the trial judge.
The State Bar's Disciplinary Hearing Commission, a separate entity that acts as judge and jury in such cases, twice dismissed the case on technicalities. The bar has appealed; a special prosecutor is investigating the criminal case against the two lawyers.
The State Bar's charter is not to punish lawyers but to protect the public. The bar has intervened on an emergency basis in some situations, said general counsel Katherine Jean. For example, the State Bar can freeze a lawyer's trust account if it thinks the lawyer has been stealing money. And the bar can suspend the license of a lawyer in prison.
Mary Ann Tally, a defense lawyer who has followed the State Bar's misconduct cases, said that if a complaint against Nifong is later pursued by the grievance committee, there could be questions about why there was not immediate action.
"If they are complaints that have to do with what is going on right now and will continue to go on until this case is resolved, I guess the question I have is why isn't the bar doing anything about it right now?" Tally said. "It seems to me there's a tremendous amount of pressure on the bar and a lot of public expectation on, 'Can you do the right thing, and can you do it in a timely fashion?' " Staff writer Joseph Neff can be reached at 829-4516 or jneff@newsobserver.com. http://www.newsobserver.com/100/story/517392.html
Ping
Link back to old thread...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1745102/posts?page=88
Sidebar article related to primary.
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/517202.html
Complaints against Mike Nifong
Public record requests to the governor and attorney general uncovered at least 17 complaints concerning Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong to the N.C. State Bar, which licenses and regulates lawyers. The complaints accuse Nifong of saying too much to the news media and of mishandling the investigation.
Public statements
The bar's rules limit what lawyers can say to the media. Lawyers cannot say things likely to prejudice a case, especially a criminal case. The rules caution lawyers to be careful when discussing the character or credibility of a suspect, a person's failure or refusal to make a statement, or any opinion about a suspect's guilt or innocence. And the rules say prosecutors must refrain from comments that would heighten public condemnation of the accused.
In March, Nifong called the players at the party "a bunch of hooligans" and said a racially motivated rape had occurred. He said the players weren't cooperating with police, and he questioned why they would hire lawyers. "I'm not going to allow Durham's view in the minds of the world to be a bunch of lacrosse players at Duke raping a black girl from Durham," Nifong said at a forum televised live April 12.
NIFONG'S DEFENSE
Nifong would not discuss the bar complaints, but in court, in news releases and at news conferences, he has mounted a defense, sometimes using language tailored to the bar rules.
At a July news conference, Nifong referred to bar rules that allow a prosecutor to inform the public that an investigation is in progress and to encourage cooperation from witnesses. But in a June e-mail message to a Newsweek reporter, Nifong explained his statements a different way.
"My initial cooperation with the press was based not on any perceived political advantage to be had, but on my (in retrospect, admittedly naive) belief that such cooperation would help effectuate a more accurate public discourse on an issue with great societal resonance," Nifong wrote.
Nifong has also tried to change the perception of how many interviews he gave. During March and April, Nifong told reporters that he gave more than 50 interviews consuming 40 hours during the last week of March. Six months later, Nifong amended those numbers, telling Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III that his appointment book showed 15 to 20 interviews.
The administration of justice
"The prosecutor's duty is to seek justice, not merely to convict," according to State Bar rules. A prosecutor's systematic abuse of discretion can constitute "conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice."
Letter-writers complained that Nifong ordered police to conduct a photo identification procedure -- which became the basis for indictments -- that violated Durham Police Department guidelines. They wrote that he refused to discuss the case with defense lawyers before he brought indictments and that he reneged on a promise to use negative DNA results to rule out suspects. And they complained that he supervised the arrest of a taxi driver who is an alibi witness for one of the accused and failed to probe contradictions in the accuser's statements and physical evidence.
NIFONG'S DEFENSE
Nifong has not commented on the lineup procedure. He has said little about why he would not meet with defense lawyers. A defense lawyer said in court that Nifong had an assistant relay his reason: "I saw you on TV proclaiming your client's innocence, so what is there to talk about?"
Nifong defended the taxi driver's arrest, saying his office policy is to serve all outstanding warrants. The cab driver was later acquitted on the three-year-old shoplifting charge. Nifong said negative DNA results do not necessarily exonerate anyone. And he said that he does not discuss a case with a complaining witness because he does not wish to become a witness himself.
Steel: Dual roles won't conflict
BY BRIANNE DOPART, The Herald-Sun
December 2, 2006 9:37 pm
Duke University Board of Trustees Chairman Robert K. Steel says he will recuse himself from committees and issues that may be perceived as conflicting interests with the chairman's new job, undersecretary of the Treasury Department in charge of domestic finance.
The trustees met in Durham on Saturday.
After receiving the nomination for the position from President George W. Bush in September, Steel immediately checked to ensure he could keep both jobs, Duke President Richard Brodhead said. Steel made it clear to all involved he would not take the government job if it meant he had to step down from his role at Duke.
Steel's new government role includes advising the secretary of the treasury on domestic finance and leading activities pertaining to the domestic financial system, fiscal policy and operations, governmental assets and liabilities.
Asked Saturday to respond to the criticisms of government watchdog groups who questioned the propriety of his new dual role, Steel promised he would no longer be involved with university fundraising or Duke's management company DUMAC, and would recuse himself from any other committees that might give the appearance of a conflict.
The university's upcoming capital campaign will likely be handled by the 34 other trustees Steel said would be able step in if needed.
Upon being offered the Treasury job, Steel alerted the Senate Finance Committee as well as the Office of Government Ethics of his position at Duke immediately after being offered the position "so there would be no secrets," he said.
Four separate government agencies went on to give the arrangement their approval, according to Duke Senior Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations John Burness.
If there was a conflict of interest, one of those groups would have said so, Steel maintained.
"I don't know how to be more open or honest," Steel said.
Steel was quick to mention John Koskinen, who in the 1990s served as deputy director for management of the White House budget office while maintaining his position as chairman of the board of trustees.
Koskinen's federal role had the potential to be "far more conflict-heavy," Steel said.
Brodhead added that, under Koskinen's leadership, the university went on to undertake "some very ambitious projects."
URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-795425.html
Duke's trustees create new department
From staff reports, The Herald-Sun
December 2, 2006 10:04 pm
Duke University's Board of Trustees approved elevating Duke's African and African American Studies Program to departmental status at its Saturday meeting.
"As the mission of AAAS has expanded, it has become appropriate to graduate from program status to that of a full department," said Dean of the Faculty of Arts Sciences George McLendon.
Academic departments at Duke offer undergraduate and graduate degrees. Because the AAAS program currently offers an undergraduate degree and a graduate certificate, it already functions much like a department, said Arts and Sciences Dean of the Social Sciences Sarah Deutsch.
"And it became clear that in circles outside of Duke, the label 'program' carried connotations of impermanence and standing that were not applicable to our program," she said. "The shift to 'department' better represents Duke's commitment to the enterprise, and the standing and activity of the unit."
The university's Academic Programs Committee unanimously approved the change at its Oct. 25 meeting, and in a resolution commended AAAS "for its quality research and undergraduate programs. The AAAS faculty, including those with joint and secondary appointments, have demonstrated an admirable commitment to advanced research, teaching and outreach activities that deserves recognition."
The Academic Programs Committee also encouraged AAAS to consider establishing a Ph.D. program in the future.
AAAS has 15 core faculty members. Some 50 other Duke faculty members, whose teaching, research and cross-listed courses contribute to scholarship in AAAS, are designated as faculty affiliates. Currently, 33 undergraduate students major in African and African American Studies, 22 undergraduates minor in it and 24 graduate students are enrolled in the graduate certificate program.
In related business, the trustees also approved several new academic programs, including two new dual degree programs at Duke Law School: a three-year JD/DESS (diplôme d'études supérieures spécialisées) in global business law in partnership with two top French universities, and a JD/MEMP (Masters of Engineering Management) in cooperation with Duke's Pratt School of Engineering.
The Global Business Law JD/DESS degree program is a partnership with University of Paris I and with Sciences Po in Paris. The program involves two years of study at Duke and one year in Paris, where students will enroll in primarily master's degree-level courses in global business law and economics and, if needed, an introduction to French law.
Duke joins a select group of American law schools in offering the JD/DESS, which is open to 20 French students and 10 U.S. students each year; law schools at Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, Northwestern, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Virginia also offer the program.
"Law practice in most fields is increasingly international and law graduates who have had meaningful international experience are highly sought after by U.S. law firms," said Duke Law School Dean Katharine Bartlett.
Establishing a dual degree in law and engineering management responds to a demand from applicants to Duke Law School and the Pratt School of Engineering, Bartlett said, and builds on the schools' existing partnership in which a three-year JD is offered in combination with an MS in engineering. Students enrolled in the new program will begin their studies in June instead of August, and will be required to complete 72 credits at the Law School and 30 in the Master of Engineering Management Program.
Currently, about 25 percent of Duke law students are enrolled in a dual degree program.
The trustees also approved:
- A new Joint Doctor of Medicine degree to be granted by the Duke/National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School. This collaboration, which was formalized in 2005, is not only intended to educate future physicians and promote biomedical research in Asia, but represents an opportunity for Duke to expand its global presence in science and medicine, said Victor Dzau, chancellor for health affairs at Duke and CEO of the Duke University Health System.
- The creation of a joint master of management studies degree involving the Fuqua School of Business and Seoul National University. Those SNU students accepted into the program would first attend SNU, then travel to Fuqua in the spring of their first year for Fuqua's final six-week term. This would be followed by a summer internship and a second year of study at Fuqua. At the conclusion of their course work, students would be issued an MMS from Fuqua. The students would receive their Masters of Business Administration degree from SNU once they completed other requirements.
URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-795446.html
http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/hsletters/
What happens after the verdict in lacrosse case?
It's time we started talking about the lacrosse case in a different, more important way. District Attorney Mike Nifong was elected, his initial handling of the case is in the past and the case will now head to trial. Therefore, there's no need to continue this heated debate about things that won't change. Instead, we need a productive discussion about what happens after the verdict comes out.
Unfortunately, I think there's so little faith in our legal system that whatever happens in court, a substantial portion of our community will leave angry. If a guilty verdict is handed down, wearers of "Innocent" wristbands will be up in arms about the bias of members of the Durham community against Duke. If the court finds them innocent, cries that they bought their way out of trouble will follow from others.
As a Duke student who has had the privilege of discussing this matter with my classmates, students from NCCU and Durham residents, I've found that most people have made up their minds about whether or not a rape occurred. Most do not see a verdict changing their minds either. So once this decision comes down, in the face of the inflammatory media, our community will still have serious healing and reconciling left to do.
We need to start talking about this now, figuring out how to continue to work and make progress once the trial and the hordes of media have come and gone. Because a verdict is not going to solve anything.
DAN BAUM
Durham
December 3, 2006
Durham drove out it's industrial base of tobacco a few years ago. It wasn't PC, you know. Now it seems determined to attack it's educational institution. Can't have a place full of white males who are more successful than the locals, can we?
Turning the city into East St. Louis seems to be a major goal of the Council on the Affairs of Black People, the Durham political machine.
As always, thanks for the ping, abb.
This article supports what many of us have been saying for months.
How the State continues to have a blind eye about this case is disgusting.
Dan Baum seems to be the perfect addition to MoveOn.Org
The "community" will have reconciling and healing to do AFTER the verdict?
How about now?
And how about apologies and compensation to the real victims here, not "reconciling and healing", as though nothing wrong was done to these boys? This guy sounds like he's suffered one too many politically correct diversity lectures.
mark
Step in fire, get burned
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I was troubled by the letter Michelle Stansbury wrote in defense of rape. She is not being a realist. It's one thing to walk down the street and be attacked because you are provocatively dressed. The flip side of the coin, as one might put it, is: "If you stand in the fire, you will get burned." It simply means if you put yourself in harm's way, expect consequences.
The whole lacrosse rape case is a joke on her part. There has been enough evidence brought to the light to determine the players' innocence. Clearly the woman has mental issues that need attending to, as well as maybe health issues, to pass out several times in a shady strip club and not remember injuries from being dragged out by her co-workers.
But that's for a jury to decide. I hope the jury doesn't consist of people like Stansbury who are determined to side with the female no matter what the truth might be. If you lower your self respect and place yourself in dangerous situations, don't expect anyone to take you seriously when you cry wolf.
BEVERLY M. DAY
Hillsborough
December 1, 2006
"It's a fairly strong indication the defense has nothing to hide if they want more eyes on the ground," Myers said. "How effective it's going to be, who knows? You cast a wide net and hope someone gets interested."
I like that reasoning. During other civil rights investigations, especially ones involving the police, the defendants aren't too happy to have the feds involved.
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