Posted on 04/19/2006 9:33:10 PM PDT by Howlin
(04/19/06 - DURHAM) - An attorney for one of two Duke University lacrosse players charged with raping a stripper at a team party on Wednesday strongly rejected any sort of deal with prosecutors, proclaiming again his client's innocence.
Cotter represents Collin Finnerty, who along with fellow sophomore Reade Seligmann was indicted Monday on charges of first-degree rape, sexual offense and kidnapping. Each posted $400,000 bond after their pre-dawn arrests early Tuesday, and both were released within hours.
School officials have declined to say whether it plans to discipline either of the players, although they have noted the university has historically suspended students charged with a felony.
Cotter said Wednesday that Finnerty, of Garden City, N.Y., has left Durham, although he wouldn't say where he went. Attorney Kirk Obsborn, representing Seligmann, of Essex Fells, N.J., declined to say whether his client has been suspended.
Seligmann and his father spent much of Wednesday working from the law office of attorney Robert Ekstrand, who represents dozens of uncharged lacrosse players.
District Attorney Mike Nifong, who has not granted interviews in weeks and said Tuesday he planned to make no comments about the case outside the courtroom, has said he still hopes to link a third man to the alleged attack.
He did not return calls Wednesday seeking comment about that effort, or about searches by Durham police Tuesday night of Seligmann's and Finnerty's dorm rooms.
Warrants authorizing the searches had not been returned to the court clerk's or magistrate's office by Wednesday evening.
"I can imagine they never quit investigating, but I think it's unusual to be executing search warrants after they've indicted," Cotter said.
Defense attorneys have said they have time-stamped photos from the party, bank records, cell phone calls and a taxi driver's statement to support Seligmann's claim of innocence.
A person close to the case told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the cell phone records show Seligmann called for a taxi at 12:14 a.m., and that according to sworn testimony he left in the taxi at 12:19 a.m.
The bank records show he stopped at an ATM five minutes later, the person added, while information provided by Duke shows he swiped an ID card to enter his dorm at 12:46 a.m.
A member of the defense team, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because the defense is working with players who could still be indicted, showed photos to the AP on Wednesday that show the accuser on the back porch of the off-campus house, with her clothing intact. She is smiling and looking through her purse.
The defense team member said the digital photos were taken at 12:30 a.m., citing an electronic time-stamp known as metadata. Such time-stamps are not visible on the photos. They are created, though, when digital photos are taken.
The accuser, a 27-year-old student at a nearby college, told police she was attacked by three white men at a house where she and another woman were hired to dance at a lacrosse team party. According to defense attorneys, DNA tests conducted on all the players failed to connect any of the team members to the alleged rape.
"I would have to say she is definitely making it up," Cotter said.
Nifong has ordered additional DNA testing, which was originally performed at the state crime lab. Cotter said he believes those results should be "back any minute."
Ekstrand said the defense has also not yet received a report from authorities about any photo identifications of suspects made by the accuser. "I think we're entitled to the report of the identification procedure, and the results of the photo identifications she did," he said.
The allegations of rape led Duke to cancel the highly ranked lacrosse team's season, accept the resignation of the team's coach and begin a series of internal investigations, including one into the behavior of the lacrosse team.
Ya know, it really doesn't matter what SHE DID, the only thing that matters is what THEY DID. Get with the program! (sarc)
http://www.primatecenter.duke.edu/
I went to Duke for 9 years and then taught at a state land grant for 14. I can promise you that all universities (with a very few exceptions) are so PC these days that any university would have pounced on the opportunity to throw the team under the bus.
So she had time to paint her nails? Would those be the 4 fake nails she replaced in the bathroom? Perhaps she spent an extended time in the bathroom because in her drunken state she decided it was a good time to replace some of her fake nails? Either that or she was brutally raped for 30 minutes and the first thing that came to mind was not going out with bad looking nails.
Clarabelle the Clown would make a better DA than this turkey.
The latest search warrants for the boys room haven't been made public yet.
The Defense lawyers are really upset because they have NOT been provided with any info on the Photo Lineup or Identification made. State law mandates the results and they say they have nothing.
Nifong also made a smart remark yesterday. When told that the Defense lawyers and players said they are waiting on the DNA results from the latest tests, Nifong said, Really that's News to me.
All these years I've been preaching to my kids, grades, grades, grades, the need to go college, yet the more I read and hear about colleges, the more I think I don't want my kids anywhere near these idiots.
Many of the photos taken on the back porch show pink splotches, which the defense says is undried nail polish. They claim the accuser was polishing her nails in the bathroom between 12:10 a.m. and 12:30 a.m. - - not being raped.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=local&id=4091290
Man, this case gets more bizarre EVERY DAY!
Check out this quote from TODAY's News & Observer:
"Nifong has said the woman can identify at least one attacker, but he has not discussed his case against Finnerty and Seligmann."
ONE attacker ? What did the other guy do, give moral support?
Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/430430.html
This is trivial for the Treason Media when compared to its significant crimes against the People. After decades of anti-American lies, attacks on Christianity, attacks on patriotism, attacks on defenders of our Nation, attacks on our Forefathers, shoving faggotry down our throats, defending perversity all down the line THIS makes you mad? LoL
My son just decided to go to Hampden-Sydney College in VA. It's been voted one of the top ten politically incorrect colleges in the country. There are islands of sanity.
The more pertinent photos are the ones that show the girls dancing at 12:01, and walking out the door at 12:04. Seligmann's first cell phone call was at 12:07, followed by three other calls, the last of which was at 12:14, to call a cab. He was in the cab by 12:19. He could not have been involved in a rape, even if there was a rape.
Steve, Your timeline ignores the late photograph of the woman smiling and getting something out of her purse.
She ran out of there and barely escaped with her life we were told.
If someone has been, as reported, kicked, beaten, strangled, raped, and sodomized.. you don't stop (or pause) to feel through your purse and again - the SMILE.
.
I have NEVER in my life seen such a travesty on EVERYBODY'S part.
It's just damn depressing.
To finish my thought - there is nothing about her searching her purse that is incompatible with her being raped. She might be looking for a cell phone, a bandage, an address book, kleenex, etc.
How about a link?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.