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.
Maybe he will redate the computer, type in "a confession" by one of the players in the computer, and then reset the date again and have this as conclusive proof of guilt.
In my last post, I neglected to say that I have no doubt that the media is continually trying to drum up sympathy for the "victim" here. I wish it would stop. I'm so sick of the drive-by media.
Well we are as low as it gets already, "The Untouchabes" in the media's eyes'. Priveleged by birth, favored by all, Needin of a comin'upance. We really can't get any lower and every one is pretty much decided on the issue one way or the other.
The TV commentators will soon interview psychologists and womens' studies professors to opine on the "Pagliacci Syndrome."
The woman is smiling or laughing on the outside, they will say, only to mask her tears and pain resulting from having just been raped in a humiliating and brutal manner.
In some ways it is like the "Stockholm Syndrome," these psychologists will say, in that the woman's emotions are the opposite of what an uneducated person would expect to see in such a situation.
These folks will then send letters to the DA's office indicating they are available to work as expert witnesses and stating their hourly fees for such work.
Exactly. These same women on TV (aware of this info) wanted Scott Peterson burned at the stake.
Crier, Grace, Rita, Greta, etc., this meant this person was absolute scum. He had to be guility. They said it told us what type of person he was. It did say a lot about him.
But, This accuser ? No judgement. If they do mention it, it's brushed aside and you know she fell in love.
Watch for smaller charges that will release damaging (or embarrasing) information to the public. They probably have 2 years of E-mails to sift through plus any/all websites anyone ever visited.
Sdott Peterson is guilty. Let's not start that again, please?
I'm afraid to type in Pagliacci Syndrome on my computer.
One never knows when a DA might make your life public.
That sounds like something I don't want to be doing research on.
To your point, did you notice all the shows on how hard it is to be a minister's wife. After one shot her husband with their kids there. I'm not joking, CNN did an hour long show on how Minister's wives suffer and how they feel like they have to be perfect. All the big papers had pieces highlighting how it's, well, like a syndrome.
Don't hold your breath waiting for articles on the pressures of student-athletes at the most competitive schools!
Read closely, I'm not saying he's not. I didn't say he wasn't SCUM. I'm saying what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Why isn't the media consistent?
Scott Peterson cheated on his wife while she was pregnant.
The stripper here cheated on her husband and got pregant.
Actually, I think that is a tangential matter at the moment. The important matter is that young men are being falsely accused of something by a prosecutor who is trying to win an election.
Good Night.
I read Coulter and agree completely. I said many similar things on the Bryant threads.
Everyone male or female has the right to walk around with samples of sperm from various encounters on them and their clothing. Monica kept the dress, so whatever floats your boat. But if you happened to be sexually assaulted in that condition, it sure makes the case a lot harder to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
Yes Bernard!
Military discharges have been used as a guage of one's character for how long? Since 1943 or before probably.
They used to guage one's fitness for security clearances. They are used as a character reference on resumes.
This woman's discharge, someone posted, was a General Discharge. A General Discharge indicates BAD CONDUCT.
It would've taken the DA all of 20 minutes to look into this woman's background and see she's NOT credible. The problem with this case, and it went on for some time, is that the DA believed everything this woman said and took her at her word.
You're Right Sissyjane.
G'night
Watched Hannity and Colmes (rebroadcast) and Dr. Baden is embarrassing.
Dr. Baden knows nothing and he's losing it.
He passed on to a National Audience a lot of bad info:
He said she had torn clothing.
He said he would think that people would wear condoms in a rape like this (a new stat). He regurgitated the same crap the DA misled the people with.. In 75% of rapes there is NO DNA. This is a GANG RAPE and she was violated 3 different ways. Those stats don't apply to Gang Rapes at Keg parties.
.
It's a stain on ... even the school itself (people thinking about where to send their kids for college won't forget soon).
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Yep and Duke is MOST DESERVING of what they get. Maybe Howlin can correct me, but I think race was second to the table on this. I think this was mainly stirred up at first by the male hating feminazis within Duke itself.
This self appoint questioners of authority are too stupid to understand that Duke is the establishment. They are, including these stupid feminazis, are the establishment. Well Duke hired these morons and will now pay a huge price for it.
Nobody in their right mind would send their child into such a situation. Certainly if your child is a male athlete you wouldn't. Certainly, unless this DA pulls a rabbit out of his hat, who is going to send their child to a school where they city is biased against them and goes in for judical lynchings.
Maybe I will be wrong on this, but I sort of doubt it as the coverage goes on and on.
>>
Sdott Peterson is guilty. Let's not start that again, please?
<<
His conviction will evntually be overturned. There simply is NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE in that case. I think he did it and is pure scum, but it was not proved in court.
"attorney Bill Cotter said. "I can't tell you about (everybody), but my client's case is either going to be dismissed by the D.A. or go to trial.""
I would think he would also file dismissal motions with the judge even if the DA won't dismiss.
JLS,
You are so right. Did you hear that some Universities have made statements saying they WILL NOT accept the Duke Lacrosse players as transfers?
No one has been convicted! The 2 charged claim they have evidence to prove they couldn't have done it. But the Politically correct universities are already passing judgement on these boys. It's like the Twilight zone.
>>You are so right. Did you hear that some Universities have made statements saying they WILL NOT accept the Duke Lacrosse players as transfers?<<
I suspect most colleges won't admit a student while they are under indictment for a felony sexual assault. On the other hand, there was no need to make that statement at this time.
And, I wonder if the Defacto policy of those schools is not to take any of the 46 players.
I haven't seen any statements from schools saying the Car-Jacker-turned stripper with an assault conviction would not be accepted into their institutions.
Curious, curiuos, indeed.
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