Lacrosse players face old charges (Nifong retaliates against Duke Lax)

News & Observer ^ | April 25, 2006 | Benjamin Niolet and Joseph Neff

[abb]

DURHAM - District Attorney Mike Nifong plans to reinstate misdemeanor charges against a half-dozen Duke lacrosse players, saying a March 13 party where a woman reported a rape broke the deals that the players made with prosecutors.

Nifong's decision could affect players who, before the party, had entered agreements in which prosecutors would dismiss the cases if the players performed community service and stayed out of trouble for six months or a year. Among the first to have his charges reinstated was David Evans, one of the team captains who lived at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., the site of the party in which lacrosse players hired two women from escort services to dance. One of the women told police that she was raped by three men in a bathroom.

Two players, Collin Finnerty, 19, and Reade William Seligmann, 20, were charged last week with first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense and first-degree kidnapping. Their attorneys say the men are innocent.

On Monday, an attorney for Seligmann filed a motion seeking information that would help attack the credibility of the woman, the only person, according to the defense filing, who says a rape occurred. The motion seeks information about the woman, including criminal charges, mental and emotional problems the woman has suffered as well as social services, probation, child protective services and victim's advocacy records.

Today, Finnerty is due in a Washington court where prosecutors in an assault charge are considering whether to revoke a deferred prosecution agreement similar to those affecting other players in Durham.

According to court records, 16 players were charged in the past three years with misdemeanor charges in Durham including noise violations, public urination and alcohol violations. The deals placed the men on probation for either six months or a year.

[abb]

But I detected definite crawfishing by Brodhead in this interview. And I'm from Louisiana, so I KNOW what crawfishing is...

[Carolinamom]

Father says she's "pretty sure" about the IDs.....changed from 100% I guess. NOW, it's rape by broom stick....lies on top of lies and growing. Why was she SMILIN?

[Dukie07]

I'm not from the south, what is "crawfishing", please, for this wondering CA native?

[Locomotive Breath]

I know what a crayfish/crawfish/crawdaddy is as an edible critter. What's it mean when used as a verb?

[abb]

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=crawfishing

Us southern types use the term to describe someone who backs out of a deal or statement. Crawfish (crayfish to you yankees) locomote in the water backwards using their tail for propulsion...

[Locomotive Breath]

So are you saying that he's backing out of his earlier condemnation of the team or something else?

[Dukie07]

Back-peddling. Got it. Thanks.

[snarkytart]

They're just getting to the broom now.

Mostly they've been talking about whether she will testify or not, and if the Defense is trsahing her.

I never understand why nobody EVER says, "Why is the truth trashing?" I mean, if there wasn't something "there," there wouldn't be anything to talk about, would there?
__________

Yes, and what about falsely accusing people of rape, you cannot trash someone more than that.

[Dukie07]

Re: the street map xo... gave us. Could that account for some of the "missing" time between leaving N. Buchanan and arriving at Kroger? Kimmy got as far as, say, the cemetery, then Crystal lost it?? But, why backtrack? Unless, they came up with the "cry-rape plan" together.

[abb]

He's much more contrite than he was at first. Very much in the not rush to judgement mode...

[Howlin]

1. Crawfish

To try and take back what you just said. In reference to the way a crawfish swims/walks -- backwards.

[Locomotive Breath]

If you trace it out it's in the wrong direction from the Kroger. It heads in a general east and south direction past NCCU before arriving near 2111 Charles.

[Locomotive Breath]

I hope he's got enough ketchup to cover the taste of the crow he's gonna' have to eat. Actually, I don't. His gutless performance has been disgraceful.

[Jrabbit]

Some poor broom is gonna be indicted. That must be suspect #3. Hopefully, he has a receipt showing he was purchased from Kroger around 2am the morning of the dastardly deed.

[Locomotive Breath]

First Nifong will have to DNA test all brooms in Durham.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

My 29 year old has a son who is 4 months old. This 29 year son has learned some new words and now speaks in a sentence....

"It's Grandma [me] weekend, she'll change his diapers. She likes it!"

"Mom will watch him"

LOL! They live a couple hours a way so I don't see my little man as much as I would like. So I don't mind. I consider it a compliment when I am the only one they will leave him with, LOL!

It's amazing--it seems like just yesterday I was the Mom he thought knew nothing about the world. Now I am the wise sage.

[Dukie07]

I realize that. But, it's only about 8 minutes from Buchanan to Charles. At first I thought maybe Crystal just wouldn't get out once she got home, so Crystal took her to Kroger to dump her. But, because that made no sense (why not dump her closer to where they were?), I thought, perhaps, there was time for them to devise their plan, get back closer to Buchanan, and look for the first 24-hr. establishment they could find. It's a wee bit far-fetched, I know. Guess I have too much time on my hands today. Sorry :( Just strike my last two posts! (I like puzzles and just bit on xo's bait.)

[za_claws]

DON'T FORGET THE PHOTO LINEUP

[Locomotive Breath]

OT: I was just looking at the Duke map you pointed out to me over the weekend. There's a "Keohane Quad". That's bullpuckey. Terry Sanford's accomplishments in life far outstrip hers. Where's his quad? Yeah, yeah, he has a school of public policy but it's not the same.

[Law is not justice but process]

"If you are not guilty of what's charged, one can make life so difficult for the assigned prosecutor, they will figure out real quick that you "just aren't worth the effort.""

Of course prosecutors have ways of countering this. We need do nothing outside the rules. Sometimes it is as simple as just giving a recalcitrant defendant the trial they ask for. We always reserve a few of our precious trial slots for those who refuse to cooperate and won't take the advantageous deal offered them. I once saw a guy take 25 years on a trial conviction because he would not accept a 2 year term offered him for a guilty plea. The 25 years was a mandatory minimum for the original charge. He was caught with a very large amount of drugs on his person, so there was no ambiguity about the case. He just thought the prosecutor would not try the case. The word got around our jail pretty much at the speed of light, and requests for trial became a little rarer after that.

The public does not like plea deals, but unless the tax payers want to increase the number of judges, prosecutors, and public defenders tenfold, or seriously diminish the constitutional protections offered defendants (and I am sure no one who follows this case wants that!), they are an unavoidable fact of life. Before I became a prosecutor, I really thought people went to prison for possessing drugs or stealing things. I now know prison is rare except for repeat offenders with long histories (not just a few misdemeanors), violent crimes, or large amounts of drugs (10 grams or more of cocaine, a 10 pounds or more of marijuana). I was not the least surprised that the stripper Kim got probation for stealing $25,000. Cheat the IRS of $25,000 on your taxes and you may go to prison: steal $25,000 from your employer and, unless you have significant priors, you are probably looking at probation. Makes you feel safe, doesn't it?