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.

[Locomotive Breath]

Tee, hee, hee. All white brooms look alike to me.

[Dukie07]

There, there, LB. One day, Keohane Quad will be renamed too.

[Locomotive Breath]

Well, it does seem to have ruined her employment prospects. Who would hire her with that on her record. That's some justice.

[za_claws]

HEADLINE:

DA SWEEPS UP NEW SUPECTS

[ozaukeemom]

I hope your children never see this.

[El Gran Salseron]

When a crawfish wants to get away fast it swims backward and is very fast in doing so. :-)

[investigateworld]

(Word on the street is; Pinocchio has lawyered up)

[stands2reason]

GO see Cheney. You'll be glad you did.

[Locomotive Breath]

As long is there is never a Brodhead quad.

I'm remembering the scene from the move "The Green Berets" where a dying Sargent wants something named after him: "Provo's Privy" because he wanted everyone thinking about him several times a day. Maybe there should be a "Brodhead's Bathroom" at the lax field.

[El Gran Salseron]

"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."

I think it was Will Rogers who said something similar to the following:

When I was 16 I just couldn't believe how stupid my dad was. By the time I reached 21 I was amazed at how much he had learned in such a short time. :-)

[Locomotive Breath]

Oh that's too funny. As long as he tells the truth there's no rape.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

I heard the father characterized as possibly being early-Alzhiemers. I wonder if that is a well placed "leak" to discredit what he has been saying?

[Law is not justice but process]

"Who would hire her with that on her record."

The easy answer is an adult entertainment business. I have prosecuted so many strippers that I cannot attend a bachelor party anymore. The real answer is "someone who does not know." I cannot eat at fast food restaurants in our jurisdiction any more because 30-40% of the cooks have been prosecuted by my office ("you want special sauce with that?"), and have been surprised to see defendants working at places like Olive Garden and even banks (they check the tellers, but the contractor for night janitorial services might not check). Many places rely on self-reporting of criminal records and many employers fail to run criminal background checks. You would be surprised. Just check the sexual offender registry that most states have on the Internet. You might be surprised how many live in the best neighborhoods.

[investigateworld]

It is my fervent hope and prayer some DPD investigator has Nifong on tape saying something to the effect of, "to h3ll with justice I want a hide to nail to the door".

Even a sans scrotum like A. Gonzales would bring a Federal Rights violation.

[Dukie07]

Thanks. I am.

[maggief]

LOL, but is that similar to the all Duke LAX lineup? ;)

[Dukie07]

What was that engineering frat you mentioned?? Was it pi tau sigma? That's the current Greek society for engineers.

[JLS]

Sorry I can not see the second stripper being so clever as to be coy enough to not fully back CM up from the start. Plus if she were clever enough to coy at first about a rape happenning, she would not say things like I change my mind because of what the defense lawyers did/said.

Had the two cooked up this story, CM would have said she was raped. THe second stripper would have immediately said she was out of her site in the bathroom and outcried immediately upon getting out of there.

I think the avoiding a substance abuse charge and her probation being revoked is the likely reason. Her kids and the state taking them was not likely a reason because she was not worrying about them but herself at the time.

[JLS]

Yeah I live in a high growth area and the state prison bus from the local prison makes its rounds to eateries and other establishments picking up and dropping off. Some of the stops are more high end than you might think.

So lots of businesses here hire people with criminal records. And some that might surprise many.

[Publius22]

I think the avoiding a substance abuse charge and her probation being revoked is the likely reason. Her kids and the state taking them was not likely a reason because she was not worrying about them but herself at the time.

That's how I see it. People give her too much credit when they suggest she was concerned about loosing her children.

Now she's letting her near senile father make a fool of himself on television, every night.