Posted on 05/15/2006 7:14:12 AM PDT by pissant
DURHAM - A Durham grand jury is scheduled to meet today, and the session could mean new charges in the investigation of a reported rape at a Duke lacrosse team party.
Two of the team's players were indicted in April on charges of first degree rape, first degree sex offense and first degree kidnapping. They are accused of assaulting an escort service dancer in a bathroom of a house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. Their lawyers say the men are innocent, and lawyers representing dozens of team members say that no sex or assault occurred at the March 13 party.
But the woman says she was attacked by three men, and Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong said he has been working on bringing charges against a third person.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TODAY? If Nifong decides to submit the case, police investigators and possibly other witnesses will try to convince grand jurors in a secret session that the state has probable cause to bring a case forward. Grand jurors will hear only the prosecution's side of the case. The standard required for a true bill of indictment is far lower than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard required for a conviction.
IF INDICTMENTS ARE ISSUED, WHEN WILL THEY BECOME PUBLIC? On April 17, a judge ordered the indictments in the lacrosse case sealed. The names of the players who were indicted were not released until 5 a.m. the next day when the players surrendered at the Durham County jail. If Nifong again requests that the indictments be sealed, the law allows a judge to keep them secret until the person is arrested or appears in court.
WHEN WILL ALL THE EVIDENCE BE REVEALED? State law requires prosecutors to turn over all of their case files to defense lawyers, but nothing requires the evidence to be turned over to the public. In open court hearings, lawyers often discuss some of the evidence, but the state's case may not be revealed until trial. No trial dates have been set. When a report on the DNA testing is complete, Nifong is required by law to turn it over to all 46 members of the lacrosse team who submitted DNA samples.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? The cases against Reade William Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., and Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y., are moving forward. Finnerty has a court date in June. Seligmann is scheduled to appear in court Thursday. His attorney, Kirk Osborn, has filed a series of motions challenging Nifong's handling of the case and asking a judge to bar the prosecutor from further involvement.
If she had to perform oral sex on RS, why didn't she just bite him?
By Aaron Beard
Associated Press
A grand jury indicted a third member of Duke University’s lacrosse team Monday on charges stemming from a woman’s allegations she was raped and beaten at a team party earlier this year. David Evans, a senior and team captain from Bethesda, Md., was indicted on charges of first-degree forcible rape, sexual offense and kidnapping. Two other players were indicted on similar charges last month.
Yeah, I thought about the graduation issue too.
I'm reminded of what Joe Kennedy told some press guys down in Florida when they were going to print stories about JFK being previously married.
The words "scorched earth" were used and it go the job done.
Bring it on, Nifong.
Joe Cheshire is his attorney.
That's what I want to know. I certainly would have.
Remember the Peterson case. His calls "far away from the house" were a big help in the case.
Good enough! I like him.
No wonder he was so angry Friday.
And no wonder Nifong didn't have time to speak to him today.
This is so unbelievable!
I think one of the players may actually have a libel case against one of the other posters who continually wrote that another player, who she continually named, was going to be named.
"Three men, none of them Duke lacrosse players and all of whose identities are known by ABC News, were listed in the report as providing DNA swabs to be tested against the samples found on the alleged victim.
One of the three men has told ABC News that he spoke to the alleged victim the night of the March 13 party. Another man is the alleged victim's boyfriend, and defense attorneys identified him in a news conference as the "single source" of DNA found to date in vaginal swabs of the accuser.
It is unclear why the three nonlacrosse players were included in the sampling."
There is something I don't understand about the results and Nifong's conclusions about the latest lab test. Apparently, they tested a plastic, stick on fingernail that one of the players retrieved from a wastebasket in the bathroom. If that nail alledgedly came off during a struggle with her attacker, then why wasn't the same DNA found under the nails that did not come off ? If I'm not mistaken, I think one of the players who lived in the house, tossed the disgarded nail in the trash and later dug it out and took it to the police. How can anyone be sure of when or how DNA came to be on that nail ?
They wanted to find out where the DNA in and on the FA came from. They apparently did.
I bet Nifong was very disappointed the grand jury schedule didn't allow the opportunity to prevent Evans' graduation.
I know! dang....
I agree.
They have given him every opportunity to take a second look at his case; Cheshire even tried to see him this morning.
Now they will destroy him, and probably Durham in the process.
These people have friends in high places; they aren't with any administration; these are "Inside the Beltway" people; they know people who actually run this country.
Hell, I bet they go out to dinner with Ben and Sally Bradlee.
IIRC, the last time it was 80 something in 2 hours....
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