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.
Oakoak, who is out of town, said there was bad blood between the 2..
I do believe "bad" is putting it mildly....
Kerry supported Nifong in the election, if you can believe that.
It would poetic justice if her client, who he evidently assured her wasn't going to be indicted, was.
Not that I think anybody should be.
(e) All of the above.
Dang! I'd be in heaven if I could check yes to all those. I'm freeping from the office, customers keep coming in placing orders and bothering me ;-), my secretary (daughter) wants me to take her to lunch, and a possible GJ indictment on an innocent young man is moments away.
I have only seen this reported once, but Kim Roberts made a reference to a bunch of "limp dick white boys."
That must have slipped her mind when she called 911.
I love it. I hope they come out raging.
"full tilt" as they say in the poker world, will beat you in the long run....
I am getting ready to paint, sanding the trim.
Who does Kerry Sutton represent? Is it Seligman or Finnerty?
[Laughing sadly.] You have a point. But I'd have to pick (b) Patrick Fitzgerald, myself.
Because Fitzgerald's actions are hurting an entire nation -- a nation at war.
As per a defense lawyer with whom she has contact.
Matt Zash. The player who was in the bedroom watching Letterman. Also, Megan Kendall is reporting that a defense attorney has told her that there was a 3rd indictment.
Megan reports 1 indictment....,
Why the hell is Kerry interested in a Durham NC DA race? He's a smuck.
I wonder if Evans, family and attorney are waiting for the indictment at the jail? That would take some of the hot air out of Nifong.
THIRD INDICTMENT!
What a despicable farce.
Hitting my head...THAT Kerry, The Kerry Sutton I asked about....
DUH!!!
I stayed up too late last night.
The defense can move for a dismissal on the grounds that there is not sufficient evidence upon which a rational trier of fact could conclude that the offense charged has been committed by the defendant. Such a motion is typically made after the prosecution has presented its evidence to the jury. If the judge agrees with the defense motion, then the court determines as a matter of law that the charges must be dismissed and will not allow the jury to deliberate the case.
However, there IS evidence of wrongdoing in this case. The prosecutor has the sworn statement of the witness that she was raped, he has the medical evidence providing some degree of support for that allegation and he has the photo lineup identification by the alleged victim of three defendants, two at 100% and one at 90% (plus the marginal evidence of the DNA on the plastic fingernail).
While the photo lineup will obviously be challenged as unconstitutional and the issue ultimately will probably be decided on appeal, in my opinion the photo lineup will not be found unconstitutional and the evidence will be allowed. The defense will of course be permitted to make its argument to the jury that the photo lineup identification was unreliable.
The only circumstance in which I could see a motion to dismiss on the evidence successfully made prior to trial in this case would be if the defense proffered compelling evidence that a particular defendant was in another city on the night in question and the state acknowledged that it would not be presenting evidence challenging that.
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