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.
I haven't heard Kim Roberts call the broomstick "limp"...
I think it's still sitting there on the porch! lol
I'm disappointed...no dog, yet, in this case. Every good case needs a dog....I guess we can use Scuse Me? or one of the skanks. They'll do just fine...:-)
That really is sinking low. I'd rather listen to 3 people b**** about a broomstick than listen to those sports blowhards... ;)
And I was reminded of that OJ thing when he testified in the Michael Peterson trial and spewed ketchup all over to show splatter.
Majorly el-grosso and quite ridiculous.
Susannah the Newsweek reporter seemed to know much about Evans' polygraph. She said not only did he score very high regarding not being involved in an assault, he also scored very high in having no knowledge of an assault.
No they do not. Clueless, brainless wonders.
I don't normally watch court tv. I wasn't impressed with panel or the host. That black female attorney has to be the most biased person I have seen on tv so far.
Remember one of the earlier threads--somone posted that he was sure the Duke guys were doing research on magic condoms to use that couldn't be detected???
Around the Horn is hardly may favorite and a reflection on CourtTV.
Yeah, what little I listened to her she was pathetic.
No mention of condoms, brooms, or sex aids in the search warrant.
If Nifong thought condoms had been used, he'd have had condoms on the warrant. They would have seized any unused condoms, and any used condoms.
If the accuser had said, for instance, they used blue condoms, then any packs of blue condoms found would have been seized as evidence in support of the AV's story.
Any used blue condoms in the trash would have been seized as well. They would even have cracked open the sewer lines to see if any blue condoms had been flushed recently.
Same for sex toys, or broomsticks, or anything resembling same such as a LAX stick. It would have been on the warrant to be seized if the AV had mentioned it.
these people have spent zero time looking into the facts. If they did the magic broomstick theory would not be out there.
Maybe they should ask Woody Paige about this.
Howlin, thanks for the ping. Protect the Bill of Rights, thanks for the link to the full interview.
The race-baiter who interjected herself gave her name as Cory Peterson. I recognized her voice and tone as being the same woman who, at the conclusion of the NCCU forum for the candidates for D.A. held about a month ago at which Nifong made a plethora of statements about this case, wagged her finger in the face of DPD officer and demanded that "....those boys be in jail by five o'clock today or I am calling the FBI to demand a civil rights investigationtomorrow." She's a fortyish, somewhat heavy set, well-dressed black woman and I remember her well. Some of you may also remember her from that political debate forum at NCCU.
that and magic date rape drugs.
LOL! :>
On PTI they played the end of Evan's statement and then commented. Wilbon is at unease in leaks from either side. Kornheiser did not say anything memorable.
I think one guy ask her if there was anything that would change her mind about these boys and she said no. That tells you all you need to know about her.
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