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.
An interesting question is has anyone ever heard of a SANE exam where the examiner conclude there was not trama nor any evidence of sexual assault?
Really. Is that in all states?
Is there a way that the SANE nurse could do an examination without hearing the story behind it so he/she could be even more objective? LE could take the statement prior to the exam.
You may remeber Nifong's demonstration of how the attack occurred, and how the AV scratched at the guy's arms.
Then there was no DNA match.
To counter that, a talking head said they had put on long sleeves.....
This may sound snobby but neither one of my 2 sons would touch yet alone have a sexual encounter with someone like the victim.
They were both college jocks and yes, they may have been involved with hiring someone like her but that would have been the extent of it.
These guys are far from stupid and despite being "two sheets to the wind" I bet their Moms taught them better.
This is a bit of conjecture.
I wonder if Evans was indicted in part because he told the police there could not have been a rape because she was never out of his site the whole time she was in his house?
That is the danger of talking to the police without an attorney.
First time I've heard about semen on the rug or floor.
Cheshire and Roberts: "Claims of Racism in Duke Case" video
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml
"Ma'am ...Ma'am .....Ma'am ...'Scuse me ... Ma'am ...."
site should have been sight.
What? You haven't heard about the "rape jacket"?
The previous reply has the basics; the kick-it-up-a-notch insanity bonus was the one commentator (Wendy something) who postulated that they were putting on their jackets to go and THEN as an afterthought engaged in the gang rape, thus no scratches on arms and the brief timeline. BAM!
Who is that?
Personally, I don't like Lee. He is "fanciful" in his words and demonstrations....like a con artist.
It just gets better. Where did you find this info?
Seems to be a 5 day course: http://www.forensicnursemag.com/calendar.html
Abrams replay on now.
Georgia Goslee (sp), who's usually seen talking over Abrams.
Was the wastebasket in the search warrant??
She was on Catherine Cryer's show earlier, dunno if there's a repeat today. Georgia something, wish I could remember. Her attitude is indistinguishable from the racist UNCC ghetto trash at Nifong's earlier press conference.
And in a completely incomprehensible accent.
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