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.
http://www.newsobserver.com/content/news/crime_safety/duke_lacrosse/20060515dukelaxindictment.pdf
As usual, nothing in the bill. No outline of the case, nothing.
This is pure BS
This was written by the accuser's cousin on another forum:
"But, if you want to know about the boyfriend. He's a cool guy..was a hood rat, but now is reformed. YES... the accuser likes GOOD, black "bad boys." In da hood, everybody knows him!"
Something tells me that a lot of us can put ourselves in the position of these families.
I'm home and I just watched on TIVO. I'm the kind of analytical cold-hearted person that often gets accused of having no feelings. I'm not easily upset. After watching Evans speech I don't know whether to throw up or cry.
plus Video: Dave Evans' Statement On Indictment
Nifong writes like a prep school girl.
I'm sure you meant NCCU rather than UNCC which is a unit of the UNC system in Charlotte.
He gave a disclaimer because he knows D. Evans parents and has seen what this has done to them. I can't quote him, but basically said NiFong is pathetic.
My brother-in-law was commuting from Great Falls to Annapolis.
Now he only goes to Tyson's Corner and it's still brutal.
"I predict Lee talks a lot, but says not much."
Ditto!
Not me, I have less positive feelings for Duke after they threw their team and these players under the bus. I have very positive feelings for these players.
I know exactly what you mean!
We should make up some I (Heart) Duke LAX buttons and wear them....or just their numbers, like they did yesterday at graduation!
I won't leave my 3 mile radius except between the hours of 10am and 2pm weekdays. Weekends I may venture farther afield but I refuse to go anywhere near Tysons. The thing is to have a house on the eastern shore for these Chevy Chase types. I haven't figured out why since it is impossible to get to Thurs-Sat in season.
"After watching Evans speech I don't know whether to throw up or cry."
I know what you mean. My eyes filled up with tears.
I think Dave Evans' appearance was so powerful that it woke some of them up. The MSNBC legal analyst (I think her name is Susan Filan) looked almost to be in tears.
He has defended Nifong by continually saying that surely the DA would not go ahead with this UNLESS...he has some evidence up his sleeve that is powerful, that we don't know about.
After the presser, he seemed flabbergasted that Nifong had refused to meet with Dave Evans and had refused repeated attempts by Evans and his attorney to offer him exculpatory evidence to prove that Dave could not possibly have done anything and that the rape could not have even happened.
I think he became a bit suspicious of Nifong at that point, and he also seemed extremely impressed with Dave Evans and his attorney.
Yeah - I too noticed that she looked pretty shook up.
"Something tells me that a lot of us can put ourselves in the position of these families."
I had girls in college, and I could still put myself in the position of these families!
How many "Nifongs," are out there? Frightening!!
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