Posted on 05/19/2006 7:17:27 AM PDT by Perdogg
DURHAM, N.C.—One of three Duke University lacrosse players charged with rape wants the case resolved in time for the next school year, his lawyer said in court yesterday. But the judge warned he will not fast-track the proceedings.
The case "is not going to jump ahead of the line and be handled any differently," Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Stephens said at a hearing for sophomore Reade Seligmann.
After the brief hearing, District Attorney Mike Nifong said he does not expect any trial to begin before next year.
(Excerpt) Read more at thestar.com ...
Exactly. The DA and his co-conspirators ALSO did NOT go to talk to the TAXI driver, or the Neighbor for an extended period.
The TAXI driver went on at least 4 National shows and night after night said no one from the Police or DA ever called him.
In fact, thru Rita Cosby, Nifong and the investigators made it sound like it was the responsibility of the Cab driver to come to them and make a statement without being requested to do so.
The Neighbor that said the girls went into the house at 11:55 gave his timeline and videotaped interviews to the National News Corpse before anyone related to the Durham Police or DAs office ever spoke with him. He has said he contacted the DA AND said he had information. Are we supposed to believe no one from the Police or DAs office watches National TV?
Nifong has purposefully avoided information contrary to his version of the story. the problem is that he swore an oath
to seek the truth. The TRUTH.
Those giving Nifong the benefit of the doubt have to believe he is incompetent. He is either Incompetent to a scary degree or he is violating the law and the oath he took.
I think Nifong would point the finger at the Investigators and claim ignorance. However, Investigators and DAs work hand and glove and the evidence in this case already shows Nifong was closely involved in this investigation from the beginning.
Just like Nifong claiming in court the phone data had not been collected, viewed, or analyzed - it is beyond ridiculous. He is willing to indict 3 men on crimes that would put them away - in aggregate for over 60 years, but he
doesn't see that the Neighbor - An eyewitness - is interviewed and his statement taken in a timely manner. He doesn't dispatch someone to speak with the taxi-cab driver
when Media people are asking him about the alibi and Cab driver's testimony? He doesn't want to view the Defense's pictures from the Party? Pictures that are being describing at length on TV?
Is this man a substitute Kindergarten assistant or a Distric Attorney?
His actions can not stand up to scrutiny; but there's not too much interest in scrutinizing this DA.
lol. Are you possibly suggesting that your finding Kim Guilfoyle attractive is along the lines of a venus fly trap? Lovely to look at but. ;>
Any photo can be altered. Courts generally accept photographs based on testimony that they represent what they appear to represent. Any evidence can be tampered with -- audiotapes, videotapes, whatever. Photographs will be admitted on the same basis as any other evidence.
They can't "settle" a criminal case, I believe. The settlement would ave to be for a civil proceeding, which generally follows the criminal trial.
He may have the cameras, but if the memory chips with the photos on them had been removed, he would not have the photos.
I think the video/photo evidence we have not yet seen is going to really be something. The statement by DE's atty that every minute of his client's time could be accounted for is pretty bold. I'm anticipating pictures of the partyers pushing money under the bathroom door, the 2 "dancer's" emerging, Kim going down the back stairs just before the pics of FA in her red teddy poised on the stoop, who knows what else?
I have assumed all along that there are many photos we have not seen, perhaps photos from other cameras. There was some mention of the dancers complaining of photos being taken. It seems obvious that photos taken during a strip dance would not be made public, but there may be lots of them.
With film though, you have the negatives to examine.
I have heard references to videos of the party as well.
This post has a link about cell phone forensics:
http://boards.courttv.com/showthread.php?s=6481f0e123e384af37a9208ccbc37009&postid=8054244#post8054244
I have a trial lawyer for a nephew. He says photos are generally admitted as evidence on the basis that someone testifies that they are authentic. I don't think negatives are generally part of the evidence.
Now, if the prosecution wants to argue that the photos have ben tampered with, I think he's in for a bit of trouble. My understanding is the original images have been sent to a certified lab. It would depend a bit on how quickly the image files got to an independent custodian.
Whether the judge understands the technology is irrelevant. What matters is whether experts agree that tampering with the images is not possible in the time frame available. If there is a series of images, that will tell a story, and it will be very difficult to argue that a particular image has had its timestamp altered. I'm not even aware of any software that can alter the metadata without leaving its own signature.
I can just imagine the trail that would be left by a bunch of kids trying to locate a hacker capable of tampering with the images. How do you quickly locate a CIA level hacker without being observed?
I would imagine, after reading this, that anyone attempting to change the timestamp on a cell phone image would be confronted with multiple problems. Not only does the image file have imbedded data, but the phone itself probably has a record.
Anyone trying, on short notice, to tamper with this stuff would be risking getting caught, and getting caught would be like signing a confession.
Understood...Still, it's fascinating. I always regarded The Men in Black (SCOTUS) as mysterious figures when I was growing up.
I'm older, wiser, much more educated but I will admit to having just a wee bit of childhood perception.
Nifong's whole photo position is absurd. The authenticity of digital photos when you have the equipment is verifiable, absent some cia level of ability. If you have multiple camera sources, phones or cameras, the ability level required to quickly force the date and time or alter the photos is astronimical. So, if he wants to argue that the photos time stamp is wrong (that is if his case depends on showing beyond a reasonable doubt that the time stamp is wrong) all he needs to do is set up an indepenent examination, it is not really a judgmetn call. If the photos were tampered with, he has strong evidence of guilt. The fact that he does not do that examination, and is going to depend on a pathetic non-expert is all i need to know about the guy. If he were an honest guy, he would set up a meeting with the defense, select an expert, and have the his expert and the defense expert to a joint analysis.
The photos will come in for sure. The bigger question is whether a pathetic whore of an expert hired by Nigong will be allowed to speculate about whether the photos are authentic.
She was giving the film to Walmart for developement. I thought it seemed strange that such evidence was handled so non-chalantly.
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