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 ...
I'm not 100%, but I think the photos were taken with a digital camera. At least, that's what the defense originally said, according to Dan Abrams, when the it first came out that the photos existed.
That will kill the prosecution...
"I can't remember whether or not I was raped, but if I was it was the three richest dudes that done it." ROFL
I've said all along that I'd give good odds that Mangum did not consent to a tox screen. There was cause for the medical staff to request it, given her condition when picked up by the cops and her behavior at Duke Access.
The report that the defense does have indicates no tox screen was done, so it's not a matter of Nifong holding back. It's a matter of Mangum holding back at the time.
For reference:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2404866
A source has provided ESPN with a detailed account of the exotic dancer's arrival at the hospital the night of the alleged sexual assault at a party thrown by members of the Duke men's lacrosse team.
The source, who asked to remain anonymous, was present at the hospital on the night of the alleged incident and says the woman was "beat up" but would not immediately divulge to anyone the identity of her alleged assailants.
"She was hysterical," the source said. "She was crying, she was pretty banged up. She said she was sexually assaulted, but she didn't say by whom."
The source says the woman entered the hospital well after midnight March 13 wearing a red nightgown and nothing on her feet. She was walking on her own, but there were bruises on her face, neck, and arms.
A triage nurse attended to her, but the woman did not want him to touch her because he was a man. She was then examined by a sexual assault nurse.
There were injuries to the woman's pelvic area, the source said.
According to the source, the woman did not immediately inform either the police or the hospital staff who inflicted the injuries to her.
"She never said one thing about Duke, any athlete or anything," the source said. "She just kept hollering and screaming. She never said who did it."
The woman was discharged after approximately five hours.
I've said all along that I didn't think she consented, but as for other parts of the medical report being missing from the discovery, I would chalk that up to Nifong being coy and playing fast and loose as usual because there's something he's hiding. He just has not wanted to give stuff up all along.
Yes, on two counts.
The defense should interview the SANE nurse and other medical staff and ask, among other things, if it was suggested to Mangum that she be given a tox screen and what her response was - did she overtly refuse to consent to it?
Can the defense now depose the experts listed by the prosecution?
They tested three non-LAX players. We know one was the boyfriend but it would be interesting to learn who the other two were and if they partially matched the DNA found on the fingernail.
Nifong knew he had no tox report, yet he alluded to one and suggested the boys gave her a date-rape drug. That alone - making those statements to the press - was highly unethical.
If Nifong is holding back documents, especially important ones such as parts of the medical report, perhaps the defense should ask the judge to reconsider the motion to give the defense the at-will access they requested.
.....and point out to the judge that Nifong is in contempt of court if such an order is issued.
"Nifonged" will be become a new verb like "Borked." However, I cannot figure out whether it will be a synonym for "Borked" or the more crass expletive or it will mean something like "to have been repeatedly lied to in ways that are so obvious as to defy credulity." Nifong must have taken lessons from Goebbels or Baghdad Bob. The scary thing is that nothing to date has happened that will prevent us being "Nifonged" again, so those poor kids at Duke will continued to be "Nifonged"-over.
His 15 minutes of fame has lasted way too long.
Would evidence of drug abuse (track marks) be included in a medical report and would that have to be turned over to the defense? TIA
Well, we may be seeing some toying from the defense. Since Nifong intimated to the press that a date-rape drug was used, and now there's no document turned over to support that, and Nifong said he gave the defense everything, one rationally concludes that not everything was turned over. After all, the suggestion that a date-rape drug was used indicates there is a tox report, but no tox report was forthcoming. Thus, one must conclude that not all documents were turned over. But Nifong said he gave them everything. So, which is it, Nifong? Were you lying about the date-rape drug? Or were you lying when you said you turned everything over? The two statements cannot co-exist in truth.
EVerything is supposed to be turned over. One would think, for example, that if a person was violently attacked by three tremendously strong young men and was anally and vaginally raped (without a condom) you would at least have a doctor take a look at you. So, where are any doctor notes or reports, even to say she is fine. Did the SANE nurses just say, sorry that you were violently attacked for thirty minutes, just head on home and grab an aspirin. Just bizarre. Either she did see a doctor and the results are hidden, or she was not seen by a doctor despite the alleged serious attack.
There is no tox report. The medical reports indicate none were done. There's a box to check, and the box for no tox screen was checked.
It didn't happen. Therefor Nifong lied about these yooung men when he suggested to the medica that Mangum was given a date-rape drug by the boys,
Perhaps the absence of a tox report is one of the pieces of information that started some of the talking heads wishing they had kept their mouths shut.
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