Posted on 06/22/2006 2:23:47 AM PDT by abb
DURHAM -- District Attorney Mike Nifong plans to give defense lawyers at least 300 additional pages of information about the Duke University lacrosse rape case, adding to 1,298 pages of documentation surrendered previously.
Without describing their contents, Nifong said the new documents would be handed over during a preliminary hearing today for three recently indicted lacrosse players: Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans.
The three are accused of raping, sodomizing and restraining an exotic dancer in a bathroom during an off-campus party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. in mid-March.
All are free under $400,000 bonds as they await a trial that, according to Nifong, might begin next spring.
None is expected to attend today's hearing.
In addition to a transfer of documents, the hearing will include a request from Seligmann's lawyers that his bond be lowered to roughly one-tenth its current level. The lawyers filed an affidavit in support of that request Wednesday.
Signed by Philip Seligmann, the defendant's father, the affidavit said that Seligmann had been recruited by every Ivy League university to play football or lacrosse, and that he accepted a 90-percent scholarship to be on the Duke lacrosse team.
"This case has taken an unbelievable and horrendous emotional toll on all my family, especially my wife," the elder Seligmann wrote. "We are committed as a family, along with Reade, to do everything necessary to restore our good name."
According to the affidavit, Seligmann's bail money was provided by a family friend whose "loss of income is substantial" as a result.
In a related matter, the News and Observer Publishing Co. moved Wednesday to make public certain documents -- reportedly pertaining to the alleged rape victim's medical records -- that were filed by defense lawyers under seal.
"In this case, the fact that there are charges of sexual assault is unfortunate and controversial -- either because a woman has been sexually violated or because the defendants have been wrongfully accused -- but neither is a justification for sealing a court proceeding," a lawyer for the newspaper wrote.
The lawyer, Hugh Stevens, also said the sealed documents raised questions about Nifong's handling of the case. He said that when the conduct of public officials is at issue, it is an added reason for making the pertinent files public.
Meanwhile, several defense lawyers predicted Wednesday that Nifong's latest 300-plus pages of documentation would do little to help him, since earlier paperwork -- in their view -- was more beneficial to the defense than the prosecution.
For example, attorneys Joe Cheshire and Brad Bannon have said the earlier documents showed a "very significant and disturbing deficiency" in Nifong's evidence.
Specifically, there were indications that Nifong began making public statements about the accuser's medical records even before they were in his possession, according to the two lawyers, who represent Evans.
Cheshire and Bannon said the District Attorney's Office subpoenaed the accuser's medical files from Duke Hospital on March 20 -- six days after the alleged rape.
However, the files were not printed out in compliance with the subpoena until March 30, and Police Investigator Benjamin Himan didn't pick them up until April 5, Cheshire and Bannon wrote in court paperwork last week.
But the lawyers said Nifong told a local television station on March 27 that he had no doubt the exotic dancer was raped, based on a "personal review" of her medical records. They quoted the district attorney as saying, "My reading of the report of the emergency room nurse would indicate that some type of sexual assault did in fact take place."
Citing the 1,298 pages of documentation given them by Nifong earlier, various defense lawyers also have contended there were numerous inconsistencies in the accuser's version of events, along with unacceptable omissions in a sworn affidavit prepared by police. The affidavit was used by Himan to obtain judicial permission for his evidence-gathering efforts.
Among other things, Himan failed to mention that a co-dancer had described the rape allegation as "a crock," even though she was with the accuser for all but about five minutes on the night in question, according to defense lawyers.
Nifong has bristled at that and other defense characterizations of his evidence, while attacking the national press corps for -- in his opinion -- blindly reporting the characterizations without checking their accuracy.
"Is anyone surprised that the defense attorneys are spinning this case in such a way that things do not look good for the prosecution?" Nifong wrote in an e-mail to Newsweek magazine last week.
"Their job, after all, is to create reasonable doubt, a task made all the easier by an uncritical national press corps desperate for any reportable detail, regardless of its veracity," the district attorney said.
The e-mail traffic was made public by Nifong on Monday.
URL for this article: http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-746370.html
Cool!
Now comes the test. If David Evans requests a bond reduction and is denied, my theory about Cheshire being 'punished' for being the spokesman will no longer be a theory.
http://www.co.durham.nc.us/departments/publ/News_Releases/News_Release.cfm?ID=532
The answer might be embedded in there. I'll be damned if I can find it on the website.
We may need to enlist the help of SuperResearcher, AKA maggief. Can you help us?
They can list themselves as independents all they want, folks still know who is who.
The people of Durham probably don't want Nifong anymore, and the people know who's a democrat. They'll probably still vote for the democrat that is not Nifong. :-)
Assuming they actually run against Nifong, that is.
I think I found it, sifting through now.
OT: Does the ACLU know about this:
Sec. 8. Disqualifications for office.
The following persons shall be disqualified for office:
First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.
--
NC State Constitution
I won't tell, LOL!
You give Durham voters too much credit.
They vote democrat, don't they?
That's why repubs haven't bothered before, isn't it?
Believe it or not, there are enough non-Democrat and Anti-Nifong voters to unseat him. There should be one candidate opposing Nifong on the ballot, no write-in, so all Anti-Nifong voters can unite against Nifong. Personally, I would rather see a non-partisan on the ballot, so Democrats would not see the word "Republican" in front of them. Then you would have a much better chance of unseating Nifong.
Nifong groupies...
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
Yeah, Nifong's like a Rock Star to the Libs, maybe he should use the White Snake moniker!
The Susan Filan and Kimberly Guilfoyle Opus;
She was going to be an actress, she was going to be a Star -
She was going to shake her as* on the Hood of White Snake's car.
Pinging the DukeLax List. Finnerty's bond reduced from $400K to $100K
http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/455800.html
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=local&id=4318485
Yes, good example.
There's no way 3 men could rape a woman three ways - kick, beat, and strangle and leave NO DNA. It's impossible the way the AV describes the crime.
Nifong knows there was no sexual assault, I'm convinced of that.
Bumper sticker idea for Durham:
If the DNA ain't right, he'll still indict.
I'm happy to hear that. It seemed excessive in the extreme. I guess now the Seligmann's can return $300,000 to their benefactor and the Finnerty's can spend it on the defense. With David's job in hand, I think he'll be okay. Reade and Colin will have to go through what my son went through, and that's tough. That's why I have been so concerned about keeping their spirits up and staying busy. Colin's got the double whammy, and it will be so important to keep him happily employed. On-line courses could be of benefit.
I like it
I'm seeing rumors that Finnerty's parents will be on the Today show Friday, June 30. I'm looking for a link to post...
I can only hope they will be able to provide a window into the home life of the family that will continue to shed the light on this travesty. It's hard to expose yourself and give up your privacy. I know they're going to throw everything but the kitchen sink (and that's a possibility if necessary) to save their child. That's what is so evil about this miscarriage of justice.
Parents watch their beloved child crucified and have to pay for the privilege, realizing their tax dollars went to support the fools who cannot add two and two and come up with four. How sad.
That has GOT to get printed! Need to get his name in there some way, though...
heehee..anybody brave enough to try to get that bumper sticker onto Nifong's car????
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