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DA plans to turn over more papers in lacrosse case (DukeLax)
The Herald-Sun ^ | June 22, 2006 | John Stevenson

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


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Local News
KEYWORDS: duke; dukelax; durham; lacrosse; nifong
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To: abb

And, BTW, Robert Zelnick is the same Bob Zelnick formerly of ABC News...

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/robert_zelnick/profile.html


1,901 posted on 07/03/2006 6:38:08 AM PDT by abb (Because News Reporting is too Important to be Entrusted to Journalists)
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To: abb

"He does not ruin lives with charges that will die in any courtroom in which they are tried."

Alas, the sad state of American jurisprudence is that judges who ought to intervene to prevent this kind of abuse fear the community reaction more than they care about justice; and so they permit the case to drag on and on, like the Energizer bunny.

And juries can be stacked; they can convict because they want to convict, regardless of any evidence.

And legal minds (such as those at the Duke Law faculty) imagine they can escape becoming involved by remaining aloof, not realizing that they are involved already; and that their silence speaks more loudly about them and their values than anything else.

(Welcome to Scottsboro 2006. Judge Horton, where are you?)


1,902 posted on 07/03/2006 6:46:41 AM PDT by CondorFlight
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To: JLS
JLS wrote:

Here is a link to what is purported to be the entire line up of one time through the photo array, possibly number 6.

http://www.wral.com/slideshow/dukelacrosse/9141851/detail.html?qs=;s=1;w=800

Do you know when the script of the ID was made public? Who released it?

The AV identified 17 of 46 as having been at the party 3 weeks after the event. She was unequivocal about the 17. Ahe even remembered indiviudals who did nothing but were watching TV! This in and of itself is an amazing feat of recall. She has a phenomenal memory or she is lying.

It would be interesting to match her id's with those actually at the party.

Something is very suspicious about this line up. She simply can't be that unequivocal. She has either rehearsed this or been primed to respond a certain way. Records of the other line ups will help clarify this.

It is also noteworthy that while she was explicit about what two individuals did - she was neither asked nor volunteered what the other two suspects #4 and #5 did. Nor did she identify the one who "strangled" her.

1,903 posted on 07/03/2006 6:49:49 AM PDT by bjc (Check the data!!)
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To: abb

If it has been used, it's been by British media. They tend to get to the point on some things...


1,904 posted on 07/03/2006 6:51:00 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy (Carpe Sharpei!)
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To: CondorFlight

A few things that can be done :

The Duke Law Faculty can pen a joint letter requesting the NC attorney general to intervene and take the case away from Nifong. (Despite denials, there are in fact provisions for an AG in NC to do this.)

Likewise, they can request a special prosecutor.

Both these actions would carry some weight.
(For that matter, criminal law professors around the country could do the same thing. Does anyone think that if the accused were AA involved in a similar travesty of justice, that they wouldn't already have done this?)

But all we get is silence.

In years to come, when this case is studied (and learned tomes are written to analyze it), the words of all these law professors--who are going to pen these tomes--are going to ring hollow and be filled with hypocrisy; because when their words would have had some meaning and they could have helped to end this injustice, they couldn't bring themselves to speak.


1,905 posted on 07/03/2006 6:55:25 AM PDT by CondorFlight
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To: Ready4Freddy

Today's crop of letters to the editor in the Durham area papers...

http://www.newsobserver.com/673/story/456986.html
http://www.herald-sun.com/opinion/hsletters/


1,906 posted on 07/03/2006 7:00:43 AM PDT by abb (Because News Reporting is too Important to be Entrusted to Journalists)
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To: abb; TommyDale; maggief; Mike Nifong; xoxoxox; All
If you recall AV's ex-husband is Kenneth Nathaniel McNeil.
He is named in this motion on page 7,Number 16.

http://www.kirkosborn.com/Motions/MotiontoSuppressIDTestimony.pdf

Well, looky here. I had glanced at it earlier, but did not have a chance to go back and check.

Guess who is sitting in the Durham County Jail?
MCNEIL, KENNETH, NATHANIEL
  Date Confined Date Released  Statute Description Bond Type Bond Amount
  6/20/2006 [incarcerated]   NON-SUPPORT OF CHILD CASH   $1,500.00   
  6/20/2006 [incarcerated]   (M) ASSAULT ON A FEMALE UNSECURED   $0.00   
  6/20/2006 [incarcerated]   (M) ASSAULT ON A CHILD UNDER 12 UNSECURED   $5,000.00   
  6/20/2006 [incarcerated]   NON-SUPPORT OF CHILD CASH   $1,000.00   
  6/20/2006 [incarcerated]   DV PROTECTIVE ORDER VIOL UNSECURED   $4,000.00   

1,907 posted on 07/03/2006 7:43:49 AM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights

Reckon the perp asaulted Crystial and her kids?


1,908 posted on 07/03/2006 7:47:15 AM PDT by abb (Because News Reporting is too Important to be Entrusted to Journalists)
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To: abb

I'm thinkin maybe.

She had to go to court to get child support.
Regardless of who the father was, if those kids were born when she was married to him, the law assumes he is the father (I know, another thread topic)

Maybe she was staying with him. We all know how supportive he was when the cameras were in his face.

I can't believe I missed all of the news coverage on this one. \sarcasm


1,909 posted on 07/03/2006 7:51:41 AM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: abb

"DV PROTECTIVE ORDER VIOL"

Mmm, many possibilities. I wonder if the article about the 2 mil offer from Jakee reminded him it was time to pay the ex-little woman a courtesy call.

Just thinking out loud.


1,910 posted on 07/03/2006 7:54:20 AM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights

correction : offer not from Jakkee.

He/she was the source of the story..


1,911 posted on 07/03/2006 7:55:41 AM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights

are you a poster on the court tv threads? they need to see that information over there...


1,912 posted on 07/03/2006 7:57:30 AM PDT by abb (Because News Reporting is too Important to be Entrusted to Journalists)
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To: abb; JLS

I have a screen name over there, God only knows what it is..

JLS, don't you post over there?


1,913 posted on 07/03/2006 8:22:48 AM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights

I do post over there some. They seem to be closed again today. So I guess that information can go their on Wednesday at the earliest?


1,914 posted on 07/03/2006 8:34:46 AM PDT by JLS
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To: JLS

they have a weekend thread going, JLS

http://boards.courttv.com/showthread.php?s=0b7a7c306f78dea51bff1748053d1813&postid=8223943#post8223943


1,915 posted on 07/03/2006 8:41:09 AM PDT by abb (Because News Reporting is too Important to be Entrusted to Journalists)
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To: bjc; TommyDale; All

Re: the research on eyewitness identification: A big name in this area is Gary Wells. He used to be at Iowa State but I heard he may be leaving there. No question, the defense will try to get him as an expert witness.

There is a lot of information out there about bias in lineups and photo id's. The longer the length of time between incident and photo id, the greater the number of errors. Priming by showing the photos beforehand to see who she recognized as having been at the party, as the Durham police apparently did,increases the number of false id's. Repetition, e.g., six id sessions, as the Durham Police apparently did, increases the errors.

The big names in the area of forensic psychology and memory are: Wells, Ceci, Loftus, Bruck and Roediger to name just a few. The area has been well researched and I'm sure the defense attorneys have already lined them up as expert witnesses. The Durham PD and Nifong have done *everything* wrong in their photo id presentations. The defense attorneys will have a ball pointing out all their mistakes.

BTW, people who have been sexual abused as children are very susceptible to false memories. I suspect the defense attorneys have good reason to trying to obtain the AV's medical records.


1,916 posted on 07/03/2006 8:42:37 AM PDT by ladyjane
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To: ladyjane
"The longer the length of time between incident and photo id, the greater the number of errors."

The IQ and/or sobriety of the accuser is inversely proportional to the number of errors as well! :D

1,917 posted on 07/03/2006 9:27:31 AM PDT by TommyDale (Stop the Nifongery!)
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights
"Guess who is sitting in the Durham County Jail?

MCNEIL, KENNETH, NATHANIEL

One must wonder if the DA is applying pressure on McNeil to give testimony in support of the accuser. Another cab driver/Kim Roberts Pittman pressure play?

1,918 posted on 07/03/2006 9:38:53 AM PDT by TommyDale (Stop the Nifongery!)
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To: TommyDale; All

Does anyone know off the cuff what Nifong's middle name is?


1,919 posted on 07/03/2006 9:49:02 AM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights
"Does anyone know off the cuff what Nifong's middle name is?"

Mud.

1,920 posted on 07/03/2006 9:49:56 AM PDT by TommyDale (Stop the Nifongery!)
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