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
Another item the defense has requested is the results of any toxicology tests performed on the accuser in the hours after the party. One of the first police officers to encounter the woman described her as "just passed-out drunk," and the defense has suggested she arrived at the party impaired.
Nifong told the court he didn't have a toxicology report to turn over, although he later refused to say if such a test was performed. Defense attorneys said later they don't believe one was.
"If there was a toxicology report, they'd have it by this time," Cheshire said.
I agree, of course, but it is even worse.
These same judges, and it appears as if Nifong will have HIS pick for the trial, will rule on change of venue.
There are some that keep holding out for a change of venue, these Durham Judges are NOT going to rule their court is NOT fair, or that their constituents (jurors) will not be objective or fair. It is not going to happen.
They are all elected and it is the most incestuous system around.
Thank abb ! 5 people now.
She's a piece of work. It's is absolutely crazy that a bunch of grown men sat around in that courtroom and carried on with this charade like this needs to continue.
How much have the taxpayers already paid?
Sickening
$2 mil for a fake rape? ... oh, yeah, tell it to us bro, I mean sista Jakki.
I think if your name is Ronald and you have a twin, there's at least a 90% chance of your brother's being named Donald.
Right and you also have to worry about their other rulings on what comes in and what doesn't.
I would hold up on that claim for now.
An investigator who works in Nifong's office asked Cheshire during a news conference to cite the specific document that contains that reference. Cheshire said he had not seen it personally.
FILAN: Yale, I felt exactly as Norm did. I said the same thing. I want to see this for myself in its entirety. I don't want bits and pieces taken out. I don't want them lifted out by the defense and I don't want to read about them as argument in motions. My heart and soul is invested in this criminal justice system. I love this criminal justice system. I love this country. I'm the last person in the world that was going to read this statement looking for inconsistencies. And I've got to tell you my heart broke when I saw things like this. Take a look at this, Yale.
We've got the accuser's statement to the police saying Brett, Adam and Matt took me into the bathroom while the other guys were watching television and they closed the door slightly. OK. Now, to the nurse is what the accuser says.
She says the door was locked and they said I could not leave. I said I wanted to leave, but they said I couldn't. Nikki was on the other side of the door. Well, if the door was only slightly open, she could have left. If the door is only slightly open Nikki could have come back in. If the door was locked it's something entirely different. To me, that's not memory lapse. That's not I don't feel comfortable talking to you. I feel more comfortable talking to you. That's almost like two different stories from two different people-Yale.
YALE GALANTER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it is two different stories. And Susan, it took me three months to convince you that these boys were probably innocent. The D.A. had nothing. And now that you're finally seen her statement and some of the medical records you agree with what I've been saying all along.
Me,too. I would love to be a part of the watercooler crowd in the courthouse.
In my county there is a private website which supposedly exposes the corruption in our county gov't. All sorts of people post regarding all sorts of topics.
I read it for entertainment purposes and yes, to find out what gov't official is alledgedly snorting coke, sleeping with the prosecutor, etc.
I have learned one thing, behind these rumors is a grain of truth and if you read carefully, learn to pick through the garbage, you have a good idea what is going on.
I wish Durham County had something like that.
WHen I was called for jury duty I wore nice pants, top and black jacket and dress heels. I was shocked at the people who came in jeans, t-shirts, halters, etc.
Maybe they were trying to get out of jury duty.
SI article now online...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/magazine/06/22/duke0626/
Yes, the obligatory "we don't know what happened in that bathroom" does not cancel out "those boys better come forward and stop covering for the assailants!"
I was rejected, LOL!
Having worked in retail most of my life where you have to address customers face-to-face to survive, my pity for them is nonexistent.
Welcome to the club, fellas!
JLS, there is one other possibility of what this meeting could have been about. It might have been to lock the FA into sticking with the case by reviewing with her the various charges that could be brought against her over this and other encounters with law enforcement. Wouldn't be surprised if a laundry list of possible charges were presented to her. Just MHO.
The alleged reaction of the black "community" along with the appearance of that ridiculous black group (with their guns and frowns) and the desire of at least a few of them to see any white, guilty or not, to be sent to prison, in the long run will hurt blacks. Very stupid moves.
Thank you for the SI link. How is it that this case continues to leave me speechless?
And then there's the broom...
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