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
Based on what I witnessed today, the judge is going to give Nifong lots of rope. We can only hope he hangs himself.
Crystal could have had one done for NiFong that we don't know about. The criteria is whether or not it could be used as evidence. That would require a sign off by Crystal.
William Fitzpatrick (no relation) is a no nonsense DA in Onondaga County. He did some high profile cases, and some say he is arrogant, but he seemed to be an honest guy.
When would this have occurred? It wouldn't be any good unless it happened that night.
Great line! :-)
If Nifong knows the results of a tox test, but doesn't actually have it, he can't turn it over to the defense. Cops do it all the time.
There has been much speculation that she was in the bathroom trying to arrange for a ride. So it would be a phone call to "daddy". I do hope there is/was GPS attached to the unit. The accuracy is amazing. The coordinates with possible error would make a circle around the house.
I'm sure he knows more than he is sharing.
I believes the office carries an oath. He also is bound by the Rules of the Bar and at some point, someone will file a complaint to the bar.
When I read the post about what "Cousin what's-it" said, I had to wonder if that was a shout out to whomever might be listening that that's what it will take to end this. Does anyone honestly thing the Duke alums would have made that offer? I mean, I suppose they could have, but I really don't see it. LB, what say ye?
Nifong said there is NO TOX test.
If he is lying, he is frying.
He said plainly there is NO TOX test (to the Judge), later he is trying to keep the Press speculating on it, IMO.
NO TOX test at all per Susana Meadows, Megyn Kenall, and Greta.
Just like the News Corpse can not grasp the No Speedy Trial option, they can NOT grasp that the AV can decline the test and there is no recourse. She exercises her rights and that is all she wrote.
If there was a blood sample taken that night and I'm sure there was, it was probably good for a while if kept under proper conditions. That could be the hold that NiFong has on Crystal. Gee, why would I even think that Crystal aka student, mother and business woman would be on drugs?
Ah....No tox screen which Crystal consented to be used for evidence. There could be a private one. Dodn't someone say she went back to the hospital the next day or something like that??
Date Rape drugs (the 2 most common) can NOT be detected in Blood. They are detected in Urine. The Defense attorney said about 3 weeks ago that they did NOT collect Urine from the AV. Blood was collected for a Pregnancy test.
Blood is no help.
Sorry for all the spelling errors. I moved my chair 1 inch so my fingers are an inch off when I type. (Figure that out).
Thanks for the correction.
Larry Kobilinsky on Abrams broke it down. He said the Date Rape drugs were made to difficult to detect. Basically, there's a increase in a protein or waste in the urine that TIPS them off to Date Rape Drugs. The drugs get out of the system quickly and the Urine shows the reaction of the body in breaking down the Date Rape drugs.
Larry Kobilinsky teaches this stuff at John Jay College in New York. I believe him. These people on TV have no idea.
Kobilinsky - it's his field.
On Greta, Hammer lies again about the defense not showing anyone the entire file.
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