C.Destine (Nifong's Assistant DA's myspace webpage!)

MySpace.com ^ | July 20, 2006 | C. Destine

[abb]

"Come get some!"

And here's his pic on Nifong's webpage. http://www.mikenifong.com/districtcourt.php

[Locomotive Breath]

Just watched this episode of "City Confidential". If they want to do Duke lax, they have all the stock footage they need of Duke and Durham to establish background and atmosphere. They even have a picture of a woman jogging down the East Campus path that runs in front of 610 Buchanan (not of the house itself). The show's been off the air for a while but they could do a new one with just a little editing of the video that's publicly available. Paging Paul Winfield.

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In 1988, police and paramedics responding to a 911 call found Russell Stager, popular high school teacher and baseball coach, dead at home from a reported accidental gunshot wound to the head. But many in Durham, North Carolina suspected his philandering and big-spending wife Barbara, who made the call, of killing Russell to cash in his life insurance policy. After all, her first husband died under similar circumstances as we learn on a journey down Tobacco Road with narrator Paul Winfield.

http://www.aetv.com/city_confidential/city_episode_guide.jsp?episode=135411

[Mad-Margaret]

While surfing, I found this. It's a primer on NC procedures in criminal cases. It answers questions you may have about this first, second, and third setting stuff.

http://mbr-law.com/felonystate.htm

[Locomotive Breath]

Thanks - I booked marked for later when I have time to read it.

[gopheraj]

mark

[maggief]

Yes, I believe it was sent to defense attorneys, also by a poster on the abc11 board.

[maggief]

Too bad they can't gag Jakki, Cash Michaels, Nancy Grace, Georgia, et al. I'd be all for that!

[maggief]

An Osborn blog.

This could be fun! (Not that I would ever dream of posting on one.) ;)

[Sacajaweau]

btt

[Dukie07]

I got the pings, thanks. Just too busy to get online to check things out this week. I would think the latest "gag" order might affect the blog on Osborn's site?

[JLS]

Or possibly I waste far far too much time on such boards and have given such inane issues like CourtTV moderating more thought than you have. [On the good side, I have not been on sports boards as much this summer and have been actually getting some reading, novels and history, done.]

[JLS]

A 17-page motion? I hope it's eventually posted.

I am sure it will eventually be posted. I hope it is posted soon.

Clearly the defense is doing two things here:

1. Forcing Titus to get up to speed by making him read the details of all that Nifong has done.

2. Showing Titus that as they have done in the past, the defense can continue to communicate with the public via motions.

I am beginning to think that if you look up dumb in the dictionary there will be a picture of some Durham judge. I understand the need to SAY to the community that this case is no different that others and these guys will not be treated differently than any other defendants. But you don't take your own rhetoric seriously. Or maybe Titus wants to look bad and make Durham look bad nationally. Like Stephens, Titus was completely in over his depth in his first hearing on this case.

I am shocked that Titus met in chambers before the hearing to discuss publicity. All he accomplished was letting some members of the press claim he took the defense attorneys to task about pre-trial publicity. And as the defense showed him with this motion they can still talk to the public.

I also wonder if Titus was unhappy or reacting to a Nifong complaint that the defense allowed Abrams to read all of discovery. That is of course dumb on Titus' part too as Abram's is an attorney and the defense can certainly say Abrams is a consultant on this case.

[Dante3]

Thanks. For some reason I couldn't recall his name. Rod Wheeler always struck me as intelligent and fair. Too bad he was taken in this case.

[JLS]

Rod Wheeler always struck me as intelligent and fair. Too bad he was taken in this case.

In his defense, everyone was taken in by Nifong. Most people did not think a DA would be an out and out liar about a case like this. I think in the press you have to believe people until they are shown to be untrustworthy.

And of course at some point the police believed they had a real crime. They had a confused woman crying rape, DNA on and in her and her claim of no other sex comtemporaneously. So in that respect you can not blame the police for trying to use Wheeler like they did. But he should certainly not appreciate being used and should not trust whomever did that to him again.

[TommyDale]

"An Osborn blog. This could be fun!"

I'm sure no one here would post there, right? I hope someone has already posted a reference and link to the Couch site there.

[Mad-Margaret]

I am shocked that Titus met in chambers before the hearing to discuss publicity. All he accomplished was letting some members of the press claim he took the defense attorneys to task about pre-trial publicity.

Where did you read or hear that? I missed that nugget of information. I thought Titus was shooting from the hip (a prepared hip in that the order was already prepared in his sui sponte action) when he raised the issue of pretrial publicity. I still want to know how he can impose the rules of professional conduct on non-attorneys! And if Titus wanted to shut down all of the out-of-court communications, why didn't he just impose a gag order? Why reduce a rule to an order? All of the attorneys were already obligated to follow Rule 3.6.

[TommyDale]

"...dead at home from a reported accidental gunshot wound to the head..."

In North Carolina, this means he wouldn't drink the Arsenic or eat the mushrooms.

[Mike Nifong]

I also wonder if Titus was unhappy or reacting to a Nifong complaint that the defense allowed Abrams to read all of discovery. That is of course dumb on Titus' part too as Abram's is an attorney and the defense can certainly say Abrams is a consultant on this case.

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I don't know if Nifong has a legitimate complaint about the sharing with Abrams. Many of the Talking Heads said that nothing prohibits the Defense from releasing that information. Of course, it was said as a criticism of the Defense attorneys - like what are they hiding. If they have nothing to hide, why don't they release the whole report - all the information, etc.

It's scary to think that if you are INNOCENT, that you or your counsel couldn't share evidence in the case in an attempt to prove your innocence.

Your point about hiring Abrams is valid, but I don't know that the Defense violated any statute. In a extreme case of abuse of power, any such statute would prevent someone from exposing the truth. Prevent someone that doesn't good legal representation from going to the Media.

Eveyone knows that I'm not a lawyer.

On another front, why in the heck did Judge Titus do such a thing? He could have and should have said anything he said in a back room in open court. The Defense has already made it known that they want everything recorded and some of the public has concerns about justice in this case.

For Titus to have this Pre-meeting it may be an indication of how little he knew of the case or that he has a Tin ear and doesn't give a damn. It has been reported on the radio here that Titus had that meeting to admonish the Defense Lawyers about publicity, which is unbelievable to me due to Nifong's ridiculous and numerous public statements - including Ol' Linwood Wilson.

[Mike Nifong]

quasi gag-order applies to Witnesses

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Nifong would love to shut up Kim, Murchinson, Johnson, etc.

Nifong will threaten them with being charged if they speak or sell stories now.

[JLS]

Mad-Margret: Where did you read or hear that?

After seeing other posters allude to this, I asked this question last night to our Mike Nifong. He sent me sent me this N&O link:

N&O

He pointed out the quotation below from the middle of the article:

N&O: Before court began, Titus held a closed-door meeting with Nifong and the handful of lawyers on the defense side, in which they apparently discussed publicity.

Now maybe I am wrong and closed door was not in chambers but in the court room with the public shut out?

And I agree with your puzzlement about Titus reducing the ehtics rule to an order and thinking he can apply them to non-attorneys. That is why I said I wonder if under dumb in the dictionary we might see a picture of a Durham judge.

[JLS]

BTW, I also meant to point out that in a case like this where someone is trying to railroad your clients, you just take the hit, if you are a defense attorney. You pay the fine or even go to jail, I would think.

And if Titus thinks he has seen publicity before now, let the middle east calm down a bit and have Titus throw Chessire in jail for a night for defending his client. Tin ear is a nice way to describe Titus.