Posted on 07/28/2006 4:52:22 AM PDT by abb
Which is why they don't do prossie stings in Durham County. It would decimate the local LEO's...
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/16539.html
By Michael J. Gaynor
How Dare Judge Titus Try to Silence The Duke Men's Lacrosse Team!
July 30, 2006 06:17 PM EST
EXCERPT
Legal ethics is not Mr. McKissick's strong suit. See "Floyd McKissick Jr. disciplined by N.C. Bar, an Indy, the Independent Weekly, an article by Jennifer Strom dated March 17, 2004:
"Durham attorney and former city council member Floyd McKissick Jr. has been disciplined by the N.C. State Bar for professional misconduct involving a conflict of interest.
"McKissick received a formal reprimand from bar's grievance committee late last year, which the bar recently released to the public. The reprimand is essentially a slap on the wrist from the organization that regulates North Carolina attorneys; his law license is not endangered.
"The bar found that McKissick, a civil litigator who served on the council from 1993 to 2001, improperly represented both sides in a 2000 dispute involving the estate decisions of an elderly Durham man, Thomas Griswell. The conflict between the man and his younger caretaker spawned a civil case, as well as criminal charges of elder abuse against the caretaker."
The article further stated:
"'Floyd McKissick was a danger to elderly people who trusted him, who relied on him to protect their interests,' says Beverly Hill, who lives in Raleigh. Hill believes that 'a huge conflict of interest' led McKissick to help her uncle's caretaker get control of his assets, taking advantage of his advanced age, poor health and grief over his wife's death. 'My uncle was very exposed.'
"Court records show that Griswell signed over the deed to his East Alton Street house and all legal power over his personal finances and other affairs to caretaker Lily Richardson, whom Griswell and his wife had considered one of four unrelated 'foster children' they had supported for many years. The legal transactions took place in then-councilman McKissick's office in 1999, the day after Griswell's wife of 63 years had died. At the time, McKissick legally represented Griswell.
"A couple of months later, when Griswell realized he'd lost his house and given away power over his personal affairs, he hired another attorney to help him rescind the agreement McKissick had arranged for him with Richardson. McKissick later represented Richardson in her attempts to keep the agreement in place, according to court records.
"Questioned about the conflict of interest, McKissick is quick to assert that the bar's ruling 'is not newsworthy.'"
Chairman McKissick is staunchly behind Mr. Nifong, as the following excerpt from a July 4, 2006 article in The News & Observer illustrates:
"Durham County Democratic Party Chairman Floyd McKissick Jr. said the party will not challenge Cheek's petition drive. Instead, party officials said they will wait for Ashe to finish verifying Cheek's signatures, then decide how best to support Nifong should Cheek enter the race.
"'It's premature until we really know whether we've got an issue to deal with,' McKissick said. 'Durham is one of those communities where, politically, it's a little bit unconventional in the way things operate sometimes.'"
It's frightening the way things operate in Durham!
This conflict of interest with the abuse of the elderly's assets not limited to Durham. In the nearby town of Wake Forest, an elderly lady entrusted a local lawyer with handling her property. Upon her death, her family was surprised that she had willed her land to her local church. Seems the attorney that handled it was also on the buiding committee of that church. He had changed her will, saying she did it under full mental capacity. It went to court, and the attorney got away with it.
An ethical attorney would have turned the case over to another attorney, at the very least.
I hate to say this, but the entire legal community in North Carolina has a rotten smell to it, from the local attorneys all the way up to the Attorney General.
It sure looks that way. I almost want my rose colored glasses back.
I know we have posted this link before. Interesting someone else is picking up on it.
http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A21240
MARCH 17, 2004
Floyd McKissick Jr. disciplined by N.C. Bar
Lol, maggie, the cynic in me says that a dishonest lawyer isn't very newsworthy...
LOL!
He appears to be part of the powers that be.
http://www.owdna.org/OWD_in_news2.htm
Council praises Duke effort
(May 16, 1997. N&O)
... "I would like to commend the university in this regard," council member Floyd McKissick Jr. said after Duke officials made the first public presentation of their ambitious plan at the council's work session. "Duke has a reputation of being a very exclusive enclave," McKissick added. "People there have little interaction with the city of Durham." Over the past year, Duke has undertaken an effort to make its resources more accessible to the community. To spearhead the plan, the university hired former City Council member Sandy Ogburn to lead a community relations team.
Although council members said they are pleased with Duke's decision to work with the 12 neighborhoods, they said the initiative could have the opposite effect if Duke doesn't follow through on its promises. "Duke needs to build up trust and improve credibility," council member Howard Clement said...
This brings up an issue that I'm very interested in. Who lit the fuse?
I didn't get interested and active on the DukeLax threads until about the time the DNA results came back negative, which was early in April.
Researching the earlier threads, it seems Howlin was just about the first person to call bullshit and say this was all a hoax. But that was after all the potbangers cranked up, on or about March 24.
Now from March 14 until the thing blew up on the national stage, someone or something precipitated the uproar and gave Nifong an election issue.
Now John in Carolina gives credit to a NandO news story on or about March 23, IIRC. He says they are to blame for pouring the gasoline. But who prompted them? Who convinced them to put up the vigilante poster? Was it the AA/CourtHouse Crowd/Lawyer axis that smelled money?
What say y'all?
I say the fuse was lit by the pot-banger too. This was a move by a PC bunch of Duke faculty and they are being rewarded by Duke moving in the direction they wanted.
The N&O did carry a little water for them. The pot-bangers lit the fuse. Of course like you I started following this far after the pop-bangers had played their role and retired to the sidelines.
Looking back, the very first NandO story was 3/24 and was the story of the DNA tests for all the players. That was 10 days after the false accusation. So the potbangers had that amount of time to fan the flames. IIRC, FreeRepublic didn't start any threads until about 3/24 also. Is that about correct?
Gottlieb posted a reported rape on the Trinity Park listserv on 3/17, IIRC, which stirred some of these folks into action.
TRINITY PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
Alice Bumgarner (presiding), Jen Minelli, Lee Ann Tilley, Bonny Moellenbrock, Lee Coggins, John Dagenhart, John Kirk, Lance Kimbrough, Emily Herbert, and Pattie LeSueur.
Dale Gaddis, Damian Makarushka and Stacy Murphy.
http://trinitypark.org/wp/index.php
I have no idea if this means anything, but FYI from Melanie's blog July 26, 2006--
We have a new features editor who's also a familiar face. Thad Ogburn, previously our deputy metro editor, stepped into the job a couple of weeks ago. He'll oversee all features content for online and print, including the daily Life, etc. sections and the weekly features sections: What'sUp, Home&Garden, Sunday Journal, A&E and Travel.
Ogburn has held several leadership roles here: He joined the paper as a copy editor and rose to the position of news editor, the person who oversees our news sections copy desk.
In 1999, Ogburn became the first editor and general manager of the North Raleigh News and led the community section for several years. More recently, he helped launch The Durham News, our weekly N&O/community paper, in 2005. A native of Winston-Salem, Ogburn brings both experience and creative fire to the job. You can contact him at togburn@newsobserver.com or 829-8987
I can't find a connection, loads of Ogburn's in the Triangle.
http://www.sandyogburn.org/
This just uncovered. More on CondorFlight's discovery yesterday about the relationship between the NandO and DPD.
http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/041115_prince/
Arrested for Attempting Interview
November 15, 2004
Raleigh Reporter Accused of Harassment
"A News & Observer reporter was arrested Sunday morning after a woman he was trying to interview for a story charged him with making harassing phone calls," Jessica Rocha reports today in the Raleigh News & Observer.
"Ruth A. Brown, a property room technician with the Durham Police Department, filed the complaint against reporter Demorris Lee, 36, of Raleigh.
"Brown's testimony three years ago convicted a teenager of robbing her. It led to a jail sentence of at least 10 years for the teen, Erick Daniels.
"But the case has been reopened by Durham police, and a Durham advocacy group also is reviewing it.
"Since 2001, Lee has written about Brown's case and Daniels, who claims he is innocent of the robbery.
"Lee said he remembers leaving two voice messages on Brown's home answering machine last month when he was working on a story about Daniels' attempts to clear his name. Lee said the messages were respectful and were a routine part of the reporting process. If Brown didn't want to comment, he said, she could have simply told him so.
"I think it was only fair I call and ask her to respond," Lee said in the story. "I would have been derelict of my duties if I didn't give her the opportunity to respond to Erick Daniels' contention that he was not the one who robbed her."
"Lee was released without bail Sunday morning by a Wake County magistrate on a written promise to attend a Nov. 24 court date in Durham," the story continued.
"Arresting a reporter for making harassing phone calls is extremely rare, said Orlando Hudson Jr., Durham County senior resident Superior Court judge.
". . . Melanie Sill, The N&O's executive editor, said that during her tenure at the paper, a reporter has never been charged with harassing a source. Reporters routinely call people who are part of news stories to give them an opportunity to comment, she said.
"'Leaving a telephone message doesn't constitute harassment,' Sill said. 'This doesn't do justice to serious cases of harassment. This is a waste of the justice system's time.'"
She told Journal-isms today that "we're completely behind Demorris, all of us here all the way up to corporate headquarters." The paper is owned by the McClatchy Co. Sill said the company was consulting lawyers. She said she had looked up the statute and that it clearly said it was against the law to threaten or harass, which is not what Morris was doing.
It's another lesson that "people can abuse the justice system," she said.
Ernie Suggs of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the regional representative on the board of the National Association of Black Journalists, told NABJ members today that, "The NABJ Board is aware of Demorris' situation and working on a plan."
The Triangle Association of Black Journalists issued a statement, which is at the end of today's posting.
Yep. Goodbye Stephens. Goodbye Titus too. The defense and prosecution each get to submit three names and I hope they get somoene who isn't from Durham.
Wait, would this affect a change of venue motion?
It seems like no judge in Durham wants to handle this case. Stephens couldn't wait to rotate out and Titus has made a point of saying he won't be the trial judge.
I really wonder whose bench they're going to throw this mess on.
http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/041124_prince/
Charges Dropped Against N&O Reporter
November 24, 2004 Returning Monday
Prosecutor Urges More Protection for Journalists
District Attorney Jim Hardin Jr. of Durham, N.C., announced Tuesday that he would not prosecute Raleigh reporter Demorris Lee, who had been charged with making harassing phone calls in the course of pursuing a story. His arrest drew condemnation from leading journalism organizations as a threat to press freedom.
"Hardin said in a written statement that he would file to have the charges against News & Observer reporter Demorris Lee dismissed, because, 'The State of North Carolina cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt all the essential elements of this alleged crime'," as Michael Petrocelli wrote in the Durham Herald-Sun.
"In his statement, Hardin also said a policy is needed that would require law enforcement officials to investigate any allegations made against a journalist in the course of gathering news before issuing an arrest warrant. Durham has a similar policy for complaints against law enforcement officers, emergency services personnel and school system employees, Hardin wrote," Petrocelli's story continued.
"I support such a policy and believe that it would provide the appropriate protection of a victim and alleged perpetrator, while still affording us all our rights granted by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution regarding free speech and a free press," Hardin was quoted as saying.
"Lee was arrested Nov. 14 after Ruth A. Brown, a police property room technician, took out a warrant against him. The reporter was scheduled to appear in court today," the story continued.
"Lee has said the incident occurred after he left two phone messages for Brown about an article concerning Erick Daniels, who was convicted of robbing Brown three years ago. Daniels, who was 14 when the crime occurred, received at least 10 years in prison, and Brown testified against him."
Among the groups protesting Lee's arrest were the National Association of Black Journalists and its local chapter, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
In a note to the NABJ's listserve today, Lee thanked members for their support and concluded, "But now, let's get back to what got this thing started: a then 15-year-old may have been wrongly convicted of [a] crime and just turned 18 in prison. I'm still on that story and look for something real soon."
More...
http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/041124_prince/
Charges Dropped Against N&O Reporter
November 24, 2004 Returning Monday
Prosecutor Urges More Protection for Journalists
District Attorney Jim Hardin Jr. of Durham, N.C., announced Tuesday that he would not prosecute Raleigh reporter Demorris Lee, who had been charged with making harassing phone calls in the course of pursuing a story. His arrest drew condemnation from leading journalism organizations as a threat to press freedom.
"Hardin said in a written statement that he would file to have the charges against News & Observer reporter Demorris Lee dismissed, because, 'The State of North Carolina cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt all the essential elements of this alleged crime'," as Michael Petrocelli wrote in the Durham Herald-Sun.
"In his statement, Hardin also said a policy is needed that would require law enforcement officials to investigate any allegations made against a journalist in the course of gathering news before issuing an arrest warrant. Durham has a similar policy for complaints against law enforcement officers, emergency services personnel and school system employees, Hardin wrote," Petrocelli's story continued.
"I support such a policy and believe that it would provide the appropriate protection of a victim and alleged perpetrator, while still affording us all our rights granted by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution regarding free speech and a free press," Hardin was quoted as saying.
"Lee was arrested Nov. 14 after Ruth A. Brown, a police property room technician, took out a warrant against him. The reporter was scheduled to appear in court today," the story continued.
"Lee has said the incident occurred after he left two phone messages for Brown about an article concerning Erick Daniels, who was convicted of robbing Brown three years ago. Daniels, who was 14 when the crime occurred, received at least 10 years in prison, and Brown testified against him."
Among the groups protesting Lee's arrest were the National Association of Black Journalists and its local chapter, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
In a note to the NABJ's listserve today, Lee thanked members for their support and concluded, "But now, let's get back to what got this thing started: a then 15-year-old may have been wrongly convicted of [a] crime and just turned 18 in prison. I'm still on that story and look for something real soon."
Yea. I agree. Maybe the special designation is because none of the Durham judges would agree to take this case?
I mean, it appears that neither Stephens nor Titus want anything at all to do with this case.
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