Duke Case: Failure of Procedure

newsmax ^ | Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006 | Susan Estrich

[Mike Nifong]

Sorry if this has already been posted.

Haven't seen it on the TV, wonder why no firestorm like the Duke Case? The News & Observer gave it about 35 words buried in the back of the sports section.

Can this be right?

http://www.wftv.com/sports/9651973/detail.html?rss=orlc&psp=news

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[Sue Perkick]

My main concern is that he would just split the vote. Not sure what the climate is in Durham, but it seems like this would favor Nifong in November.

[Fido969]

None of this means the woman is lying.

No, but the fact that she gave 5 contradictory statements that are also contradicted by evidence DOES mean she is lying.

Estrich is trying to keep the false accuser out of the loop - she says it is the fault of the MAN!

A woman is never responsible for her actions. It is only man who can control their actions and must behave perfectly.

[abb]

Can this be right?

This story's PBF is too low, apparently...

[Neverforget01]

Well okay--I'm completely blown away! Susan Estrich has come around...Can Wendy and Nancy be far behind?

I guess if one believes in miracles.

[xsmommy]

i really want to hear wendy murphy admit this as well.

[Mad-Margaret]

Time for a pool. Pick a date. This case is gonna be dismissed. There will be no trial. Not ever.

[abb]

I'm in. December 1 for me...

[nickcarraway]

Didn't Sydney Blumenthal and Bill Clinton invent that defense?

[Mad-Margaret]

My gut tells me that it will be sooner -- and with the court's time table (appointment of the new judge (what's happening with that "exceptional case" designation?), oral argument on suppression of the ID procedure, a motion to dismiss (I don't think one has been filed), time for judge to write an opinion, etc.) a better guess might be mid-October -- but I'll take

December 21

Duke will on Christmas break and the dismissal will need some cooling time.

[darbymcgill]

Maybe Susan could have been a bit more direct with Mr. Nifong as was Colonel Nathan Jessep to Lt. Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men

Please tell me you've got something more, Lieutenant. Please tell me there's an ace up your sleeve. These two marines are on trial for their lives. Please tell me their lawyer hasn't pinned their hopes to a phone bill.

[abb]

Reckon Nifong can handle the truth?

[maggief]

ANNOUNCING THE SALE OF 7 TRINITY PARK PROPERTIES
Owned by Durham Realty, Inc., a support corporation of Duke University
[Formerly Owned by Solie Family]



http://www.realestate.duke.edu/trinpark.htm

[darbymcgill]

Reckon Nifong can handle the truth?

Nifong's sees "truth" the way an umpire saw balls and strikes when I was a kid... He once told me "it ain't nothing til I call it"...

[old and cranky]

Am I too optimistic to say September 19th? Don't know why, just picked a day. So does the winner of the pool get say 2 weeks of bragging rights and praise?

[CondorFlight]

"Time for a pool. Pick a date."

August 21st hearing (effectively; what happens there will make it impossible to continue with the case)

Otherwise we pin donkey ears on Titus.

[darbymcgill]

I read early on the Duke had bought up the houses to resell them to families that would be more stable than the students who currently occupied them.

I wonder how many Fair Housing Act violations will be committed before Duke gets the "right kind of people" into the "neighborhood".

[maggief]

Ex-Girlfriend: Fight Over Alleged Affair Led To Ex-Wolfpack Star's Arrest
Marcus Melvin Appears In Court On Strangulation Charges

POSTED: 12:06 pm EDT August 9, 2006

http://www.wral.com/news/9653682/detail.html

PITTSBORO, N.C. -- A former North Carolina State basketball player made his first court appearance on charges he tried to strangle his ex-girlfriend.

Marcus Melvin appeared before the judge Wednesday at the Chatham County courtroom and did not say anything after his court appearance.

Shaunesi DeBerry said she argued with Melvin after she learned that he was cheating on her with a woman in Italy and that the other woman was pregnant with his child. She alleges that in the heat of the argument, he placed his hands around his neck.

"I looked on the phone bill and I saw a number on there from a girl from Italy. She told me that she was pregnant," DeBerry said. "He got mad that I found out because I wasn't supposed to find out."

Melvin played for the Wolfpack from 2000 to 2004. Since graduating from the university, he has played basketball professionally in Italy.

DeBerry said she and Melvin lived together for three years and had problems throughout their relationship. According to court documents, Melvin pleaded guilty three months ago to misdemeanor charges of assaulting and threatening Deberry. Melvin was also accused of assaulting another woman, but charges were voluntarily dismissed.

Still, DeBerry said she does not hold a grudge against Melvin.

"I love Marcus to death to this day, even after all the fights, all the women, all of the heat and beating, I love him to death and that is why he needs help," she said.

DeBerry said that is why she reported the latest incident to police.

"I don't want him to go to jail. He is not a criminal. He is not criminal-minded," she said. "He can't control it because it is something that gets into it. It just happened and I want him to get to get help."

DeBerry and Melvin share an 8-month-old child together. DeBerry said she wants to put the incident behind her and go back to college. Melvin's next court date is scheduled for Sept. 11.

[stands2reason]

"But at the very least, standard procedure should have been to await the results of tests, and then, given the results, the inconsistencies in the woman's statements, the fact that at least one of the boys seems to have an airtight alibi, investigate further before indicting anyone."

But notice how she mentions nothing about the AV and the glaring inconsistencies in the AV's stories.

Look again.

[stands2reason]

Unfortunately you are mistaken.

A common theme running through the Durham AA community is that the "Duke boys 'bought' the DNA results, the alibis, etc."

The other main theory goes, "Even if they didn't rape her, they were planning to, so they deserve what they get!"

If they are tried by a black jury in Durham, they are going down.