Employee kept notes of interaction with accuser (Nifong Caught Lying Again)

Ouch! That's quite a post.

Wow. An enemies list? Nifong is beginning to sound like Richard Nixon. But unfortunately he'll never resign.

Great! Nifong is investigating those critical of him.

The man can't stop himself.

How desperate is it to get a sworn statement from one's wife?

You gotta be kidding me.

\\\

Updated stories...

Lacrosse defense survey questioned

BY WILLIAM F. WEST, The Herald-Sun
September 20, 2006 11:20 pm

DURHAM -- The prosecution is dialing up a new issue in the Duke lacrosse rape case.

Specifically, District Attorney Mike Nifong is questioning a survey -- admittedly approved by lacrosse rape suspects' defense attorneys -- which he said, if allowed to go unchecked, might wind up tainting the prospective jury pool for the case.

Nifong filed a motion in Superior Court Wednesday asking for a copy of the questions posed in the since-terminated defense survey to an estimated 300 people locally. Nifong's motion also sought to determine the specific involvement of defense attorneys in the survey.

Nifong declined comment when contacted by The Herald-Sun late Wednesday afternoon.

In his motion, Nifong attached a sworn statement from his wife, Cy Gurney, who told of engaging in a one-hour call last week with a woman from the polling company, Central Research Services Inc. The pollster said she was calling from New York.

Internet listings show Central Research Services to be an established market research company more than a half-century old and based in Tokyo.

Gurney stated her overall impression was "that the purpose of the survey was not to assess community attitudes about this case, but rather to bias or influence potential jurors toward a pro-defendant/anti-prosecution point of view."

Such a survey method, commonly known as "push polling," is considered a means of subtly influencing participants to adhere to a desired opinion under the guise of being asked an unbiased, non-leading question.

The Herald-Sun obtained a copy of the defense response to Nifong's motion, which the defense promised to file in Superior Court this morning.

In it, the defense says it gave its approval for the survey, "as is their legal right and duty to protect the defendants' right to a fair trial before an impartial jury" as specified by the U.S. Constitution and North Carolina law.

"That impartiality could have been substantially threatened by extensive prejudicial comments" made by Nifong, the defense argues.

Nifong early in the case freely gave numerous interviews to regional and national news reporters and referred to some of the Duke lacrosse players as "hooligans."

The defense argues the survey was necessary to "determine the extent and nature of that prejudice and other issues related to the defendants' jury trial rights."

The polling, they said, was scientifically conducted.

Duke 2005-2006 lacrosse players David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann are accused of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense in connection with allegations surrounding events at a lacrosse team party March 13 at a house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., next to Duke's East Campus.

The accuser, a black woman who was hired to perform as a stripper, claims she was attacked in a bathroom at the house. Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann -- each of whom is white -- maintain their innocence.

The defense attorneys, in court papers filed late last month and earlier this week, also contend Nifong hasn't provided several pieces of vital evidence in the case, as required by law.

Nifong on Wednesday served the defense with papers saying Gurney received a call from the woman with Central Research on the evening of Sept. 11.

"She seemed more interested in telling a story than in getting my answers, as some of the questions were very long and tailored to a specific point of view," Gurney said. "She also did not appear to be recording my answers ... I did not hear any computer or keyboard sounds."

Gurney said at one point she did tell the woman about the importance of getting all the facts, that "we've only heard one side of the case" and that such bias was obvious in the questioning.

Gurney said the woman replied, "I've heard a lot of that same sentiment."

Gurney said it was unusual for a purported researcher to comment about the responses of others who have been surveyed.

According to Gurney, the first question was along the lines of:

"If the prosecutor in a community took a sensational case right before a primary/election, do you think such a case would be handled for political gain?"

Gurney said after being asked a set of questions, she told the woman of her husband's connection to the case and that the woman responded, "Oh, well then ...."

Gurney said she asked the woman to continue and she did -- with more questions.

They included:

"Do you think a rape occurred?"

"If a woman is hired as a stripper and she said she was raped, how likely are you to believe her?"

"What is your impression of the rape victim?"

"What is your impression of the young men?"

"Do you think there is racial inequity in Durham?"

"Do you think that there are racial tensions in Durham?"

Gurney said other questions sought information about Gurney's education level, salary and expertise in a variety of fields.

URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-771668.html

http://www.newsobserver.com/100/story/488886.html

Nifong assails phone survey
Duke lacrosse players' lawyers say poll was to gauge prosecutor's early public comments
Benjamin Niolet, Staff Writer
DURHAM - District Attorney Mike Nifong on Wednesday accused defense lawyers in the Duke University lacrosse rape case of using a telephone poll as a "thinly disguised" attempt to influence jurors.

The defense lawyers said they were only trying to assess how Nifong himself might have influenced a potential jury with his early public comments on the case, in which three men are accused of raping a woman hired to dance at a March lacrosse team party.

The flurry of activity, days before the lawyers are due in court for a hearing, continues the pitched battle between Nifong and the half-dozen lawyers representing David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. Nifong said the poll violated the state ethics rules that govern lawyers' behavior. Lawyers for the lacrosse players previously accused Nifong of ethical violations, citing his statements and accusing him of using the case to win an election.

Nifong is asking Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III to place all the lacrosse defense lawyers under oath and ask them to explain their involvement in the survey and to furnish a list of survey questions. Nifong learned of the survey when a pollster called his wife, Cy Gurney, at home.

"Many of the questions asked, however, actually constituted a thinly-disguised attempt to influence the opinions of respondents," Nifong wrote.

In a motion prepared late Wednesday afternoon, attorneys for the three defendants asked a judge to deny Nifong and said they told him in August that they intended to conduct polling. The survey was scientific, the lawyers said, and limited to 300 interviews.

An impartial jury "could have been substantially threatened by extensive prejudicial public comments made by the Durham County District Attorney, and the polling was necessary to determine the extent and nature of that prejudice," the lawyers wrote.

Defense lawyers declined to release a list of questions. Nifong's wife filed a sworn statement with her recollection of them.

In the prosecution's request, filed Wednesday afternoon, Nifong wrote that his wife received a call Sept. 11 from a New York telephone number. The caller said she was conducting "a survey about things that were happening in the Durham community," Gurney wrote in the sworn statement.

The surveyor's first question was, "If the prosecutor in a community took on a sensational case right before a primary/election, do you think such a case would be handled for political gain?" Gurney recalled. She began to take notes.

At one point during the survey, Gurney was asked if she knew anyone involved in the case. She told the surveyor who her husband was. Gurney asked the surveyor to continue, and she did.

The interviewer asked several questions about the lack of DNA evidence linking lacrosse players to the victim. Gurney wrote in her statement that she told the surveyor the questions seemed one-sided.

The interviewer then read a lengthy question about the case that highlighted problems that have surfaced with the state's case.

"If you heard that two strippers were hired to perform for some men and one was saying she was locked into the bathroom and the other one was not there; and one said she was raped and the other contradicted her statement, one time saying she did not think anything happened, then later changed her story; and that the rape victim had changed her story several times; and then you learned that she had said she was raped at another time and nothing happened with that charge, would you be likely to believe a rape occurred?" Gurney wrote.

Gurney criticized the question. "I made the comment 'This almost sounds like the newspaper articles and the quotes from the defense attorneys.' "

She wrote in her sworn statement that the survey was more focused on giving information than getting it.

"She seemed more interested in telling a story than in getting my answers, as some of the questions were very long and tailored to a specific point of view," Gurney wrote. "She also did not appear to be recording my answers."

A woman who answered the phone Wednesday at Central Research Services in New York, which Gurney said was the caller, said the company was not doing any polling in Durham now, but declined to comment further.

The lawyers are due in court Friday for their first appearance before Judge Smith, who was assigned to preside over the case.

(Staff writer Anne Blythe and researcher Brooke Cain contributed to this report.)
Staff writer Benjamin Niolet can be reached at 956-2404 or bniolet@newsobserver.com.
Staff writer Anne Blythe and researcher Brooke Cain contributed to this report.

COMING SUNDAY

Who is Mike Nifong? We take a deeper look at what drives the man who is driving the Duke lacrosse case.
DA's wife recalls poll questions

Lawyers representing three indicted lacrosse players commissioned a poll they said was designed to gauge whether they could get an impartial jury in Durham. District Attorney Mike Nifong said that after his wife spent an hour on the phone with a pollster, she thought the questions were designed to influence jurors.

The defense declined to make the questions available, but in a sworn statement, Nifong's wife, Cy Gurney, listed several as she recalled them:

* Are you familiar with the case in Durham about the rape of a stripper and members of a sports team?

* Do you think a woman's sexual history should be part of a criminal trial?

* If a woman is hired as a stripper and she said she was raped, how likely are you to believe her?

* If you heard that there was semen on the towel, on the floor and fingernails located at the scene, yet there was not any DNA evidence on the victim, would you think a rape occurred?

* If you heard that one player had an alibi that included an ATM card listing the date and time of a withdrawal and digital camera photographs with the date/time on them indicating that he was not present at the time of the alleged rape, would you believe that he was not present during the rape?

* Do you think the lineup was improper?

http://www.newsobserver.com/122/story/488871.html
Duke sports idea roils professors
Faculty-team link scorned by some

Jane Stancill, Staff Writer
In the ongoing debate about athletics at Duke University, a new idea has emerged: Why not assign professors to sports teams to improve communication and understanding?

The proposal to pair faculty associates to sports teams is drawing cheers and sneers on a campus divided on the role of sports.

The program is the brainchild of Paul Haagen, head of Duke's Academic Council and a law professor who teaches sports law. About 80 faculty members have expressed interest, he said.

"Duke invests a lot in athletics," Haagen said Wednesday. "It's probably a good idea if you know about athletics."

The idea, Haagen said, is "to put a human face" on interaction between coaches and professors. It would be an informal first step toward fostering more meaningful interaction between the athletic and academic sides of campus, he said.

A professor would be assigned to a sport but would not be expected to monitor or report on a team. Faculty members could attend practices, travel with the team occasionally and get to know athletes and coaches.

The proposal, scheduled for discussion today, has elicited scorn from professors who think Duke should de-emphasize sports in the aftermath of the men's lacrosse scandal.

A parody of the proposal is circulating, calling for a reciprocal effort titled "Coaches Academic Associates Program." The parody suggests that coaches attend classes, labs and faculty meetings to ensure "that there will be some coaches with an informed understanding of the experience of student scholars at Duke."

Paula McClain, a professor of political science, chuckled at the document, which she said she did not write.

So far, of colleagues she has encountered, "people are just aghast that it's being considered," she said of the idea.

Haagen said he realized that some faculty would view it as a public relations stunt or a boosterish program. But, he said, there would be safeguards to ensure that faculty associates would not become too close to a team.

The assignment of faculty volunteers to teams would be left to faculty leaders, not coaches. And people would be rotated periodically among teams, unlike programs at some Ivy League campuses that match professors to teams indefinitely, Haagen said.

Coaches are generally supportive, Haagen said. Kerstin Kimel, coach of the women's lacrosse team, said it's a great idea.

"There isn't a real tremendous understanding from a faculty standpoint about what our athletes and coaches do day to day," Kimel said. She added that dialogue would inevitably improve between the academic and athletic sides of Duke.

"There's been a continuous drumbeat to divide these two groups," she said. "There's just a lot of misperception."

Haagen cited examples of other such programs at Princeton University and Trinity College in Connecticut. In some cases, he said, professors become advocates of sports.

"I'm not interested in that," he said. "I'm interested in people knowing each other and being informed."

Duke's sports ambitions have been criticized by some since three men's lacrosse players were charged with raping an escort service dancer at a party in March. The players, awaiting trial, maintain their innocence.

About 50 professors signed a letter to Duke President Richard Brodhead in June, calling for increased scrutiny of athletics and greater faculty oversight.

Haagen won't push the "associates" program if too many faculty members oppose it, he said.

It might be a tough sell among professors who want to apply the brakes to big-time sports at Duke. The parody jabs at Duke's sports culture, suggesting that all coaches are welcome to learn about academics, "although it is hoped that most of the participating coaches will come from among those who coach pre-professional athletes and winning teams."
Staff writer Jane Stancill can be reached at 956-2464 or janes@newsobserver.com.

Looking for evidence to be used in a change of venue application?

I think that is exactly what the defense is doing with the polling.

I do have trouble believing that the pollster called the Nifong residence and talked to Mrs. Nifong for an hour. Does anyone think a little embellishment is going on?

Thank you for the update, abb.

snip***:
In it, the defense says it gave its approval for the survey, "as is their legal right and duty to protect the defendants' right to a fair trial before an impartial jury" as specified by the U.S. Constitution and North Carolina law.

"That impartiality could have been substantially threatened by extensive prejudicial comments" made by Nifong, the defense argues. Nifong early in the case freely gave numerous interviews to regional and national news reporters and referred to some of the Duke lacrosse players as "hooligans."

The defense argues the survey was necessary to "determine the extent and nature of that prejudice and other issues related to the defendants' jury trial rights."

The polling, they said, was scientifically conducted.
***end snip***

In light of all the "guilty until proven innocent" plastering done by Nifong, Duke Academics, feminists, New Black Panthers, etc., this survey sounds a very reasonable and important thing to do. Why waste time on a trial in the location of a poisoned well.

It'd be like having witch trials in Salem or a trial on American soldiers in Iran or Venezuela.

I always like to find a new word. The word is spot on, though an extension of the standard dictionary definition, but spelled "barratry" - or at least it is in my British English dictionary.

Barratry n. fraudulent breach of duty by masterof ship; stirring up of law suits.
Also barrator n. barratous adj

It will not be $100 per hour professionals - more likely grad students at $30-50 plus a margin. But this is hardly the issue. Nifong would have to show that the sample size was material and would compromise the jury pool - an efficient sample size is around 450, leaving around 99,500 in the jury pool!! It would be easy for the judge simply to ask who in the jury pool had been polled. End of story.
This is pure Nifong spin. Remember he is still in an election fight and needs to be seen by at least is core constituency as a "victim".

"The accuser, a black woman who was hired to perform as a stripper"

Oh! She was hired to perform as a stripper.
She's not actually a stripper, you see.

Those filthy LAX players just hired her to play one. They enticed this innocent girl with money so she would take her clothes off. Makes it seem like it's the LAX player's fault that Crystal was stripping.

Creaative writing!

There are other full time academics on this board so I will defer to them, but my experience as a graduate student teaching at a school similar to Duke was that student athletes were very similar to other students. The assumption that the athletes are somehow different is for me an unproven assertion. The better ones were extremely driven, highly organized and very responsible. The problematic student athletes were just like the problematic students - lazy, boorish and self indulgent.
One thing I did note is that the student athletes tend to be anti-socialist and respectful of tradition - perhaps this is what riles those academics at places like Duke.

I do have trouble believing that the pollster called the Nifong residence and talked to Mrs. Nifong for an hour. Does anyone think a little embellishment is going on?

I don't have trouble believing it was Mrs. Nifong who kept the pollster on the line an hour.

Do you think the pollster may have been fishing for inside dope and knew who she was talking to? I wonder if Mrs Gottlieb was polled?

"Your Honor, it was a random sample. Who would have thought we would have sampled the households of the two leading conspirators. I am amazed and shocked. We will of course ignore their self serving responses and just focus on the possible lies their two spouses told." "Yes, as a matter of fact the accuser was also surprisingly in our scientifically drawn random sample." "No, your Honor, we are not prepared to share what she said with Mr. Nifong. We will wait until the trial." "Yes, your Honor, she was told that her responses were being recorded." "Your Honor, for the record, Judges Stevens and Titus, declined to answer any of our pollsters questions." "No, your Honor, we cannot include you in the sample because it would no longer be a random sample!" "No your Honor it wasn't a sample of possible members of the jury, it was a random sample of proven liars!!"

LOL @ the Campus Cultural Initiative--what a pile of bunk.

Newsflash: Control the drinking and many problems would be solved. But wait, isn't that every college campus? Let's do a study and spend endless hours of dialogue to determine whether or not kids get wasted on the weekends.

Newsflash #2- walk around the campus on the weekends and you'll find the source of your "cultural" problems without any dialog at all!!

Sorry for the cynicism, but as a college student's mom, this stuff sounds ludicrous.

but spelled "barratry" - or at least it is in my British English dictionary.

It was spelled with an 'i' when I checked it. It's an almost obsolete word. Pity that.

L

Yes, the "barratous Nifong" has a certain pungency to it!!

There were issues with the polling done in the Scott Peterson case. College students who conducted the poll, course requirement, made up results. Do we know who conducted the polling in the Duke LAX case?

As for Mrs. Nifong, I can picture her asking questions of her own ... with her husband on the extension.

Was it taped?

Sorry if the Nifong's motion has already been posted.

http://abclocal.go.com/three/wtvd/pdf/092006nifongmotion.pdf

I have no idea about the taping. I would not trust student pollsters, unless they are being supervised and calls tracked. However, I think the whole thing has a bizarre quality to it.

I hope it was clear that my earlier comment was a spoof?

Athletes, like engineers and business people, live in a world where performance, or lack of it, is very easily measured. Score is kept and success or failure cannot be hidden. That performance is achieved by personal diligence and hard work. Arguments that someone else deserves the fruits of your own labor usually fall on deaf ears. I'm sure that does bug some faculty members.