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At center of Duke lacrosse case, a stormy DA who likes to fight (DukeLax)
Raleigh News & Observer ^ | October 1, 2006 | Benjamin Niolet

Posted on 10/01/2006 1:40:53 AM PDT by abb

click here to read article


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To: Ken H; maggief; TommyDale; abb; Mike Nifong; xoxoxox

Did I miss anything? :-)

I haven't even signed in until a few days ago. But finally almost finished painting the house.

I'll be catching up and back to speed in no time...


141 posted on 10/05/2006 9:26:02 PM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights
I haven't even signed in until a few days ago.

Great to have you back!

But finally almost finished painting the house.

Now you can brush up on all the latest in the Duke Rape Hoax.

142 posted on 10/05/2006 9:37:46 PM PDT by Ken H
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To: Ken H

I would have finished it sooner but even though my husband would offer to help, I know he does not really have a death wish.

Anytime we work together I finally throw up my arms and say "Just shut up, just do what I tell you to do. Why I do it this way is not important...just know it is the right way. Don't you want to go play golf?"

LOL, as only a loving wife can say, of course.


143 posted on 10/05/2006 9:45:26 PM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights

Here's something you may have missed. Check out the timeline: http://www.freerepublic.com/~darbymcgill/


144 posted on 10/05/2006 9:59:06 PM PDT by Ken H
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To: Ken H
http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/duke-case-cya-campaign-trail.html

TJN zeroes in on Linda Williams and the N&O. Good read and links.

145 posted on 10/05/2006 11:14:00 PM PDT by Ken H
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To: SarahUSC

I agree. And the boys will have been shown a side of life that will essentially take the joy out of their youth.

These people, Nifong and the rest of the gang, are doing this because they CAN, and what a face of evil they show in so doing.

Dirty, rotten bastards all of them.


146 posted on 10/06/2006 12:07:25 AM PDT by Jezebelle (Our tax dollars are paying the ACLU to sue the Christ out of us.)
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To: xoxoxox

It seems like Durham is working overtime to kill the golden goose. Without Duke, what does Durham have? Nothing.


147 posted on 10/06/2006 12:13:44 AM PDT by Jezebelle (Our tax dollars are paying the ACLU to sue the Christ out of us.)
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To: xoxoxox

No Demo-rat run town is ever going to "get clean". Unless Durham changes its political fundamentals, it will continue down the same slippery slope that turned New Orleans into what it is today.


148 posted on 10/06/2006 12:17:26 AM PDT by Jezebelle (Our tax dollars are paying the ACLU to sue the Christ out of us.)
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To: All

http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/gaynor/061006
The N & O's hypocritical "fairness" policy


149 posted on 10/06/2006 1:02:27 PM PDT by abb (The Dinosaur Media: A One-Way Medium in a Two-Way World)
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To: Jezebelle

I'd post what I think, but you already did.


150 posted on 10/06/2006 1:38:05 PM PDT by ltc8k6
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To: ltc8k6

:> Hi there, ltc.


151 posted on 10/06/2006 1:51:44 PM PDT by Jezebelle (Our tax dollars are paying the ACLU to sue the Christ out of us.)
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To: All

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061006/ap_on_sp_co_ne/duke_lacrosse_1
Blue Devils lacrosse moving forward

By AARON BEARD, AP Sports Writer 31 minutes ago

The Duke men's lacrosse team is taking another step back from the rape scandal that led to the shutdown of the program last season.

The Blue Devils will play in an exhibition lacrosse tournament in Rockville Centre, N.Y., on Saturday. It will be the first time the team has participated in an off-campus game since rape allegations against three players led the university to cancel the remainder of the season in April.

Duke begins play in the Long Island Fall Lacrosse Tournament with a two-hour exhibition against Towson, followed by hourlong scrimmages against Hofstra and Division II New York Institute of Technology. The tournament will raise money for charity.

Coach John Danowski, who left Hofstra after 21 seasons to take over in Durham in July, said the players haven't seemed too focused on the significance of representing the university on the field again.

"We're in the middle of midterms, and the guys have been grinding in the classroom," Danowski said Friday. "I've sensed they've been a little distracted by school relative to the event of this weekend.

"I'd like to see what the reaction is going to be at the airport and on the bus. My expectations will be some giddiness and excitement on the bus, which would be normal."

Duke returned to practice on Labor Day, the beginning of a five-week training camp that ends with this weekend's tournament. That workout marked the first time the team had practiced on campus since March 27, the day before the university suspended the team from play in the wake of the rape allegations.

The case began when a woman told police she was raped at a March team party where she was hired to perform as a stripper. All but one of the lacrosse team's players gave DNA samples to investigators and were considered suspects for weeks. A grand jury indicted three on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense: Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans.

Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong eventually cleared the rest of the players of wrongdoing. But by then, the school had canceled the rest of the season, and coach Mike Pressler resigned. In addition, the university faced widespread criticism of the program and the players' behavior, which included alcohol-related criminal charges.

After an internal investigation and the players agreeing to a new code of conduct that they wrote, the school reinstated the program in June.

"I wasn't here last year," Danowski said. "So to me, I'm just excited to see whether some of the things they've been doing the past five weeks have taken hold. My enthusiasm for Saturday is probably a lot different."


152 posted on 10/06/2006 3:18:10 PM PDT by abb (The Dinosaur Media: A One-Way Medium in a Two-Way World)
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To: All

Melanie Sill and Linda Williams getting their brains beat out on the blog today...

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/editor/index.php?title=march_25_interview&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#comments


153 posted on 10/06/2006 3:56:41 PM PDT by abb (The Dinosaur Media: A One-Way Medium in a Two-Way World)
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To: abb
Up to 45 replies last I checked. Here's a good one--

Comment from: david [Visitor]

10/06/06 at 22:29 We can disagree about whether it was appropriate at the time for the N&0 to leave out the accuser's comments about Kim Roberts in the original article.

What is clear now, however, is that the N&0 has an obligation to justice to report the FULL STORY of what the accuser told your reporter, considering what has happened since then.

There are no reasons to continue to hide the truth, especially since you are likely to receive a subpoena to produce the information if a trial occurs.

It's time to come clean and put out a complete account of the interview, since it was one of the few the accuser gave and it WAS on the record.

Enough feeble excuses!

154 posted on 10/06/2006 7:44:47 PM PDT by Ken H
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To: Ken H; darbymcgill

FANTASTIC!!!!!!


155 posted on 10/06/2006 9:07:01 PM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: ltc8k6

At 4:51 PM, October 06, 2006, Anonymous said...

OH MY GOSH -did anyone see the show on vh1 last night about north carolina strippers who do porn hip hop videos- if these boys had hired a scores stripper or professional stripper this would never have happened- these north carolina girls were so illiterate -most were unwed mothers who had no high school education and just wanted money -one said "i would do anything for the green" they admitted they would get naked or have sex with a hip hop star to be in a hip hop video ...one can only imagine what they woud do to be able to sue some what they would see as rich white boys from duke

At 7:24 PM, October 06, 2006, Anonymous said...

Close watchers of the deeply racist, corrupt black Durham power structure will be not be suprised by this comment below from Judge Bushfan.

Bushfan is in charge of the Durham courts. And had previously let a suspected murderer and serial criminal out on $10,000 bail, where he promptly killed again.

Bushfan would have let this suspected serial murderer out on the streets again for a 2nd time but she (and Nifong) are getting community complaints for coddling violent criminals simply because they are black.

Durham man arrested on murder charge http://www.newsobserver.com/145/story/495376.html

"Chief District Judge Elaine Bushfan rejected pleas from Odom's attorney for a reduced bond.

"Even to me, someone who has empathy for the plight of the black man in America ... this is out of control," Bushfan said to Odom after rattling off about two dozen other charges against Odom in addition to the murder counts.

"At some point, someone's got to say, 'You need to stop.' If you can't stop yourself, we can."

Apparently the price of racial solidarity is two murders and a dozen felonies.

At 9:39 PM, October 06, 2006, Anonymous said...

I hope you all are aware of the statement posted on the N&O blog by Editor Linda Williams. It concerns the first interview with the accuser last Spring. Please note the references to what was with-held from the public.

"The reporter’s interview with the woman was brief, an encounter that lasted a few minutes outside the woman’s parents’ home in Durham. Only two things the woman said at that time did not make publication. She provided a description of the then-unidentified second woman who had also been hired to dance at the lacrosse team party. She also offered an opinion about the other woman’s actions that night. The latter was clearly an opinion, offered without any substantiation. Omitting from published news articles unsubstantiated opinions is a standard, normal part of the journalistic process. The description of the second woman proved to be accurate when Kim Roberts exposed herself at a later date. That description was withheld in March, not because of doubts about its accuracy, but because it was deemed irrelevant since we had no other information to tell readers about the second woman."

******
"She offered an opinion about the woman's actions that night."
*******

Remember in some of her early statements, the accuser claimed Kim assisted in the "rape" and/or robbed her.

She may well have told this THAT DAY to the N&O and they withheld it. This at a time when they printed every angry neighbor's negative opinion of the boys.They shaped that story.

Bloggers are livid at the N&O Editors Blog. One commented at the Liestopper blog..

"Imagine how different the second half of March and the first half of April would have unfolded if the discussion had included the AV's charge that Kim robbed her and assisted in the rape.

It's like a giant wrench in all the stereotypes that drove that period."

If you are as enraged as we are...call the N&O and let Melanie Sills and Linda Williams know.

Demand they release the details!

Post on the Editors Blog! Hold their feet to the fire!

http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/05/general-topics-open.html

"This entire episode is Shameful, and the N&O's conduct in perpetuating and fueling the HOAX with it's abysmal early coverage is equally shameful. Do not add further to the shame by hiding the accuser's accusations against her fellow dancer."

Is The News & Observer deliberately and hypocritically concealing pertinent evidence that the voters of Durham County, North Carolina should be aware of before Election Day?

In a word...YES!

Should people buy such a newspaper?

NO!

http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/gaynor/061006

this "Welcome to Durham" has become legendary on Duke's campus. The older students have been talking about it since their freshman year. There is some incredibly incendiary stuff in the film. Once upon a time, pre-Crystal's mess, weezie jr met one of the main players in the film at the Cook Out (yes, there were plenty of other kids there, too) and he told the girls it was very intense getting the film in the can, so to speak. Talk about a field trip to the zoo! Just head over to the Cook Out any old time.

http://z9.invisionfree.com/LieStoppers_Board/index.php?showtopic=319

Interview with the director and producer of Welcome to Durham…

Brown: Okay, Courtney, what was the most shocking thing, I guess, that maybe people felt the documentary reveals, the things that they didn't know?

Conrad: A lot of people didn't know really anything. They didn't know that these kids. A lot of kids are involved in this and the fact that they do have guns, the fact that a lot of them are shot, I think they were pretty shocked to see the kids.

Brown: And when you say kids, how old are we talking about?

Conrad: We're talking like 10, 11, 12, 13; you know, teenagers, mostly teenagers. And that's the big thing about our gang problem. Like we have so-called OGs here, and it ain't like California where they're older; a lot of these OGs are like 17 years old.

Brown: And an OG is?

Conrad: Original Gangster.

Brown: Which means that.

Conrad: That they run their situation, like they're set in their neighborhood, so they're in charge. So you basically have got a teenager telling other people younger than them, to do things. So that's like the most shocking thing that they're so young. It's not really older guys.

http://www.unctv.org/bif/transcripts/2003/...script1919.html

This should scare the sh*t out of Durham residents! 17 year old OGs! This is serious…lots of children (yes CHILDREN) are going to die. It’s only going to get worse…a whole lot f’ing worse…

[credit: FODU, Liestoppers, Gaynor] Never a dull moment in the Bull City- Where Great Things happen!


156 posted on 10/07/2006 12:37:37 AM PDT by xoxoxox
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To: All

Saying you're innocent doesn't make it so

This is in response to Rodney Turner's letter of Sept. 19

I don't believe Turner has read the paper enough to know the facts. The 40 players not indicted have not come forward to report anything. They will, however, have plenty to say when they are called as witnesses.

This presents a big problem for the defense.

Yes, I have read about the three rightfully accused defendants having sworn their innocence. What I have not read is where anyone at any time has ever been charged with perjury for swearing untruthfully their innocence. If all the people in prison who have sworn they were innocent were turned loose, how many people would we have left in prison? Anyone who thinks a defense attorney will put his client on the witness stand to proclaim his innocence and be cross examined by DA Mike Nifong is dreaming. It will never happen.

Turner, like the rest of us, does not know all the evidence, He does not know what evidence went before the grand jury nor has he read one word of the more than 2,400 pages of evidence Nifong has turned over to the defense attorneys. When Turner says "There is not one piece of evidence that supports a rape," he speaks incorrectly and without sufficient knowledge

Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing. It allows a person to speak their mind without speaking the truth.

JIMMY D. HAYNES October 7, 2006
http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/hsletters/


157 posted on 10/07/2006 3:15:46 AM PDT by abb (The Dinosaur Media: A One-Way Medium in a Two-Way World)
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To: abb

My apologies for not posting this yesterday when it came available...

http://www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/10/06/News/Pace-Of.Lax.Case.Raises.Questions-2336819.shtml?norewrite200610070618&sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com
Lawyers in the lacrosse case have expressed concern about the speed of the progression of the case.
Pace of lax case raises questions
News Analysis
Andrew Beach
Posted: 10/6/06
More than five months have passed since three members of the 2005-2006 men's lacrosse team were charged with rape, but the case is still in its preliminary stages.

The defendants and the University have remained in the national spotlight for months, as the controversy and media frenzy surrounding the case continue.

With the reputations of both players and school on the line, the pace of the trial is a significant concern for the campus and community.

"You have an impression that it is taking a long time, and it is," said Robert Ekstrand, a lawyer who represented 35 lacrosse players this past spring, none of whom were indicted.

Some other people have questioned whether the defendants in the lacrosse case are receiving the speedy trial they deserve. They have also noted that the right to a speedy trial protects a defendant from unnecessary personal damages before a case is tried.

Although the alleged crime occurred on the night of March 13, the case will likely not go to trial until Spring 2007-nearly a year after the investigation and accompanying media coverage began.

"The discovery phase is taking an inordinate amount of time," Ekstrand said.

He added that the state's investigative file, which must be provided to the defendants in a speedy manner, has been a long time coming.

"There have been sizeable installments of documents month after month," he said of the thousands of pages of statements, audio transcripts and other components of the file.

Neil Vidmar, professor of law, said, however, that the timeline for the trial so far is typical of cases like this.

"The wheels of justice grind slowly for a reason," Vidmar said.

The complicated preliminary components of the case are only intensified by disputes between prosecution and the defense that must be settled before the case can continue.

"You really need to be inside it to see how complex it is," Vidmar said.

He added that it is difficult for people to understand that for the lawyers to do their job properly, they have to spend a lot of time on the investigation.

As long as the lawyers on both sides are active in moving the case forward, it is as speedy as it can get, Vidmar said.

And even though the case is one of the most high-profile in the state right now, it does not get special permission to move ahead of other cases.

"It has to take its place in line," said James Coleman, professor of law.

Additional circumstances have also delayed the pace of the trial.

One reason is that the original judges appointed to the case were only temporary.

"They did not want to set rules for the case that would bind the final judge," Ekstrand said.

He added that the appointment of Judge W. Osmond Smith as the single and final judge of the case is a sign that things will begin to move much more smoothly from now on.

Even so, some lawyers said it is hard to predict exactly how this case will turn out in the upcoming months.

"We don't know how long this case is going to take," Ekstrand said. "We just know how long discovery is taking."

And time is not the only factor affecting the case and the community.

"There are so many dimensions to it," he said. "We do not yet know the full reach of the case. But it will be significant."


158 posted on 10/07/2006 3:20:15 AM PDT by abb (The Dinosaur Media: A One-Way Medium in a Two-Way World)
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To: abb

Link to new thread...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1715338/posts?page=2


159 posted on 10/07/2006 3:51:15 AM PDT by abb (The Dinosaur Media: A One-Way Medium in a Two-Way World)
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To: xoxoxox

Thanks for the info.


160 posted on 10/08/2006 11:26:25 PM PDT by ltc8k6
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