Attorneys press Nifong again on lacrosse case
By John Stevenson, The Herald-Sun
October 11, 2006 9:02 pm
DURHAM -- Two defense lawyers again are asking District Attorney Mike Nifong for statements the accuser in the Duke lacrosse case made to authorities and for copies of police notes and reports about the investigation.
In a letter Wednesday, lawyers Joe Cheshire and Brad Bannon again said they have reason to believe Nifong may be withholding the information from them.
Nifong was at an out-of-town conference Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.
Also Wednesday, CBS confirmed a Wednesday Herald-Sun report that it will air a "60 Minutes" segment about the lacrosse case at 7 p.m. Sunday.
A CBS news release said the segment will include interviews with all three rape suspects and with Kim Roberts Pittman, a second exotic dancer who was at the alleged crime scene. Ed Bradley will be the interviewer.
In their Wednesday letter, Cheshire and Bannon cited remarks Nifong made in court papers last month in which he said the woman told him she "had never at any time knowingly and voluntarily taken Ecstasy" -- a euphoria-producing drug.
The defense team also mentioned a Tuesday Herald-Sun article in which David Smith, chairman of the Friends of Durham political-action committee, talked about a recent discussion the group had with Nifong as it considered endorsing a candidate in the Nov. 7 district attorney's race. Friends ultimately decided not to endorse any of the three contenders.
When Nifong was asked about the lacrosse incident, he said he was "the only one that's interviewed this victim," according to Smith.
Smith also quoted Nifong as saying he continued to feel confident about the case.
Cheshire and Bannon wrote Wednesday that, "It is clear that [Nifong has] spoken with [the accuser] about the facts of this case. ... It is equally clear that we still have no reports of any factual statements [she] has made to you in the investigation and prosecution of this case, whether in the presence of others or not."
The lawyers represent rape suspect David Evans, who graduated from Duke in May. A copy of their letter was placed in court files and copied to Superior Court Judge Osmond Smith and other attorneys.
Evans is accused along with Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann of raping and sodomizing the alleged victim, an exotic dancer, during an off-campus lacrosse party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. in mid-March. All are free under $100,000 bonds as they await a trial that is expected to occur next year.
Cheshire and Bannon noted that the accuser met April 11 with Nifong, Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, Investigator Benjamin Himan and Lt. Mike Ripberger of the Police Department.
Asked about the meeting, Nifong had said in a court hearing last month that the woman made no statements about the alleged rape to him or anyone else.
He also said she was asked no questions because she "was clearly still so traumatized from this offense that I could not see anything that could be served by even speaking to her about the case."
But Cheshire and Bannon said in Wednesday's letter that if Nifong didn't discuss the case with the woman April 11, there was reason to believe he did so on other occasions. They said they were entitled to know what information she provided.
"We have made these requests time and again," they added. "We understand and appreciate that this is not the only case in Durham and that you have an office to run. We, too, have an office to run, other cases to work on, and many other professional and personal responsibilities. When, however, you chose to assume control over the investigation and prosecution of this case, you also accepted the attendant responsibilities of producing the materials to which ? we are entitled. We would appreciate your doing so at your earliest possible convenience."
In addition, Cheshire and Bannon said Nifong still had failed to provide them with notes and reports about the case from Himan and Gottlieb, and also from investigator Linwood Wilson of the District Attorney's Office.
URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-777797.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/497626.html
Defense wants report on accuser
Attorneys for an indicted lacrosse player ask Nifong about what the accuser told him
Accused players on '60 Minutes'
CBS' "60 Minutes" will feature the three Duke lacrosse players accused of raping a dancer earlier this year. The program will be aired at 7 p.m. Sunday.
CBS reporter Ed Bradley interviewed Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and Dave Evans, all of whom are free on bail. Kim Roberts, an exotic dancer who accompanied the accuser to the 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. house where the rape allegedly occurred, will also be interviewed, a "60 Minutes" spokesman said.
The news show did not interview the accuser, said Kevin Tedesco, the spokesman.
Benjamin Niolet, Staff Writer
DURHAM - Attorneys for an indicted Duke University lacrosse player want to know what a woman told District Attorney Mike Nifong about her allegations of rape at a March party.
Attorneys for Dave Evans sent a letter to Nifong on Wednesday saying that they are entitled to a report of anything the woman told the district attorney about the night the woman said she was raped by three Duke lacrosse players. The letter, signed by lawyers Joseph B. Cheshire V and Bradley Bannon and filed in court, seeks to pin Nifong down on whether he has heard the accuser tell her story.
The attorneys for the players have highlighted several inconsistent accounts from the woman as evidence that her accusations are false.
Nifong was out of town at a conference and could not be reached.
Evidence turned over to the defense contains a reference to a single meeting between Nifong and the accuser.
On April 11, Nifong met with investigators and the woman. He told a judge last month that she said nothing at that meeting, in part because she was still too traumatized from whatever happened at the March 13 party. The day after that meeting, Nifong told a judge that he intended to indict the first two lacrosse players.
The News & Observer generally does not identify complaining witnesses in sexual assault cases.
Nifong acknowledged in court that if the woman said anything to him about the facts of the case, the defense would be entitled to a written report of her statements. He has given nothing to the defense that documents any further meetings between the prosecutor and the accuser. But in the letter, the lawyers say a motion Nifong himself filed shows that he has talked to her and not given the defense the report of her statements that he is required by law to turn over.
In a motion filed Sept. 20, Nifong wrote that the woman told him she had never voluntarily taken the drug ecstasy.
The lawyers also cited a story the Durham Herald-Sun published this week that said the chairman of a political organization told the newspaper that Nifong had said he was the "only one that's interviewed this victim."
In an interview with The News & Observer, David Smith, chairman of the Friends of Durham, said Nifong did not say much about the case when he sat for an interview with members of the group.
"What he said was he is the only person who has talked to the victim," Smith said.
The letter that the defense filed Wednesday states that Nifong's own motion and the recollection of Smith show that Nifong has talked to the woman.
The Friends of Durham ultimately decided to make no endorsement in the district attorney election that includes Nifong, write-in candidate Steve Monks and Durham County Commissioner Lewis Cheek, who is on the ballot but has said he will not accept the job if elected.
In his campaign for the November election, Nifong has reminded voters that throughout his career, he has opened his entire files to defense lawyers, something that was not required by law until 2004. But the lawyers in the lacrosse case have accused him in court of waiting until the last possible moment to turn over evidence.
"We understand and appreciate that this is not the only case in Durham and that you have an office to run," the lawyers wrote in the letter. "... When, however, you chose to assume control over the investigation and prosecution of this case, you also accepted the attendant responsibilities of producing the materials to which, you have acknowledged in court, we are entitled."
The letter also requests handwritten notes taken by the investigators in the case.
Staff writer Benjamin Niolet can be reached at 956-2404 or bniolet@newsobserver.com.