Posted on 05/17/2006 10:06:43 PM PDT by freespirited
Defense lawyers suggested Wednesday that the District Attorney's Office may have shown favoritism as early as 2002 to an exotic dancer who claimed she was gang raped during a Duke University lacrosse party in March.
In a written motion filed in Durham County Superior Court, attorneys for indicted rape suspect Reade Seligmann asked why the dancer received "such a favorable plea bargain" for criminal charges arising out of a drunken, stolen-car, high-speed police chase in June 2002.
Court records show that even though the woman was charged with four felonies and numerous other traffic violations, the offenses were plea-bargained down to misdemeanors and she received only probation.
But District Attorney Mike Nifong, who is handling the rape case, and who was an assistant prosecutor in 2002, said Wednesday he had nothing to do with the plea deal four years ago. He said he didn't know which local prosecutor negotiated it.
Wednesday's motion was submitted by lawyers Kirk Osborn and Ernest Conner.
"I think this is just Kirk's way of suggesting something untoward happened," said Nifong. "He can argue it in court and a judge can rule on it."
Seligmann is scheduled for a preliminary appearance in Durham County Superior Court today. His lawyers have asked that various motions be heard, including a request to reduce Seligmann's bond from $400,000 to $40,000.
Although Seligmann posted the bond by certified check and was released from jail last month, the money was supplied by a family friend who would like to have much of it back, a defense motion says.
But even though Seligmann's lawyers have asked to argue certain motions this afternoon, there is no guarantee they will get their way.
Nifong said it might be too early to deal with such business at today's so-called "first setting" of the case.
"I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen," he said. "The purpose of a first setting is not to hear motions. Generally, they are heard at the second setting. It will be up to the judge."
The other indicted rape suspects, Collin Finnerty and David Evans, also are free under $400,000 bonds. They are due for preliminary court appearances next month.
The alleged mid-March sexual attack supposedly occurred during a lacrosse party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., where one of the exotic dancers claimed she was raped, sodomized and beaten for some 30 minutes in a bathroom by three Duke students.
In addition to seeking information about the 2002 incident, Seligmann's attorneys filed papers Wednesday asking for numerous details about the ongoing rape investigation. Among other things, they asked Nifong to give them recordings of 911 calls made the night of the alleged rape, along with notes and memoranda pertaining to communications between Nifong and Duke University on the subject.
Details about the exotic dancer's complete criminal history, as well as that of the second dancer at the party, also are sought in the newly filed motion.
Finally, defense attorneys said they want investigative files pertaining to various employers of the two dancers, including Allure Escort Services and Bunny Hole Entertainment.
If Nifong doesn't voluntarily surrender the requested information within seven days, a judge should order him to do so, lawyers Osborn and Conner wrote.
Meanwhile, a Durham County Sheriff's Office report -- reviewed four years ago by Sgt. T.H. McCrae and recently obtained by The Herald-Sun -- provides details of the 2002 car chase involving the alleged rape victim.
The incident began at a topless dance club while the woman was performing for a taxi driver, McCrae wrote.
"As she was feeling him up and putting her hands in his pockets she removed the keys to his taxi cab, without him knowing," the officer said. "He [the cabbie] told her he would drive her home but needed to go to the restroom first. While in the restroom he was advised that she was driving off in his taxi cab."
McCrae said he chased the woman at speeds up to 70 mph in a 55-mph zone until she finally stopped.
"As I began to approach the vehicle she put it in drive and drove towards me," McCrae added. "I jumped out of the way to the right and she missed me. The suspect then struck the right rear quarter of my patrol vehicle."
Another chase ensued, but the woman finally was apprehended after having a flat tire, according to McCrae.
The officer said she registered a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.19 on a portable sensing device -- more than double North Carolina's 0.08 legal threshold for impairment.
And while being questioned, the dancer "passed out and was unresponsive," McCrae said.
She was taken to the emergency room at Duke University Hospital, McCrae's report indicated.
On the night of the alleged rape, the woman was also described by an officer as being "passed out drunk" before being taken to the emergency room and saying she had been assaulted.
In connection with the 2002 incident, the woman was charged with felonious assault with a deadly weapon [the stolen taxi] on a government officer, felonious larceny and felonious possession of a stolen vehicle, felonious speeding to elude arrest, driving while impaired, driving with a revoked license, driving while left of center, ignoring an officer's blue lights and siren, reckless driving, driving the wrong way on a dual-lane highway, having an open alcoholic beverage container in the car, two counts of damaging personal property and resisting a public officer.
No, she CLAIMS she was raped by 3 men. She was not.
The lawyers may be on to something here. It needs investigating to see if there has been favoritism or undue influence in her case. If any of us stole a car and tried to run down an officer anywhere in this country, we would either be dead or still making license plates at very cheap wages.
And now for other and related news....
May 17, 2006: Many US women abused by men, study finds (A Lesson in Bias)
*** To get the Nifong Support fully "operational" as a vehicle for "truth to power", gotta allow nearly a year for their engines to get up to snuff.
Gotta build some outrage in order to obscure facts.
Typical liberal show, and Nifong is their guy.
Dems are probably having to tie up Howard Dean to not open his mouth.
The fact that Nifong signed off on a bail reduction as soon as Roberts changed her story has nothing to do with the rape....
The fact that the 2 lead investogators served a 2 year old warrant on a closed case with someone else pleading guilty has nothing to do with the rape.........
/end sarcasm
I could go on & on.
Don't forget that 3 became 4 in the lineup. She picked 4 LAX players out of the lineup.
We need to know for sure who the 4th man was, because he probably is the rumored one who was not even in Durham that night.
If she actually picked a guy that wasn't in Durham, that would be another shotgun blast to her already tattered credibility.
You don't think the credibility of witness, where there is no corroborating evidence, matters?
I wonder how long her probation was. I know someone who got 5 years probation for less serious charges and 1 condition was no alcohol. If she had ended up in detox, that would probably be enough to violate the probation.
Curious and curiouser....
"you could drive an M1 tank through."
Would that be a (Dan) Abrams tank?
Well, maybe she got special treatment 2 years ago, but that doesn't mean she wasn't raped. Only the facts about the Duke case are relevent; her conduct 3 years ago isn't.
Doesn't it goes to her credibility?
Who in their right mind really believes she was raped by anyone on the Duke lacrosse team?
Maybe she was raped. By the "boyfriend."
The "boyfriend's" DNA was the only foreign-source DNA found on the FA. The Nifong-commissioned DNA report indicated that the "boyfriend's" DNA had been freshly deposited "immediately" prior to the rape-kit exam.
Also as evidence for rape, there's that SANE nurse's report -- the one that's been brayed about incessantly by Wendy Murphy and the other talking-head feminazis. It's been quoted as stating findings "consistent with rape..."
However, according to some lawyers I've heard, including commie lawyer Ron Kuby, those words "consistent with _____" are weasel words.
"Consistent with ____" only means "could have happened." Doesn't mean "did happen."
Further, abrasions that are "consistent with rape" may also be:
- consistent with voluntary rough sex; or
- consistent with sex with multiple partners.
The first course in law school has to be in lying.
Bill and Hill are past masters at it. Some law school will pick them up to teach the stuff in future.
Here's hoping that the new details finally all come out and this case goes away.
Further, abrasions that are "consistent with rape" may also be:- consistent with voluntary rough sex; or
- consistent with sex with multiple partners.
You're right. "Consistent with rape" is one of the biggest weasel phrases of all time.
No, but it does call into question the credibility of her accusation when there is no physical evidence of a rape, and one of the defendants whom she positively identified has a time-stamped security photo substantiated alibi.
Not really. If she had a history of purjury or lying to the police, then it would. All I can gather from the above account is that she's a stupid tramp who got drunk and tried to kill a police officer. It doesn't indicate she's a liar.
Not that I'm convinced she was raped. From the evidence available to the public, it doesn't seem likely. Nevertheless, not all evidence has been made public, yet, so it's a little silly to pre-judge this before the trial.
Agree. I watched NG last night to see what she was saying. Good Lord. That woman makes me scream a word that I hate - really really hate. It starts with "C" and rhymes with punt. She had a forensic guy on and asked him about the "tearing" etc. He said just what you did. It could mean rough sex and with a boyfriend. She did not like that answer at all.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.