Posted on 12/15/2006 12:00:48 PM PST by nj_pilot
The head of a private DNA laboratory said under oath today that he and District Attorney Mike Nifong agreed not to report DNA results favorable to Duke lacrosse players charged with rape.
Brian Meehan, director of DNA Security of Burlington, said his lab found DNA from unidentified men in the underwear, pubic hair and rectum of the woman who said she was gang-raped at a lacrosse party in March. Nurses at Duke Hospital collected the samples a few hours after the alleged assault. Meehan said the DNA did not come from Reade Seligmann, David Evans, or Collin Finnerty, who have been charged with rape and sexual assault in the case.
Meehan struggled to say why he didn’t include the favorable evidence in a report dated May 12, almost a month after Seligmann and Finnerty had been indicted. He cited concerns about the privacy of the lacrosse players, his discussions at several meetings with Nifong, and the fact that he didn’t know whose DNA it was.
Under questioning by Jim Cooney, a defense attorney for Seligmann, Meehan admitted that his report violated his laboratory’s standards by not reporting results of all tests.
Did Nifong and his investigators know the results of all the DNA tests? Cooney asked.
“I believe so,” Meehan said.
“Did they know the test results excluded Reade Seligmann?” Cooney asked.
“I believe so,” Meehan said.
Was the failure to report these results the intentional decision of you and the district attorney? Cooney asked.
“Yes,” Meehan replied.
At that answer, several people in the packed courtroom clapped. Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III warned the standing-room only crowd to be quiet or leave.
Meehan’s testimony differed from a statement Nifong made at the beginning of today’s hearing.
“The first I had heard of this particular situation was when I was served with this particular motion” on Wednesday, Nifong told the judge. After court, Nifong clarified his remarks to say that he knew about the DNA results.
"And we were trying to, just as Dr. Meehan said, trying to avoid dragging any names through the mud but at the same time his report made it clear that all the information was available if they wanted it and they have every word of it,” Nifong said.
Joseph B. Cheshire V, a lawyer for Evans, said he was troubled by today’s testimony.
“If any of the lacrosse players were excluded, they simply wouldn’t put it in the report,” he said. “It raises some troublesome questions about (Nifong), who has an obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence and turn it over to the defense.”
In a response to reports that the accuser in the Duke lacrosse case gave birth recently, UNC Health care issued a statement at about 1:30 p.m. saying that the woman is at UNC Hospitals for care related to her pregnancy but has not given birth.
Exactly!
Nifong should be in jail. Period.
I bet he had a deal with the accuser to get elected. You know, cry rape by white boys, I'll step in as the big defender of black rights and prosecute such grievous hate crime...community black voters will have no choice but to vote for me in droves.
bttt
democrats are immune
"Why is Mike Nifong still a DA?" ... OR a member of the bar?
His decision not to disclose the full information to the defendants' lawyers is, or should be, grounds for being disbarred. A regular lawyer would probably be sanctioned, but a DA "acting under color and authority" of the government should be disbarred. Permanently.
.. and then it looks like he perjured himself in earlier testimony today. Guy's a real piece of work.
I believe it was done to the cops in the Rodney King case. Federal civil rights laws and such.
Clinton II will make Clinton I look like a picnic
I'm surprised it took to post #7 to see that posted!
Otoh, mabe it's a Captain Obvious moment - lol!
Case closed.
"Nifong will be lucky if he only loses his job over this debacle."
Nifong is a Democrat. Yes, he has committed felonies, ruined innocent lives, and disgraced his profession. He will not lose his job, he will not go to jail, odds on he will not even be charged with a crime, and he will almost certainly be reelected.
The facts and the law do not matter because he is a Democrat. That makes him above the law.
Don't like it? Get over it. He's a Democrat.
'democrats are immune'...yeah; the media would put a Republican in jail for farting in public but the 'compassionate' party can do no wrong.
Sorry, that's "hanged" in public, etc.
You are so right. Since Clinton no one can take any law seriously.
Each of the accused players should instruct their attorneys to prepare civil suits against the D.A., and the city/county that he works in to the tune of $100,000,000 per each player and the same amount against the gov't entity as the D.A..... Make it a 200 million dollar pay day for each player. Bankrupt the county and make the state take over.
Well done! LOL
Yes, as a food taster.
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