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.
It's possible they just did good, skeptical, lawyering, knowing who they were up against. When they got the report, they immediately requested the back-up documents. Nifong fought them on that issue and they had to get the judge to order him to have the lab produce them. Going through the back-up documents they found this little surprise.
It's beginning to appear to be non existent.
Sounds like it's time to arrest a couple of fellas.
Not with MY money, please, sir.
It is against the law in this state not to give exculpatory evidence to the defense AND the Grand Jury.
He had these results two weeks before the GJ met.
Meehan is done. Over.
He's going to be cross examined again starting February 5th.
Want to see hell on earth? Tune in.
Great report! Thank you.
Help....Making date nut bread. Don't have a toothpick to test it with. What else can I do?
By law, the attorney general NOR the governor can intervene in this case.
And guess who wrote those laws; Democrats.
Is there a specific criminal penalty attached to that law, or is it just the usual disclosure requirement that results in the evidence being tossed if its not disclosed?
The Defense probably knew this a long time ago but wanted to make sure that Nifong and Meehan, BOTH, intended to deceive, aka, collusion and they could get them on the stand and admit it "just for the record". They did some good lawyering!!
Nifong should do the time that the Duke athletes would have done if they had been convicted.
I am not familiar with the consequences, but I know we are what is called an "open case file" state, which means he is REQUIRED to give the defense whatever he has "in a timely manner."
Not only did he not give it to them, the defense had to get the judge to ORDER him to give the results; and he never did -- he stuck it in a "document drop" in October, FGS!
Now, it doesn't take a legal genius to figure out he got Meehan to leave out the results so that he wouldn't have a WRITTEN report to hand over to the defense AND he wouldn't have any exculpatory evidence to give to the Grand Jury.
Keep in mind that by April 28th, the date the second tests were given to him, he KNEW positively that Seligmann, Finnery, and Evans were 100 percent excluded.
However, this being NC and our crappy laws, I'm sure the Democratic legislature wrote in some loophole to excuse this action.
I am FUMING.
just like a policeman is held to a higher standard, so are judges and district attorneys......
there should be a rapid and devastating disbartement of this guy......he violated the letter and the intent of the law, and he agreed to perhaps and probably encouraged direct and indefensivable LIES.....is that called "subjurning perjury"....my spelling leaves alot to the imagination, lol....
Whatever happened to the motion about the phone calls that our wonderful "Student, mother, working girl" made that night? Wasn't the judge suppose to review them so no one's privacy is violated?
I think you are right about that; I read something about that yesterday, but can't remember what it was.
Remember my mother was sick from May 16th on and died in June, so I missed a lot.
"I think" Nifong can be now called as a witness since he was noted by Meehan as playing a role in Meehan's decision to exclude info. The defense wants Nifong's words written into the record for future disbarment purposes. If he lies, he adds perjury to the list. And the Defense will not be looking for explanations. They will be looking for yes or no.
Don't know if it's too late, or if you got an answer, but use a piece of raw spaghetti.
Maybe that crafty mike nifong knows the DNA evidence is, um, crap, so he is trying through his own misconduct to have it rendered inadmissible?
Do you have a broom? A straw from an old fashioned broom will do.
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