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.
"I am FUMING."
Keep the heat on. Email everyone involved. Let them know the world is watching. I know we have some crappy laws, but I don't know of a law that will let a criminal walk free. Nifong is in my opinion a criminal.
tampering with evidence....mmmmmmm
That meant if the rope broke in the course of a hanging, and the person being hanged was still alive, they couldn't get another rope and try again.
I have never heard such an explanation. I would think that most folks would take Double Jeopardy is the notion that the government can not keep retrying you over and over until they get their conviction, effectively jailing you in spite of the fact that a jury decided that the government could not prove it's case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Civil Rights laws are evil and wicked because they allow the government to retry the same case over with the fig leaf that there are new charges. If people gave a damn about the Constitution, they would not accept the same crime being defined multiple ways, merely to circumvent the clear intention of the prohibition of Double Jeopardy.
I'm just an uneducated schmuck, and I'm sure someone else can explain what I'm trying to say, more clearly.
The only one whose reputation would suffer because of the information Nifong tried to conceal is the accuser. Nifong wouldn't be able to learn the names of the five men whose DNA was found unless the accuser told him the names--and she might not know their names.
Given the fact that as a lawyer, he would HAVE to know that what he was doing was wrong AND illegal, he's probably opened himself up to law suits directed against himself personally. He should be charged criminally, and I hope that the families of the real victims here (the Duke LAX players charged with rape) sue the government that Nifong works for, as well as Nifong personally.
Nifong needs to go to prison, and his family NEEDS to lose everything they have, and will ever have, as a warning to other "overzealous" prosecutors.
Mark
As an officer of the court, when he presents evidence and charges, wouldn't those be considered sworn statements?
Mark
It is my understanding that there is no need to present exculpatory evidence at a Grand Jury. The state presents only evidence intended to justify an indictment. The trial is where exculpatory evidence is revealed, and even the prosecutor doesn't know what the defense will present.
This DA had better know a good defense lawyer; he'll need it.
he's more corrupt politician than overzealous prosecutor
....DNA lab head not interested in taking a fall....
He took a fall. His lab will never be trusted again.
This DA's strategy is obvious; get to the black jury. If the aforementioned occurs these kids "are toast!"
Many in Durham want his hide nailed to the wall.
"He took a fall. His lab will never be trusted again."
Not trusting the lab is the easy part. Every case decided by DNA from this lab will up for retrial. Durham will have one busy court season coming up.
does anybody know why the "4th attacker" named by the whore was not indicted?......
remember, she was the one that felt intimidated by the black jurors, and instead of at least holding out for a hung jury, gave in.....thus we have Simpson running around today....
I don't understand - - why isn't this sick, lying scumbag Nifong in jail?
Am I on Bizarro Earth?
Nope. Just NC.
I hope the taxpayers of Durham know who they have to thank.
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