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Nifong a Topic at State Bar Council (and Feds Decline to Act for Now)
Eyewitness News 11 ^ | 1/16/07

Posted on 01/16/2007 10:03:31 AM PST by freespirited

This week Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong could be slapped with more charges related to his handling of the Duke Lacrosse case.

This week the State Bar Council will be holding its quarterly meetings in Raleigh. During this time, the agency could add ethics charges against the Durham district attorney.

Nifong recused himself from the Duke Lacrosse case shortly after the state bar filed an ethics complaint against him last month. He's accused of misconduct for statements he made to the media last spring.

In a letter obtained by Eyewitness News, defense attorney, Joe Cheshire requested to meet with Nifong in March about the statements.

"I do not understand why you will reportedly speak to the media in such certain, condemning terms before all the evidence is in, but you will not have the courtesy to meet or even speak with a representative of someone you have publicly condemned," Cheshire stated in the letter.

Nifong could also face additional charges for withholding DNA evidence that was favorable to the accused players. Evidence that is now in the hands of the state's Attorney General.

"We accept these cases with our eyes wide open to the evidence, but with blinders on for all other distractions," Roy Cooper said.

The State Bar Council meets today.

The council will decide this spring if his public comments about the case were a violation of the professional rules of conduct. Nifong's ethics meeting is scheduled for May.

No Federal Probe

The U.S. Attorney General's office has responded to Congressman Walter Jones' request for a federal probe of the Duke Lacrosse Case.

In a letter delivered Thursday, Alberto Gonzales' office wrote that it would be, "Premature to initiate a federal investigation pending a criminal trial."

This means the Attorney General will not be getting involved in the case at this time.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dnaevidence; dukelax; nifong
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To: Howlin
"Premature to initiate a federal investigation pending a criminal trial."

What a frog's ass. If this were a case of cops beating a minority, the feds would't think twice about it being "pending a criminal trial" and would be on it like Boxer on Rice. Hypocritical toad. PTUH!

21 posted on 01/16/2007 10:55:51 AM PST by Enterprise (Drop pork bombs on the Islamofascist wankers. Praise the Lord and pass the hammunition.)
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To: freespirited; derllak

Nifong should be facing criminal charges that equate to the number of years his intended victims would have faced in jail.

I'd prefer execution for a Public Office holder who abuses his authority like this, but then I'm a radical of sorts.


22 posted on 01/16/2007 10:56:03 AM PST by Leatherneck_MT (In a world where Carpenters come back from the dead, ALL things are possible.)
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To: Howlin
Translation: "We are a Republican administration, and it wouldn't be proper to intervene on behalf of privileged rich white boys."
23 posted on 01/16/2007 10:58:13 AM PST by Enterprise (Drop pork bombs on the Islamofascist wankers. Praise the Lord and pass the hammunition.)
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To: Howlin

Anything in your local media regarding 60 Minutes?


24 posted on 01/16/2007 10:59:52 AM PST by onyx (DONATE NOW! -- It takes DONATIONS to keep FR running!!)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

You know what they call 100 North Carolina DAs on the bottom of the ocean? A good start!


25 posted on 01/16/2007 11:01:07 AM PST by TommyDale (If we don't put a stop to this global warming, we will all be dead in 10,000 years!)
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To: longtermmemmory

"for civil cases? all the time. Especially, in probate matters. "

So what does it take to prove malpractice? Do lawyers pay malpractice insurance premiums?


26 posted on 01/16/2007 11:05:40 AM PST by Neoliberalnot
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To: Neoliberalnot

I would guess that most malpractice cases are over mistreatment of a client. Lawyers, like a lot of people, think the ultimate betrayal is screwing someone who paid you money to do right by them.

They give those who abuse the power of their office way too much latitude on grounds that they toil for what the legal profession considers slave wages (Nifong makes "only" about 138K). It's really sickening when you think about it.




27 posted on 01/16/2007 11:14:16 AM PST by freespirited (Honk for disbarment of Mike Nifong.)
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To: Neoliberalnot

The critera varies from state to state but generally the test is a "but for the lawyer's actions the client would have prevailed." It is a pretty high test. You have to prove you would have succeeded but for this lawyers conduct.

As for insurance, I don't know of any state that requires malpractice insurance. Most claims that are made on malpractice confuse losing the case screwing up. Remember 1/2 of all civil clients in trial in the courthouse every day are destined to leave unhappy. Malpractice claims generally don't get far.

In this case Nifong would more accuratly be subject to a malicious prosecution claim. (particularly for intentionally witholding exculpatory evidence.)


Of course the state bar may have a victim compensation fund the duke players could make claims against...


28 posted on 01/16/2007 11:18:10 AM PST by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: longtermmemmory

A very useful "out" for the state is to "decline to prosecute". It keeps them from having to admit there was no case in the first damn place. I don't know whether that will work here, though, since it's such a high-profile thing and the defendants' families seem to have the resources to push for an actual dismissal.


29 posted on 01/16/2007 11:36:57 AM PST by Emmett McCarthy
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To: Dante3
No surprise that Gonzales shows no eagerness to get involved where victims are three wealthy white males. He seems the do-nothing type.

What do you expect him to do? To date, there have been no violations of Federal law that I am aware of (i.e. Civil Rights violation of due process rights) that the Feds can act on. Only if these guys were unjustly convicted could the Feds be empowered to act.

As a Conservative, I'm not real anxious to see the Feds jumping into state legal issues before there is even a trial.

If there is some Federal violation that I'm not aware of, please point it out.

30 posted on 01/16/2007 11:37:06 AM PST by Ditto
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To: Ditto

"If there is some Federal violation that I'm not aware of, please point it out."

1 ) Six off-duty drunken white cops beat up a black cook in Raleigh, kicked him in the head and shouted racial epithets at him. If that happened with the LAPD, the FBI would be all over the case. (Rodney King South?)

2 ) The NBBP made death threats against defendants in a court. (Reverse the colors : If the KKK made threats against defendants in a court, Gonzales would be in town personally with a presser.)

3 ) Witnesses connected to the case have been arrested (Elmostafa, and many of the associates of the AV); coincidence, or witness intimidation? That's a federal
crime.

4 ) The whole town of Durham reeks of control by racketeering cabals. It has for years. $35 million in federal grant money recently disappeared--no accounting. Where's the money?

5 ) Judges in Durham are suspected of being part of the problem (payoffs). That's for the Public Integrity section of the Justice Dept. to look into.

And there's more. Speedy trial. Due process. Little matters of Constitutioal guarantees of protection for defendants, which don't seem to apply in NC.


31 posted on 01/16/2007 11:44:06 AM PST by CondorFlight (I)
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To: freespirited

These people are too dense to comprehend the fact that there IS NO CASE!!


32 posted on 01/16/2007 11:44:09 AM PST by F.J. Mitchell (Only cannibalistic Muslims eat pork.)
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To: Enterprise
If this were a case of cops beating a minority, the feds would't think twice about it being "pending a criminal trial" and would be on it like Boxer on Rice.

So when did the cops beat these guys up?

Please tell me what Federal law has been violated at this point that would give the Justice Department jurisdiction to act?

And why are so many Conservatives here anxious to see the Feds step into a state court matter without appropriate reason?

33 posted on 01/16/2007 11:44:34 AM PST by Ditto
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To: CondorFlight

What is the Federal violation in the Duke LAX case? These guys have not been convicted of anything --- they are simply charged.


34 posted on 01/16/2007 11:50:10 AM PST by Ditto
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To: Ditto

They were deprived of a timely trial by an impartial jury, for one thing. Is it not the duty of the Federal Government to defend the Constitutional rights of it's citizens?


35 posted on 01/16/2007 11:53:25 AM PST by F.J. Mitchell (Only cannibalistic Muslims eat pork.)
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To: Ditto

It is a simple thing...their Civil Rights were violated. The law doesn't say they have to be black to have civil rights.


36 posted on 01/16/2007 11:54:07 AM PST by TommyDale (If we don't put a stop to this global warming, we will all be dead in 10,000 years!)
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To: freespirited
I'm not too shocked at Gonzales.
Nifong has been taken off the case and the state bar is looking into his actions. The locals are trying to take care of matters that Nifong screwed up. Lets see if they do what is proper, if not then maybe another call for the Feds to step in would be appropriate.
37 posted on 01/16/2007 12:00:22 PM PST by snarkytart
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To: Ditto

"So when did the cops beat these guys up?"

They certainly beat up the cook in Raleigh and arrested the Somali immigrant as part of a frame-up.

And Olateyo is certainly involved with Victor Bout, the Russian arms (and probably drug) smuggler;and the Central Bank of Gambia (a country where a lot of the smuggling airlines operate from); and Brian Taylor is certainly the stepston of Ambulai Johnson, the Interior Minister of Liberia.

And that's a lot of strange people to be turning up in Durham, NC.

And the CIA certainly flies its ghost air force out of NC; and those planes don't always return empty.

And the government for years sure has tried not to investigate Durham.





38 posted on 01/16/2007 12:01:21 PM PST by CondorFlight (I)
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To: F.J. Mitchell

They KNOW there is no case.

They are keeping the charges festering intentionally.

It is leverage to negotiate a deal with the defendants so they drop their civil rights violations claims. Happens more times than people care to admit. (reporters don't cover the small cases where it happens because they don't want to lose access. So reporters keep the dirty secrets. see mark foley and the miami herald)

They are not dense, they are playing the real world game of prosecutors.


39 posted on 01/16/2007 12:01:42 PM PST by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: Dante3

One more time. Alberto Gonzales is a waste of space. The worst pick Bush ever made. He is shameful.


40 posted on 01/16/2007 12:04:44 PM PST by dforest (Liberals love crisis, create crisis and then dwell on them.)
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