Posted on 04/11/2007 7:46:54 AM PDT by Howlin
RALEIGH, N.C. — Three members of Duke University's lacrosse team could learn Wednesday whether state prosecutors will drop the remaining charges accusing them of sexually assaulting a stripper at a team party more than a year ago.
"I think it's likely that they will do that," said Wade Smith, an attorney for charged player Collin Finnerty. "We certainly hope that would be true. But until we hear it, we're not going to acknowledge that's the truth. We'll wait and see."
The state Attorney General's Office has scheduled a 2:30 p.m. news conference to discuss the case. It is unclear whether Attorney General Roy Cooper will be at the news conference at the RBC Center, which can accommodate the crush of national media interested in the case.
The Associated Press, citing sources close to the investigation, reported Wednesday morning that all charges would be dropped in the case.
The Attorney General's Office took over the case in January after Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong was charged with several ethics violations tied to his handling of the sensational case.
No notice of dismissal had been filed at the Durham County Courthouse by early Wednesday. But a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office told WRAL that the investigation into the case has been completed.
"We are relieved that this day has come,” Smith told WRAL. “There will not be a celebration because this has been a train wreck.”
The families of Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans arrived in Raleigh Tuesday. Officials told WRAL that the three lacrosse players would be present once a decision had been made as to how the prosecution would proceed with the case.
A grand jury indicted the three players on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense last spring after a woman told police she was assaulted at a March 2006 team party where she was hired to perform as a stripper. All three have steadfastly maintained their innocence, with Evans calling the allegations "fantastic lies."
Nifong dropped the rape charges in December after the accuser changed a key detail in her story. He recused himself a few weeks later after the state bar charged him with violating several rules of professional conduct.
Among the ethics charges, Nifong is accused of withholding potentially exculpatory DNA evidence from the defense and lying to both the court and bar investigators. Nifong faces a June trial before the bar and could be disbarred if convicted.
Nifong faces a Friday afternoon hearing in the ethics case, and he spent Wednesday morning with his attorney in Winston-Salem.
Nifong's recusal put the players' fate in the hands of Cooper, who promised "a fresh and thorough review of the facts" when he took over the case in January.
Smith said the players, their families and the defense attorneys were pleased that the special prosecutors took over the case, saying they brought "sanity to this situation."
“The special prosecutors have looked under every rock, and they have searched for evidence in places even the defense did not,” he told WRAL.
While Evans graduated the day before he was indicted in May, Duke temporarily suspended sophomores Finnerty and Seligmann in the wake of their arrest. Finnerty was also convicted in July in an unrelated assault case in Washington, D.C., and sentenced to six months of probation.
Finnerty and Seligmann were both invited to return to campus, but neither has accepted. John Danowski, the former coach at Hofstra who took over the Duke program last summer, has also said that both are welcome to continue their lacrosse careers with the Blue Devils
Panel starting on Cavuto now. First guy says that Nifong is an irresponsible jerk. Two defense attorney women see $$$ and talk about the withholding of the DNA evidence.
good LORD< i would have thought this development today would have shut that line down! still at it, are they?
Preach your sermon somewhere else. The fault for this lies with Crystal & Fong. This could have happened if Crystal had been delivering pizza or selling magazine subscriptions.
i recommend CNN right now for the continued presser. Lawyer talking about heroes and cowards. It is fantastic
One of Seligmann’s lawyers bringing up the cab driver and that cab ride that secured Reade’s alibi. What The Fong did to that cab driver is one of the little-known injustices of the entire saga, and it’s good that he’s bringing it out at this press conference.
}:-)4
All they needed to be was white.
This lawyer talking about the cab driver being intimidated is awesome.
Communicate regarding merits, or don't bother my ping page, please.
My commentary is about the media. They have never failed to, by the media's self-protective "political correctness" and "freedom of speech," etc., act as if there is nothing wrong with hiring a stripper, or being a stripper.
The media have pretended all along and continue to give the message to the country and the world that, "It's OK to strip and hire strippers."
Good point.
...I want to hear this.
...a lot of good stuff still being said.
Lawyer giving kudos to the cab driver.
I am at CNN also.
Calling out the media... LOVE IT!
This is the question everyone’s been asking for a year. Fong was clearly determined to not let the truth get in the way of his getting elected.
oh its getting good!!!
Just like I predicted - now people are worried that this will have a “chilling effect” on rape “victims” coming forward.
Like the old saying goes, “some cases are so important that even innocence isn’t a valid defense.” sheesh
Now he will talk about cowards. Starts on the Durham paper!! Yay!!
can you not tell that your self righteous crap isn’t welcome here? Go away and give it a rest.
Shut up.
Thanks.
Please don’t hijack the thread - many of us agree with you but this should be about the breaking news that the lies and depravity of Mike LIEfong and his favorite fraudulent accuser are finally being exposed more fully in the public eye.
Lawyer attacking the local newspapers!
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