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
The duty of a teacher is to his or her students. These are sham teachers, and professors of an imbecile ignorance of common duty to those they teach. A list of fools!
As so, the Devil is in the details.
I'm just going by what percentage of blacks supposedly vote democrat. Not very scientific I admit.
“Let’s be clear about what was said today. The Attorney General did not dismiss the allegations on narrow, equivocal or legalistic grounds. He determined our students to be innocent of the charges and said they were “the tragic result of a rush to accuse.” In short, he used the strongest language of vindication. ... As for Duke, while not reliving the past year, we won’t be afraid to go back and learn what we can from this difficult experience. ... During the past year, the world has known these young men, their teammates and a great university largely through the filter of unproven allegations. I trust that today’s decision will begin a new day for all involved.” — Richard H. Brodhead, Duke University president
Yup, we got to know Duke through the filter of unproven allegations - and through that filter Duke didn't do too well.
I hope the alumni force Brodhead's resignation, if you want my opinion.
did I just hear Kimberly “Catfish” say “hook line and sinker”?, LOL!
Then, Dickhead, er, I mean Brodhead, came to Duke. First, back in 2003 he welcomed an Arab terrorist group, banned just the year prior by the president of Rutgers, to Duke to have its annual convention. And now, his behavior with regard to the Duke LAX players has been despicable. I have stopped sending $$ to Duke, and the last time they solicited me, I sent them a copy of the check I had sent to the Seligmann-Evans-Finnerty defense fund. I told them Duke wasn't getting another dime from me while Dickhead, er, Broadhead remained president.
I haven't heard from them since.
"Acting!" -- Jon Lovitz
Ping.
Good for you! Excellent! If more Duke Alums would do what you have done - they might kick what’s his name out of Duke and get somebody who has some sanity.
They are academic hooligans and should receive displinary sentences.
Like, maybe each one of those signees should be assigned to teach in say, Knoxville, Tennesee or Inner City Detroit. Possibly, Compton, CA?
They should beg for the opportunity to be "relocated" amid surroundings they'd feel right at home with.
(from earlier)
Cooper read through all the facts and knew the boys were innocent
We think the AG is a courageous man to use the word "innocent" and to use the word "dismissal".
Greta: You say courageous. I think he is doing his job and it should have been done earlier. (Right on, Greta)
Said Colin was crying with happiness and somewhat disbelief that this day finally arrived.
Greta: What about Nifong---what was his day like.
Mr. Finnerty - It's hard for us to imagine that he's allowed to practice day to day - but it's up to the NCBar to finish their investigation - and the AG alluded to possible criminal behavior (by Nifong) in his speech today.....
Greta - what about the accuser? Mrs. Finnerty - .....if anything I feel sorry for her....Mr. Finnerty - there is a level of sympathy for people who have had things happen in their life - and the AG summed it up best - no charges - and we don't want that (charges).
Mr. Finnerty - we had a low degree of confidence that people were searching for truth and justice for 3/4 of this year - but in the end truth prevailed.
Mrs Finnerty - we as a family will help others who might be going through this .....Mr. Finnerty - we need to let the dust settle and regather ourselves.....but the boys are interested in getting behind initiatives to help other people to keep them from having to go through something like this.
(what gracious people!!! after all this!!!! not a harsh word for the accuser!!!! Imagine if the "verdict" had been the opposite what we would be hearing/seeing tonight on these programs from the other side!)
The article about midway has Crystal asserting her classwarfare ("they think they can get away with this because they have more money than me"), and the article ends with "we may never know or understand the mystery" of why Crystal did what she did. (ptui).
Of course Cooper, having his Atticus Finch moment, is going to seal her records and "mysteriously" assert that CGM "might actually believe all those 6 stories she told".
CGM has gotten away with telling so many lies, and been comforted and exonerated, why shouldn't she be still trying to foist the idea that the six ways to nowhere were what really happened.
That's not a mental disease, nor a mental case. She's been morally corrupt and corrupted for a long time.
Might as well seal the records of most all the looney left, if that's the take on people with no moral compass.
Greta - saying Nifong used the accuser to get elected....of course we know that - Greta naming the issue - Nifong (white) wanting to get the African American vote by using this African American "lady" to get elected - but they are not saying go after the accuser.
Greta thinks the accuser should be angry at Nifong!!! The African American community should be angry!
Greta going back to the assistant da's - are culpable! She's right they all need to be dumped out of office and prosecuted for misconduct as officers of the court....Night all.
Thank you Eva. Those names should be plastered all over the internet. They are not paid to get out of their box. What they do on their own time is their business but they acted with full recognition as employees of the university concerning the ad.
*SPIT*
The multiculturalists are nothing but hate mongering, victim pimps. They pretend to be helping Blacks and minorities, but in fact they are ensuring that members of minorities are mired in self loathing, anger and low expectations. Take a look at the Duke Black studies web site. They tout the hip hop culture as though it is something to admire. They have a course in hip hop journalism and hip hop art.
Maybe they have a job for Imus, he’s already speaks the language.
Well, it’s finally over for the three.
Thanks to all for the pings and the continued vigilance on this case.
Now let’s keep up the pressure on those who perpetrated this frame up.
...Georgia Goslee today on Dan Abrams show stated explicitly that "something happened.": "I will always believe in the back of my mind that something happened in that house that wasn't quite right."
(from the Daily Kossacks' rueful "Duke Players Exonerated" thread today on the subject, featured in the DUmmie FUnnies)
From reading this thread, it looks like they all decided independently that we shouldn't hear the AG giving details of MSM abuses, bigoted partisanship, and willful neglect in this case.
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