Posted on 05/01/2007 8:52:44 AM PDT by freespirited
The three Duke lacrosse players once charged with rape are off the hook. But the man who brought the case against them, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, faces a trial of his own in June.
The North Carolina Bar Association has charged Nifong with mishandling the Duke case, violating rules of ethical conduct by withholding evidence, lying to a judge and making inappropriate comments about the case to the press.
Even Nifong's friends expect the punishment to be severe -- anything from suspended his law license to permanent disbarment. Either way, Nifong would lose his seat as district attorney.
"Given the climate, the way the AG came out& I can't envision a scenario where he doesn't end up losing his license or having it suspended," said Bob Nauseef, a criminal defense lawyer in Durham.
Nauseef, who has been in touch with Nifong over the past week, says the district attorney is focused on preparing his defense. Even so, Nifong is mindful of the fact that he could soon be out of a job.
"There are wheels in motion for life after the DA's office, if not life after the law," Nauseef told ABC News.
"He's got some other things in the hopper. I've heard he's looking at teaching jobs. It wouldn't surprise me if he wrote a book."
"He'll be prepared to deal with any outcome that comes from the Bar," Nifong's lawyer David Freedman told ABC News. "That being said, he's a fighter."
Questions Raised Early Defense attorneys for the accused Duke players and other critics began questioning Nifong's actions after the Duke case first emerged in March 2006. By January 2006 the State Bar had charged Nifong with "conduct that involves dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation" and "conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice."
Months later, during an April 11 press conference marking an end to the Duke lacrosse case, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper called Nifong an overreaching "rogue prosecutor" who displayed "bravado" in a "rush to condemn."
Nauseef saw the attorney general's comments as overly harsh -- a move to curry political support and popularity.
"I agree that there were mistakes made, but I was pretty surprised by the strength of what they came out with," Nauseef said.
"It was pretty scathing. It's politics."
Should Nifong Resign? Many of Nifong's critics have called for him to step down as district attorney before his ethics trial. Beth Brewer, a Durham citizen and political rival of Nifong's, filed court documents asking Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson to remove Nifong from office.
Other district attorneys have distanced themselves from Nifong, pointing to his conduct as an example of what prosecutors should not do with a case.
"Mr. Nifong has not brought respect to our profession," said Josh Marquis, a prosecutor and ranking member of the National District Attorneys' Association. "Some of his actions have brought great disrepute on the profession of prosecution."
Nifong does have supporters, among them prosecutor Stormy Ellis. Ellis, who works for Nifong in the Durham district attorney's office, questions the critics.
"Everyone was on the bandwagon at first, criticizing the lacrosse team. Then the winds shifted and everyone's on the bandwagon to beat Mike [Nifong] up," she told ABC News.
"It makes me wonder how they've handled cases, how they've dealt with adversity in their own cases& it's all Monday morning quarterbacking."
In defending Nifong, Ellis also faulted his critics for ignoring his roughly 30 years of public service.
"He's a good man and one of the most honest people I know. People fail to look at the man who convicted numerous criminals, who dismissed numerous cases, who had an open-file policy before it was the law," she said.
"I'm shocked that he has been tainted as a 'rogue prosecutor.' It scares me to think that one case can mar you for the rest of your life."
For now Nifong has no intention of leaving office, his lawyer told ABC News. But if he is found guilty at the June 12 hearing Nifong could be left with no choice other than to leave his seat. The entire trial including the sentencing phase is expected to last four days.
Until then, Nifong can only wait as the drumbeat for his removal keeps pounding.
"He's definitely worried about what's going to happen," Nauseef told ABC News. "There's that feeling that he'll be made an example of."
Not as shocked as the accused as to what one 'rogue prosecutor' could do to the rest of their lives.
Anyone know who Wendy Murphy is? Big femo-nazi lawyer here in Boston. She thinks the parents of the players got to the accuser and the other dancer and paid them off. She’s still convinced they’re guilty and that some of the other players were witnesses and will eventually open up with the truth. She’s so hung up on this case. She thinks every accuser is telling the truth.
I heard her on the radio last weekend. I understood her to repeat the rumor that the accuser may have taken $2 million from some Duke alums. Wendy also claims he was initially approached to possibly represent the accuser’s interests but since she wouldn’t agree to be a party to any kind of payoff, she wasn’t hired.
Wendy "women never lie about rape" Murphy is an embarrassment to the legal profession. KC Johnson has an excellent piece on Her Hissieness here:
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/wendy-murphy-file.html
If the courts allow them.
What about that Sutton guy who put those Border Agents in jail?
The job of DA has gigantic powers and vanishingly near zero accountability. If God were to try to design a magnet for psychopaths he could not do much better than that. Robert Hare’s “Without Conscience” is reputed to be the best general book on the nature of psychopaths and Hare, who worked for many years in the Canadian prison system, notes that the two best places to study psychopaths are prison systems and stock markets, but he obviously missed one; DA offices belong on that little list as well.
And rest assured that the Hunt / Easley machine with the Dem controlled legislature, as well as the courts, will only grant Nifong a mild slap on the wrist regardless of how badly he handled the case.
There's a certain irony to that...lol.
"I'm shocked that he has been tainted as a 'rogue prosecutor.' It scares me to think that one case can mar you for the rest of your life."
That's the funny thing about breaking trust. It's hard to know whether the event was actually an aberration or whether it's just the first time one was caught. In this case, my bet is on the latter.
what this fool does not know is he will be made an example of lieing,stealing and cheating in the guise of an officer of the court. He damaged all of that. He damaged Duke.
He damaged the rape shield law. He damaged Nancy Grace et al.
This fool will roast because he humiliated a liberal
not cheated law.
There probably is no law requiring the Prosecuting attorney to be a licensed attorney. But that isn't the entire story. Only the Prosecuting attorney can bring cases to court. His assistants are his agents and have no more authority than he does. So practically speaking he must be licensed to be a prosecuting attorney.
If this logic is to be valid, one must assume that a criminal gets a get out of jail free card on his first murder? It must also be noted that the false charges brought against these boys can include penalties as harsh a murder conviction.
Nifong should not get a "get out of jail free card."
The only book he writes should be from prison.
Yeah, make that a collection of love-letters to/from his new boyfriend/cellmate.
He ought to be prepping for a date with Bubba.
There is no law saying that a District Attorney must have a valid law license. The Assistant DAs under him/her must be licensed to practice in court.
The job of DA has gigantic powers and vanishingly near zero accountability. If God were to try to design a magnet for psychopaths he could not do much better than that. Robert Hare’s “Without Conscience” is reputed to be the best general book on the nature of psychopaths and Hare, who worked for many years in the Canadian prison system, notes that the two best places to study psychopaths are prison systems and stock markets, but he obviously missed one; DA offices belong on that little list as well.
Would George Soros be included in the stock market scene? Because I truly belive he is a psychopath! IMHO.
Stormy has a point about the media jumping on the bandwagon and then switching bandwagons when it became clear that they were on the wrong one. But the media is not “everyone” and there were many (especially around here on FR) who were right to be skeptical and not condemn the accused without evidence.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.