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."
Thats correct, but the assistant is not normally authorized to bring case to court on his own. He must act as an agent of the prosecuting attorney. Thus if the prosecuting attorney isn’t licensed, the assistant has no authority either.
"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."
I highly doubt that it was just the one case. This time, he had the misfortune to pick on kids who were able to defend themselves, and it still took a year to clear their names.
Time to go back and see how many other innocent defendants were railroaded by this corrupt, lying crook.
From the North Carolina Constitution:
“Only persons duly authorized to practice law in the courts of this State shall be eligible for election or appointment as a District Attorney.”
Once in office, there is nothing that precludes the District Attorney from remaining in office, even if his law license is revoked. That was the point of my earlier post.
§ 7A‑66. Removal of district attorneys.
The following are grounds for suspension of a district attorney or for his removal from office:
(1) Mental or physical incapacity interfering with the performance of his duties which is, or is likely to become, permanent;
(2) Willful misconduct in office;
(3) Willful and persistent failure to perform his duties;
(4) Habitual intemperance;
(5) Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude;
(6) Conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the office into disrepute; or
(7) Knowingly authorizing or permitting an assistant district attorney to commit any act constituting grounds for removal, as defined in subdivisions (1) through (6) hereof.
Another statute authorizes District attorneys and only district attorneys to bring cases to court. Obviously the inability to bring case to court would require initiation of proceeding to remove him under the above statute.
Sure, there are procedures to remove him, but let’s wait and see if anyone does. This goes beyond your normal law in North Carolina. This hits people all the way up the polital ladder to the Governor.
If he gets disbarred he will be removed immediately since the office will be unable to function. If he only gets a suspension, your guess is as good as mine. However, The words of the AG will play a major role in his hearings before the bar. I think the AG intended on getting him disbarred with the strong condemnation.
His title: “How I Stuck the Nifong in the Duke LaCrosse Team’s Back”
“expect the punishment to be severe “
severe would be 40 years in prison.
a just sentence would be 5, plus payment of restitution to those who were injured by his illegal action.
And the stripper? will nothing happen to her?
Oh the irony.
Prison’s not in his future; fraternity and all that - he’ll need the book to handle the civil suits.
Yeah that'd be a shame. Ask the former defendants about their "one case".
"Lawyer", Court TV "legal analyst", and "adjunct professor of law". I say that it is impossible to poison our legal system, in as many different ways, from one end to the other, as she is.
There is a petition before the court now to remove him. The judge who has the power to act on it says he will wait until the bar makes its decision.
Realistically, if the bar takes his license away, I dont see how the judge can keep protecting him. There’s a good chance Nifong would step down on losing his license to avoid the humiliation of being removed by the court.
Of course if he had any decency he would have resigned already.
Even Nifong's friends expect the punishment to be severe -- anything from suspended his law license to permanent disbarment.
Note the definition of "severe" when applied to a government employee. contrast this to the punishment that the Duke lacross player have already gotten (forced to spend about $3,000,000 of their families' money) and the punishme they would have gotten if convicted (20 years in prison) and see if the "severe" facing this little race sucking nazi isn't awfully mild.
If he had any decency, he never would have accepted the appointment by the Governor. He is totally incompetnet. Of course, what else should we expect in North Carolina?
Tell it to the three lacross players Nifong tried to railroad.
It is very difficult to sue a prosecutor for his official actions. I had a discussion about this with an attorney on another forum. This is based on common law and Supreme Court decisions.
It’s like if you are falsely sent to prison, you can’t sue the prosecutor, judge, jury, police, etc.
Nifong’s actions were extremely unprofessional, but it still will be difficult to bring civil suits.
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.