Posted on 12/29/2006 10:07:41 PM PST by rawhide
Dec. 29, 2006 In yet another moral blow to Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys called for the prosecutor to step down from the Duke lacrosse case.
The group, which represents district attorneys from across North Carolina, said in a statement that "it is in the interest of justice and the effective administration of criminal justice that Mr. Nifong immediately withdraw and recuse himself from the prosecution."
"It's extraordinarily unusual and it means a great deal," said Joshua Marquis, a district attorney in Clatsop County, Ore.
The district attorney group also called for the case to be reassigned and handed over to "another prosecutorial authority."
The statement was prompted by charges of ethics violations against Nifong filed Thursday by the North Carolina bar. Those allegations accuse Nifong of making inappropriate comments about the case in a series of press interviews early in the proceedings.
"As prosecutors, we do not try our cases in the media. We do not file charges frivolously," Marquis, who is active in the National District Attorneys Association, told ABC News.
"I do not know what the merit of the charges are, but Mr. Nifong has not brought respect to our profession," Marquis said. "Some of his actions have brought great disrepute on the profession of prosecution."
Under North Carolina state law, there is no rule requiring Nifong to recuse himself from the case, even though he has been charged with ethics violations. But Nifong's critics including defense attorneys for the three indicted Duke lacrosse players say Nifong should step down because the ethics charges create a glaring and unavoidable conflict of interest. A prosecutor, they argue, cannot make fair and independent decisions when he himself is in legal hot water.
"My opinion is that this crystallizes the conflict of interest," Thomas Metzloff, a member of the North Carolina bar and professor at Duke Law School, told ABC News.
No sooner than three months from now, Nifong will stand trial before a panel drawn from the bar's disciplinary hearing commission. If that panel finds Nifong guilty of misconduct, he would be subject to punishment ranging from private admonishment to disbarment.
And that's why Durham is so screwed up. Same with Atlanta.
Liefong also reminds me of Hitler ( Scorched Earth Policy & Never Surrender Policy ) , & Baghad Bob Of Course !
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1760384/posts?page=1
Except for the AP listing Nifong as Mark instead of Mike - this is a good summary.
sp
She is scheduled to testify the week of Feb 5. Defense will have ample opportunity to discredit her then. It doesn't have to go to trial to accomplish that.
I completely agree. From what I've heard Cooper is eyeing the governor's mansion. Easley recently announced he will seek no political office in 2008. Interesting considering he is the one who appointed the Fong in the first place.
No idea who would hire him after this. He seems to have ZERO credibility at this point.
I have 3 sons. They did not always use their common sense. In fact, I used to wonder if they even had common sense. They could also be (in the loving way only a Mom can say) idiots.
But they were good boys.
Even my challenge son. He put himself in some God awful situations. I had no problem holding him accountable for his actions. But I'd be damned if I would allow anyone to try to punish him for something he did not do.
Whatever you may think of their actions when they hired the stripper, it has no bearing on Nifong's actions.
"Without it, the number of criminal prosecutions in legitimate cases will go way down and the people will suffer more criminal acts against them."
I am unable to agree with the above premise. Neither cops nor prosecutors prevent crime. All either does is clean up after the fact. Mr. Browning, Mr. Colt, Mr. Ruger, and all their illustrious fellow firearm manufacturers do far more every day to prevent or stop crime than all the cops and all the prosecutors put together.
When was the last time you heard of a cop arriving in time to stop or prevent a crime? ;-)
I believe they will. I hope so. And we know some of the parents do have some connections. And at least one of them might be familiar with the law. ;)
Worth repeating! (emphasis mine)
Oh, I agree there are two separate issues here.
Nifong is a jerk.
The guys who hired the whore are just what they are.
Oh my, sounds pretty weird. Were the one who actually hired the girls the ones who were charged?
Crystal picked out he 3 richest guys. Go figure.
Certainly the complaint could not have been filed because of events that happened later after the filing. On the other hand, I don't think the filing of the complaint committed the Bar to its public disclosure.
I would guess that the Bar hoped things could be dealt with discretely, but since then it has become clear to everyone that Nifong's malfeasance went far beyond bad judgement and involved actions he had to know were illegal. The Bar couldn't immediately publicise complaints about those illegal actions, but could immediately publicise those complaints which had already been filed. And from what I can tell, that's what it did.
Is there any reason why having Crystal take the stand in a trial against Finnerty et al. is better than having her take the stand in a trial against Nifong?
I herd that Saddam's lawyer complained that his client was 'Nifonged'. ;>)
I have always had a feeling that Nifong has/had some sort of personal relationship with the accuser.
I tell you one thing, I'd pay admission to see Crystal questioned by Joseph Cheshire. Guarantee it would be worth the price.
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.