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.
Slapdown: (same link)
He-Man
Guest
Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 7:05 pm
Post subject: SHAMIEKA L. RHINEHART
Hey Donnie, Thanks for vouching for him!!!
Very Amusing and of course completely unbiased, huh?
"As a young prosecutor in Durham" Ms. Rhinehart, I suggest you start looking for another job. "Your" record in the courtroom demonstrates the unimpressive, unorganized, and inefficient lack of talent the District Attorney has recruited. Its a JOKE!
If you need verification, I'm sure you can locate your nearest Office of the Clerk of Courts......well, perhaps you cant.
Excellent post.
"The grievance committee of the State Bar meets quarterly"
I expect DAs routine work keeps them busy 24/7.
Professional associations in law, medicine etc., are not all social clubs...members are required to perform a lot of pro bono work extracurricularly.. on behalf of their peers and in the public interest.
DA's are very slow to jump on other DAs. This is big.
"The complaint contends the alleged victim had her civil rights violated by lacrosse players' use of racial epithets"
How does an insult equal a civil rights violation?
True. But it'll be a lot easier for another prosecutor to drop the case and walk away. It's easier to drop a mess you've inherited than to drop a mess you've made. Or, to use an analogy that might work better, it's a lot easier to pass on a crappy meal you're served than a crappy meal you cooked.,
I think Nifong has painted himself into a corner with no way out.
To say the least. The kindest read on this is that Nifong wagered his credibility on the wrong pony. The most charitable interpretation is that he was blind to the many faults in his so-called case; the less friendly, and more plausible, interpretation is that he willfully ignored the shortcomings in his case for short-term political gain.
"it is common knowledge that the legal system in North Carolina is corrupt"
ok then that does it for me- not a NC resident.
" North Carolina is the most corrupt legal system and government in America."
Durham County might be pretty bad but North Carolina has nothing on places like Louisiana.
Da Judge" should be hung at the same time Nifong is hung, and with the same rope - Kilkenny Cats style.
If Judgie-Pooh knows that his old protege is out of line AND either said nothing or did nothing, then he is as guilty as Nifong. A judge sitting on a case has rather substantial powers, amongst whivh is the power to summarily dismiss any charges which he feels are groundless - and this merely by calling for a pretrial conference and expressing "a judicious opinion".
The worst possibility, and probably the most likely one, is that Da Judge knew all along what was occurring and did nothing deliberately.
Hand 'em all.
A "moral" blow? Is that supposed to be something like a "moral victory", as in "maybe he didn't win, but his cause and his intentions were good!"? I guess I should at least be grateful that the "journalist" put her bias out there in the first sentence, thereby sparing me any need to read further.
They kept hands off Nifong as long as they could, but when the public and even some of the MSM recently began making this case too hot to handle, the lawyers are finally, albeit probably reluctantly, stepping forward to get on the train.
If one thinks the House of Lords (the U.S. Senate) is the ultimate mutually-protective Old Boys Club, you are not familiar with bar associations across the country.
Leni
Toast.
If those in the back of the parade look hard enough, they'll see FreeRepublic at the front.
I doubt that there's another prosecutor in America that would bother to continue to press the case. The remaining charges would almost certainly be dropped in short order.
Hate to say this, but Big Al and Je$$e are always going to be there, saying "sumthin' went on that night", even if it goes to trial and things happen like you say. They'll just add, in that case, that Whitey's system protected these privileged boys and denied a sister justice yet again.
Spreading hate and fear and envy is the only way they can keep the money rolling in so they can afford their limos and their $3,000 suits and their expensive mistresses. And unfortunately, there are plenty of fools in the black community who will gobble up what they peddle and ask for more.
"However, not voting for Nifong would set justice
for Durham County back 50 years or more."
In Durham County, the blacks now control the
City Council and Mayor's office, School Board,
Police Department, all the city agencies, and
on and on. With the promotion of Hardin to Judge,
the DA election became the opportunity to finally
complete a takeover of the Courthouse.
This complete control of the city and county puts
Duke University in quite a vise. Give them time-
looks like they already have Brodhead.
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