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.
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
The judge now assigned to the case is not the original judge. Judge Smith has not shown any of the Nifong favoritism previously demonstrated by Judge Stephens, whom Nifong was sort of a protegé to.