Bless those mothers. They had it figured out from the beginning.
Could this be a sign additional charges were filed last week?
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-811825.cfm
"State Bar grants Nifong extension to respond
By John Stevenson : The Herald-Sun
jstevenson@heraldsun.com
Jan 22, 2007 : 11:59 pm ET
DURHAM -- District Attorney Mike Nifong has obtained a reprieve on filing a response to N.C. State Bar allegations that he violated four ethical rules in his handling of the Duke lacrosse sex-offense case, including a rule that prohibits "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation" by lawyers.
Nifong originally was required to answer the complaint within 20 days of the date it was served, Jan. 3.
But his response apparently won't be submitted today.
David Freedman of Winston-Salem, Nifong's lawyer, said Monday an extension of time has been granted. He said he didn't have the new deadline at his fingertips.
In addition, Freedman cautioned observers not to read too much into Nifong's recent withdrawal from the lacrosse case, which was handed off to two special prosecutors from the state Attorney General's Office.
"He regretted having to leave the case," said Freedman. "It was no indication of his views on the strength or weakness of the case. It was in no way a concession to the allegations against him."
Rather, the ethics charges against Nifong created a conflict of interest that forced him to step aside, according to Freedman.
Meanwhile, a conference is slated for Wednesday at State Bar headquarters in Raleigh, during which administrative details will be ironed out for a May hearing against Nifong. The hearing could result in anything from exoneration to a warning letter to disbarment for Durham's chief prosecutor.
State Bar executive director L. Thomas Lunsford II said Monday that Nifong did not have to attend the conference.
"He's certainly welcome, but it's not a command performance," said Lunsford. "It would be very surprising if anything dramatic occurred. I do not believe anything of substance will be discussed in reference to the allegations [against Nifong]."
Lunsford had no comment on widespread speculation that the State Bar might bring yet another charge against Nifong before May: an allegation that he colluded with a private laboratory director to withhold DNA results favorable to three indicted defendants in the Duke case.
Those results indicated the accuser, then an exotic dancer, had DNA on her from several other men, but none from any lacrosse players.
Defense lawyers didn't learn that information until late last year, even though the pertinent tests were conducted months earlier.
Nifong said he would not discuss the State Bar action or anything else involving the lacrosse case.
In fact, a plethora of media statements about the case last spring is what got Nifong into legal hot water in the first place. Among other things, he characterized some Duke lacrosse players as "hooligans" whose alleged sexual assault was racially motivated.
In its complaint against him, the State Bar alleged that such statements violated important ethical rules, including:
-- A rule that prohibits lawyers from making out-of-court statements that might be disseminated by the media and prejudice a case.
-- A rule forbidding prosecutors from uttering "extrajudicial comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused."
-- A rule prohibiting conduct that involves "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation."
-- A rule banning behavior that is "prejudicial to the administration of justice."
Nifong has long since said he would shun the national media if he could start the case over again. Law school gave him no training in dealing with reporters, he conceded. The lacrosse case arose after an exotic dancer claimed she was sexually attacked during an off-campus party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. in mid-March 2006.
Nifong soon got three Duke students indicted: Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans.
The three originally were charged with kidnapping the woman by restraining her in a bathroom, raping her and committing another first-degree sex-offense against her.
Nifong dismissed the rape allegations last month when the accuser changed her story, but the other felony charges are still pending.
Evans graduated from Duke in May 2006. Finnerty and Seligmann were sophomores at the time of their indictment and were put on administrative leave from the university. They recently were invited to return in good standing. "