N.C. Bar Files Charges Against Duke D.A

[wakeme2008]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Duke-Lacrosse-Ethics.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

December 28, 2006
N.C. Bar Files Charges Against Duke D.A.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 6:00 p.m. ET

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The North Carolina bar filed ethics charges Thursday against the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse case, accusing him of saying misleading or inflammatory things to the news media about the athletes under suspicion.

The punishment for ethics violations can range from admonishment to disbarment.

Among the four rules of professional conduct that District Attorney Mike Nifong was accused of violating was a prohibition against making comments ''that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused.''



..more at link...

[CueST]

1. He needs to be disbarred. n/t

[pitohui]

37. from what i know of the case i agree

he pressed life-destroying charges aga. these young men solely to promote himself and knowing they had no merit, it's truly sick

[robcon]

2. N.C. bar files ethics charges against Duke lacrosse prosecutor

N.C. bar files ethics charges against Duke lacrosse prosecutor
By AARON BEARD Associated Press Writer

RALEIGH, N.C.— The North Carolina bar filed ethics charges Thursday against the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse case, accusing him of saying misleading or inflammatory things to the news media about the athletes under suspicion.

The punishment for ethics violations can range from admonishment to disbarment.

Among the four rules of professional conduct that District Attorney Mike Nifong was accused of violating was a prohibition against making comments "that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused."

The charges will be heard by an independent body called the Disciplinary Hearing Commission, made up of both lawyers and non-lawyers.

In a statement, the bar said it opened a case against Nifong in March 30, a little more than two weeks after the party where a 28-year-old student at North Carolina Central University hired to perform as a stripper said she was raped.

Nifong did not immediately return a call for comment.

Another of the rules Nifong was charged with breaking forbids "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation." The bar said that when DNA testing failed to find any evidence a lacrosse player raped the accuser, Nifong told a reporter the players might have used a condom.

According to the bar, Nifong knew that assertion was misleading, because he had received a report from an emergency room nurse in which the accuser said her attackers did not use a condom....

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061228/APA/612282396

[Pavulon]

3. Pandering

pos is about to get what is coming to him.

This has been a clear case of misconduct. I live near Durham and this moron has been in the press since day one.

[robcon]

4. ...and this doesn't get to the more serious misconduct by the DA

The conspiracy with the DNA lab to withhold exculpatory evidence from the defense.

The indictment even after the DA knew that there was a serious problem with the timeline for one of the defendants - who could not have been at the scene when the alleged events took place.

The photo lineup that violated NC practice.

etc.

[lapfog_1]

5. If there is ever a trial...

unless the defense attorneys are simply criminally negligent, when the prosecution is done presenting the defense should stand up and say "the prosecution has dropped the charge of rape because there was no evidence of a rape, but according to the only witness for the prosecution, Ms. X here, there should have been lots of DNA and other evidence of rape. There wasn't any which proves she lied. We'd like to move for a directed verdict of not guilty be reason of prosecutorial insanity. Failing a directed verdict of not guilty, the defense rests."

No jury will ever convict.

[robcon]

6. I think Nifong has a plan.

I think Nifong hinted in his NY Times interview last week that he would drop the charges when the accuser presents her latest story, of the 4 or 5 different versions, of what happened.

IMO, he'll act quickly - even before the judge rules on the defense motion to dismiss the case for lack of evidence.

[Solon]

9. All they have to do is do what every defense attorney does...

File a motion to have the case dismissed on the grounds that the prosecution has failed to prove the charges. Unlike most defenses, this one would be true, and any Judge worth their salt will throw out the case.

[regnaD kciN]

16. Except that...

...the charge, once again, will be one of sexual misconduct/assault, not of rape. Thus, the only "proof" the prosecutor needs to present is the testimony of the alleged "victim." Now, the jury may conclude that said testimony is not credible, and vote to acquit, but the judge cannot dismiss the case on those grounds, but must let the trial proceed to its rightful conclusion.

[regnaD kciN]

15. As I understand it, they can't do that...

Since the trial will be on the separate charge of sexual misconduct, the disposition of other charges (which didn't even come to trial) are irrelevant to the case. If the defense attempts to present this line, the judge will prevent them from continuing.

[lapfog_1]

24. Since the prosecution will introduce the only evidence they have

which is the statements of the alleged victim, I don't know all the rules of evidence but it seems like the prosecution can't pick and choose which statements come in. Not to mention they can't prevent putting the alleged victim on the stand for cross examination. Once you have that, you can start picking apart her story and the many different versions. And then you can ask why there isn't any trace evidence of physical contact like DNA from hairs, skin, or semen from the alleged perpetrators.

And though the prosecutor will object, you can always close your questions with something like "Well Ms. X, if we were to believe your statements the night of the crime and later statements to police investigators, you were raped by these defendants over here. And yet there are no rape charges pending against my clients... why is that? And if your statements to the ER workers and later to the police were in error, why should we believe anything you have to say?"

[pnwmom]

7. This is a clear conflict of interest for Nifong now. He needs to

recuse himself. If he doesn't voluntarily step aside, I bet the judge will require him to.

[Kingshakabobo]

18. Think we should hold our breath waiting for an..........

.....apology from the posters who called us "women-haters" and "thigh-rubbers" when we called bullshit on this case ????

[pnwmom]

19. I have wondered about those people.

Do they acknowledge even to themselves that they should have been a lot more sceptical before they swallowed this prosecutor's bait -- hook, line, and sinker?

[yardwork]

21. Actually, the fact that the state bar has opened a case against Nifong

tends to explain why people believed him in the first place. Nifong made very strong statements indicating the probable guilt of the accused. People tend to believe district attorneys. It has become apparent that Nifong made very misleading statements - at the very least.

I'm not defending anybody who calls anybody else names. I've been skeptical of this case for a long time, but I don't disrespect honest people who expected the Durham DA to be honest and ethical. It's not a crime to expect the DA to be telling the truth. It is a crime to be the DA and lie. If that is what Nifong has done, then I hope he gets his ass handed to him by the state bar.

[Kingshakabobo]

27. "people who expected the Durham DA to be honest and ethical"

That was their first mistake. I guess I've known too many cops over the years.......Every one of them has admitted to some sort of perjury or "testilying."

No big deal. We all have our hot-buttons. Some of mine happen to be 4th amendment rights, police brutality and testilying by police/prosecutors.

[IndianaGreen]

22. The "victim-is-always-right" crowd was as wrong as the "children-never-lie" crowd

This case will join two other notable cases of mass hysteria in which the "victims" made up the stories: Tawana Brawley and the McMartin preschool case.

Can we start naming the accuser by name?

[Nevernose]

38. There are plenty of DUers who still believe the McMartins are guilty

I know; I've been lectured by them before.

[Mike Daniels]

32. I wonder if those people would have had different POV if the races had been reversed

When this first came out a lot of focus from some people seemed to be on "the over-privileged white boys and the poor minority victim).

If everything else had remained the same but the races of the participants reversed I wonder if people would have still so easily taken the woman's word at face value or if an aggressive DA would have been charged with trying to railroad the accused with an case of "old style" Dixie justice.

[robcon]

33. Clearly, Nifong was using the race card to get re-elected.

The unprecedented (IMO) speech he gave about the case to North Carolina Central University was part of his re-election campaign. Incredibly, he discussed the evidence in an ongoing investigation in a speech to the mostly African-American audience, and spun the lack of DNA evidence as "it doesn't mean nothing happened. It just means nothing was left behind."

I've never heard of a DA spinning a lack of evidence to promote the idea that a crime had occurred.

[Occulus]

40. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"

I think we all know where, and from what sort of person, we have heard that particular phrase before.....

Astonishing, isn't it? I bet Nifong is a BIG supporter of the fact we're at war. Not actual troop support, mind... just the fact of war.

[marshall]

34. Time to look inward

The drumbeat has finally been heard and Nifong is no doubt going to pay dealy for his crimes. I do agree that there was a inclination to believe the accuser and condemn the rich frat boys. It's just one more time for the American public (and the media) to look inward and adjust prejudices to better reflect a fair reality.

[Psephos]

39. Well said n/t

[tammywammy]

8. Nifong deserves disbarment for his actions

Withholding the DNA test results, his highly inflammatory comments in the weeks after the Duke students were accused, etc, is more than enough reasons that this man should not be prosecuting anyone.

[Kagemusha]

10. He deserves more than disbarment but I'll take it as a start

His conduct isn't just an ethics problem, but a problem of criminal misconduct...

But the bar could've taken far more cowardly positions than this. Nifong could well sue the bar now. But they did the right thing regardless. Good for the bar.

[tammywammy]

11. Oh, I 100% agree

It's criminal the way he's handled this case. I'm not sure if they can go after him in the criminal courts though, if they can great. And any prosecutor that acted the way Nifong has deserves the same treatment.

[Kagemusha]

12. There are serious federal charges the DoJ could file

Gonzales has said that it's under review. Yeah, yeah, I know, Gonzales sucks, but if it's career prosecutors reviewing this with the disgust I know Fitzgerald would, Nifong is staring at some serious stuff.

All they needed was the DNA lab guy admitting that he and Nifong were in on denying exculpatory DNA evidence from the defense to establish a criminal conspiracy. (Though I'd flip the lab guy and hoist Nifong on a flagpole.)

[tammywammy]

13. Oh, that's good to know

I don't care for Gonzales either, but in this case if he takes down Nifong, it would be doing the right thing.

I'd be embarrassed if Nifong was the DA where I lived. His actions are totally uncalled for.

[regnaD kciN]

17. And if that were to happen...

I don't care for Gonzales either, but in this case if he takes down Nifong, it would be doing the right thing.

...I wonder how many people, including DUers, would immediately excoriate Gonzales for "acting to defend the children of the elite rich." :eyes:

[NaturalHigh]

30. I wonder where all the pro-accuser DUers are...

now that this case has been proven to be a total sham. I'm sure everyone remembers certain DUers who accused anyone who didn't believe these jacked up charges of "blaming the victim."

[onenote]

31. i thnk they put everyone who disagreed on ignore

so they're just wandering around in the darkness

[Burma Jones]

14. Prosecutors that do these sort of things need to punished severely

Like all their assets stripped from them and given to their victims, their children placed in foster care, their spouses made to disown them and maybe even execution. A Prosecutor that abuses the awesome power of the state against ANYBODY needs to be punished incredibly severely, especially in states with the DP.

[laureloak]

20. Same goes for crooked judges. n/t

[WindRavenX]

23. good

He should be disbared for the way he's handled this case.

[IndianaGreen]

25. Nifong also lied to the court and to the defense

when he told the court that there was no exculpatory evidence when in fact he had conspired with the DNA lab to withhold DNA results favorable to the defendants/

[WindRavenX]

26. yeah, if that doesn't get him disbared, nothing will

Jesus, that's inexusable.

[robcon]

28. That's not his only lie.

The 181- paragraph brief against him is on Smoking Gun http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2006/1228062bar1.html


page 10 of brief...

He told the press, when the first test (the one he released, not the one he suppressed) didn't come up with DNA, he said the attackers used condoms. As the brief states, he knew at the time that the attacker said there were no condoms used. He was spinning the evidence against the Duke lacrosse team, and he didn't care one bit whether it was the truth.

[NaturalHigh]

29. Give this idiot the boot.

After he's disbarred, he should face criminal charges and civil lawsuits for the way he's tried to railroad the Duke players.

[xchrom]

35. lol -- oh. my. this is getting better and better.

[citizen snips]

36. I don't see how he can carry on with the rest of the charges

with this hovering over his head.

[robcon]

41. The NC Conference of DAs has asked Nifong to get off the case

Nifong's days on the Duke 'rape' case are numbered.

"On Friday, the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys (NCCDA) issued a statement that called for Nifong to recuse himself from the Duke lacrosse case. Kennedy said Nifong should recuse himself, but added that the judge overseeing the case could also order his removal...

...The bar cited 41 quotations and eight paraphrased statements made to newspaper and TV reporters, saying many of them amounted to "improper commentary about the character, credibility and reputation of the accused."

Among them:

* Referring to the lacrosse players as "a bunch of hooligans."
* "I am convinced there was a rape, yes, sir."
* "One would wonder why one needs an attorney if one was not charged and had not done anything wrong."

Nifong also is charged with breaking a rule against "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation." The bar said that when DNA testing failed to find any evidence a lacrosse player raped the accuser, Nifong told a reporter the players might have used condoms.

According to the bar, Nifong knew that assertion was misleading, because he had received a report from an emergency room nurse in which the accuser said her attackers did not use condoms."

http://wral.com/news/state/story/1120715/