Bad News for Duke

[NomaBlueCollar]

This article includes links to some of the photos in question.

Attorneys: Photos Will Exonerate Players

POSTED: 3:32 pm EDT April 19, 2006
UPDATED: 8:07 pm EDT April 19, 2006

DURHAM, N.C. -- NBC has obtained exclusive photos that defense lawyers for the Duke University lacrosse players feel will exonerate their clients of rape charges.

Collin Finnerty, 19, and Reade Seligmann, 20, were charged Tuesday with first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense and first-degree kidnapping after a woman said she was raped and beaten at a March 13 lacrosse team party, where she was performing as an exotic dancer.

Dan Abrams, a Duke graduate and former lawyer who now hosts "The Abrams Report" on MSNBC, said he has copies of a series of photos lacrosse team players said they took at the party.

Finnerty appears in none of the photos, Abrams said, which bolsters defense attorneys' claims that the teen wasn't at the party when the alleged rape occurred.

Although Seligmann was in some photos, defense attorneys said the have records from a cab company, ATM receipts and other information with which they can prove he left the party before the alleged rape took place.

LINK:
http://www.nbc17.com/news/8830631/detail.html

Sounds like pretty solid defense, believable, and might keep these kids out of trouble. But on the other hand, I'm not sure that a person (the victim) could be dumb enough to lie about something like rape, such a major issue doesnt go without a thorough investigation. It would take a lot of guts to outright lie about something like that.

[Rob Graff]

AbC News Story:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LegalCenter/s ... 806&page=1

Over the last few days, sources close to the defense have given ABC News an exclusive look at the evidence behind one player's alleged alibi — evidence that includes electronic records, photographs and witness statements. If that material is authentic, it could prove that it was practically impossible for him to rape, kidnap or assault the alleged victim.


Seligmann's argument is simple: He is innocent and he has an alibi. He attended the party that night, but documents, photos and witness testimony show that he wasn't there long enough or at the right time to attack the alleged victim.

[Zamboni_Driver]

I think the media can still scrutinize her claims without divulging her name since THEY know her name.

And couldn't the media also scrutinize the accused with divulging their names? I understand and complete agree that the names of the accuser should not be release, but I think the same respect should be given to the accused until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

[SLUDoubleDeuce]

I think the media can still scrutinize her claims without divulging her name since THEY know her name.

And couldn't the media also scrutinize the accused with divulging their names? I understand and complete agree that the names of the accuser should not be release, but I think the same respect should be given to the accused until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

Ahhh...but that would require the media to be impartial. A skill I believe was lost a long, long time ago...

[WT]

And speaking of IDs...last night on Fox News, Brit "Mr. Rock&Roll" Hume brought up the journalistic code where the names of alleged victims of sexual assault are not publicized. I had always thought this was a legal question but it appears that reporters are under no obligation to suppress the identities of alleged victims. It is my opinion that in a case such as this one, where there is serious doubt about what may have happened, reporters should should make the woman's name public. In this case, we have two young men who may be innocent whose names are now public record in association with this woman's claims. Why should she not be under the same media scrutiny given all the questions concerning her claims?

I am torn on this subject. While I strongly believe in the innocence of the players, what if they are guilty? Should we just publicize the name of the "victim" when her story is shaky? If it turns out she was raped, then she is a victim of whatever the journalistic code is meant to protect her from. I think it's either all or nothing. Either you always publicize the name or you never do. I think the media can still scrutinize her claims without divulging her name since THEY know her name.

i huge number of rapes and sexual assaults go unreported. here are some stats from the FBI/USDOJ:

In 2003, 38.5 percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to the police. (Ibid.)

Only 36 percent of completed rapes were reported to the police during the years 1992 to 2000. Thirty-four percent of the attempted rapes, and 26 percent of the completed and attempted sexual assaults were reported. (Ibid.)

Between 1995 – 2000, 86 percent of all rapes/sexual assaults committed against college students were not reported to police, compared to 12 percent that were reported. (Ibid.)

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/ncvrw/2005/pg5o.html

if victims' names were published in the press, they would be even less likely to report the assaults.

there are other remedies in cases where there are fraudulent claims of sexual assault (slander/libel actions).

the press's decision not to print rape victims/accusers' names may not be a perfect solution, but it seems like it's a fair balance of the interests that we would want to promote.[/quote]

[cjwilhelmi]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,192404,00.html

DURHAM, N.C. — Fake fingernails and clothing are the focus of new leads in the Duke University lacrosse rape case as investigators try to pin down whether any members of the team raped or assaulted a stripper at a party last month.

Meanwhile, a cab driver who took a since-arrested lacrosse player home from a team party the same night a woman claims she was raped says his passenger was calm and jovial. But the driver, Moez Mostafa, said a second passenger he picked up later was talking about a stripper in a tone that made it "look to me like somebody get hurt."

[TexOle]

All I can say is "Taxi!"

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/20/duke.cabbie/index.html

[cjwilhelmi]

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/5525708

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - At first, a stripper who performed at a Duke University lacrosse team party doubted the story of a colleague who told police she was dragged into a bathroom and raped.

Now, Kim Roberts isn't so sure.

"I was not in the bathroom when it happened, so I can't say a rape occurred - and I never will," Roberts told The Associated Press on Thursday in her first on-the-record interview. But after watching defense attorneys release photos of the accuser, and upset by the leaking of both dancers' criminal pasts, she said she has to "wonder about their character."

"In all honesty, I think they're guilty," she said. "And I can't say which ones are guilty ... but somebody did something besides underage drinking. That's my honest-to-God impression."

[KnoxVegas]

Sounds like pretty solid defense, believable, and might keep these kids out of trouble. But on the other hand, I'm not sure that a person (the victim) could be dumb enough to lie about something like rape, such a major issue doesnt go without a thorough investigation. It would take a lot of guts to outright lie about something like that.

Obviously, you have never heard of Tawana Brawley:
http://www.courttv.com/archive/legaldocs/newsmakers/tawana/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawana_Brawley

Note: This is intended for instructional purposes only and not to draw a parallel between the two cases.

[Campbell]

Sounds like pretty solid defense, believable, and might keep these kids out of trouble. But on the other hand, I'm not sure that a person (the victim) could be dumb enough to lie about something like rape, such a major issue doesnt go without a thorough investigation. It would take a lot of guts to outright lie about something like that.

Obviously, you have never heard of Tawana Brawley:
http://www.courttv.com/archive/legaldocs/newsmakers/tawana/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawana_Brawley

Note: This is intended for instructional purposes only and not to draw a parallel between the two cases.

There was a female cadet at Texas A&M my freshman year that accused members of the Cavalry unit of harrassment and sexual assault. The incident caught the attention of CNN, NY Times, and other national news groups. The cavalry was suspended for two months during the investigation when the female cadet recanted her story. An officer in the cavalry at the time told me the signs of abuse on her body (the evidence) were the result of an abusive uncle that raised her. Although it was found during the investigation that the harrassment of women cadets was fairly widespread and that part of her story was true.

[Sonny]

Story from today's USA Today sports section with several mentions about the current situation at Duke effecting the growth of the sport nationwide:
http://www.uslia.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=536

[Brent Burns]

After reading that article from USA Today from which Sonny posted, I still believe that lacrosse will survive and continue. We know that we will have to continue to educate the public and do away with the stereotypes that this sport is still a East Coast sport. That perception will still stick with those who have no idea or a little idea of lacrosse. We can use the positive aspects of lacrosse including the phenomenal growth of this sport.

[Hi-Line Lax]

I also agree that the sport will continue to grow, but all this negative media attention is seriously going to affect collegiate teams that are hoping to elevate their club status within their Universities. I've been trying to get high school club teams going out here for the first time this spring and this Duke story is really their first exposure to the sport...lacrosse had never made the news in Montana before this incident.

[culax]

article based upon interview with the second dancer at the duke party.

http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/431162.html

[kschuh5]

Keeping in mind that this is a terrible, terrible situation for anybody involved in lacrosse, this is not the end of the sport. This may even, and please don't take this out of context, bring some people to the sport, and I'll explain. More people will be drawn to the sport, whether through highlights or following up with the next Duke season. Whether they will be watching for the right or wrong reasons, they will be watching. And with that exposure, I think people will fall in love with the sport. Eventually the negative aura surrounding this story will leave, and then people will take notice with the sport itself. As for the USA Today article, I'm not sure that the author's reasoning makes a lot of sense. "Whether any players are convicted of sexual assault charges, the fact team members hosted a party at which underage drinking occurred and exotic dancers were hired is not in dispute. That alone could be detrimental to the sport." Taking away the sexual assualt, which is what Mr. Timanus did in the above quote, I can't agree with that statement. The fact that kids party is not news for anybody who attended college. Not saying that some don't take it farther than others, but college students getting drunk is not a reason for people to stay away from a sport, and I don't think it will.