Bad News for Duke

[sohotrightnow]

It's always been only on Sundays. I doubt they would have a week's worth of coverage just for this incident. Perhaps 60 Minutes II is covering something on the issue, but I doubt it.

[Jack Cribbin]

Duke lax coach: Players may return if exonerated

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2633871

[Sonny]

I don't think you can make this stuff up....

The district attorney prosecuting three Duke lacrosse players accused of raping a woman at a team party said during a court hearing Friday that he still hasn't interviewed the accuser about the facts of the case.

"I've had conversations with (the accuser) about how she's doing. I've had conversations with (the accuser) about her seeing her kids," Mike Nifong said. "I haven't talked with her about the facts of that night. ... We're not at that stage yet."

Nifong made the statement in response to a defense request for any statements the woman has made about the case.

"I understand the answer may not be the answer they want but it's the true answer. That's all I can give them," the prosecutor said after the hourlong hearing.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/27/D8L15CTO0.html

[UofMLaxGoalie11]

I don't think you can make this stuff up....

The district attorney prosecuting three Duke lacrosse players accused of raping a woman at a team party said during a court hearing Friday that he still hasn't interviewed the accuser about the facts of the case.

"I've had conversations with (the accuser) about how she's doing. I've had conversations with (the accuser) about her seeing her kids," Mike Nifong said. "I haven't talked with her about the facts of that night. ... We're not at that stage yet."

Nifong made the statement in response to a defense request for any statements the woman has made about the case.

"I understand the answer may not be the answer they want but it's the true answer. That's all I can give them," the prosecutor said after the hourlong hearing.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/27/D8L15CTO0.html

So much for a speedy trial...

[SLUDoubleDeuce]

ESPN.com is reporting:

Duke DA hasn't discussed case with accuser

DURHAM, N.C. -- The district attorney prosecuting three Duke lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a team party said during a court hearing Friday that he still hasn't interviewed the accuser about the facts of the case.

Now I'm no lawyer, don't even play one on tv, and tell me if I'm wrong, but I would think that in a case of this magnitude you would have at least talked to her about what happened that night before indicting three people!

[Campbell]

maybe this is his exit strategy, claim you knew nothing, blame the police, apologize to the citizens of Durham for the behavior of the police, and then get elected.

[Sonny]

Second Dancer: Alleged Duke Lacrosse Rape Victim Said to Bruise Her

By CHRIS FRANCESCANI and EAMON McNIFF
ABC News Law & Justice Unit

Oct. 30, 2006 — The second dancer in the Duke rape case has said for the first time that the accuser told her to "go ahead, put marks on me" after the alleged attack.

Dancer Kim Roberts made the new allegation — which she has not shared with authorities — in an interview with Chris Cuomo that aired today on "Good Morning America."

Roberts' allegation comes after Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong's admission in court last week that he has not yet interviewed the accuser "about the facts of that night."

As she drove the accuser from the March 2006 Duke lacrosse party, Roberts told ABC News the woman was clearly impaired and "talking crazy."

LINK:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LegalCenter/s ... 634&page=1

[OAKS]

Roberts' allegation comes after Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong's admission in court last week that he has not yet interviewed the accuser "about the facts of that night."

SAY WHAT?

[LaxRef]

Roberts' allegation comes after Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong's admission in court last week that he has not yet interviewed the accuser "about the facts of that night."

SAY WHAT?

This sounds completely ridiculous, but how much of that is because we see Jack McCoy and his ADA interviewing witnesses on TV? Can anyone with criminal law experience comment on how often the DA speaks directly with witnesses at this point in the investigation and how often they simply rely on the statements gathered by the police?

This may be a case where standard procedure is being followed but it sounds like something funny is going on. Or not.

[Campbell]

I agree with you LaxRef that this isn't Law and Order, but this case is a little too high profile. If he was a good DA you think he would want to have all his ducks in a row before moving forward with this highly public case. He's had just about every news channel lawyer scrutinizing his work since it hit the press and also the defense lawyers. He is already facing challenges to his career as DA, so if he really believed in his case, you think he would have been a little more involved with the accuser.

[LaxRef]

I agree with you LaxRef that this isn't Law and Order, but this case is a little too high profile. If he was a good DA you think he would want to have all his ducks in a row before moving forward with this highly public case. He's had just about every news channel lawyer scrutinizing his work since it hit the press and also the defense lawyers. He is already facing challenges to his career as DA, so if he really believed in his case, you think he would have been a little more involved with the accuser.

Well, that's just my point: I would think that he'd be more involved. But the fact that he's not doesn't necessarily mean he's not following accepted practices, even for high profile cases. That's why I'm asking about whether anyone who has experience with criminal law can speak to the issue.

I think there's probably something fishy with this case, but I don't like to draw conclusions when I'm admittedly ignorant about the facts and the process. (But I'm not saying that you are!)

[Sonny]

DURHAM, N.C. - The district attorney at the center of the Duke lacrosse rape case has heard the criticisms from experts and armchair lawyers alike, but said Monday he's comfortable with almost all his decisions and is confident about taking the case to trial.

"I think that I have a responsibility to prosecute this case," Mike Nifong told The Associated Press on Monday. "I think that really nothing about my view of the case and my view of how the case ultimately needs to be handled has been affected by any of the things that have occurred."

Nifong, running for election against two challengers who have attacked his handling of the case, obtained an indictment against three lacrosse players accused of raping a stripper at a team party in March. David Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty have strongly declared their innocence.

The 56-year-old Nifong, who has worked for Durham County's district attorney's office since 1978, thrust himself into the story in the days after the accusations became public, granting numerous newspaper and TV interviews as he prepared to face two challengers in May's Democratic primary - an election he won.

His tone was decidedly aggressive, as Nifong called the players "hooligans" used to having "expensive lawyers" get them out of trouble. He denounced what he called a "blue wall of silence" that had supposedly formed around the perpetrators.

"I think it was pretty clear that I (misunderstood) the likely consequence of appearing on camera," Nifong said. "Certainly what I was trying to do was to reassure the community, to encourage people with information to come forward. And that was clearly not the effect."

LINK:
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/n ... 885474.htm

[Sonny]

Duke rape accuser may be in club video
Ex-worker IDs agile dancer; investigator can't confirm identity
JOSEPH NEFF AND BENJAMIN NIOLET
(Raleigh) News & Observer

A woman identified as the accuser in the Duke lacrosse rape case performed an athletic pole dance at a Hillsborough strip club around the same time she was visiting hospitals complaining of intense pain from being assaulted.

A time-stamped video shows a woman at The Platinum Club on March 26, about two weeks after the reported rape. The club's former security manager, H.P. Thomas, identified her as the accuser.

The video, reviewed by The News & Observer, shows a limber performer. The Duke team's accuser told doctors at UNC and Duke hospitals around that time that she had been beaten and assaulted and was racked with pain.

LINK:
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/n ... 877181.htm

[StrykerFSU]

Oct. 31, 2006 — He is the only African-American player on the 47-man embattled Duke lacrosse team and the youngest man in the group.

In his first, exclusive interview with ABC News, Devon Sherwood said that his three white teammates who have been accused of sexually assaulting a black woman had been stereotyped by class and skin color.

"It's almost a reversal," Sherwood, 19, said in an interview today on "Good Morning America."

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LegalCenter/story?id=2617301&page=1

[cjwilhelmi]

thats a real good aricle