Duke Lacrosse Players Sex Charges Dropped!!!

[CaptOldTimer]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/04/11/du...sse/index.html



JUST ANNOUNCED!!!!! ALL CHARGES DROPPED!!!


RALEIGH, North Carolina (CNN) -- The North Carolina attorney general's office said it will announce a decision Wednesday afternoon in the sexual assault case against three former Duke lacrosse players.
Defense sources said they expect charges against the men will be dropped.
"I am very comfortable that the charges will be dismissed and these boys will be completely exonerated," Joseph Cheshire, an attorney for one of the indicted men, told The Associated Press.
All three former players and their families had arrived in Raleigh, North Carolina, by Wednesday.
The attorney general's office has not tipped its hand regarding the charges, but has told local media that interviews related to the case have been completed.
Reade Seligmann, David Evans and Collin Finnerty were charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual offense after an escort-service dancer accused them of raping her at a team party in March of last year.
Attorneys for the students have insisted from the start that their clients are not guilty.
In January, the North Carolina attorney general's office took over the case from Michael Nifong, the local district attorney who had been handling it. Nifong faces multiple ethics complaints from the state bar over his handling of the case.
Wednesday, defense sources told CNN the defense plans to pursue civil suits against Nifong no matter what decision is announced.
The same sources said there were no plans to sue the accuser, who was described as "a troubled soul."
If the charges are dropped, it will end a yearlong battle fought in the North Carolina courts.
The allegations of rape, which sparked controversy in the Raleigh-Durham area and quickly moved into the national spotlight, were made last year when a woman hired to perform at a party as a dancer accused the students of raping her.
The woman initially said the three raped her in a bathroom, but the rape charges were dropped in December after she told prosecutors she could no longer testify that she had been penetrated with a penis, one of the defining factors of rape under North Carolina law. In addition, two DNA tests have found no evidence linking any of the three men to their 28-year-old accuser.
The North Carolina state bar filed ethics complaints against Nifong in December and January, accusing him of withholding DNA evidence from the players' defense attorneys and of "making misrepresentations to the presiding judge."
Other ethics complaints said Nifong had made inappropriate comments to the media about evidence, testimony, and the students' character and credibility. (Full story)
Nifong will be tried by the bar in June and could be disbarred if he's found guilty, AP reported.
The case prompted national outrage and discussion about racism and the rowdy behavior of privileged students at a prestigious university.
The accuser, a student at nearby North Carolina Central University, is black; the three accused men are white.
When the case began, Seligmann, of Essex Fells, New Jersey, and Finnerty, of Garden City, New York, were both sophomores. Evans, the team captain, who is from Bethesda, Maryland, graduated a day before turning himself in to face charges.
In January, Duke invited Seligmann and Finnerty to return for spring semester. They had been placed on administrative leave after the dancer made her accusations. Neither accepted the invitation, according to AP.
Evans became the first accused player to speak out, vehemently proclaiming his and his teammates' innocence as he turned himself in on May 15.
"It did not happen," he said. "I will be acquitted of all these charges because I have done nothing wrong, and I have told the truth. I have told the truth from day one."

[HotTrotter]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/04/11/du...sse/index.html



JUST ANNOUNCED!!!!! ALL CHARGES DROPPED!!!


RALEIGH, North Carolina (CNN) -- The North Carolina attorney general's office said it will announce a decision Wednesday afternoon in the sexual assault case against three former Duke lacrosse players.
Defense sources said they expect charges against the men will be dropped.
"I am very comfortable that the charges will be dismissed and these boys will be completely exonerated," Joseph Cheshire, an attorney for one of the indicted men, told The Associated Press.
All three former players and their families had arrived in Raleigh, North Carolina, by Wednesday.
The attorney general's office has not tipped its hand regarding the charges, but has told local media that interviews related to the case have been completed.
Reade Seligmann, David Evans and Collin Finnerty were charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual offense after an escort-service dancer accused them of raping her at a team party in March of last year.
Attorneys for the students have insisted from the start that their clients are not guilty.
In January, the North Carolina attorney general's office took over the case from Michael Nifong, the local district attorney who had been handling it. Nifong faces multiple ethics complaints from the state bar over his handling of the case.
Wednesday, defense sources told CNN the defense plans to pursue civil suits against Nifong no matter what decision is announced.
The same sources said there were no plans to sue the accuser, who was described as "a troubled soul."
If the charges are dropped, it will end a yearlong battle fought in the North Carolina courts.
The allegations of rape, which sparked controversy in the Raleigh-Durham area and quickly moved into the national spotlight, were made last year when a woman hired to perform at a party as a dancer accused the students of raping her.
The woman initially said the three raped her in a bathroom, but the rape charges were dropped in December after she told prosecutors she could no longer testify that she had been penetrated with a penis, one of the defining factors of rape under North Carolina law. In addition, two DNA tests have found no evidence linking any of the three men to their 28-year-old accuser.
The North Carolina state bar filed ethics complaints against Nifong in December and January, accusing him of withholding DNA evidence from the players' defense attorneys and of "making misrepresentations to the presiding judge."
Other ethics complaints said Nifong had made inappropriate comments to the media about evidence, testimony, and the students' character and credibility. (Full story)
Nifong will be tried by the bar in June and could be disbarred if he's found guilty, AP reported.
The case prompted national outrage and discussion about racism and the rowdy behavior of privileged students at a prestigious university.
The accuser, a student at nearby North Carolina Central University, is black; the three accused men are white.
When the case began, Seligmann, of Essex Fells, New Jersey, and Finnerty, of Garden City, New York, were both sophomores. Evans, the team captain, who is from Bethesda, Maryland, graduated a day before turning himself in to face charges.
In January, Duke invited Seligmann and Finnerty to return for spring semester. They had been placed on administrative leave after the dancer made her accusations. Neither accepted the invitation, according to AP.
Evans became the first accused player to speak out, vehemently proclaiming his and his teammates' innocence as he turned himself in on May 15.
"It did not happen," he said. "I will be acquitted of all these charges because I have done nothing wrong, and I have told the truth. I have told the truth from day one."

Let's hope they are properly compensated for this. It ruined thier careers as lacrosse players as well as tarnished thier reputations. Another reason why we need to protect the identity of the accused as well as the accuser in these cases.

[Steamer]

Nifong jumped the gun on this going public before evidence was developed and the allegations were thoroughly investigated. Then when he realized the case was bogus, instead of dropping the charges, he withheld such information from the defense in violation of standard courtroom practice, and continued to press the case.

This is prosecutorial misconduct, plain and simple. Nifong should be disbarred.

[DaSharkie]

I live in Durham and I can tell you this......Mike Nifong, Durham County, Durham PD, and Duke University (my alma matta) are ALL going to write HUGE checks to these three guys.

HUGE!

Nifong's actions have been disgusting and he will pay heavily.

[nyckftbl]

I live in Durham and I can tell you this......Mike Nifong, Durham County, Durham PD, and Duke University (my alma matta) are ALL going to write HUGE checks to these three guys.

HUGE!

Nifong's actions have been disgusting and he will pay heavily.

Good! These poor kids lives have been ruined by the actions of a few ignorant people looking to become famous. What a shame.

[emt161]

The coach lost his job as well. He now heads up the Bryant University program. While excellent I'm sure, it ain't exactly on the same plane as Duke.

[HotTrotter]

Seems to me that the girl involved should also be charged and sent to jail as well. Something about obstruction of justice, falsely reporting an incident, and maybe a few more. She cost the tax payer a lot of money and ruined a lot of people along the way. Trust me she is no victim and to allow this to go unpunished is a crime in itself.

[DaSharkie]

Seems to me that the girl involved should also be charged and sent to jail as well. Something about obstruction of justice, falsely reporting an incident, and maybe a few more. She cost the tax payer a lot of money and ruined a lot of people along the way. Trust me she is no victim and to allow this to go unpunished is a crime in itself.

But the DA (Mike Nifong) did not properly investigate the allegations. Never interviewed her until a couple of months ago. He is solely responsible for how far this went and how much it cost.

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

But the DA (Mike Nifong) did not properly investigate the allegations. Never interviewed her until a couple of months ago. He is solely responsible for how far this went and how much it cost.

That is the flaw in the conventional thinking. Why do you think he didn't interview the victim for months? Because his people DID properly investigate the case, knew she was lying and was backed up by the evidence. He tried to maintain plausible deniability. When this case against Nifong gets ready to move, watch all of the law enforcement people throw him under the bus.

My prediction is that he will end up in federal prison for violating these kids civil rights. What is the difference in what Nifong did to them and a cop beating the hell out of them on the street corner? Nothing.

[DaSharkie]

What is shameful (having witnessed it first hand while attending Duke) is the way the school, the students, the crackpot radical feminists, the "New Black Panthers", and the Black churches in Durham protested, chastised, and harrassed these guys like mad.

These guys, their team mates, and their families have been beaten down, dragged out, smacked around, harrassed, threatened, and convicted without EVER entering the courtroom.

This is the same bleeding heart, touchie-feely, Peace, Love, Dope crowd that has the unmittigated gall to chastise anyone for trying and convicting people without a trial.

I have seen the signs saying "Get a Conscience NOT a Lawyer" in Durham. Who the F@CK are these self righteous, pompous, arrogant, hypocritical, do gooder windbags to do this to people? Church ministers holding the 2006 equivalent to a public lynching of these 3 kids without so much a second thought. The Black Panthers decrying social injustice at 3 White kids raping a Black woman without seeing the evidence (occurred within 2 weeks of the event), hearing both sides of the story, and now these 3 are vindicated from all wrongdoing and these same self righteous pinhead pr!cks get to just carry on.

The school newspaper's "The Chronicle" actions in this are about mid-line with a bit of a slant towards fry these kids was pathetic as well. So much for journalistic integrity.

This being said, I deplore these 3 kids and their team hiring a stripper for their little drunk fest. The relations between Duke University and the city of Durham (Town-Gown relations) sucks.

[KEEPBACK200FEET]

This whole fiasco is symbolic of something deeper that goes on in Durham the surrounding areas...racial tension. It's a shame that Nifong handled it like he did, but I can't say that there wouldn't have been a whole lot of happy people to see three white kids nailed to the wall for "sexually assaulting" a black stripper. As harsh as that sounds, thats the reality. My criminal law class has also come up with a new term for mucking up an investigation. We call it "Nifonging it".

[MarcusKspn]

The one thing that ticks me off about this case is how the media reports how this situation is so surprising, that innocent people could never posibly go to jail.

If the races were reversed this would never have been a story. But because 3 rich white guys were charged, this became news. Innocent people go to jail every day because of activist DA's. The whole system needs to change, maybe this time it hit close to home and something will be done.

[scfire86]

The one thing that ticks me off about this case is how the media reports how this situation is so surprising, that innocent people could never posibly go to jail.

I agree with this statement. And the converse that there are guilty people charged and convicted and never do time. Witness ex-Enron exec Jeff Skilling. Convicted last year and he hasn't been sentenced yet.

Dave Chappelle did a special episode of Law and Order where he flipped the justice systems for how rich people are treated versus crack dealers. It was one of the best and sadly true skits I've ever seen.

[MIKEYLIKESIT]

Where's Jesse and Al on this one ?

[KEEPBACK200FEET]

Where's Jesse and Al on this one ?

Al was gonna raise the money to send this hood rat to Duke. I don't know what ever happened to that.

[wag11c]

My take is the worst part of this incident is the woman won't be charged for these false allegations because "She may really believe their true". Sometimes I really believe I might be Johnny Holmes, but my girlfriend may tell you otherwise. Sickening.

[MarcusKspn]

I just hope that this high profile case of injustice will cause some reform in the system, or at the very least some more awareness that people can go to jail if they are innocent.

Yes, we are ****ed off when guilty people "Buy" their way to freedom, but it just hits home when innocent people go to jail. We have heard for a long time that there was a claim of "activist DA's", but it was always "them" complaining, and there is always a tendency of ignoring that complaint.

This time it almost happened to "one of us". And the media is not going to sweep this one under the rug.

[jccrabby3084]

What is shameful (having witnessed it first hand while attending Duke) is the way the school, the students, the crackpot radical feminists, the "New Black Panthers", and the Black churches in Durham protested, chastised, and harrassed these guys like mad.

This is the same bleeding heart, touchie-feely, Peace, Love, Dope crowd that has the unmittigated gall to chastise anyone for trying and convicting people without a trial.

I have seen the signs saying "Get a Conscience NOT a Lawyer" in Durham. Who the F@CK are these self righteous, pompous, arrogant, hypocritical, do gooder windbags to do this to people? Church ministers holding the 2006 equivalent to a public lynching of these 3 kids without so much a second thought. The Black Panthers decrying social injustice at 3 White kids raping a Black woman without seeing the evidence (occurred within 2 weeks of the event), hearing both sides of the story, and now these 3 are vindicated from all wrongdoing and these same self righteous pinhead pr!cks get to just carry on.

I do agree with what you are saying here....in a nutshell, these guys were convicted before ever going to trial. Now those crying foul look like fools, and I'm glad the guys finally can go on with their lives.

However, just to put a firehouse spin on this.....there are people on these forums doing the exact same thing. Convicting a brother before the facts are all clear, just by reading a quick news story. Case in point is the FF wearing seatbelts thread. Sometimes, people are too quick to judge.

[KEEPBACK200FEET]

I hope Nifong gets what he tried to give these guys....jail time.

[doughesson]

Where's Jesse and Al on this one ?

Ducking and covering for their judgements that they were guilty before hearing any evidence.
Is Jesse still going to foot the bill for the accuser's college education now?