NC - Mike Nifong, Duke prosecutor, for ethics violations, Durham, 2006

[L L & S]

​

The Southern Dem​

Sometimes leaning right... Usually leaning left... Always with an opinion

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Nifong needs a Waaaaambulance

Oh Puh-leeze! Mike Nifong's attorneys expect us to believe that while Nifong broke the rules, he didn't mean to break the rules.

Right. How many defendants did that work for in the cases Nifong prosecuted? Right, just what I thought.

read more at above link

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Wudge never believed me when I said this was gonna happen. This time, I'm glad I was right!!!!!

 

[terminatrixator]

Wudge never believed me when I said this was gonna happen. This time, I'm glad I was right!!!!!

Nifong is something else isn't he. I hear the term Nifonged now in my daily life.

How many women that get raped after this are going to want to step forward there or elsewhere?

How many cases that are on the docket are going to be appealed because of of Nifong?

How many future cases in Durham are going to have issues?

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Nifong is something else isn't he. I hear the term Nifonged now in my daily life.

How many women that get raped after this are going to want to step forward there or elsewhere?

How many cases that are on the docket are going to be appealed because of of Nifong?

How many future cases in Durham are going to have issues?

True, so true. I'm not so much worried about future cases, as they're aware of him now; however, the cases that he prosecuted are going to have to be looked at very closely.

 

[terminatrixator]

Governor could suspend DA under bill

Mar 24, 2007 : 12:41 am ET

State Senate leaders have introduced a bill that would allow Gov. Mike Easley and his successors to suspend district attorneys facing N.C. State Bar disciplinary hearings.

Legislators and area prosecutors said the bill, filed by state Sen. Dan Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg, appears to be a response to the situation now unfolding in Durham, where District Attorney Mike Nifong is continuing to work while he prepares for a June 12 Bar hearing about his handling on the Duke lacrosse case.

(More at link)

http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-832575.cfm

 

[L L & S]

from the above link

"There's very little oversight on the position of district attorney," Rand said. "They are pretty well free to do as they see fit and determine things. There always needs to be some oversight by somebody to make sure the system is not abused or that things don't kind of get out of hand. We're trying to put into place some sort of system to make sure that everybody is responsible."

Kind of get out of hand? Kind of? LOL!!

Hi Trix!!

 

[L L & S]

I have posted this link before but it really bares repeating. KC Johnson's Durham-in-Wonderland has THE best coverage of the whole Nifong/Duke case.

I bring this up tonight to let you all know...

Posted Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Nifong Hearing

A week from Friday is the hearing on Mike Nifong's attempt to have the most serious ethics charges against him dismissed.

The motion appears highly unlikely to succeed, but I plan to be in Raleigh to live-blog the hearing.Labels: Nifong


posted by KC Johnson at 7:17 PM

emphasis added

 

[L L & S]

Another good website for Nifong/Duke case updates....

LIESTOPPERS

Friday, April 06, 2007

Bill To Allow Unqualified Judges and DAs To Remain In Office Passes NC Senate

~~ CLIP

In February, North Carolina State Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand (D-Bladen/Cumberland) introduced Senate Bill 117 - “Removal of Unqualified Judges and DAs.” This bill was a response to the difficulties created by the refusal of former Judge James Ethridge to resign after being disbarred for fraudulently taking an ailing, elderly client's life savings and home. Ethridge, who was represented before the NC State Bar by Defendant Nifong attorney David Freedman after the News & Observer's Mandy Locke exposure of his misconduct led to an investigation, delayed his resignation until January despite losing his law license in October.

~~CLIP

The revised bill continues to provide for the immediate suspension of salary for a disbarred judge or district attorney. However, allowing an unqualified judge or district attorney to remain in office until all appeals are exhausted, some of which may be filed up to one year following disbarment and others which have no clear time limitation other than “reasonable,” renders the bill useless as to its initial intent. Effectively, the revised bill will now do little, if anything, to provide for timely removal and replacement of officials who cannot lawfully function in their elected roles.

Not surprisingly, State Senator Bob Atwater (D-Chatham, Durham, Lee), conveniently identified by the N&O as only representing Chatham County and not Durham, was pleased with the alteration that would conceivably allow a disbarred Mike Nifong to remain district attorney for his full term.

“Sen. Bob Atwater, a Chatham County Democrat, said one reason he liked the bill approved Wednesday was that it allows the lawyer to appeal his or her suspension or disbarment.” N&O

If as expected, Defendant Nifong is disbarred in June, and if the bill becomes law as it reads now, and if he delays the start of his appeal process for as long as the law allows, the time until his appeals have finally been exhausted could extend far beyond what remains of his four year term. Should that come to pass, and if Judge Orlando Hudson invents additional creative ways to delay acting on the statutory mandates of NCGS 7A-66,Durham County could be left without a functional district attorney from June of 2006 until January of 2010.

OUCH! :furious:

 

[terminatrixator]

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=nation_world&id=5199196

Apr. 11 - Attorney General Roy Cooper will announce at 2:30 p.m. today that he is dismissing all charges against three Duke lacrosse players, ABC News has learned.


The office of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper will announce that he is dismissing all charges against three Duke Lacrosse players, ABC News has learned from sources close to the case.

Cooper will announce his decision regarding the case at the North Carolina Attorney General's office in Raleigh, N.C., at 2:30 p.m.
"Cooper's decision follows a thorough review of the case by attorneys in his Special Prosecutions Division," according to a release from the attorney general's office.



snipped

"While the three accused lacrosse players may find some closure with the charges dropped, Nifong's fate remains unclear  he could lose his license to practice law in North Carolina due to the ethics charges."

 

[L L & S]

Trix,

This is the beginning of the end for Nifong I believe!!

Durham-in-Wonderland

KC Johnson is in Raleigh today covering the story. Here's his latest post...

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

The Cooper Statement

An astonishing statement from the state AG, a complete vindication of the players.

The highlights:
(1) The players are innocent--not victims of a case with insufficient evidence, but innocent. This statement should leave no doubt as to whether a crime occurred.

(2) Nifong might be guilty of criminal misconduct.

(3) Nifong is a "rogue prosecutor."

(4) Lots of people owe the three players an apology, and a rush to judgment took place.

(5) The accuser has serious mental problems (hinted, very strongly, by the AG).

(6) North Carolina needs to change its laws to deal with rogue prosecutors in the future.

 

[L L & S]

Heraldsun.com

Nifong apologizes to 3 players


BY WILLIAM F. WEST : The Herald-Sun
bwest@heraldsun.com
Apr 12, 2007 : 11:35 pm ET

DURHAM -- A day after Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong saw his case against three former Duke lacrosse players thrown out by state Attorney General Roy Cooper, Nifong apologized to the players -- and took issue with some of Cooper's sharp criticisms of how he handled the case.

"To the extent that I made judgments that ultimately proved to be incorrect, I apologize to the three students that were wrongly accused," Nifong said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon.

"I also understand that, whenever someone has been wrongly accused, the harm caused by the accusations might not be immediately undone merely by dismissing them. It is my sincere desire that the actions of Attorney General Cooper will serve to remedy any remaining injury that has resulted from these cases."

 

[Clearly Confused]

What a joke that apology was!

 

[terminatrixator]

The apology was a crock. Nifong is a crock, and he needs to be disbarred.

He still has not admitted any wrong doing whatsoever. He is putting the blame on Mangum who is must be seriously disturbed.

Nifong is making it seem as though new evidence came in the Roy Cooper had access too but the evidence was the same, there was no evidence.

Herald-Sun finally pulled their support for Nifong, as they they endorsed Nifong. It's a bit late, but they still haven't retracted some of their articles they posted about the Duke case.

I still don't see any sort of apology from Duke University President Richard Broadhead. Nor do I see an apology from the Eighy Duke University Faculty Members.

I'd like to see some sort of response from Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, who helped to turn this into a racial issue, which in a great part is also what Nifong did.

Also, where's some sort of statement from the New Black Panther Party association who actually showed up to picket Duke last April?

BTW, to read anything at Herald-Sun you will have to create an account with them starting April 15, 2007.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

BTW, to read anything at Herald-Sun you will have to create an account with them starting April 15, 2007.

Just go to bugmenot.com for log-in account names and passwords for any sites that require registration to read there.

Bugmenot.com - login with these free web passwords to bypass compulsory registration

 

[LTUlegal]

Durham County could be left without a functional district attorney from June of 2006 until January of 2010.

And that would be different...how?


Don't worry, I'm :slap: myself!

 

[L L & S]

Slate.com

Prosecuting the Prosecutor
Did the DA in the Duke lacrosse case commit a crime?
By Joseph Kennedy
Posted Friday, April 13, 2007, at 12:43 PM ET

Should Nifong face prosecution for his handling of the case?

Maybe. Nifong has not yet had a chance to present his defense to the ethics charges—that will happen in mid-June. But if Nifong indeed committed all of the acts alleged in the ethics complaint, he may also have obstructed justice in violation of state law and committed a federal civil rights crime.

~~ clipped

Even if Nifong did commit a crime, should he be charged? Do we want our prosecutors worrying about becoming defendants themselves? If they deliberately suppress evidence of innocence, I think we do. The law is written to ensure that charges will be brought only against a prosecutor who was deliberately trying to completely withhold evidence that suggests innocence. Prosecutors who made a mistake, or stalled, are off the hook.


And consider this parallel: In securities cases, we indict corporate officers for obstruction of justice when they delete e-mails if we think they are trying to hide material from government investigators. Rogue prosecutors merit the same treatment. The prosecutor's obligation to disclose evidence suggesting innocence protects innocence. Prosecutors should know that when they deliberately thwart that protection, they do so at their own great peril.

 

[L L & S]

Very interesting audio clips!! Look in the center column about half way down the page.

The New & Observer .com

Audio: Jackie Brown

audio one
Jackie Brown describes how she became Mike Nifong's campaign manager.

audio two
Brown recalls how Nifong told her he wasn't that interested in the job.

audio three
Brown describes rushing back from Topsail Island to confront Nifong over his media statements on the lacrosse case.

 

[terminatrixator]

He said he needed 3 years and 7 months until retirement.

Well I hope that he get's his retirement SOONER.

"He didn't want this job, he needed it until retirement and you will never have to run another campaign" Jackie Brown

WOW. I guess firing Freda Black the day after he took office was really the beginning of the end for Michael Nifong.

 

[L L & S]

ABC News

Duke Prosecutor Nifong Preps for His Own Trial


Duke Lacrosse Prosecutor Could Face Suspended Law License or Permanent Disbarment


By LARA SETRAKIAN
ABC News Law & Justice Unit
April 30, 2007

The three Duke lacrosse players once charged with rape are off the hook. But the man who brought the case against them, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, faces a trial of his own in June.


The North Carolina Bar Association has charged Nifong with mishandling the Duke case, violating rules of ethical conduct by withholding evidence, lying to a judge and making inappropriate comments about the case to the press.
Even Nifong's friends expect the punishment to be severe -- anything from suspended his law license to permanent disbarment. Either way, Nifong would lose his seat as district attorney.


"Given the climate, the way the AG came out… I can't envision a scenario where he doesn't end up losing his license or having it suspended," said Bob Nauseef, a criminal defense lawyer in Durham.







~~please read more at link

 

[terminatrixator]

I hope this comes sooner than later, and I really wish the Governor would think long & hard about who he puts in place to take Nifong's place. I think the position belongs to Freda Black. He would have lost the election had he not pulled this Duke crap.