Slouching Towards Durham

Duff Wilson of the Times covers the controversial election for District Attorney in Durham, site of the Duke lacrosse debacle.  Mr. Wilson gained a bit of notoriety for his coverage in this August 25 article, which was widely viewed as favoring the prosecutor.

Following that theme, this passage stands out in the current story:

Mr. Nifong has been under attack for months by the defense and supporters of the lacrosse players for aggressively pursuing a case based almost entirely on the account of the accuser, which he acknowledges he has heard only from police reports and written statements, and not directly by speaking to her.

Well.  I think there may be many "supporters of the lacrosse players" who could not give a fig for lacrosse, Duke, or college athletes; they could more accurately be described as supporters of fair play and due process.

Comments

[verner]

He relies entirely on the testimony of the accuser who:

1. Has a criminal record
2. Has accused people of rape before
3. Uses flexoril and drinks
4. Has changed her story half a dozen times
5. Is a prostitute
6. Only had DNA evidence that mathced her boyfriend and her um...driver.
7. Told her fellow exotic dancer to mark her up because that's what she wanted.
8. Picked the three Lacrosse players out of a line-up that consisted ONLY of Lacrosse players.

And tell us again why Nifong isn't in jail?

[Specter]

He is not in jail because many (if not most) prosecutors in this country follow the exact same logic train. And even when it is clearly shown to be based on malicious prosecution, or at the very least, prosecutorial misconduct, they get promoted! They aren't punished or disbarred. They get promoted. And that is a sad thing to say about our legal system. It has truly been turned over to the Law & Order educated crowd.

[verner]

Don't forget Nifong's political motivation Specter. If the stripper/prostitute accuser was white, they would have kicked her to the curb.

[Specter]

True verner. There is always that angle. I come from a state where judges and prosecutors are hired into their positions, not elected. I wish we could elect.....

[Xrlq]

Indeed. I agree with the Puppy Blender; it's time to stop calling this the Duke rape case, and start calling it the Durham prosecutorial misconduct case.

[Gary Maxwell]

I think there may be many "supporters of the lacrosse players" who could not give a fig for lacrosse, Duke, or college athletes;

Understatement alert!

If you have ever been to a college lacrosse match, you know that you wont have to fight to get a seat. A few parents, a girlfriend or two and guys from down the hall in the dorm avoiding going to the library.

Most of the students at Duke have never been to a lacrosse match I am certain. Now basketball at Duke is a whole different story.

[lonetown]

I'm afraid blaming all prosecutors or Nifong is a form of intellectual laziness.

Nifong is indeed a special case and should be viewed as such unless evidence can prove all prosecutors do it.

i.e. ignore their own line-up rules.
fudge data
abuse defendants in pressers.
Ignore contraty data.

etc.

[Specter]

lonetown,

The intellectual laziness belongs to those who do not read or understand the posts. Note the qualifying word "many" in my original post. Stay tuned. I have been asked by a local bar association to write an article about prosecutorial misconduct from a layman's perspective. Try googling it and you will find that it is not an occasional thing - it happens way more than anyone is willing to admit.

[sad]

A man convicted in Dallas County has been released after spending 25 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit. He was cleared using DNA evidence and convicted on sloppy photo line-up procedures.

[azredneck]

And then there's Libby!

[lonetown]

Hey Specter, I'll look forward to it.

I've had some contact with prosecutors myself, so it'll be interesting to see anoother perspective.

Personally, I've found thenm to be an OK lot. Ethical even.