Tawana Lite - Mike Nifong's Prosecutorial Misconduct
Published Tue, Dec 12 2006 5:36 PM
Technorati Tags: News and Politics, Elections, Democrats, Corruption
Maggie over at The Bullwinkle Blog has a new hero, Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-NC). Here's the text of Rep. Jone's press release dated today...
Washington, D.C. – In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Third District Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC) requested an inquiry into Durham County, North Carolina District Attorney Mike Nifong’s prosecution of three Duke University student athletes accused of an alleged sexual attack on a woman at a party earlier this year. Specifically, Rep. Jones asked the Attorney General to review Mr. Nifong’s conduct to determine if it constitutes prosecutorial misconduct and has denied the students their civil rights as U.S. citizens under federal law.
“Over the past several months, many of my constituents and a growing number of mainstream media outlets have raised serious questions about the accuser’s allegations and Mr. Nifong’s prosecution,” Jones wrote. Jones highlighted two particular issues which have been brought to his attention:
“First, Mr. Nifong directed the Durham Police Department to knowingly violate suspect identification procedures for police personnel in North Carolina,” Jones continued. “These procedures require that during any suspect identification process, a suspect’s photo must be shown with those of non-suspects. Mr. Nifong not only directed that this not be done, he also directed the police to tell the accuser that she would only view photos of Duke lacrosse athletes who were at the party. By doing so, Mr. Nifong ensured that the accuser could not make a mistake no matter who she identified because she would inevitably identify Duke athletes.”
“Second, throughout the investigation Mr. Nifong repeatedly made prejudicial statements to the media. His statements clearly violate the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct which prohibit a prosecutor in a criminal case from making extrajudicial statements that ‘heighten public condemnation of the accused’ or, if disseminated via public communication, have the ‘substantial likelihood’ of prejudicing the proceeding,” Jones wrote. “Mr. Nifong’s statements ranged from labeling the Duke players “hooligans” to falsely stating that they refused to cooperate with his investigation. Mr. Nifong also continually proclaimed his personal opinion that a sexual attack had occurred and that he believed the accuser. Furthermore, what is perhaps most concerning is Mr. Nifong’s public admission and representation in court that he’s never had the accuser tell him what she alleges occurred that night; Mr. Nifong has stated it was unnecessary to hear her version.”
“Mr. Attorney General, many of my constituents have expressed concern to me that the facts outlined in this letter are indicative of prosecutorial misconduct. I urge you to look into these matters to ensure that Mr. Nifong’s actions have not illegally denied the accused of their civil rights as American citizens,” Jones concluded. “After all, if the American people cannot trust those who they’ve empowered to pursue justice fairly, then hope for this democracy is lost.”
I've said it before. I think that Mr. Nifong pumped up this story to win re-election as the Durham County DA. Why else delay prosecution until the spring, long after the elections are over and (hopefully) everyone has forgotten this?
There have been countless stories that point out contradictory evidence in this case. Many of them question the credibility of the accuser. The accuser that Mr. Nifong won't even bother to interview.
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Trackposted to Rightwing Guy, third world county, The Random Yak, Adam's Blog, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate's Cove, Planck's Constant, Renaissance Blogger, Jo's Cafe, and Right Wing Nation, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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A Blog For All trackbacked with "DNA Evidence Sheds Light on Duke Rape Case"
In this case, it acts as a disinfectant and would appear to exonerate the three Duke students accused of raping a woman at a party held by members of the Duke lacrosse team.
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Jo responded with: wow! Thanks for linking this.
 | I didn't know this was going on. I hope the guy is disbarred. (Sorry if I double posted, Blackberry commenting can suck sometimes) |
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