Mike Nifong: Keeps Getting Deeper And Deeper
From the AP News Service, ethics charges have been filed against Mr. Nifong surrounding the Duke Lacrosse case:
The North Carolina bar filed ethics charges Thursday against the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case, accusing him of saying misleading and inflammatory things to the media about the athletes under suspicion.
The punishment for ethics violations can range from admonishment to disbarment. The complaint could also force District Attorney Mike Nifong off the case by creating a conflict of interest.
"He's got this hanging over his head," said Thomas Metzloff, a Duke law professor and member of the bar's ethics committee for the past 10 years. "It relates so much to his underlying conduct in the case."
Among the four rules of professional conduct that Nifong was accused of violating was a prohibition against making comments "that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused." ...
... The bar cited 41 quotations and eight paraphrased statements made to newspaper and TV reporters, saying many of them amounted to "improper commentary about the character, credibility and reputation of the accused" or their alleged unwillingness to cooperate. Most of the comments were in March and April, in the early days of the case.
Among them:
- Nifong referred to the lacrosse players as "a bunch of hooligans."
- He declared: "I am convinced there was a rape, yes, sir."
- He told ESPN: "One would wonder why one needs an attorney if one was not charged and had not done anything wrong."
- He told The New York Times: "I'm disappointed that no one has been enough of a man to come forward. And if they would have spoken up at the time, this may never have happened."
Nifong was also charged with breaking a rule against "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation." The bar said that when DNA testing failed to find any evidence a lacrosse player raped the accuser, Nifong told a reporter the players might have used a condom.
According to the bar, Nifong knew that assertion was misleading, because he had received a report from an emergency room nurse in which the accuser said her attackers did not use a condom. ...
...Last week, Nifong dropped the rape charges against the athletes after the stripper wavered in her story, saying she was no longer certain she was penetrated vaginally with a penis, as she had claimed several times before. The men still face charges of kidnapping and sexual offense.
In recent months - and especially after last week - legal experts and even Nifong's own colleagues have warned openly that the case appears pitifully weak.
And the hits just keep on coming. Mike Nifong has a lot of explaining to do. And I honestly hope he takes that arrogance into the ethics hearing. He'll be disbarred in not time. The reason for his zeal in this case was due soleyl to his reelection bid. He had something, coming down the home stretch, that would enhance his image, and win the election. He used this case to prop up his campaign, and he literally used these players. He has slandered them, mislead people discussing the case with him, and purposefully suppressed evidence.
His conduct aside, his professionalism in the case is in serio9us question. He filed charges against these thre young men before even getting a deposition from the accuser. He admitted just three short months ago that he hadn't even discussed the rape with her. How can you file charges when you haven't talked to the accuser? Add that to the fact that she has repeatedly changed her story. You tell me how these three guys are supposed to get a fair trial with Mr. Nifong's inflammatory comments, and his refusal to reveal evidence to the defense team? It's not possible.
I have said from the beginning that Mr. Nifong has acted inappropriately and unethically. He should be removed the case immediately, and in my opinion, he should be disbarred for his behavior.
Sabrina McKinney
From the AP News Service, ethics charges have been filed against Mr. Nifong surrounding the Duke Lacrosse case:
The North Carolina bar filed ethics charges Thursday against the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case, accusing him of saying misleading and inflammatory things to the media about the athletes under suspicion.
The punishment for ethics violations can range from admonishment to disbarment. The complaint could also force District Attorney Mike Nifong off the case by creating a conflict of interest.
"He's got this hanging over his head," said Thomas Metzloff, a Duke law professor and member of the bar's ethics committee for the past 10 years. "It relates so much to his underlying conduct in the case."
Among the four rules of professional conduct that Nifong was accused of violating was a prohibition against making comments "that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused." ...
... The bar cited 41 quotations and eight paraphrased statements made to newspaper and TV reporters, saying many of them amounted to "improper commentary about the character, credibility and reputation of the accused" or their alleged unwillingness to cooperate. Most of the comments were in March and April, in the early days of the case.
Among them:
- Nifong referred to the lacrosse players as "a bunch of hooligans."
- He declared: "I am convinced there was a rape, yes, sir."
- He told ESPN: "One would wonder why one needs an attorney if one was not charged and had not done anything wrong."
- He told The New York Times: "I'm disappointed that no one has been enough of a man to come forward. And if they would have spoken up at the time, this may never have happened."
Nifong was also charged with breaking a rule against "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation." The bar said that when DNA testing failed to find any evidence a lacrosse player raped the accuser, Nifong told a reporter the players might have used a condom.
According to the bar, Nifong knew that assertion was misleading, because he had received a report from an emergency room nurse in which the accuser said her attackers did not use a condom. ...
...Last week, Nifong dropped the rape charges against the athletes after the stripper wavered in her story, saying she was no longer certain she was penetrated vaginally with a penis, as she had claimed several times before. The men still face charges of kidnapping and sexual offense.
In recent months - and especially after last week - legal experts and even Nifong's own colleagues have warned openly that the case appears pitifully weak.
And the hits just keep on coming. Mike Nifong has a lot of explaining to do. And I honestly hope he takes that arrogance into the ethics hearing. He'll be disbarred in not time. The reason for his zeal in this case was due soleyl to his reelection bid. He had something, coming down the home stretch, that would enhance his image, and win the election. He used this case to prop up his campaign, and he literally used these players. He has slandered them, mislead people discussing the case with him, and purposefully suppressed evidence.
His conduct aside, his professionalism in the case is in serio9us question. He filed charges against these thre young men before even getting a deposition from the accuser. He admitted just three short months ago that he hadn't even discussed the rape with her. How can you file charges when you haven't talked to the accuser? Add that to the fact that she has repeatedly changed her story. You tell me how these three guys are supposed to get a fair trial with Mr. Nifong's inflammatory comments, and his refusal to reveal evidence to the defense team? It's not possible.
I have said from the beginning that Mr. Nifong has acted inappropriately and unethically. He should be removed the case immediately, and in my opinion, he should be disbarred for his behavior.
Sabrina McKinney
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 11:22 AM
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