Post by Gunner AschOn Sat, 1 Feb 2020 10:48:08 -0500, BeamMeUpScotty
Post by BeamMeUpScottyPresident Trump was Exonerated by Mueller's Partisan Trump Hater team and now DemocRATs failed horribly after years of trying to set up POTUS.
That's the key part, they tried to FRAME the President for crimes that
he didn't commit, The people trying to prosecute and impeach the
President are the ones abusing power.
This reminds me of the misconduct of the NEWS MEDIA and the Prosecutors
in North Carolina against the Men's La Cross team at a college, where
the men were charged with rape, and the Democrats and the Prosecutor
want it to be about race and social issues rather than being about the
law. The Media and the Prosecutor lied.... they tried to FRAME the La
Cross team and in the end the truth came out and the Prosecutor as I
recall was guilty of fudging the facts.... and that got the Prosecutor
in legal trouble.
With the IMPEACHMENT over it's time to chase down the PROSECUTORS and
all the Professors that supported the miscarriage of justice and get
their resignations and file charges for any criminal intent on the part
of te prosecutors and the Media and the College Professors.
Speaking of criminals...the (Democrat) stripper who was involved in
that clusterfuck...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Mangum
Crystal Gail Mangum (born July 18, 1978)[1] is a woman from Durham,
North Carolina, who is best known for making false allegations of
rape[3][4][5] against lacrosse players in the 2006 Duke lacrosse case.
The fact that Mangum was a black woman working in the sex industry,
while the accused were all white men, created extensive media interest
and academic debate about race, class, gender and the politicization
of the justice system.
In February 2010, she was arrested on charges of attempted murder of
her live-in partner, Milton Walker.[6] She was eventually convicted of
contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, injury to personal
property and resisting a public officer.[7]
In November 2013, she was found guilty of second-degree murder after
she stabbed boyfriend Reginald Daye, who died 10 days after.[8] She
argued that she acted in self-defense, fearing that Daye would kill
her.[9] She was sentenced to 14 to 18 years in prison.
Early life
Mangum was born and grew up in Durham, North Carolina, the daughter of
Travis Mangum, a truck driver, and his wife Mary. She was the youngest
of three children.[1] She attended Hillside High School, graduating in
1996.[10]
In 1996 she filed a police report alleging that three years earlier,
when she was 14, she had been kidnapped by three assailants, driven to
Creedmoor, North Carolina, and raped. One of those she accused was her
boyfriend, who was 21 at the time, which would be statutory rape. She
subsequently backed away from the charges, a move relatives claimed
was motivated by fear for her life. Mangum's father said he did not
believe she was raped or injured, though her mother believed such an
incident could have occurredbut not in 1993. She thinks it is more
likely to have happened when Crystal was 17 or 18 years old, shortly
before she made the police report.[1] Mangum's ex-husband, Kenneth
Nathanial McNeill, believed the incident occurred as she said it
did.[1]
After graduation from high school in 1996, she joined the US Navy. She
trained to operate radios and navigation technology. While serving in
the Navy, she married McNeill. Her marriage quickly broke down. She
reported to police that her husband had threatened to kill her, but
the charge was dismissed when she failed to appear in court.[1] She
served for less than two years in the Navy before being discharged
after becoming pregnant by a fellow sailor, with whom she went on to
have another child.[1]
By 2002, Mangum had returned to Durham and was working as an exotic
dancer. In 2002, she was arrested on 10 charges after stealing the
taxicab of a customer to whom she had given a lap dance. This prompted
a police pursuit at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour, occasionally in
the wrong lane. After being stopped, she nearly ran over a police
officer, succeeding only in hitting his patrol vehicle. She was found
to have a blood alcohol content of just over twice the legal limit.
Ultimately, she pleaded guilty on four counts: assault on a government
official, larceny, speeding to elude arrest, and driving while
impaired, serving three weekends in jail, paying $4,200 in restitution
and fees, and being given two years' probation.[1]
In 2004, she gained an associate degree in police psychology and then
enrolled full-time at North Carolina Central University to study the
subject.[1]
Duke lacrosse case
Main article: Duke lacrosse case
In March 2006, she was hired as a stripper at a party organized by
members of the Duke University men's lacrosse team. After arriving in
an intoxicated state, having earlier consumed alcohol and
cyclobenzaprine, to perform with another stripper at a house rented by
three of the team captains, she became involved in an argument with
the occupants of the residence and subsequently left. She then became
involved in an altercation with her fellow stripper that necessitated
police assistance. The officer who arrived on scene took her to a
local drug and mental health center, where she was in the process of
being involuntarily committed when, after being asked a leading
question, she made an allegation that she had been raped at the
party.[11] District Attorney Mike Nifong, who was up for re-election,
pursued the case despite questions about the credibility of
Mangum,[12] and conspired with a DNA lab director to withhold
exculpatory evidence that would have cleared the lacrosse players of
the rape accusations.[13] It took almost a year for the state's
attorney general's office to dismiss the charges and declare that the
players were innocent of the charges laid against them by Nifong.[14]
In 2008, Mangum published a memoir, The Last Dance for Grace: the
Crystal Mangum Story, written with Vincent Clark.[15] The book gives
her version of events. She continued to insist that she was assaulted
at the party and says that the dropping of the case was politically
motivated. The book also outlines her earlier life, reasserting her
claim that she was raped at the age of 14.[16]
Legal issues
Just before midnight on February 17, 2010, Durham police were called
to Mangum's residence by her nine-year-old daughter. When they
arrived, they said they found Mangum and her live-in partner, Milton
Walker, fighting.[6] She reportedly set fire to some of his clothing
in a bathtub in their presence. The building suffered heavy smoke
damage. They arrested Mangum on charges of attempted murder,
first-degree arson, assault and battery, identity theft, communicating
threats, damage to property, resisting an officer, and misdemeanor
child abuse.[17]
Mangum was ordered to remain in jail on $1 million bond. Her bond was
lowered to $100,000 in May, and she was released from jail to live in
a friend's house. She was required to wear an electronic monitoring
device. On July 12, 2010, she was released from house arrest and
required to move in with her mother. She was allowed to visit her
three children but only under supervision of social services. Mangum
was arrested again on August 25, 2010, and held on $150,000 bond for
failure to comply with the restrictions on her child visitation
order.[18]
On December 17, 2010, Mangum was convicted of contributing to the
delinquency of a juvenile, injury to personal property and resisting a
public officer.[7] The jury deadlocked 93 for not guilty on the
felony arson charge but was unable to reach a decision on it.[19]
After the verdict, Judge Abe Jones sentenced Mangum to 88 days in
jail, which she had already served, and left the custody decision in
the hands of social services.[20] Durham Assistant District Attorney
Mark McCullough announced on January 21, 2011, that he would not retry
Mangum on arson charges.[21]
Second-degree murder conviction
Mangum was arrested on April 3, 2011, following accusations that she
repeatedly stabbed and seriously injured a boyfriend, Reginald Daye.
She was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill
or inflicting serious bodily injury, a class C felony in North
Carolina.[22][23] Ten days later, Daye died in the hospital, and
Mangum was indicted on a murder charge.[24] Mangum was held in jail
under a $300,000 secured bail bond, which was set prior to her
boyfriend's death.[8][25] On November 1, 2011, Mangum was deemed
competent to stand trial for murder.[26]
On May 1, 2012, Mangum's attorney withdrew, citing the release by
Mangum of confidential information regarding her case to her
supporters.[27] On February 20, 2013, Mangum was released on bail
until trial.[28]
At the trial, Mangum argued that she stabbed Daye in self-defense, as
she was being assaulted by him. The prosecution argued that the
forensic evidence supported Daye's dying statement that he was
attempting to get away from Mangum when he was stabbed.[2]
On November 22, 2013, she was convicted of second-degree murder by a
jury of seven men and five women. Judge Paul Ridgeway sentenced her to
serve a minimum of 14 years, 2 months and a maximum of 18 years in
prison.[2] According to the North Carolina Department of Public
Safety, she is projected to be released from prison on February 27,
2026.[29]
Obviously crazy as a loon...she is a typical Democrat. A liar, a
murderer, has illegitmate kids, sleeps around with strangers and has
multiple felonies.
And of course we cant leave out the (disbarred) prosecutor in the
LaCross case.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Nifong
Another Democrat btw...
Michael Byron Nifong (born September 14, 1950) is a disbarred North
Carolina attorney.[2] He served as the district attorney for Durham
County, North Carolina until he was removed, disbarred and jailed
following court findings concerning his conduct in the Duke lacrosse
case, primarily his conspiring with the DNA lab director to withhold
exculpatory DNA evidence that could have acquitted the defendants.[3]
Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Duke lacrosse case
3.1 Criticism
4 Ethics charges
5 Disbarment
6 Sentence and jail
7 Sued by players
8 Bankruptcy filing
9 Later developments
10 References
11 External links
Early life
Question book-new.svg
This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant
discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this
article by introducing citations to additional sources.
Find sources: "Mike Nifong" news · newspapers · books · scholar ·
JSTOR (December 2016)
Nifong was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, and graduated Phi Beta
Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) in
1971 with a degree in political science. He registered as a
conscientious objector and participated in anti-war protests during
the Vietnam War.[4] After working as a teacher and social worker,
Nifong returned to UNC in 1975 and earned a J.D. degree from the
University of North Carolina School of Law in 1978. He was admitted to
the North Carolina bar.
Career
After spending a year as a per diem assistant with the Durham County
District Attorney's office, Nifong was hired on a full-time basis in
1979. He eventually worked his way up to chief assistant. After
District Attorney Jim Hardin was appointed to a Superior Court vacancy
in 2005, Governor Mike Easley appointed Nifong to fill out the
remainder of Hardin's term. Nifong was sworn in on April 27, 2005.[5]
As the Duke lacrosse case unfolded, Nifong won the Democratic primary
on May 2, 2006 for Durham County District Attorney.[6] He won the
general election in November 2006 by a close margin of 833 votes.
Duke lacrosse case
Main article: Duke lacrosse case
In 2006, Nifong pursued rape, sexual assault, and kidnapping charges
made by Crystal Gail Mangum, a local black woman who was working as a
call girl and stripper, against Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and
David Evans, three white members of the Duke University men's lacrosse
team.[7][8] The case attracted national and international media
attention.[9] Former New York Times public editor Daniel Okrent wrote,
"It [the case] conformed too well to too many preconceived notions of
too many in the press: white over black, rich over poor, athletes over
non-athletes, men over women, educated over non-educated."[10]
In the first weeks of the case, Nifong gave an estimated 50 to 70
interviews. On the day he received his first briefing by police, March
27, 2006, he told the press, "The circumstances of the rape indicated
a deep racial motivation for some of the things that were done." By
April 1, he had made 48 statements to the press, including assertions
that others present at the party where the alleged assault took place
who were covering for the accused players, saying, "I would like to
think that somebody who was not in the bathroom has the human decency
to call up and say, 'What am I doing covering up for a bunch of
hooligans?'"[11] Initial media reports on the case largely reflected
Nifong's statements and opinions.[12]
Nifong said in a court hearing on October 27, six months after the
arrest of Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans, that he had not yet
interviewed the alleged victim. "I haven't talked with her about the
facts of that night...We're not at that stage yet." According to
Nifong, none of his assistants had discussed the case with her,
either.[13]
On December 22, 2006, Nifong dropped the rape charge (while the sexual
assault and kidnapping charges were still being pursued) against the
three lacrosse players after Mangum changed her story, saying that she
was no longer certain whether she was penetrated vaginally by one or
more of the men. This was a few days after it was revealed in court
that Nifong had withheld evidence from the defense concerning DNA
tests.[14] Nifong was strongly criticized for pressing ahead with what
appeared to many to be a weak case without any physical evidence. The
defense argued that Mangum had given at least a dozen different
accounts of the incident, changing the number of attackers from twenty
to three, and modifying the methods by which she was assaulted.[14]
Wikinews has related news: Charges dropped in Duke lacrosse
rape case
In January 2007, Nifong sent a letter to then-North Carolina Attorney
General Roy A. Cooper, asking his office to assume responsibility of
the case.[15] This came days after Mangum changed her story again,
claiming that suspect Seligmann was not involved in the alleged
attack.[16][17] Previously she had accused him and two others of the
alleged rape.[16][17]
The next day, Cooper announced that his office would take over the
case.[18] In April, he announced that charges against the three
players would be dropped and that "based on the significant
inconsistencies between the evidence and the various accounts given by
the accusing witness, we believe these three individuals are innocent
of these charges".[19]
Criticism
Defense lawyers and media outlets were strongly critical of Nifong's
handling of the case. Nifong said that the criticisms were the product
of a defense strategy to malign the prosecution and intimidate the
alleged rape victim.[20]
As the details of the case emerged, Nifong was attacked not only from
advocates of the indicted students but by news sources such as The
Washington Post[21] and the Los Angeles Times.[22]
They claimed he went public with a series of accusations that later
turned out to be untrue; that he exaggerated and intensified racial
tensions; that he unduly influenced the Durham police investigation;
that he tried to manipulate potential witnesses; that he refused to
hear exculpatory evidence before indictment; that regulations on the
conduct of an identification exercise were breached by failure to
include "dummy" photographs of anyone who was not at the party; that
he had never spoken directly to the alleged victim about the
accusations; and that he made misleadingly incomplete presentations of
various aspects of the evidence in the case (including DNA
results).[citation needed]
Additional coverage critical of the prosecution's case included that
expressed by: 60 Minutes, Charlotte Observer,[23][24] Fox News,[25]
Greensboro News & Record,[26]National Journal,[citation needed] Newark
Star-Ledger,[27] The News & Observer,[3] Newsweek,[citation needed]
New York Daily News,[28] New York magazine,[29] San Diego Union
Tribune,[30] Washington Times,[31] The Star-News (Wilmington,
N.C.),[32] and the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News.[33]
Nifong gave more than 50 interviews, many with the national media,
according to his own account and confirmed by the News &
Observer.[3][34][35] In these interviews, Nifong repeatedly said that
he was "confident that a rape occurred",[36] calling the players "a
bunch of hooligans" whose "daddies could buy them expensive
lawyers."[24] From early April 2006, however, Nifong generally refused
to talk to the media.[35]
On July 18, 2006, defense lawyers charged that Nifong made
"unprofessional and discourteous" remarks. During a preliminary
hearing, Nifong said, "[Defense] attorneys were almost disappointed
that their clients didn't get indicted so they could be a part of this
spectacle here in Durham." One lawyer asserted that "Nifong's
statement is an insult to the legal profession as a whole and is
certainly unwarranted by any facts in this case." Others saw it as a
personal insult. Nifong then went on vacation and could not be reached
for further comment.[37]
On October 27, 2006, Nifong said in court that neither he nor his
assistants had yet discussed the alleged assault with the accuser,
saying they had so far left that aspect of the investigation to the
police.[38]
Critics of the district attorney requested that Nifong be
investigated, punished and disbarred for his actions in this case.[39]
On December 12, 2006, Republican Representative Walter B. Jones of
North Carolina's 3rd district was reported to have sent a letter to
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking for an investigation
into whether Nifong committed "prosecutorial misconduct" and violated
the civil rights of the three suspects in the case;[40] Gonzales
stated that his office might investigate how Nifong had handled the
case.[41] Critics noted that police were instructed to "Go through Mr.
Nifong for any directions as to how to conduct matters in this case."
This was an unusual move for a prosecutor to order.[42]
On December 16, 2006, it was revealed that Nifong and DNA lab director
Brian Meehan conspired to withhold exculpatory DNA evidence from the
final report submitted to the defense team.[43][44]
The prosecution of the case was criticized by the legal analyst for
the National Journal, Stuart Taylor,[45] as well as New York Times
columnists David Brooks[46] and Nicholas Kristof.[45] An investigation
by CBS' 60 Minutes "reveal[ed] disturbing facts about the conduct of
the police and the district attorney, and raise[d] serious
concerns."[24] (This 60 Minutes segment was honored with a Peabody
Award on April 4, 2007.)[47] Several writers at Slate criticized the
prosecution's actions and especially criticized the mainstream media
for accepting prosecution claims at face value in spite of
countervailing evidence.[48][49]
In light of the fact that Nifong failed to turn over exculpatory
evidence to defense lawyers on December 22, 2006, The News & Observer
wrote that "to press forward in the [...] case, District Attorney Mike
Nifong must rely on scanty evidence while deflecting serious questions
about whether he broke the law or violated the ethics rules governing
prosecutors."[50]
Thomas Sowell accused Nifong of using the case to improve his chances
in the next election by gaining large support from the African
American community.[51][52] Nifong ultimately won the primary and
general election in the midst of the case, despite the fact that
allegations of ethical improprieties had already come to light. A
federal judge in 2011 ruled that the civil lawsuit could proceed
against Nifong, including claims of "malicious prosecution" and
"fabrication of false evidence".[53]
Ethics charges
On December 28, 2006, the North Carolina State Bar filed ethics
charges against Nifong over his conduct in the case, accusing him of
making public statements that were "prejudicial to the administration
of justice" and of engaging in "conduct involving dishonesty, fraud,
deceit, or misrepresentation."[54] The seventeen-page document accuses
Nifong of violating four rules of professional conduct, listing more
than fifty examples of statements he made to the media.[55]
The State Bar filed a second round of ethics charges on January 24,
2007.[56] In this document, it accused Nifong of a "systematic abuse
of prosecutorial discretion ... prejudicial to the administration of
justice" when he withheld DNA evidence to mislead the court.[57]
Nifong's lawyers filed a report asking for dismissal of some of the
charges against him on March 19, arguing that his actions had not
prevented the defendants from a fair trial since defense attorneys
received a DNA report before a trial date was set. The State Bar
denied the request, pointing out that North Carolina law "is
unambiguous: Anyone subject to an NTO [Nontestimonial Identification
Order] must be given any report of test results as soon as such a
report is available." The Bar continued that "Nifong is effectively
arguing that he can make false statements to a court which result in
the entry of an order, and then use the order that is based on his
misrepresentations to claim he committed no discovery
violation."[58][59]
At an April 13 hearing, another request for dismissal of charges was
denied. Nifong's team argued that the law about revealing exculpatory
evidence to the defense was too vague about a timetable. Attorneys for
the State Bar pointed out that it was only through diligent efforts of
the Duke players' defense team that the DNA report was finally made
available to them. The formal ethics hearing began on June 12 in
Raleigh.[60]
On June 15, Nifong took the stand to testify in his own defense.
During the testimony, he apologized to the families of the Duke
athletes and stated that he would resign as district attorney. Joseph
Cheshire, attorney for David Evans, one of the accused players,
dismissed the apology as "a cynical political attempt to save his law
license".[61] During the trial, Nifong acknowledged he knew there was
no DNA evidence connecting lacrosse players Reade Seligmann and Collin
Finnerty to the 28-year-old woman who accused them of attacking her
when he indicted them on charges of rape, sexual offense and
kidnapping a year prior.[62]
Disbarment
Wikinews has related news: US prosecutor Mike Nifong to be
disbarred for ethics violations
On June 16, 2007, the North Carolina State Bar Disciplinary Committee
unanimously voted to disbar Nifong after delivering a guilty verdict
to 27 of 32 charges. The committee found Nifong's previous
disciplinary record and acknowledgment of his improper pre-trial
statements were substantially outweighed by (among other things) the
players' vulnerability and his failure to acknowledge the "wrongful
nature of (his) conduct with respect of the handling of DNA
evidence."[63]
Committee chair Lane Williamson called the case a "fiasco" and said
Nifong's actions involved "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and
misrepresentation." Williamson further stated, "At the time he was
facing a primary, and yes, he was politically naive, but we can draw
no other conclusion that those initial statements he made were to
further his political ambitions." In the end, the panel concluded that
"there is no discipline short of disbarment appropriate in this case
given the magnitude of the offenses found."[63]
Nifong agreed to surrender his law license and said he would not
appeal; through his attorney, he said that disbarment was an
appropriate punishment. Nifong is the first sitting district attorney
in the history of North Carolina to be disbarred.[64] Earlier in the
day, Nifong offered to voluntarily surrender his law license. However,
Williamson said that the panel had to issue a ruling, and issued its
disbarment order shortly thereafter.[65] Under North Carolina law, the
order took effect 30 days after Nifong received it in writing.[62]
Immediately after the hearing, lawyers for the three players said they
would seek to have Nifong held in criminal contempt of court for his
false statements.[66] The lawyers added that calls for a federal civil
rights investigation into the matter weren't out of line.[67] The
players' attorneys called for an independent investigation into the
case, and as of June 2007 Cooper was considering whether to open a
criminal probe into the affair.[68]
The players' attorneys said on June 18 that their clients were very
likely to file a civil suit against Nifong to recover their legal
expenses and restore their reputations. It is not known how much they
can recover; Nifong had no income aside from his salary as DA, and
public records indicate that he has no significant assets other than
his home in Durham, real estate in western North Carolina and
retirement accounts. According to The News and Observer, the players
incurred $3 million in legal costs.[66]
On June 18, Nifong submitted his resignation to Governor Easley and
Durham County Chief Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, saying he
would leave office on July 13. Hudson said that Nifong should have
resigned immediately, saying that defense attorneys could challenge
Nifong's authority. Easley, a former prosecutor and state attorney
general, also felt that Nifong should have resigned immediately.[62]
Early on June 19, Hudson issued an order suspending Nifong from office
with pay.[69] Under North Carolina law,[70] this was the first step in
a process that allows the chief judge of a county to remove that
county's district attorney from office. Hudson also appointed a
Raleigh attorney as special prosecutor to oversee the removal
proceeding.[71] A Durham resident, Beth Brewer had asked Hudson to
remove Nifong in February on the grounds that Nifong engaged in
willful misconduct and brought disrepute upon his office two of the
criteria required for removing a district attorney from office. This
process has been used only once before, when the district attorney for
New Hanover and Pender counties was removed from office in 1995 for
making a racial slur.[citation needed]
On June 20, Nifong began talks with the special prosecutor about the
possibility of leaving office immediately, but later that day, Easley
appointed Jim Hardin, Nifong's predecessor, as acting district
attorney. This came hours after Easley signed a bill that would allow
the governor to remove a district attorney or judge from office if he
or she has been disbarred or suspended from practicing law.[72][73]
Easley strongly supported the bill, which unanimously passed both
houses of the legislature.[74]
Easley had let it be known that he would have removed Nifong from
office immediately if he had had the authority and power to do so. It
had been unclear how soon Easley could have removed Nifong under this
new law. The bill does not allow a governor to remove a DA or judge
until the State Bar formally issued its order of disbarment, and all
appeals have been exhausted. However, as mentioned above, Nifong had
said he would not appeal. Hardin was sworn in the next day, and served
until September 2007, when Easley appointed Assistant District
Attorney David Saacks to fill out the first half of Nifong's term. At
the time of Hardin's swearing-in, negotiations were still under way
between Nifong and the special prosecutor,[75] and Hudson was
proceeding with the hearing to remove him for good.[76] However,
according to a spokesman for the state's Administrative Office of the
Courts, Nifong's tenure as DA ended with Hardin's swearing-in.[1]
Nifong formally resigned from office on July 2.[citation needed]
Nifong's former assistant district attorney, Tracey Cline, was elected
District Attorney in a 2008 special election and re-elected in 2010.
She was removed from office herself in 2012 for, among other things,
making defamatory accusations against Judge Hudson. Her license to
practice law was suspended for five years in 2015 but she was not
disbarred.[77][78]
On June 22, the players' lawyers filed their motion asking Superior
Court Judge Osmond Smith, who presided over the case, to hold Nifong
in contempt. The players also wanted Nifong to pay for the 60 to 100
hours it took to prove that he misrepresented the DNA evidence. Nifong
was charged with having violated at least a dozen laws, rules and
court orders designed to protect defendants' rights by playing "a game
of hide and seek" with evidence that could have cleared the players.
The players' motion also alleged that Nifong's misconduct "shocks the
conscience and defies any notion of accident or negligence". Earlier
that same month, Judge Smith had filed papers stating that he retained
control over the case although the charges had been dismissed, and had
the power to impose his own sanctions against Nifong.[79]
On July 25, Nifong issued a less qualified apology for his actions,
saying he did not challenge Cooper's conclusion that there was "no
credible evidence" to support the charges he had made. While the
players' attorneys expressed skepticism about his sincerity, they did
withdraw their demands that he pay for the legal work it took to
ferret out the DNA evidence.[80]
In a letter addressed to the North Carolina State Bar on August 7,
Nifong formally surrendered his law license. He then decried the
"fundamental unfairness" with which his disbarment was conducted,
contradicting his own lawyer's assertion that Nifong believed
disbarment to be an appropriate punishment. To explain the physical
condition of the license, Nifong said the license had been damaged "by
a puppy in her chewing stage", and therefore had never been framed or
displayed.[81]
Sentence and jail
On September 7, 2007, after having already been disbarred, Nifong
reported to the Durham County jail to serve a one-day jail sentence
for contempt of court. He was held alone in a cell for his
protection.[82]
Sued by players
On October 5, 2007, Evans, Finnerty, and Seligmann filed a federal
lawsuit alleging that Nifong engineered a wide-ranging conspiracy to
frame the players. Also named in the suit were the lab that handled
the DNA work, the city of Durham, the city's former police chief, the
deputy police chief, the two police detectives who handled the case
and five other police department employees. The players sought
unspecified damages, and wanted to place the Durham Police Department
under court supervision for 10 years, claiming the actions of the
police department pose "a substantial risk of irreparable injury to
other persons in the City of Durham." According to the suit, Nifong's
sole motive was to win support for his reelection bid; the suit
alleges that Nifong told his campaign manager that the case would
provide "'millions of dollars' in free advertising."[83] This
allegation is confirmed by The New York Times,[84] and by an interview
with Nifong's campaign manager.[85] Nifong asked the state attorney
general's office and the Administrative Office of the Courts to pay
his legal fees and help defend him, but both offices refused on the
grounds that Nifong's actions involved "fraud, corruption (and)
malice."[86]
Bankruptcy filing
On January 15, 2008, Nifong filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of
the Bankruptcy Code.[87] He listed assets of almost $244,000 and
liabilities of over $180.3 million, virtually all of which derived
from six $30 million "unsecured nonpriority claims", one for each of
the six members of the 200506 Duke lacrosse team suing Nifong, among
others.[citation needed]
While the bankruptcy filing automatically delayed the civil suit
against him, it may not protect Nifong from civil liability for his
actions in the case. Unsecured creditors can still pursue claims
against someone filing for bankruptcy if the debt was incurred through
"willful and malicious injury" to them.[88] Seligmann's attorney,
noted Triangle lawyer David Rudolf, said that the players intend to
pursue such a claim.[89]
According to at least one bankruptcy law expert, Nifong's bankruptcy
filing is a tacit admission that he does not have the resources to
defend himself against the players' civil suit, and is trying to
protect what assets he is allowed to protect under the law.[90] On
March 11, 2008, the Bankruptcy Administrator recommended that Nifong's
Chapter 7 bankruptcy case be dismissed or converted to a Chapter 13
bankruptcy case because Nifong earned income above the requirement set
forth in the Means Test to be eligible to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy
case.[91] However, the Bankruptcy Court ultimately held that Nifong
was eligible to be a debtor in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case and granted
him a bankruptcy discharge on June 4, 2008. Later that same year,
Judge William L. Stocks lifted the automatic stay imposed by Nifong's
bankruptcy filing, and announced that the plaintiffs can pursue their
lawsuit.[92]
Later developments
In July 2014 there was a call for all the cases Nifong had prosecuted
to be reviewed on the basis of his having been shown to ignore due
process in some cases including the murder trial against Darryl
Howard, who had been convicted in 1995 of a 1991 murder of a woman and
her daughter.[93]
In 2014, Darryl Howard, who at that time had been imprisoned for
murder for 20 years, was granted a new trial because Nifong had
withheld evidence in the trial that led to his convictions.[94] Two
years later, following a hearing where the state was asked why the
convictions should stand, the murder conviction was vacated and Howard
released from prison, noting that DNA evidence not presented to the
jury would likely have exonerated him.[95]
This is typical of Democrat public servants...
" Nifong's sole motive was to win support for his reelection bid; the
suit alleges that Nifong told his campaign manager that the case would
provide "'millions of dollars' in free advertising."[83] This
allegation is confirmed by The New York Times,[84] and by an interview
with Nifong's campaign manager.[85] Nifong asked the state attorney
general's office and the Administrative Office of the Courts to pay
his legal fees and help defend him, but both offices refused on the
grounds that Nifong's actions involved "fraud, corruption (and)
malice."[86]"
Got rope? Its going to be a very interesting year.
Gunner
__
"Journalists are extremely rare and shouldnt be harmed, but propagandists are everywhere and should be hunted for sport"
Yeah..with no bag limit.