Duke Rape Case: Nifong off the Case
Via K.C. Johnson comes the news that DA Mike Nifong has sent a letter to AG Roy Cooper requesting a special prosecutor.
District Attorney Mike Nifong has requested that he have himself removed from prosecuting the Duke Lacrosse rape investigation, ABC News has learned.
A source close to the investigation said Nifong sent a letter to North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper asking his office to assume responsibility of the case. Calls to the Attorney General’s office and Mike Nifong’s office were not yet returned.
Is this the begining of the end of this case? Will the Special Prosecutor simply dismiss the case? K.C. Johnson writes,
If Cooper accepts the request, the special prosecutions division will have to review the entire case file. It seems extremely unlikely, however, that any prosecutor would go ahead with the current version of events, as laid out in the notes produced by Linwood Wilson on December 21.
That is my guess as well. This case may end with a whimper after starting with so much heat and controversy. More here. Note that Nifong has also secured legal counsel as well.
Update: K.C. Johnson on Nifong’s retaining legal counsel,
After all, 20 days before Freedman’s remarks, Nifong himself hypothesized, “One would wonder why one needs an attorney if one was not charged and had not done anything wrong.”
Yep, I guess we can conclude that Nifong did indeed violate various legal ethics based on Nifong-LogicTM.
Update II: In comments Chris Lawrence makes the observation,
Nifong’s case doesn’t really need a new prosecutor; at this point, it needs a more credible complainant. Unfortunately for Nifong, a letter to the state attorney general won’t fix that problem.
Which is exactly right and one of the primary reasons that the case will likely be dismissed.
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About Steve Verdon
Should’ve known you’d beat me to it :)
As my post said: Nifong’s case doesn’t really need a new prosecutor; at this point, it needs a more credible complainant. Unfortunately for Nifong, a letter to the state attorney general won’t fix that problem.
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Yeah that was a good point. In fact, I’m going to add it to the post.
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I am trying to figure out why Nifong needs a special prosecutor to dismiss the charges. That is what is needed at this point.
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To provide cover. He can say, “I wouldn’t have dismissed the case, but these ethics charges meant I should reccuse myself….”
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[...] UPDATE: Lots and lots of good posts out there on this item: The Jawa Report, Durham-in-Wonderland, A Blog For All, Ace of Spades HQ, Outside The Beltway, Don Surber, LieStoppers, Gateway Pundit, Protein Wisdom, LaShawn Barber, Hot Air, [...]
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Falling Apart at the Seams…
Ah, the joys of a Friday night news dump. ABC News has learned that Nifong has sent a letter to the North Carolina Attorney General seeking to recuse himself from the case. That’s the absolute least that Nifong should be doing here….
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Duke Prosecutor Wants Off Assault Case…
Mike Nifong, the district attorney in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case, has asked the state att…
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[...] Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy, Abovethelaw.com, Ace of Spades HQ, Outside The Beltway, Blue Crab Boulevard, LieStoppers, Don Surber and The Jawa Report Randy Barnett / The Volokh Conspiracy:  PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT: Dorothy Rabinowitz had an excellent essay … Abovethelaw.com:  Breaking: Michael Nifong Wants Someone Else To Clean Up His Mess Ace / Ace of Spades HQ:  NIFONG ASKS TO BE REMOVED FROM NOT-A-RAPE CASE Steve Verdon / Outside The Beltway:  Duke Rape Case: Nifong off the Case Gaius / Blue Crab Boulevard:  Nifong Asks To Be Removed LieStoppers:  Nifong Asks Attorney General to Take Over Don Surber:  Nifong says no mas — ABC News reported that Mike Nifong … Good Lt / The Jawa Report:  My Liberalism Says You’re Guilty of Rape  Durham-in-Wonderland and Patterico’s Pontifications     KC Johnson / Durham-in-Wonderland:  The Path from Here — Yesterday’s long overdue announcement … Patterico / Patterico’s Pontifications:  Nifong Asks to Be Rescued Recused Gateway Pundit and Done With Mirrors     Gateway Pundit:  Another Duke Professor Plays Judge, Jury & Fool    Reader Iam / Done With Mirrors:  So Totally Barn-Door/Horses Have Left  Fox News, thephink.com, protein wisdom, JustOneMinute, A Blog For All, QandO and Associated Press   Fox News:  NIFONG SUBPOENAS WOMAN ACCUSING DUKE LACROSSE PLAYERS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT thephink.com:  Rape and a man’s uphill battle against false claims. Dan Collins / protein wisdom:  Before You Recuse Me — Once in high school, in the late 70’s … Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:  Nifong Out – Loose The Hounds! Lawhawk / A Blog For All:  Falling Apart at the Seams McQ / QandO:  NIFONG WANTS OUT AND KARLA HOLLOWAY RESIGNS Associated Press:  Duke LAX Accuser Changes Story – Again Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, The Random Yak, Adam’s Blog, Right Truth, Big Dog’s Weblog, basil’s blog, Stuck On Stupid, The Amboy Times, Phastidio.net, Leaning Straight Up, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Wake Up America, Rightwing Guy, Faultline USA, third world county, The HILL Chronicles, Woman Honor Thyself, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The Uncooperative Blogger ®, stikNstein… has no mercy, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, Blue Star Chronicles, Renaissance Blogger, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox News, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe. Bookmark to: Tags: Duke, Nifong, MLK, King, Memorial [...]
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And now stand by for the lawsuits from the wrongfully accused Duke students.
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If Nifong got one f his cronies to replace him in framing these boys (i.e. working with the false-accuser to spin whatever evidence into a possible crime) these boys could still be convicted. Remember, these supposedly rich and powerful boys are going up against the state of NC.
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[...] Steve Vendor, Outside the Beltway, provides the quip of the day by his reader, Chris Lawrence [...]
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Nifong does indeed need legal counsel. I think he’s at almost no risk of facing criminal charges. He’s also likely to be sued for money damages in civil proceedings, but there’s still a good chance that the county or state would provide him with a defense for that (i.e., pay for his lawyers), and the potential plaintiffs will have a hard time beating a summary judgment motion. Short and sweet, it’s damned hard to prosecute or sue prosecutors for actions — even outrageous actions — they’ve taken in the course and scope of their job. Where Nifong is genuinely likely to need personal counsel for the long haul is in potential proceedings involving the state bar and his continued right to keep his license. Those proceedings are likely to be mostly behind closed doors, but they nevertheless are likely to closely parallel public adversary proceedings — due process rights, burden of proof, etc. It’s not clear to me that Nifong has violated any laws or even committed any torts, but it’s crystal clear that he’s trampled, twisted, and spat upon his ethical responsibilities as a lawyer and a prosecutor, and I think his license is (and should be) at serious risk.
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