Saturday, December 30, 2006

The Human Piñata

The hits keep coming for the human piñata, Defendant Nifong.

Yesterday, the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys issued an unprecedented statement denouncing Nifong’s hijacking of the Hoax. Today, Time asks whether Defendant Nifong is guilty as charged while reporting that the North Carolina State Bar intends to file additional charges against the Defendant. The editorial board of the News & Observer has finally demanded that Nifong recuse himself from the case. Perhaps the most telling sign that Nifong is nearing rock bottom comes from the Hoax defense attorneys, who called another one of Defendant Nifong’s bluffs on Friday by filing notice that they intended to call his own experts as witnesses for the defense.

North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys

The statement issued by the NC Conference of District Attorneys reveals Nifong has truly beome a pariah among his peers. Professor KC Johnson notes:
“Even more than the publication of the State Bar’s complaint, this action is unprecedented.

“Intriguingly, the Conference didn’t demand that Nifong recuse himself from the case solely because of the ethics complaint—the letter deemed Nifong’s recusal necessary “in light of all the developments of the Duke Lacrosse case, including the filing on December 28, 2006.”

“Conference president Garry Frank described the document as “the unanimous statement of the officers of the Conference of District Attorneys,” and confirmed that the executive board reviewed Nifong's handling of the entire case.
The statement ostracizing Defendant Nifong from the NCCDA also reveals the depths of deception to which Nifong’s few remaining apologists are willing to sink. On December 22, Nifong apologist extraordinaire, John Bourlon appeared by telephone with Fox News’ “Live Desk” host Martha MacCallum. In response to MacCallum’s skepticism over Nifong bungling of the investigation and prosecution of the hoax in total, and in particular Nifong’s failure to interview the accuser, Bourlon offered the following, misleading, response:

“I spoke with a district attorney yesterday in an adjoining county and I asked that very question because we just concluded the North Carolina Association of District Attorneys conference. Not one single elected district attorney in the 100 counties of North Carolina, that I’m aware of, has come forward and said this prosecution has handled this matter totally different than I would handle it. Not one! In my 27 years of experience, this is how every rape case proceeds.” LS Forum: Transcript of 12/22 Live Desk

Time

Time brings us confirmation this morning that the State Bar Grievance Committee will convene in January to address additional charges against Defendant Nifong.

“The Dec. 28 ethics charges are expected to be expanded when the state bar's grievance committee meets again Jan. 18. Like a grand jury, the committee meets periodically; the current ethics charges stem from its most recent meeting in October and cover public statements Nifong made about the case last March and April. At its next meeting, the committee will deal with revelations from a Dec. 15 court hearing in which the state's DNA expert admitted he and Nifong agreed to keep secret from the defense early DNA results showing no Duke lacrosse player could be implicated in an attack upon one of two exotic dancers hired for the March 14 house party.”

Time also advances the speculation of Nifong’s recusal from the Hoax to the welcome suggestion of his removal from office.

“Now that the North Carolina State Bar has filed a 17-page, 41-count ethics complaint against District Attorney Michael Nifong's handling of the Duke rape case, there's a different kind of New Year's countdown taking place in Durham: when and under what circumstances will Nifong leave office…All of this would be moot, of course, if Nifong were to resign from office or be forced off the case by the presiding judge. The North Carolina governor's office, which appointed him to the post, could also ask him to resign from office.”

News & Observer

Today’s demand that Defendant Nifong to remove himself from his hijacked Hoax is the News & Observer editorial staffs' firmest statement yet against the human piñata.
“Having to face the Bar's allegations, which carry the possibility of stiff sanctions, is reason enough for Nifong to remove himself from the case, and to do so immediately. Let judges or the state Attorney General's Office figure out what happens after that.
“Nifong essentially now has a conflict between his duty to pursue justice in the case, wherever that leads, and his need to defend himself from accusations of unprofessional conduct. If he proceeds as prosecutor, the public would be entitled to wonder: Is he charging on despite problems with the accuser's credibility and the lack of DNA evidence because he has a convincing version of events that has yet to come out -- or because he has painted himself into a corner with his comments? And did his desire to win an election influence his actions in this specific case?
“Nifong ought to do his job in a way that ensures justice, not one that merely seeks a
courtroom victory, no matter what. The State Bar's action only adds to the clarity of the right next step: Mike Nifong must leave the case.” N&O
Today’s demand indicates a clear departure from the pro-Nifong stance it took post-election. On November 12, editorial page editor Steve Ford, accepted Nifong’s election victory without qualms about the hijacked hoax that ensured his campaign success.
“Somebody would have been hard-pressed to vote against Nifong for any reason other than a belief that the lacrosse players are being railroaded.

“Does it amount to some kind of travesty, then, that Nifong is set to continue as D.A.? Not in my book.”

Nifong’s Witnesses to Testify for Hoax Defendants

Several months ago, Defendant Nifong submitted a list of the expert witnesses that he reasonably expected to present at trial. At the time, the list of nine experts added to the illusion that he had evidence to support his false allegations. To some degree, the experts present on the list have continued to fuel the delusions of Nifong’s last remaining windmill tilters. Recently a commentator at Talk Left opined:
“He has a witness list. If she sticks with it, he'll use it.”
Yesterdays’ declaration of intent to call the experts that Nifong pretended he reasonably expected to present is further indication Defendant Nifong has lost the game of chicken he has been playing with the truth from the beginning of the Hoax. As a kicker, the notice states that the defense testimony expected from the additional experts listed beside Meehan would encompass the material the experts provided to Nifong initially, further indicating that rather than probable cause, Nifong was in possession of evidence of actual innocence from the start.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

To all readers: Please keep your boot heel firmly planted on Nifong's neck. It's not over till he's locked up in a concrete house with other convicted criminals.

Anonymous said...

Is the Discussion Board down? Have not been able to access it since Friday early afternoon. . .
sst

Anonymous said...

Read the editorial in the Durham News today. Even they are questioning Nifong.
http://www.thedurhamnews.com/109/story/23688.html

Anonymous said...

As long as Nifong is trying to lie, stonewall, and seek protection behind the few True Believers from black community (and especially Victoria Peterson), we need to keep banging the pots.

Remember, Liefong STILL has the power of the law behind him, in that no one can make him drop the case or recuse himself. No one, except for Judge W. Osmond Smith III. My guess is that he is going to be the person who finally pushes Mikey over the cliff.

By the way, let me urge anyone who is in the area to attend Mikey's swearing-in ceremeony on Tuesday, pots and spoons in hand. I wish could be there myself!!

Anonymous said...

To 8:09,

I've had no problems accessing the message board.

Anonymous said...

At this point Nifong will recuse himself to save face, or the judge will do it in Feb.

If he was clever he should have done it on Friday, it would have looked like he was doing the right thing, for a change.

Anonymous said...

Omigod, I never thought about Mikey being sworn in! What an ironic sight that will be, his hand on the Bible swearing to uphold the duties of office. There is no way that is going to be a public affair.

Anonymous said...

Its a public office, it should be in public. But the SNL skit writes itself as he takes the oath (wink, wink).

How many times will the press ask "if he will recuse himself"?

I bet he has a notery public give the oath in a private setting. I doubt that a judge whats his picture next to Nifong. These judges have political ambitions as well.

Anonymous said...

There's not a judge in NC that could swear in Nifong on Jan2 with a straight face.

Nifong is done for and he knows it, most of the rats that don't want to go down with the ship are looking for the life boats.

Anonymous said...

I hope he's ashamed to look his son in the face. The kid is in high school, and must know what Nifong did to 3 innocent people.

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year to all

Anonymous said...

Just a note: The periodical's name is Time, not "Time Magazine."

Anonymous said...

Good, now Nifong knows what it's like to have your name dragged through the mud and dstoryed to the public, with threats to your entire life and future on the line...the only difference is MIke ACTUALLY did something to deserve it.

What a lying asshole. I wonder how his wife stays with him. YOu wonder if he lies this dramatically about something so serious, what else has he/does he lie about?

I hope Nifong is disbarred, at the least. I hope he spends timein jail and thinks about the lives he ruined in order to selfishly win an election he did not deserve.

I also agree---people should show up withpots and pans banging with signs that say "you're a convict, not a lawyer" to his swearing in ceremony...UGH God I can't wait 'til this is all over for the boys and their families...it's so sad. I keep them in my thoughts daily.

Anonymous said...

I have a great deal of trouble with all these publications and individuals turning on Nifong at this point. They all had access to the same information we did yet continued to prop up his prosecution. No kudos to any of them at this point. They're a bit late to the party.

Anonymous said...

More than recusing himself, we want Nifong either to resign from office or be removed.

Anonymous said...

12:44pm Anon:

I'd rather see him recuse, then removed from office itself by legal avenues. Forcibly removed if needed.

And of course, the charges dismissed as soon as he's off the case.

I have too large a stock of popcorn to want Nifong to disappear too quickly. ;>)

Anonymous said...

These publications like Time and the NY Times don't want to be caught on the losing side. They would rather we forget how they were parrots for the prosecution in the early days.

While the reporters for these publications would like us to think that they are "experts" on this case, in truth, they know very little, only bits and snatches. Furthermore, because they depend so heavily on government sources, they know that in this situation, those sources are not reliable. Thus, they are left to reacting to whatever is occurring.

Anonymous said...

Just a little quibble:

It's not unusual for the defense to reserve the right to call witnesses, experts or otherwise, in its witness list designation. So the defense designation here doesn't mean much.

Anonymous said...

Kudos to everyone who has helped keep the pressure on! Good is beating evil. How must it feel for Nifong to have the very media he so maliciously turned on those boys now turn on him. I expect it to only get worst once the false accuser begins spinning her web around Nifong, then he will lose the AA community.

Anonymous said...

What is 'the AA community'?

Anonymous said...

AA= African American

Anonymous said...

Nifong wont lose the africn amerincan communit. We elected him and he wil get a conviction agenst the duke rapsits. Just wait and see.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Liestoppers!

I thought that summary of recent events effecting the new Defendant was put together very well.

Great job.

Anonymous said...

theman sounds strangely like the Iraqi (dis)information minister during the early part of the war...hmmm, where are he and Saddam today?

Anonymous said...

One thing to remember is that if Nifong holds on to this case until the Feb 5, 2007 court date and then gets tossed by the judge, what happens. The case probably goes to the NCAG and the first thing a new prosecutor will do is ask for a postponement. So if the case does ever get ot trial, it will be in the Fall of 2007.

Anonymous said...

1:13pm duke09parent

"It's not unusual for the defense to reserve the right to call witnesses, experts or otherwise, in its witness list designation."

It is unusual for the defense to designate an already-designated-by-the-prosecution expert witness.

It is highly unusual for the defense to designate as expert a witness who has admitted under oath that he conspired to hide exculpatory evidence with the DA who is prosecuting the case.

Anonymous said...

You people don't know what you are talking about. MR. Nifong is doing a great job and will put these guys away

Anonymous said...

Mikey is done, and at the end of it, Nifong will be saying "Mikey DON'T like it." He's toast.

Anonymous said...

At the end of it, Mikey will be getting it in the "end" in jail.

Send him some K-Y Gel in jail.

Anonymous said...

You people are nuts, NC bringing all those bogus and trumped up charges is just one way for you to pick on Nifong. These 3 are guilty of bad language, assault, kidnapping and the list goes on. These 3 are on their way to jail.

Anonymous said...

These 3 are on their way to jail.

Only if they decide to visit Nifong while he's incarcerated.

Anonymous said...

theman...your real name wouldn't be Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf, would it?

Anonymous said...

In the LA times ( dec 31 By Michael Skube) Duke Prof. Ned Kennington regrets what he said, Took Nifong at his word.

Duke thinks it will take 2-5 years to recover from this scandle.

Anonymous said...

I think we should refer to theman as "Bagdad Bob." He will take us to show how Nifong is beating the Americans, uh, rather the Dukies all over the city.

Anonymous said...

There are certainly bogus and trumped-up charges involved in this case. The victims of the trumped-up charges just happen to be former Duke lacrosse players. There is no legal justification for what Nifong has been doing, and he's starting to face the consequences of his actions. Get over it.

Darayvus said...

theman is hilarious. Someone needs to get him his own talk show.