Doing the "Durham Sidestep"
Attorneys representing Reade, Collin, and Dave have filed a motion that the defendants are avoiding discovery in the civil lawsuit.
Durham et al are up to their old dance routine doing the "Durham Sidestep." We saw this repeatedly in the long and tortuously process of obtaining the exculpatory evidence which Nifong and the DPD withheld. Eventually it was discovered by Defense attorney Brad Bannon that Nifong and company had hidden DNA evidence from the defense.
Is it happening again?
The Plaintiffs in this case are the three innocent young men who were arrested, indicted, and publicly vilified on false charges of rape, first-degree sexual assault, and kidnapping in the Duke Lacrosse Case in 2006. Although this case has been pending for more than eight months, discovery has yet to begin because the City of Durham and other Defendants have refused to confer with Plaintiffs as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f). These Defendants effectively have granted themselves an indefinite stay of discovery in contravention of Rule 26(f)’s express requirement that parties confer and commence discovery “as soon as practicable” after a complaint is filed. Defendants have made no showing that conferring with Plaintiffs is not “practicable,” nor can they satisfy the heavy burden necessary to justify a stay of discovery. Their refusal to permit discovery risks the loss of critical evidence as memories fade and witnesses relocate. Their refusal also will improperly and unnecessarily prolong this proceeding in violation of the policies of the Federal and Local Rules. RULE 26(f) Motion
See LieStoppers Forum for a Discussion
Hat Tip: Tidbits, Walt-in-Durham
7 comments:
It probably will never happen, but the presiding judge should respond by ordering the defendants to either defend the case or pay up.
A commenter on another thread posed the theory that Duke/Durham and their well connected Democratic attornies were going to stall till after the election in hope of more favorable treatment from an Obama administration. Not so farfetched as it sounded to me when I first read it. The usual reason for lawyers to stall is because they know their clients are in the soup and they try to protect them from a judge and jury as long as they can. This may be a little more complicated.
But I am not so sure that such a stall will win them much with Obama should he be elected since he was one of the few who spoke out forcibly about the injustice that was being done in Durham.
My guess is that the delaying tactics a a result of the hope that the plaintiffs will drop the suit - however, in that I think the defendants are smoking some funny tobacco as this has never really been about money - it is about making sure that what happened to those three men as well as their teammates does not ever happen again. Given that the Durham officials and those from Duke involved in this case have made no real effort to change their modus operandi, it is of utmost importance that the plaintiffs hold the defendants feet tot he fire. One can only hope that the judge who is set to tule in this case realizes how important it is that discovery be allowed to proceed.
Take a look at this.
They keep promoting Tyson and his ilk nonstop.
What a farce.
Take a look at this.
They keep promoting Tyson and his ilk nonstop.
What a farce.
Re: "A commenter on another thread posed the theory that Duke/Durham and their well connected Democratic attornies were going to stall till after the election in hope of more favorable treatment from an Obama administration."
The only problem with that theory is that, as it has been pointed out time after time, Obama was one of the few political figures to support a federal investigation of the lacrosse prosecution.
Ken Duke
We'll see if he sticks to that.
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