LieStoppers

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: FEBRUARY 2007

2011-09-25T21:49:00.004-04:00

By sceptical

(Thanks to Quasi, Baldo and Q.A. for suggestions and comments on the final draft.)

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 1: In his blog “Durham-in-Wonderland,” Prof. KC Johnson of Brooklyn College describes a Duke University course-- “Hookup Culture at Duke”—being offered this spring. Cross-listed by women’s studies and cultural anthropology, the course is taught by instructor Anne Allison, a member of the “Group of 88” professors who signed a controversial April 6, 2006 ad in the Chronicle shortly after rape allegations against Duke lacrosse players by Crystal Mangum. The goal of the course is: “To understand ‘hooking-up’ at Duke in terms of larger frameworks of race, capitalism/consumerism, class, lifestyle, identity, (hetero)normativity, and power, and 2) to enable students to critically assess both the nature of Duke hook-ups and the institutional setting of Duke itself.” Johnson gives the course as an example of “a campus culture where 88 faculty members could sign a rush-to-judgment public denunciation and then, months later and after the underlying case has imploded, issue a “clarifying” statement proclaiming that they’d do it all over again.”

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 2: NPR runs a segment “Duke President takes fire over lacrosse case” by Adam Hochberg in which Duke VP John Burness attacks the lacrosse players:

“But Duke Vice President John Burness defends the school's response. He says administrators stand by their decision to punish the team for its party behavior, which he says included not only hiring exotic dancers, but also directing racial slurs toward them. And he says Duke has little choice but to let the criminal charges play out in court. Burness says that alumni continue to donate to Duke at record levels, and that — coupled with a stable application rate — convinces him the university responded well. But while one of the accused players now has graduated from Duke, the others haven't decided whether to return. The father of one of them says he hesitates to send his son back to a university that, in his words, didn't "stand up for our boys."

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 3: The Raleigh News & Observer (N&0) reveals criticism of Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong by North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley in a speech given January in New York. Easley calls Nifong the worst appointment he had ever made, and confirms that Nifong had violated an agreement not to run (he had been interim DA).

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 4: Duke lacrosse fans and supporters stand together at the Durham County Courthouse, where former lacrosse players Collin Finnerty, David Evans, and Reade Seligmann previously appeared to face felony charges for alleged rape. More than 100 people then walk 3 miles from the courthouse toward Duke’s lacrosse field in support of the 3 men. At the end of the walk, there is applause for the lacrosse team as they practice on the field. Two activist groups spearhead the gathering -- Concerned Duke Mothers, formed in response to the initial rape accusations, and Ethical Durham, a group that encourages Duke students to vote and support ethical causes. After previous protests where people taunted the lacrosse players, supporters say it is time to show the accused players who’s behind them. Their ranks include DA Nifong's former campaign manager, Jackie Brown. “(We’re wearing) the fantastic lies buttons, for those fantastic lies (Nifong) told,” Brown says. “That makes me feel like my son is in a good place at Duke, in Durham, and that there are other people who believe in justice,” says Tracy Tkac, whose son plays on the lacrosse team.

MONDAY FEBRUARY 5: A critical hearing in the Duke lacrosse case previously scheduled for today has been postponed until May as the new special prosecutors continue to study evidence. The accuser in the case, Crystal Mangum, was expected to appear at the hearing and defense attorneys planned to ask Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III to throw out her photo identifications of the defendants. Legal experts have said without the accuser's photo identifications, prosecutors would probably have to dismiss the charges against the three former lacrosse players.

Black journalist Cash Michaels closes down his website “ourheartsworldlatest” with an attack on supporters of the indicted Duke lacrosse players:

“Virtually every other site devoted to the subject is authored and administered by journalist-or-detective-wannabes who believe their rank speculation, blatant lies and blanket condemnation of anyone who is not a Duke Three supporter qualifies them to be the ultimate authority of what's right and wrong in this case, if not in life. Here's hoping none of these egomaniacs ever run for public office where they respectively live. Neo-Nazism simply just doesn't merit a place on the ballot. But then there are the hate-filled mice these Pied Pipers of bias and ignorance attract out of the woodwork and onto their message boards, infesting the truth with their unique brand of vicious untruths about the accuser, her family, her supporters--Black and white, the African-American community, and this website. For the most part, ignoring the ignorant is always good advice, because what these unfortunate people crave is attention for their morally malnourished behavior. But there are times when it is not only worthy, but necessary to publicly counter out-and-out coldblooded lies about our honest, community-based efforts to support the rights of the Duke case accuser.”

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 6: Two members of the Durham grand jury that indicted 3 lacrosse players tell ABC News that they now have second thoughts about the case. The grand jurors spoke anonymously since grand jury proceedings are secret. One juror says the indictments were a mistake while the other stands by the original decision. "Knowing what I know now and all that's been broadcast on the news and in media, I think I would have definitely made a different decision," one of the jurors says. "I don't think those charges would have been the proper charges, based on what I know now." Because of more recent developments concerning the case, however, both say they have doubts about the charges. They also say they don’t understand why DA Nifong did not drop all charges when the rape charge was dropped Dec. 21.

The N & O reports that a nonprofit corporation set up to help 3 former Duke lacrosse players defray legal expenses is about a quarter of the way towards recouping an estimated $3 million in legal fees spent to date. The Association for Truth and Fairness, incorporated in Delaware on April 19, has raised about $750,000, according to one of the three founders. Legal bills have mounted for Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann since they were charged with rape at a lacrosse team party last March. The accused have hired a team of defense lawyers that has spent hundreds of hours on the case. The team has hired private investigators, pollsters, and experts on DNA and forensics. Kevin Finnerty, father of Collin Finnerty, does not quibble with estimates of the $3 million spent so far. "Unfortunately, that is accurate," Kevin Finnerty says. James Cooney, a Charlotte lawyer who represents Seligmann, states a trial would push the price higher. "It would be extremely expensive," Cooney says. Sherman Joyce, an Evans family friend who helped organize the nonprofit, explains the goal is to raise $5 million to pay the lacrosse legal bills and more.

Chronicle columnist Kristin Butler explores why some media outlets have now identified rape accuser Crystal Mangum while many newspapers, including the Chronicle, have not. In a column titled “The worst, kept secret…” Butler argues that there is a double standard for women who falsely accuse men of rape, and that false accusations are not rare events:

“For one thing, there is no especially compelling reason to believe that printing the names of false accusers will keep future victims from reporting rapes; there is, however, evidence to suggest that false rape allegations are much more common than many people are aware, and that the media's policies may even create a perverse incentive to cry rape. Indeed, the FBI estimates that 9 percent of rape claims are "unfounded"-- -defined as dismissed with no charges filed: this is several times the 2-percent rate often quoted by the media. Much more disturbing were the results of a study conducted by Eugene Kanin, professor of sociology at Purdue University, which found that 41 percent of rapes reported in an unnamed Midwestern town over a 9-year period were ultimately retracted by complainants. In a secondary study that has disturbing implications for campuses like this one, Kanin found that fully 50 percent of rape claims at two unnamed "large, public universities," were eventually recanted.”

FEBRUARY 7: Two former members of the grand jury that indicted 3 Duke lacrosse players can be charged with contempt for talking about the case. Superior Court Judge Orlando F. Hudson Jr. says he could not believe it when he heard the two grand jurors on an ABC Television program talking about the Duke case. The judge calls the secret grand jury process the most sacred in the judicial system. The judge would not give details about what he might do, but he states grand jurors who discuss a case can be charged with contempt of court, a misdemeanor offense that can carry up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. "It was pretty clear to me that the jurors are in violation of North Carolina law," Hudson says.

Defense attorneys for the 3 indicted lacrosse players meet again with the North Carolina special prosecutors today, their second session in as many weeks after having had no meetings at all with DA Nifong. They decline to disclose what was discussed.

KC Johnson reports a petition from the Duke Conservative Union already signed by 200 students is on the group’s website and on Facebook. The petition demands an apology from the “Group of 88,” Duke faculty who signed an ad in the Chronicle on April 6, 2006. The petition reads in part:

“In the ad they not only tacitly supported the accusations of the now utterly discredited accuser, but praised protestors who similarly rushed to judgment, while levying baseless accusations of racism against our student body. In a time of intense emotions and enormous stakes, when our community dearly needed a call for calm, for patience, for rational and careful thinking, these professors instead took a course of action which escalated tensions, spurred divisions along race and class and brought our community into greater turmoil. Their actions also further undermined the legal process and most likely emboldened a rogue district attorney.”

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 8: The N&O reports that Linwood Wilson, DA Nifong’s chief investigator in the Duke lacrosse case, was reprimanded in 1997 by the state commission that licenses private detectives. After an appeal of the board's decision was unsuccessful the following year, Wilson allowed his investigator's license to expire-- ending a 16-year career as a private eye that was marked by repeated complaints and at least 7 formal inquiries into his conduct. In a July 15, 1997, letter to the state Private Protective Service Board, Wilson complained that the reprimand would hamstring his ability to testify at trials. "When a letter is placed in my permanent file it is open to the public and therefore could be damaging to my creditability in court," Wilson wrote. "I could be cross examined by any attorney who has gotten a copy of my file." In a Jan. 24 article, the N&O reported that Wilson's file at the state board contained records of allegations from 20 years ago that he made false statements on the witness stand and set up an illegal telephone tap. In both cases, state investigators wrote in internal memorandums they thought Wilson had likely broken the law, but no charges were filed. Wilson, 58, says in an interview last month that his integrity had never been called into question and that he "retired" as a private eye in 1998 because he was tired of the acrimony that comes with working divorce and child custody cases.

The group Friends of Duke University places an ad in the Chronicle challenging the “Group of 88” faculty and their “Clarifying Statement” issued January 17 by “Concerned Faculty.” In a press release, FODU spokesman Jason Trompbour states:

“We remain sincere in our efforts to reach out to them. We are dismayed that, not only would they chose to ignore our efforts, but that they would instead respond with a defiant refusal to admit mistake either in judgment or expression and that they would insult the motives and/or intelligence of their critics. We do not begrudge members of the Group of 88/Concerned Faculty their right to call attention to social issues of concern to them. We instead condemn the unfair public vilification of members of the lacrosse team done in the course of expressing their concerns.”

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 9: Durham political activist Beth Brewer files a civil complaint against DA Nifong seeking to remove him from office. Later, a judge says he will issue an order on Monday to stay any action on the complaint. Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson says the complaint filed today basically mirrors ethics charges the North Carolina State Bar filed against Nifong within the past two months. Citing provisions in North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 7A-66 on the removal of district attorneys, Brewer charges Nifong with willful misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the office into disrepute. Last year, Brewer organized a political action committee, "Recall Nifong -- Vote Cheek," to elect Durham County Commissioner Lewis Cheek as district attorney, even though he had decided he was not running for the office. "This was filed by a woman who tried to defeat me through the political process," Nifong says after he had a chance to review the complaint. "Since that wasn't successful, she obviously tried to pursue this through this particular remedy." The complaint is significant, former federal prosecutor Dan Boyce says, and raises questions not only about Nifong's ability to serve as district attorney, but also his right to practice law. Nifong also says in an interview that he is looking forward to defending himself against the State Bar's ethics charges and that he is working with his attorneys on a response, which is due Feb. 23. "I wish everyone would withhold judgment until they hear the evidence, as well as my response," he tells WRAL, adding that there is more to the Duke lacrosse case than what the media has reported.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 11: James (Jimmy) Regan, a Duke lacrosse player (class of 2002) and U.S. Army Ranger, is reported killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Assistant Coach Kevin Cassese played with Regan for three years, and addressed the current team: “What I said was that he was a guy who worked hard every day, who would do anything for his teammates, and would do anything to make the team better.” Cassese spoke of Regan’s performance in the 2002 ACC Championship game, when Regan scored four goals. Jack Moran, Regan’s high school lacrosse coach, says, “You couldn’t ask for a better person”—someone who passed up the opportunity to go to law school to serve his country, because “he felt there was a higher calling.” Regan served a tour of duty in Afghanistan before being stationed in Iraq. It would take over 2 ½ years until Duke University included Regan’s name on a war memorial in a ceremony led by U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki.

MONDAY FEBRUARY 12: Beth Brewer, the Durham resident who last week filed court papers seeking the removal of DA Nifong from office, questions a judge's decision to delay action on the issue. Brewer filed a civil complaint against Nifong on Friday, alleging willful misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the office into disrepute. Judge Orlando Hudson says the civil complaint mirrors ethics charges the North Carolina State Bar has filed against Nifong, and he issues an order today that would defer Brewer's complaint until after the State Bar hearing in the case is completed. "Due process of law requires that the district attorney be allowed to defend himself before one tribunal at a time regarding the allegations," Hudson writes in the ruling. But Betty Tenn Lawrence, an Asheville lawyer representing Brewer, challenges Hudson's authority to postpone the removal proceeding. State law dictates that the judge act on a civil complaint within 30 days, Lawrence writes in a letter to Hudson. Hudson tells WRAL that his decision to delay action on the complaint constitutes acting on it. Brewer and her attorney could file a motion asking the state Court of Appeals to force Hudson to take some other action, but there was no word today on whether they plan to do so.

Police are investigating allegations that a Duke University student was raped at an off-campus party around 3 a.m. yesterday. More than 50 people attended a rowdy party over the weekend at 405 Gattis St., a duplex where several male Duke students live, according to Durham police. Neighbors say large number of cars were parked along the street and loud music blared from the house. An 18-year-old woman (months later self-identified as Katie Rouse) says she was raped in a bathroom of the residence, according to a Durham police news release. Police had not charged anyone but released a description of a suspect. The man is described as being in his late teens or early 20s, about 6-foot-1 and wearing a black do-rag, a gray and blue jeans, according to a police news release. Yesterday afternoon, beer cans and sweatshirt bottles were strewn throughout the lawn and bushes of the residence.

Members of the “Group of 88” hold a forum at Duke to discuss issues relating to the lacrosse case. They accused their critics of “McCarthyism” and urged them to “shut up and teach,” in the words of Prof. Charles Piot.

In a Chronicle column “Alumns: Withhold your support,” senior Steven Miller writes:
“The lacrosse scandal brought to light in a new way many of the tragic problems facing our University and the unwillingness of the administration to correct them. If we truly love Duke, and truly support its students, then we will take action to repair the University we love and to protect all its students present and future. If we truly love Duke, then we will demand that it live up to its ideals. What sense is it for alumni to criticize Duke, see Duke be totally unresponsive to their criticisms and then to keep the checks rolling in? Is it any wonder Duke perpetually ignores the grievances of its students and alumni? “

Blogger John-in-Carolina discusses the differences between the so-called “Wanted” and “Vigilante” posters which appeared on the Duke campus following rape charges against the Duke lacrosse team. There were four versions of the text-only “Wanted” posters which were produced for Durham CrimeStoppers by Durham Police Cpl. David Addison. The “Vigilante” poster contains the photographs of 43 Duke lacrosse players and was produced anonymously. Both posters inflamed public opinion against the lacrosse team

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 13: Mary Katherine Ham writes a blogpost “A tale of two rapes in Durham” in which she and contrasts the media and public reactions to rape allegations against white lacrosse players made by a black woman last year to those concerning the recent rape in which the accuser, a Duke freshman, is white the alleged suspect is black:
“There's another accusation of rape floating around Durham this week. The accuser was allegedly attacked at a house party this Saturday. The accuser is white. The suspect is black. Heard anything about that? Yeah, I didn’t think so. The mainstream media has bent over backward to keep race out of this. Even those who first gave a description of the alleged rapist as a “black man” later redacted that from their reports. The News & Observer never printed it at all. And none has pointed out, as the Duke Chronicle has done, that the alleged victim was white, making this a mirror image of the Duke lacrosse case."

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 14: Duke University administrators will wait for Durham police to finish their investigation of a freshman's allegations that she was raped at an off-campus party before doing an inquiry of their own. Larry Moneta, vice president of student affairs, says he heard about the incident early Sunday. "We're providing direct support to the woman," he asserts. Durham police were called to 405 Gattis St. at 3 a.m. Sunday after an 18-year-old (later self-identified as Katie Rouse) reported being raped in a bathroom there. No charges have been filed. Members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., one of whom lives at the house, organized the party that started Saturday night and continued into early Sunday. Police filed a second incident report from the home shared by several Duke students and owned by Arcadia Land Management, which, according to county property records, is an Oklahoma company. At 11:11 a.m. Sunday, police filed an incident report for three drug violations: possession of marijuana, Oxycontin and cocaine. As news of the reported rape spread through the blogosphere Monday, many people questioned whether DA Nifong would show the same interest in the investigation as he did the Duke lacrosse case. According to the Chronicle: “The alleged victim ‘is doing as well as can be expected,’ Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek said. University officials said Monday that they had met with members of the fraternity after the report was filed by the alleged victim, who Wasiolek confirmed is white.”

In a two-part blogpost, Prof. KC Johnson examines the actions of the “potbangers” who held protests outside the lacrosse house at 510 N. Buchanan St. after Crystal Mangum alleged she was raped there. He contends that as evidence grew of the innocence of the lacrosse players, the “potbangers” used other charges, such as racism and sexism, against the lacrosse team. “The one constant in this progression: having come out strongly against the players early on, the potbangers were determined to find something to justify their assault on the lacrosse players’ character,” according to Johnson.

A Chronicle article reveals that the rapper Common criticized the Duke lacrosse team during a concert at Emory University in April, 2006. Common is scheduled to appear during Last Day of Classes (LDOC) festivities. Several students who attended a concert held at Emory University April 19, 2006 said that Common incorporated lines such as, "I'm the boss, f--- those boys from Duke lacrosse" into his act while freestyling. "That was the first time he brought it up-as a punchline-and then emphasized it later," says Tal Hirshberg, Trinity '04 and a third-year law student at Emory. Hirshberg adds that about 40 minutes after the first mention of Duke lacrosse in the concert, Common said he "really believes in [his] heart that those boys in Duke lacrosse did it-- that they raped a black princess." LDOC Chair Beth Higgins, a senior, says she had not been aware of the incident during the LDOC committee's proceedings with Common. "I am very shocked that that happened," Higgins says. "I'm surprised he accepted the offer if he felt that way."

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 15: In a letter to the Chronicle, Duke economics professor Roy Weintraub takes strong issue with the “Group of 88’s” assertion that those who disagree with them are guilty of McCarthyism. Weintraub writes:
“So I read with astonishment the recent panelists' invocation of McCarthyism as their characterization of the criticism they have received for their public statements or writings. They face no death sentence, no jail time, no threats from Trustees or administrators of employment termination, no loss of income, no loss of custody of their children, no loss of their passports, no reduction whatsoever in their public or private circumstances. I don't ask the panelists to shut up and teach. I ask them instead to understand that for various Duke faculty, staff, administrators, students, parents and alumni to disagree with them in public or in private is neither McCarthyism nor an academic travesty and betrayal of the values of our institution, but is rather an expression of their believing otherwise.”

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 16: Prof. William Anderson of Frostburg State University points out in detail actions taken by state actors in the lacrosse case which he asserts have been illegal, and their attempts to cover-up those actions. He says: “Granted, I have my doubts that the North Carolina authorities really are interested in investigating and prosecuting their own, but, nonetheless, I figure that it does not hurt for the readers to know about the commission of crimes, especially when they are committed by the police and prosecutors... Thus, I will lay out some of the actions taken by police and prosecutors that clearly are legal violations, and then let the actions speak for themselves.”

Blogger John-in-Carolina investigates the role of Durham Police Cpl. David Addison in propagating the lacrosse hoax. Addison acts as liason to CrimeStoppers and also serves as a police spokesman. John- in Carolina notes:

“March 24 was a very busy day for Addison: the Duke lacrosse story was breaking. In WRAL – TV’s first report on the case, Addison told the public: ”You are looking at one victim brutally raped. If that was someone else's daughter, child, I don't think 46 [DNA tests] would be a large enough number to figure out exactly who did it.”

That same day Addison spoke to the Raleigh News & Observer which the next day reported in a story the N&O told readers concerned “sexual violence”:

”[A]uthorities vowed to crack the team's wall of solidarity.
‘We're asking someone from the lacrosse team to step forward,’ Durham police Cpl. David Addison said. ‘We will be relentless in finding out who committed this crime.’”
Addison went days telling the public about the “victim” who’d been “brutally raped.”

The Johnsville News blog hands out tongue-in-cheek “Freedom of the Press Awards” for reporters’ and editors’ questionable coverage of the Duke lacrosse case. “Winners” include Samiha Khanna, Anne Blythe, Ruth Sheehan, Melanie Sill and Linda Williams of the N&O; John Stevenson and Bob Ashley of the Herald-Sun; Cash Michaels of the Wilmington Journal; Duff Wilson of the New York Times; and Shadee Makalou of the Duke Chronicle,

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 18: LieStoppers features a post about a New York Journal of Law article by Henry Korn titled “District Attorney Scandal in Duke University Case.” The Korn article summarizes the actions of DA Nifong in the case and concludes:

"There are sure to be many more developments in the story of how Mr. Nifong conducted the prosecution of the three Duke University students that will have direct impact on his license to practice law. This is a story that squarely teaches that 'rushing to judgment' without wisely stepping back and reviewing the evidence runs directly counter to the ethical obligations that govern how attorneys are required to conduct themselves. The harm of such ignorant conduct is that others are grievously wounded. Familiarity with, and adherence to, the code of professional responsibility provides the foundation for attorneys to avoid abuse of their license and harm others by so doing."

MONDAY FEBRUARY 19: Police make an arrest in connection with a Duke University freshman's allegation that she was sexually assaulted at an off-campus party earlier this month. Michael Jermaine Burch, 21, of 322 Junction Road, Durham, is charged with second-degree rape. He is being held in Durham County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail. The arrest came eight days after Durham investigators were called to 405 Gattis St. early Feb. 11. Members of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity threw a party at the rental property where one member of the fraternity and three other Duke students lived. The party drew more than 50 people and spilled outside the duplex. The 18-year-old accuser, later self-identified as Katie Rouse, told investigators she was sexually assaulted about 3 a.m. in a bathroom. She went to Duke University Hospital, according to police radio reports. Burch is not registered as a student at any college or university. He was arrested as he left his job at the Rose's department store on N.C. 54.

Two supporters of DA Nifong—Victoria Peterson and Jackie Wagstaff -- organize a “District Attorney Appreciation Week” in Durham. The sole event is a barbequed chicken lunch attended by Nifong staffers, the two organizers, and two other women. The Herald-Sun reports that Nifong suggests the event's organizers are more in tune with reality than countless out-of-state hecklers who criticize his handling of the controversial Duke lacrosse case. "If you rely on certain media, you might think there is universal disapproval of me," Nifong says, referring largely to national television outlets that have relentlessly hammered him over the lacrosse incident. "But if you're closer to home, you realize that's not true," he adds.

Prof. KC Johnson analyzes the on-air performance of broadcaster Nancy Grace regarding the Duke lacrosse case. He states she has used innuendo, non-existent evidence, unawareness of basic facts of the case, and denigration of skeptics in her commentary about the case.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 20: Sports Illustrated publishes an article by S.L. Price titled “The season after” describing the upcoming return of the Duke lacrosse team for its first game since the team’s season was cancelled last year because of the rape allegations.

“When they come out for warmups against Dartmouth, the team will be divided into thirds, with each wearing a special shirt bearing the number of one of the accused. But any hope of turning the experience into motivational fodder "is jaded by the fact that three of our close friends are undergoing a horrible experience," says senior co-captain Ed Douglas. "For me to try to find a good thing in this whole process seems almost smug."

And the players know that many in the public believe their irresponsibility cost their coach his job. That's why they are keeping a lower social profile on campus this year, why the seniors have pledged themselves to what Douglas calls "a sober preseason." That's why, just minutes before they walked out to practice last Thursday, Sue Pressler, Mike's wife, addressed the team in the locker room, something she never did in all the years her husband was coach. She spoke of the elephant still looming over the case -- that the public still believes something happened that night -- and that it's time for that elephant to die. She told the players that the Pressler family has never blamed them for what happened, told them she loved them, told them it was time to stop running and be proud again.”

NCCU law professor Irving Joyner is criticized by Prof. KC Johnson. Joyner, who is the “case monitor” for the North Carolina NAACP, has been outspoken in his criticism of the lacrosse players, whose March, 2006 party he calls “perverted,” and in his pro-prosecution support for DA Nifong and the Durham Police. Johnson states, “Even to the end, Joyner has tried to get the case to trial. Almost alone among observers, he contended that the dropping of rape charges made it more likely to get convictions”

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21: Duke lacrosse defendant Reade Seligmann could be leaving Duke and be headed to play for Brown in the Ivy League. Brown University Sports Information Director Chris Humm confirms that the school is trying to recruit the 6-foot-1 midfielder for its men's lacrosse team. Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., was suspended last spring from Duke after he was indicted on charges of kidnapping, rape and sexual assault stemming from an off-campus lacrosse team party. Seligmann graduated from the Delbarton School, a Roman Catholic school in Morristown, N.J. He won three state lacrosse titles while he attended the school but saw limited playing time after arriving at Duke. There, he played only in six games and scored one goal before Duke President Brodhead canceled the season in April. In January 2007, Duke invited Seligmann and Collin Finnerty, 20, to return as students in good standing. Evans, 23, graduated from the university in May.

DA Nifong has been granted an extension to file a written response to ethics charges leveled against him for his handling of the Duke lacrosse case. Nifong's response to the North Carolina State Bar complaint was due Friday Feb. 23, but the Bar's disciplinary commission moved the deadline to Wednesday Feb. 28 because one of Nifong's attorneys is ill. The State Bar has accused Nifong of withholding evidence from lawyers defending 3 lacrosse players charged with sexually assaulting a stripper, of lying to the court and to bar investigators, and making misleading and inflammatory comments about the players. Legal experts say Nifong could be disbarred if he's convicted. Also today, ABC-11 reports that last week the special prosecutors interviewed Nifong as part of their continuing investigation into the case. The Attorney General's office confirms that the meeting took place, but did not release details.

The N&O reports on differences in public reaction between rape charges stemming from the lacrosse party and those from the more recent alleged attack at an off-campus party:
“Now there are new sexual assault allegations from another off-campus Duke party, and avid chroniclers of the twists and turns in the lacrosse case ask: "Where are the potbangers?"
"That's a good question," said Manju Rajendran, one of the organizers of the potbanger protests. "Why is there not a massive reaction every time a rape occurs? I feel like that should happen any time there's rape." Some say the city is fatigued by the lacrosse case and people might be treading carefully because of the controversy and criticisms lobbed from near and far.
"Normally with a rape case, police do the investigation, and charges are filed, and it goes through court," said Orin Starn, a Duke professor who has been critical of big-time college sports programs. "The lacrosse case was something of an anomaly. It became a media event that was covered and dissected and debated, both locally and nationally."

(…) Bloggers, who have chronicled the details on Web sites, take delight in blasting "the potbangers" and the so-called "Group of 88" at Duke, professors who endorsed a student newspaper ad that deplored racism and sexual assault on campus. Some of the most dedicated have posted MTV-style videos with captions and music. One of the more telling accounts captures the protesters marching down Buchanan Street in a simple video that was posted on YouTube. In that video, the protesters call Duke Provost Peter Lange outside his house across the street from the hip-high stone wall rimming Duke's East Campus. At the time, no charges had been filed, and Lange urged the protesters not to rush to judgment. The crowd hurled questions, asking why Duke had not punished the players, why no disciplinary actions had been taken.

"We don't know the facts, what happened in the house," Lange said. "We are waiting for the police investigation to discover the facts. This is an extremely serious crime if it happened."
A wait-and-see attitude seems to be prevailing in the more recent case.

(…)Tim Tyson, one of the professors who was at a Buchanan Street vigil, said recently that his intent was not to attack the lacrosse players but to draw attention to the larger issues of sexual violence, classism and racism that the case seemed to embody.

"I wasn't confident at that time that I knew what happened," Tyson said. "It still seems clear to me that something ugly happened in that house. ... I don't think people should be used as things. If there only had been an ugly incident and no allegations of rape, I still would be disappointed with the students."

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 22: WEBCommentary contributor Michael Gaynor calls on Duke President Brodhead to resign in a post “Duke under Brodhead: Failed crisis management 101.”
“As president. Mr. Brodhead (1) failed these student athletes; (2) failed their parents who had placed their trust in Duke University as a guardian of their sons; and (3) failed to validate a system of honor, which should be the basis of student life at Duke. Some of the other actions of some of the members of the lacrosse team at that off-campus party last spring were wrong, to be sure, but that did not in any way justify the phony criminal accusations that not only intimidated Duke University, but also were eagerly embraced by a significant segment of the Duke community (as well as the Durham community and the national media) determined to treat them as true because they fit their agenda.(…) President Brodhead should resign, because he failed to manage the Duke crisis competently and courageously. He failed to demonstrate the courage, sense of honor and strong judgment that a leader must have to be successful. He failed the parents of the accused students and, most importantly, he failed to properly lead Duke University through a crisis and instead made it worse by lending credence to the ludicrous accusations by a person who quickly could have been determined by President Brodhead not to be a credible person…”

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 23: The Duke lacrosse team gears up for its game tomorrow-- the first since the season was canceled last year. Thus far, Duke practices have generated a lot of attention this year. Team co-captain Matt Danowski is getting used to all the onlookers. “All the media attention has given people insight into our lives and the people we are,” Danowski says. “We welcome it." Saturday's home opener is expected to draw a large crowd, and the school is beefing up security. The game will also be televised live nationally. On Saturday, players will wear warm-up jerseys with the numbers 45, 3 and 6 to represent the three players accused of sexual assault: Finnerty, Evans and Seligmann. John Danowski tells WRAL that he's been helping Finnerty look at lacrosse programs at other schools. Seligmann is considering an offer from Brown University. Evans graduated last year.

Six Duke professors write an article in the Chronicle suggesting that Duke should “move forward” from the lacrosse controversy. The article states, in part:

“The time has come to move forward. The primary issue is how we live as a community at Duke-- how we behave toward each other, the values we espouse, the rules we pledge to uphold in our interactions. Now is the time to turn what has been a time of crisis into an opportunity for constructive change-to help make Duke a model of mutual respect and caring. Whatever happened at the lacrosse party last spring, three facts remain undisputed: racial epithets were used; a Duke student group hired two female strippers for the entertainment of young men; and underage drinking was encouraged. In the ensuing months, we have heard our students grapple with these and related issues that reflect patterns of behavior found, not only on our campus, but-according to colleagues elsewhere-at our peer institutions as well.”

The article is analyzed in a blogpost titled “Chafe’s Embarrassment” by KC Johnson and in another titled “Juxtapositional Fallacies” by Duke professor Michael Gustafson, who writes:
“In being told the three "undisputed" facts, we are being told to forget that the Coleman Report quashed any sense of racism on the team; to forget that men on the team publicly stated their outrage over racist comments, if made, by their teammates; to forget that Devon Sherwood called those 46 men his brothers; to forget that the women on the lacrosse team - empowered, strong, intelligent women led by an empowered, strong, intelligent woman publicly wore their thoughts on their wrists about the innocence of three of those men.

We are being given a false dilemma - either show outrage against the lacrosse team and its party and support those who made noise about it, or deny that racism and sexism and assault exist. Either believe that the entire campus culture is flawed (and we're the ones to fix it), or support sexist insults and racial division."

The Chronicle reports that the Campus Cultural Initiative committee will recommend several proposals-- summarized here by Prof KC Johnson in his “Durham-inWonderland” blog:
“1) A mandatory “diversity” course for all Duke students. This proposal could be called the “Group of 88 Enrollment Initiative,” since Group members disproportionately teach such classes. 2) Residential changes to prevent “the practice of assigning housing to selective living groups and social/affinity/interest groups.” 3) Reducing time athletes can spend on travel and practice—a proposal, as one Chronicle commenter observed, effectively demands the withdrawal of Duke from the ACC. The report does not appear to have demanded a reduction of time that non-athletes are allowed to spend on extracurricular activities. 4) Raising the “low end of the admissions standards” to ensure a better-qualified student body—a fine idea in theory, but one that almost certainly seems to be hypocritical, since advocates of “diversity” in admissions almost always advocate broadening the range of admissions standards.”

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24: The Duke men’s lacrosse team wins its first game of the season, defeating Dartmouth 17-11. Zach Greer has six goals and Bo Carrington has two assists. The game is nationally televised and 70 journalists request credentials for the event. A crowd of 6,485 watches the game—the second largest crowd ever at Koskinen Stadium on the Duke campus.

The AP carries a feature article by Eric Tucker about former Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler’s new job leading Bryant University men’s lacrosse team:

“The last time Mike Pressler prepared for a lacrosse season, his Duke team was among the nation's best. But after an escort service dancer accused three lacrosse players of sexually assaulting her at a March team party, Duke canceled its season, and Pressler resigned. He feared he'd never coach again. "No way I thought I'd be sitting here doing this again," Pressler told reporters Friday at Bryant University, the northern Rhode Island school that hired him as lacrosse coach. "There was a time during the summer where I thought my career was over." Duke and Bryant open their seasons today -- Bryant hosts Adelphi University, and Duke hosts Dartmouth. (…) Pressler admitted satisfaction about the mounting questions dogging the criminal cases and said he stood by his players from the outset. "We believed in the truth. I knew the truth the day after it happened. I stood by the truth," Pressler said. "You can only imagine when 50 people believe one truth and 50 million believe another -- and nobody wavers." He said he remains in touch with his former players, saw them last Christmas when he was in Durham and has recommended Seligmann and Finnerty to coaches at other schools. Both were invited to return to Duke in good standing; Evans graduated last year.”

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 25: The Washington Post runs a feature article by Adam Kilgore titled “A relief for this to be over” which gives reactions of Duke lacrosse players, their parents, their coach John Danowski, Duke faculty and Durham residents to the resumption of play by the lacrosse team yesterday. The article reveals Coach Danowski met with the players’ parents prior to the game against Dartmouth. It concludes:

“The accuser's selection of Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans -- which players viewed as random -- buried a troubling notion in the players' minds: It could just as easily have been them. "You see the families, and we feel like it could have been us where they were," John Walsh said. "It could have been anybody." Danowski said before the game that he hoped for nice weather Saturday, so his players could have "a day in the sun." He got his wish, but the day, pristine and void of controversy, will not make the case go away. Once the indictments are settled, further litigation against the school and the state remains possible. And the Duke players will continue to wrestle with everything that has happened. "The one thing I have seen this week, I have seen a little survivor's guilt," Danowski told the parents before the game. "I'm starting to hear that from a couple young men. I told them: 'If that's what you're feeling, in the end that's not good or bad, right or wrong. Your feelings are your feelings. Tell someone you know, tell someone you trust. Talk about it.' "

MONDAY FEBRUARY 26: WRAL reports the new prosecutors in the Duke lacrosse case appear to be making progress in their assessment of the evidence. Special prosecutors Jim Coman and Mary Winstead took over last month after DA Mike Nifong removed himself from the case. Sources tell WRAL the accuser in the case, Crystal Mangum, has already been interviewed by the new prosecutors in the case. In contrast, Nifong alleges he did not question the accuser until nearly nine months after she claimed three former lacrosse players assaulted her. A representative for state Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office tells WRAL that Coman and Winstead are in the process of talking with people and reviewing evidence connected to the case.

In a comprehensive and balanced article, Christina Asquith presents the views of four members of the Group of 88 and also their critics. The article examines actions and statements by the Duke academics following the onset of the rape allegations and subsequent events. The article is published on-line at diverseeducation.com.

Chronicle columnist Stephen Miller compares the Duke campus’ reaction to Crystal Mangum’s rape charges against white lacrosse players in March, 2006, and the reaction to a recent rape allegation against a black man. He states:

“[In 2006] Protesters swarmed our campus and the city streets, they screamed vulgar condemnations, they tarred the whole team as complicit in a stonewall cover-up, they put up wanted posters, banged pots and pans. They cried out for justice and vengeance, demanded suspensions, expulsions and incarcerations. Worst of all, as they feverishly disregarded due process, they helped create an atmosphere of hysteria and madness which could only serve to embolden an unhinged district attorney who had the power to breathe life into the fantasies of the growing mob. But when a black man was recently accused of raping a white Duke student at a party hosted by members of a black Duke fraternity, suddenly these great defenders of virtue fell silent. There have been no protesters, no signs, no one chanting and screaming in front of the house where at least one member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. live demanding they "come forward" with what they know. No one is demanding President Brodhead take action or that we cure a sexist and racist campus culture in response to these accusations. No professors are running ads that convey guilt or claiming, as they did before, to know the alleged crime was racially motivated.”

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27: Attorneys for 3 former Duke lacrosse players file a new motion accusing DA Nifong of withholding evidence, including more DNA results than originally thought. Now the defense wants all DNA test results from the case. "If the information we had December was explosive, then this is doubly explosive," says Wade Smith, defense attorney. Private lab director Brian Meehan had admitted under oath he and Nifong withheld DNA evidence. Adding to that revelation, the defense has filed a 39-page motion today. It says another report Meehan sent to the defense last month shows more DNA was found on the accuser than was previously disclosed. The DNA did not match the 3 defendants in the case. Defense attorneys say they are still waiting on the complete report on DNA taken from the accuser. According to the N&O, “In the motion filed Tuesday, defense lawyers said they realized that they have received only 11 of the 22 DNA sequencing charts from the samples tested. ‘The defendants are still in the dark,’ the motion said. ‘The statistical likelihood is that such data will show that there was even more exculpatory, unidentified male DNA discovered by DNA Security in the rape kit extractions that, by Jan. 12, 2007, still had not been reported to the defendants by Mr. Nifong and Dr. Meehan in any way.’”

A report released today says Duke University could become a more “inclusive academic community” by changing its curriculum, housing system, alcohol policies and other key aspects. The report is the final product of the Campus Culture Initiative (CCI) Steering Committee, which Duke President Brodhead appointed last spring following the arrests of 3 Duke lacrosse players for an alleged rape at an off-campus party. The CCI report calls for changes in areas such as dining and residential housing, including an end to the practice of assigning West Campus housing to selective living groups such as fraternities. According to the report, the social life of Duke students is too often organized around drinking, and “the risk of another alcohol-related death in the Duke community is very real.” The report calls on Duke officials to “re-orient social life on campus to reduce the centrality of alcohol and enable more non-alcohol events and venues.” While the committee praises the record of Duke student-athletes in both competition and the classroom, they said “strong and persistent forces” nationally make it more difficult to balance academics and athletics. The report recommends that Duke officials should decrease practice and travel time demands on its student-athletes and calls for stronger ties between athletic programs and other parts of the university. The committee also recommends higher admission standards for Duke athletes. Brodhead says in a statement that none of the proposed changes are a “done deal,” nor are any of them off the table as university officials begin to debate their implementation.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 28: DA Nifong files a reponse to the State Bar allegations against him. He states that he was given inaccurate information about the case by Durham police; that he was under no obligation to give the defense more information about the exculpatory DNA findings because he did in fact turn over the underlying raw data before any trial; and that his public statements about the case were made before specific individuals were actually charged. The response also reads in part:
"A well-connected and well-financed (but not, I would suggest, well-intentioned) group of individuals--most of whom are neither in nor from North Carolina--have taken it upon themselves to ensure that this case never reaches trial. (And if this seems like paranoid delusion to you, perhaps you should check out websites such as former Duke Law School graduate and current Maryland attorney Jason Trumpbour's www.friendsof“dukeuniversity.blogspot.com/, which has not only called for me to be investigated, removed from this case, and disbarred, but has also provided instructions on how to request such actions and to whom those requests should be sent.)”
LieStoppers publishes the text of the State Bar’s amended complaint merged with Nifong’s point-by-point responses.

SPECIFIC REFERENCES:

February 1: KC Johnson on “Hook-up Culture at Duke” spring course

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/group-of-88-for-credit.html

February 2: John Burness criticizes lacrosse players in NPR segment

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7138250

February 3: N&O reveals Gov. Easley criticized Nifong in New York speech

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/easley-nifong-my-worst-appointment.html

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/02/why-easley-stumbled.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/02/easleys-comments-questioned.html

February 4: Lacrosse Supporters Hold March in Durham

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1192760/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/05/59454/walkers-stand-behind-defendants.html#storylink=misearch

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/walk-update.html

http://triangle.johnlocke.org/blog/?p=338

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_wz3XcgesM&feature=player_embedded

February 5: Key hearing postponed until May

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=4985186

February 6: Two members of grand jury speak out

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2852337&page=1

http://dukechronicle.com/article/2-lax-grand-jurors-speak-charges

February 6: Non-profit raises $750, 000 for lacrosse defense

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/06/31519/nonprofit-raises-750000-toward.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1Ssy8GI9o

http://dukechronicle.com/article/lax-legal-fees-rise-groups-pitch

February 6: Kristin Butler on naming rape accusers

http://dukechronicle.com/article/worst-kept-secret

February 7: Special prosecutors meet with lacrosse defense attorneys

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=5012322

February 7: Judge Hudson Threatens Grand Jury Members with Contempt for Speaking

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1196412/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/08/57587/grand-jurors-tv-appearance-angers.html#storylink=misearch

http://www.webcommentary.com/php/ShowArticle.php?id=gaynorm&date=070208

February 8: Complaints Against Linwood Wilson Revealed

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/08/85486/das-investigator-was-rebuked.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1SszJpLq9

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/wilsons-ethical-lapses_08.html

http://dukechronicle.com/article/defense-questions-lax-investigator

February 8: Friends of Duke University places Chronicle ad challenging “Group of 88”

http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/02/press-release-no-6.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/friends-of-duke-confronts-group-of-88.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/02/fodu-statement.html

http://today.duke.edu/showcase/mmedia/pdf/socialdisasterad.pdf

February 9: Beth Brewer files civil complaint asking Nifong’s removal

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/02/7a-66-affidavit-filed.html

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1198676/

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1201028/

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2760682

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/13/79043/effort-to-oust-nifong-delayed.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/removal-motion-filed.html

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/02/that-affidavit-got-results.html

February 11: Former Duke lacrosse player Jimmy Regan reported killed in Iraq

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/regan.html

http://dukechronicle.com/article/lacrosse-story-worth-covering

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/02/sgt-james-regan.html

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=5021881

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/05/ap_specops_memorial_070524/

http://www.athenstalks.com/memorial-sgt-james-j-regan

http://dukechronicle.com/article/gen-shinseki-rededicates-war-memorial

February12: Girl charges rape at off-campus party

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/12/88762/duke-student-says-she-was-raped.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1StBf68uL

http://dukechronicle.com/article/student-alleges-sexual-assault-east-house

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=5024691

http://media.mgnetwork.com/ncn/pdf/070212_duke_rape.pdf

February 12: Lawyer for Brewer questions delay in her civil complaint against Nifong

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/10/36728/judge-is-asked-to-remove-nifong.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/02/parallel-proceedings.html

February 12: “Group of 88” members hold forum at Duke

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/group-of-88-rehab-tour.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/condemned-to-repetition.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/piot-principle.html

http://dukechronicle.com/article/faculty-speak-out-threats-intimidation

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/02/no-known-connection-to-duke.html

February 12: Columnist Steven Miller urges Duke alums to withhold donations

http://dukechronicle.com/article/alums-withhold-your-support

February 12: John-in-Carolina on the “Wanted” and “Vigilante” posters

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/02/wanted-vigilante-not-same.html

February 13: Mary Katherine Ham on “A tale of two rapes in Durham”

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/marykatharineham/2007/02/13/a_tale_of_two_rapes_in_durham

February 14: Duke holds off investigation of alleged rape pending police inquiry:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/13/57894/duke-waits-on-inquiry-results.html#ixzz1StCkaiVJ

http://dukechronicle.com/article/east-rape-investigation-continues

February 14: KC Johnson on the “potbanger” protests

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/when-potbangers-were-riding-high.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/potbangers-airbrush-past.html

February 14: Chronicle reveals rapper Common criticized Duke lacrosse team

http://dukechronicle.com/article/ldoc-act-criticized-lax-players

February 15: Prof. Roy Weintraub in a letter attacks charges of McCarthyism

http://dukechronicle.com/article/disagreement-not-mccarthyism

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/02/duke-prof-disagreement-is-not.html

February 16: William Anderson on the cover-up

http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson171.html

February 16: John-in-Carolina on the role of Durham Police Cpl. David Addison

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/02/addison-series-1-this-horrific-crime.html

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/02/wanted-vigilante-not-same.html

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/02/addison-series-2-crimestoppers-will-pay.html

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/02/addison-series-3-not-my-poster_24.html

February 16: The Johnsville News hands out “awards” for poor media coverage

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2007/02/dukenifong-hoax-north-carolina-media.html

February 18: LieStoppers on New York Journal of Law article criticizing DA Nifong

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/02/nifong-makes-new-york-law-journal.html

February 19: Suspect arrested in Gattis St. alleged rape

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1208088/

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=...ngle&id=5047790

February 19: KC Johnson on broadcaster Nancy Grace

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/graceless.html

Feburary 19: Jermaine Burch charged with rape of Duke freshman at off-campus party

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/20/55111/man-charged-with-raping-duke-student.html#ixzz1StE9A8wO

http://dukechronicle.com/article/dpd-makes-arrest-east-assault

February 19: “District Attorney Appreciation Week” in Durham

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/only-in-durham.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/02/news-of-weird.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/02/damn-appreciation-week.html

February 20: Sport Illustrated on “The season after”

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/02/20/scorecard0226/index.html

February 20: KC Johnson on NCCU law professor Irving Joyner

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/joyners-jurisprudence.html

February 21: Reade Seligmann considering transfer to Brown University

http://dukechronicle.com/article/finnerty-seligmann-look-other-schools
http://www.browndailyherald.com/campus-news/u-recruiting-former-duke-lacrosse-player-1.1674805

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1210295/

February 21: Nifong given extension to file answer to State Bar charges

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1210131/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/22/77376/nifongs-lawyer-gets-an-extension.html

February 21: N&O article compares response to lacrosse and more recent rape allegations

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/21/89135/this-time-rape-case-gets-muted0sZZl

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/double-standards_22.html

February 22: Commentator Michael Gaynor calls on President Brodhead to resign

http://www.webcommentary.com/php/ShowArticle.php?id=gaynorm&date=070222

February 23: Chronicle article by 6 Duke professors

http://dukechronicle.com/article/moving-forward-duke

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/chafes-embarrassment.html

http://dukechronicle.com/article/lax-equilibrium

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/gaynor/070227

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/02/reason-hope-and-courage.html

February 23: Campus Cultural Initiative recommendations

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/no-surprises-from-cci.html

February 24: Duke Lacrosse team gears up to play first game

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1213394/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/23/49363/duke-makes-appeal-to-lacrosse.html

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/24/62102/duke-lacrosse-looks-to-focus-on.html

http://dukechronicle.com/article/duke-preps-plans-lax-tailgate

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/feb/23/20070223-124351-3719

February 24: Duke lacrosse team defeats Dartmouth in first game since cancellation

http://dukechronicle.com/article/duke-returns-field-2-victories

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254398,00.html

http://www.laxpower.com/laxnews/news.php?story=4869&type=printer

February 24: AP story on Pressler coaching Bryant lacrosse

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/24/52686/pressler-happy-leading-bryant.html#ixzz1StfsghW2

February 25: Washington Post feature article on Duke lacrosse

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022401328.html?sub=AR

February 26: WRAL reports Special Prosecutors have interviewed Crystal Mangum

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1215562/

February 26: Christina Asquith on the Group of 88

http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/printer_7059.shtml

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/group-of-88s-imagined-reality.html

February 26: Stephen Miller on campus reaction to two different rape allegations

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/more-from-stephen-miller.html

February 27: Defense lawyers file new motion asking for additional DNA data

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=5073280

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/02/28/84229/lacrosse-defense-still-awaiting.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/02/new-motion-reveals-continued-misconduct.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/latest-bombshell-motion.html

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/02/new-dnas-not-laxers-now-what.html

http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/story?id=2910138&page=1

February 27: Campus Cultural Initiative Report released by Duke

http://today.duke.edu/showcase/reports/ccireport.pdf

http://today.duke.edu/2007/02/CCI_RHB.html

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1216463/

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/cci-doa.html

http://dukechronicle.com/article/amid-buzz-duke-unveils-bold-report

February 27: Journalist Bob Wilson says Nifong must go in editorial

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/02/nifong-must-go-now.html

February 28: Nifong files response to State Bar charges, slam FODU

http://www.wral.com/asset/news/local/2007/02/28/1217989/NifongResponse.swf

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/03/01/58383/nifong-says-he-meant-no-harm.html

http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=2912209

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/us/01nifong.html?ref=dukelacrossesexualassaultcase

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/response-is-up.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/02/nifong-targets-fodu.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/03/state-bars-amended-complaint-and.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/03/amended-complaint-and-answer-merged.html

GENERAL REFERENCES

(The Duke lacrosse case article indices in the Raleigh News & Observer and the Duke Chronicle have been taken down following website revisions. Articles can still be found using the search feature of the new websites.)

EVANS et al v. DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, CITY OF et al
http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00739/46882/

MCFADYEN et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al
http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00953/47494/

CARRINGTON et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-ncmdce/case_no-1:2008cv00119/case_id-47871/

Duke University & Brodhead Statements
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/announce_archive.html

Duke University Archive of Media Coverage
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/media_archive.html

Johnsville Blog Posts
http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/06/duke-case-index.html

WRAL Stories
http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/2306295/

KC Johnson’s Case Narrative
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/03/overall-case-narrative.html

Chronology by Vance Holmes “Poetic Justice”
http://www.vanceholmes.com/court/trial_duke_timeline.html

CBS News Chronology
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2006/04/19/in_depth_us/timeline1515358.shtml

AP Chronology
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/18054818/

Wikipedia Timeline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Duke_University_lacrosse_case

Friends of Duke University Media Index

http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/04/links-to-media-3-full.html

New York Times Article Index
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/d/duke_university/duke_lacrosse_sexual_assault_case/index.html?offset=60&s=newest

INDEX OF CHRONOLOGIES

Updated Chronology of Duke Lacrosse Case

March, 2006: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/1827748/1/

April, 2006: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/1976244/1/

May, 2006: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/2832366/1/

June, 2006: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/3225687/1/#new

July, 2006: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/3521836/1/#new

August, 2006: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/3710704/1/#new

September, 2006: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/3831060/1/#new

October, 2006: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/3993889/1/#new

November, 2006: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/4065500/1/#new

December, 2006: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/4162309/1/#new

January, 2007: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/4243432/2/#new

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: JANUARY 2007

2011-04-19T21:09:00.005-04:00

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: JANUARY 2007

By sceptical

(Thanks to Quasi, JSwift, Q.A. and Baldo for reviewing the manuscript and making suggestions.)

MONDAY JANUARY 1: USC Law Prof. Susan Estrich writes an opinion article for Fox News titled “Duke Prosecutor’s Fourth Victim:

“There are four victims of District Attorney Mike Nifong’s twisted tactics in the Duke Lacrosse case. The first three, of course, are the young men who never would have been charged with anything had Nifong adhered to the standard practices in his own office. With luck, they will ultimately be exonerated, and be able to move on with their lives, albeit after having endured a chapter in hell. The fourth victim is unlikely to be so lucky; she will not be exonerated at trial, and she will not be able to move on with her life. (…) The woman is a liar. That is the English translation of the latest round of maneuvers, in which the prosecution dismissed the rape charges because the woman could no longer say, as she once did, that she had intercourse with three men at the party. In other words, she lied when she said she did. (…) The defense attorneys will obliterate her, permanently painting her as the worst sort of nut and slut. We will not hate the boys, we will hate her. The defendants have no choice: their freedom depends on destroying her credibility. Mike Nifong does have a choice. He doesn’t have to build a case on someone who shouldn’t be carrying it. It’s his job to recognize that and act accordingly-- for her sake, and the community’s, as well as the defendants.”

Raleigh News & Observer (N&O) columnist Ruth Sheehan suggests “It’s Time to Drop Charges:”

“Every time I think the Duke lacrosse case cannot get any more excruciating to watch -- it does. There was a moment of hope right before Christmas, when we got word that Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong was dropping charges. Finally! I thought. Nifong has come to his senses and is putting us all out of our misery -- from the three men charged in the alleged sexual assault of a dancer at their stripper party to the alleged victim herself. But as it turned out, Nifong dropped only one of the charges in the case -- rape -- leaving the sexual assault and kidnapping charges to stand. These are charges, like rape, that could put the men behind bars for life. Nifong's explanation for dropping the rape charge only added to the excruciation factor: The accuser said she now cannot remember whether a penis was involved in the alleged attack. I cringe just typing the words. As the victim of a date rape more than 20 years ago myself, I can attest that there are some details you can train your mind to glance over. Whether a penis was involved is a detail one is unlikely to forget. What kind of dimwitted fools does Nifong believe us, and the potential jurors, to be? I ask this, of course, from some experience. I was one of the hopelessly naive who fell -- hard -- for Nifong's original depiction of the case.”

TUESDAY JANUARY 2: DA Mike Nifong is sworn in for his first four-year term early today in private. Nifong insists he did not intend to keep out the media or the public from the ceremony, but says he scheduled it for 8 a.m. so his staff could go to work afterward without dealing with the media. The building does not open to the public until 8:30 a.m. "This was not a media event. This was an event that is required for us to do our jobs," Nifong tells reporters later. "The message we're trying to send is: This is 2007. We're here to do our jobs. We're not here to help you guys sell newspapers or get press coverage."

African-American columnist Thomas Sowell writes an article in the National Review Online titled “Nifong’s Deliverance:”

“Nifong’s actions are inexplicable only if you assume that his purpose was to get at the truth about what actually happened at the party where the stripper claimed to have been raped. That assumption has never been made in this column. From day one, I have never believed that this case was about rape, about the Duke lacrosse players, or about the “exotic dancers” or strippers. District Attorney Nifong’s actions are perfectly consistent and logical from start to finish, once you see that this case is about Nifong’s own career.

(…) It was not a question of winning the case. It was a question of winning the election. As for the case, that was not scheduled to come to trial until a year later. If you cared about justice, you would want to go to trial much sooner, either to nail the Duke students if they were guilty or exonerate them if they were not. But nothing suggests that this was Nifong’s agenda. Now that so many of his misdeeds have been so widely publicized, Nifong’s agenda has to include keeping his job and avoiding disbarment or even being prosecuted himself."

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 3: Duke University invites indicted students Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann to return to Duke in good standing. “We have decided that the right and fair thing to do is to welcome back Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty to resume their studies at Duke for the spring semester," President Richard Brodhead says in a statement. Both were barred from the campus last semester while their case made its way through courts. The third defendant, David Evans, graduated in May. Brodhead in his statement notes that the validity of the remaining charges is in question. "Although the students still face serious charges and larger issues require Duke’s collective attention, the circumstances in this case have changed substantially, and it is appropriate that the students have an opportunity to continue their education," Brodhead says. But Kevin Finnerty tells WRAL that his son wants to get through the criminal process before returning to school. "I think we're going to need to focus on the serious charges that still exist, and we'll need to leave ourselves the flexibility once we get a successful resolution," he explains. Wade Smith, a lawyer representing Finnerty, says, "We're happy about this decision. We think it says good things about the direction of this investigation and good things about our client." Smith adds, . "We're not looking for apologies today. We're saying to Duke, 'You've done the right thing.'" Seligmann's attorney, James Cooney III, says that Seligmann and his parents are considering their options regarding Duke's offer. "We are also glad that Duke University has now made it clear that Reade is welcome to return to the university and look forward to the day that he can return to living a normal life and continuing his education as a full-time student," the Seligmann family says in a statement. The university could still punish Seligmann and Finnerty if they are convicted of any of the remaining charges, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta says in a memo to Brodhead recommending that the players be allowed to come back. Both Seligmann and Finnerty would be eligible to return to the lacrosse team, Duke spokesman Keith Lawrence states. “It’s a step forward, but because charges still exist, this remains a complex issue for the students and their families,” says John Danowski, Duke’s head lacrosse coach. Teammates seem to feel no ambiguity about their colleagues. “It's no secret how much we want them back. Not only are they good players, but we just miss them as great friends of ours,” explains Casey Carroll, a senior on the lacrosse team. "We're all ecstatic," assistant lacrosse coach Kevin Cassesse says. "I think it's a great statement from Brodhead and the university, and in my opinion, it was the right thing to do."

Metro Magazine publishes an article by Susan Swanson about her visit to the Finnerty home in New York where she interviews Collin and his parents Mary Ellen and Kevin:

“A statue of the Madonna and child stands near the landscaped entrance to the Finnerty home. The house itself is large and warmly decorated in muted shades of browns, greens and reds. No doubt it serves as a welcome retreat these days for the Finnertys’ five children. Collin is the middle child; his two older brothers live and work in New York City and his younger sisters are still at home. Mary Ellen is a tall woman who admits that her hair “gets a little blonder the older I get.” (…)

“What gets me so angry,” Mary Ellen told me, “is that I held this child in my arms; I protected him. He was a good kid in high school. He was never a curfew breaker — and I was the strictest mother in America, according to all of the kids. The boys always worked hard and their spending money they earned. It was never handed to them, despite all these articles that talk about spoiled rich kids.” (…)

“People think that I have the toughest time,” Collin said, “but it’s harder for my mom. It’s tough to see her deal with this day after day for something that never happened. I’ll be happy to see her sitting on a beach or some place, not having to think about this. When it’s over, I’ll be happy to see my whole family relieved, but especially for my mom. Right now I can’t contemplate a day without this going on. A perfect day for me would be just hanging out with my brothers. I could zone it out, not think about it for an hour … but at some point it always comes back around.”

Duke Prof. Karla Holloway objects to the invitation by Duke for Finnerty and Seligmann to return to campus. In a private e-mail to colleagues she repeats third-hand charges of racism against the lacrosse team. “I will share with you what I have not previously shared publicly,” Holloway writes. “It has colored this matter for me since last spring. It is legally hearsay, but nevertheless speaks volumes to what I think are the intricacies of the event that deserve a legal hearing.” Holloway then recalls how last spring, while she was in Duke VP John Burness’ office, she overheard him speaking with Duke Campus police by phone. “…[T]he Vice President took a call from the Duke Police, who had returned from a meeting with the Durham Police,” Holloway continues. “He repeated aloud what the person on the phone was telling him: “So you are telling me that when the boys opened the door and saw the dancers they said “Oh no, we’re not going to f—k a ‘n’ (expletive).’” The e-mail continues, “I cannot help but think that if I was privy to this, this statement had to have been shared with our administration. (…) So what does it mean to readmit students with an indictment for violent acts, without an internal investigation of our own regarding the event? I think it is a choice the institution has made. And it has led to my own that I cannot work in shared good faith at a time when principled conduct matters less than polls and parents’ pleas.”

In his Jan. 3 e-mail response, Vice Pres. Burness writes, “The comments you overheard in my office which were attributed to the Durham Police were as you described them. We both found them to be profoundly painful/disgusting. They clearly, if true, spoke volumes about the climate of the event, but I knew that it was not clear who had made them and I knew that conducting our own investigation would instantly be seen as compromising that of the Durham Police. That would play into the hands of those who assumed—-as many people in Durham did as the case first surfaced—Duke would use its power to influence the case and the process.” Burness continues, “ I also knew that the Durham Police didn’t clarify who apparently had said it and I made no assumption that the students who ultimately were indicted, did. But I also knew that [Duke President] Dick [Brodhead] had said from the start that independent of the criminal allegations, some inappropriate and dishonorable things had occurred that night and when the Police investigation was concluded, he committed that Duke would conduct its own review.”

THURSDAY JANUARY 4: WRAL reports that Crystal Mangum, the accuser in the Duke lacrosse case, gave birth to a girl at UNC Hospitals by a Caesarean section. No other details are available about the birth. The hospital issues a statement saying, "In response to ongoing media reports surrounding the Duke lacrosse case, we acknowledge that the focus of this attention is a patient here at UNC Hospitals. UNC Hospitals will not provide additional information or updates on this patient’s condition. The patient says it is her hope and expectation that her privacy will be respected."

Kyle Dowd, a former Duke lacrosse player, sues the university and a former instructor, alleging that she unfairly gave him a failing grade because he was a member of the team. Dowd graduated in May 2006, two months after Crystal Mangum claimed she was raped at a lacrosse team party. Dowd's lawsuit alleges that visiting professor Kim Curtis gave him an F in a politics and literature class that nearly prevented him from graduating, even though he had earned passing grades on his assignments to that point. Dowd and his parents, Patricia and Benjamin Dowd, are asking for $60,000 in punitive and compensatory damages. "I wanted to prevent such occurrences from happening to another student at Duke," Kyle Dowd tells WRAL."I didn't want to see another professor further their political agenda by maliciously hurting another student." According to the lawsuit, only one other person in the 40-student class, another lacrosse player, received an F. "Defendant Curtis engaged in extreme outrageous and unethical conduct ... due to personal bias and prejudice," the lawsuit says. According to the lawsuit, Curtis told Dowd he received a failing grade for participation because he had not attended class and because he made wrong statements in a paper without backing them up. The lawsuit claims Dowd missed six out of 30 classes — one an excused absence for a lacrosse match and the other five resulting because of the criminal investigation involving the lacrosse team. Each time Dowd had sent an e-mail to Curtis informing her about his absence. The lawsuit also states that Curtis, a visiting assistant professor at the time who specialized in political theory and feminist theory, signed an advertisement in The Duke Chronicle that sympathized with the alleged victim. It also states that Curtis sent an e-mail to students in her class letting them know that she was available to talk about "how this is affecting you, what we should do as a community, etc." Dowd appealed the grade, and the university changed it to a D, citing a calculation error. He and his parents ask in the lawsuit for the grade to be changed to a "P" for passing.

Eighteen members of the Duke Economics Department, including Chairman Roy Weintraub, send a letter to The Chronicle (which publishes it January 9):

“To the Editor:
We, the undersigned Economics Department faculty members at Duke University, are cognizant of the fact that, to date, the only collective signed statement by faculty members concerning the events of last March was an advertisement in the Duke University Chronicle subsequent to protests and a forum on March 29, 2006. We are aware too that the advertisement was cited as prejudicial to the defendants in the defense motion to change the venue of the trial involving the three Duke lacrosse team members. We regret that the Duke faculty is now seen as prejudiced against certain of its own students.

1) In light of recent events detailed in court proceedings, it appears that there were a number of irregular acts committed by members of the Durham law enforcement agencies and District Attorney’s Office. We join with President Brodhead in calling for an investigation of those acts, inimical to students at our university.

2) We welcome all members of the lacrosse team, and all student athletes, as we do all our students as fellow members of the Duke community, to the classes we teach and the activities we sponsor.”

Brooklyn College History Prof. KC Johnson in his “Durham-in-Wonderland” blog analyzes in detail the faulty April 4 identification procedure in which accuser Crystal Mangum identified four alleged attackers, He concludes: “Flawed procedures beget flawed results. Corrupted procedures beget corrupted results. Flawed, corrupted procedures beget flawed, corrupted results.”

FRIDAY JANUARY 5: Duke English Prof. Cathy Davidson writes an article in the N&O titled “In the Aftermath of A Social Disaster.” She rejects criticism of the April 6, 2006 “Listening” ad in The Chronicle. In the N&O article, Davidson, one of the “Group of 88,” is also the first to use the term “blog hooligans,” an appellation later adopted with pride by bloggers at LieStoppers and other sites.

Excerpts:
“Last April I added my name to an ad published in the Duke Chronicle. The ad said that we faculty were listening to the anguish of students who felt demeaned by racist and sexist remarks swirling around in the media and on the campus quad in the aftermath of what happened on March 13 in the lacrosse house. (…) Like the other faculty members who signed the ad, I constantly receive e-mails asking me to rescind my signature. Some people write out of real misery for their children, Duke students who are distraught that their friends may have been falsely accused and unfairly treated. They believe professors have sided against the lacrosse players, and they are outraged. If we had written what they suppose, we would deserve their anger. But we didn't.

I empathize deeply with these parents and friends. I regret additional pain they felt when they heard about this ad. However, when I send them the actual ad, they are often surprised that it does not condemn the lacrosse players but focuses on larger campus and national concerns. I was touched, recently, when one mother concluded our thoughtful exchange by noting that she still didn't like the ad, but hoped that her daughter would have the opportunity to take a class with me someday.
On the other hand, most of my e-mail comes from right-wing "blog hooligans." These hateful, ranting and sometimes even threatening folks don't care about Duke or the lacrosse players. Their aim is to make academics and liberals look ridiculous and uncaring. They deliberately misrepresent the faculty and manipulate the feelings of those who care about the lacrosse players in order to foster their own demagogic political agenda. They contribute to the problem, not to the solution.”

Prof. KC Johnson deconstructs Davidson’s article in a blogpost “Apologia for a Disaster.” Several posters at LieStoppers criticize Davidson, including “Texas Mom,” who describes herself as “one of your ‘blog hooligans.’” “Texas Mom” writes in part:
I HAVE BEEN a single mother, a widow, with three small children, no life insurance, no health insurance, no visible means of support, and no education equipping me to enter the marketplace in my forties. (…) I did not turn to prostitution or stripping to support my children. Most women do not. Spare me the gratuitous "women as victims" garbage. (…) Crystal CHOSE to engage in behaviors that resulted in her separation from the Navy with a less than honorable discharge. Crystal CHOSE to have three children-- and, yes, that was a CHOICE, my generation fought for that right. Crystal CHOSE to work as a stripper and sex worker. This woman CHOSE to degrade herself-- it was not foisted upon her. Come down out of your ivory tower and talk to women who have raised children by themselves, we have lots of stories to tell about working hard at more than one job, about worrying about not having health insurance, about the humiliation of saying to a doctor, "How much will it cost; I can't afford it."

SATURDAY JANUARY 6: Newsweek’s Susannah Meadows writes an article “In Scandal’s Shadow” which gives a sympathetic portrait of Reade Seligmann. The article, made public today, is published in Newsweek’s January 15, 2007 issue:

Last April, Duke lacrosse star Reade Seligmann huddled with his dad at a Durham, N.C., law firm. A stripper hired to perform at a team party on March 13 claimed several players raped her. In a lineup, she'd identified three of them as her alleged assailants. Seligmann now awaited a call from the prosecutor that would tell him if he was one of the players she'd singled out. He felt certain he would be cleared. The call came. Reade, 20, was being indicted for first-degree rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. He had a strong alibi—cell-phone records would show he was busy calling his girlfriend at the time the alleged crime was taking place—but the D.A. declined to hear it. As he heard the news, Reade looked at his dad. It was the first time he'd ever seen his father cry. Then it hit him: how was he going to tell his mom? Kathy Seligmann was home in New Jersey with her three other boys. He dialed her number. "Mom," he said, "she picked me."

MONDAY JANUARY 8: Duke President Brodhead renews his call for DA Nifong to step aside from the sexual offense case against three former lacrosse players and give control to an independent party “who can restore confidence in the fairness of the process.” In an open letter as a new semester begins, Brodhead reviews recent events in the case and tries to explain the university’s responses since last March. Brodhead claims that from the early, “confusing” days of the case, the university has been guided by two principles: If true, the accusations were “grave and should be taken very seriously.” At the same time, “our students had to be presumed innocent until proven guilty through the legal process.” Now, he writes, in the wake of questions about Nifong’s handling of the case, the need for a fair legal process demands that he recuse himself. Early on, Brodhead recalls, Nifong said publicly that he was certain a rape had taken place. But on Dec. 22, Nifong dropped the rape charges, saying the accuser was no longer sure what had penetrated her. Given the certainty of the prosecutor’s early statements, Brodhead says the decision to drop the rape charges called the entire case into question. “We entrust our conflicts to the law to provide a path to a fair resolution,” Brodhead writes. “But to earn this faith from the public, those who work in the legal process must behave with elemental fairness and regard for the rights of those involved. We need and deserve for that faith to be restored.” KC Johnson criticizes Brodhead’s open letter in a blogpost “Brodhead’s Apologia,” as does blogger John-in-Carolina in a post titled “Brodhead Reveals Himself.”

MSNBC legal analyst Susan Filan becomes the first mainstream journalist to call Nifong’s case a hoax as she discusses the changes in Mangum’s stories, which other observers attribute to her inability to tell the truth rather than inability to remember, and the resulting changes in Nifong’s charges:

“I sincerely hope that we don’t have a situation here where the charges are designed to conform to the evidence, once her original story could not be corroborated by the forensic evidence. The real problem now is that the prosecution’s case has completely crumbled and appears to be a complete hoax. If the accuser cannot testify as to whether she was raped because she cannot remember, then the damage to her credibility is so severe it warrants all the charges being dropped.”

TUESDAY JANUARY 9: An assault conviction in Washington, D.C., against lacrosse defendant Collin Finnerty has been expunged, authorities say. Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y., was convicted in July of misdemeanor assault and sentenced to six months of probation in connection with an altercation with two bar patrons in November 2005. Judge John Bayly had agreed to dismiss the Washington assault charge once Finnerty completed his probation.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10: Durham Police Inv. Ben Himan and Linwood Wilson re-interview Tara Levicy, R.N., the SANE nurse- in- training who was present for Crystal Mangum’s SANE exam on March 14. Levicy confirms that she had indicated on two occasions that her findings were “consistent with a sexual assault.” Levicy says that in her view Mangum was not sure whether condoms were used because a victim can never be sure. She indicates that she was not surprised that DNA was not found. On the following day, she calls to revise her statement, conceding that another reason DNA is not found in an investigation is that the attack did not happen.

The judge presiding over the lacrosse case orders a paternity test on a child born January 4 to Crystal Mangum. The order by Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III confirms reports that Mangum had a child at that time. At a December hearing, attorneys for three former Duke lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting Mangum requested the paternity test to show the child was not fathered by the players. DA Nifong said at the time that the woman was pregnant but that he did not think the child was conceived through any activity at the lacrosse party. To make sure, Smith ordered that the test be performed and the results given to the defense once the woman's child was born. The order contains no specific information about the child.

WTVD interviews campaign consultant Jackie Brown who helped DA Nifong win the primary election but then teamed up with Lewis Cheek to campaign against Nifong. Brown now says, "I would like for him to recuse himself and to let another prosecutor come in and look at the case." She says the lacrosse case initially had very little to do with Nifong's DA race. "Some of his first words to me were that he really didn't want to do this-- meaning the campaign, but that he needed three years and some odd months for retirement." With money as the motivation, Brown dismisses the notion Nifong had used the Duke Lacrosse case to get elected before the May primary, saying he wasn't politically savvy enough at that time and that he wasn't even focused on the case. However, the media frenzy, the appearance of an opponent in the November election, and mounting public pressure, Brown says that's when everything changed. "I think by the time November got here, if he had come out and changed his mind and apologize then he probably wouldn't have gotten re-elected," Brown states. While critics speculate about whether the Durham lacrosse case will be dismissed, Brown says if she knows Nifong, that won't happen. "He's like a bulldog with a bone and you're not going to take it away from him." The N&O reports that Nifong describes his former campaign director in an interview as a woman more concerned with getting credit for good work than doing it. "There were actually several people who said to me they would not consider voting for me because she worked on my campaign," Nifong says. "Her biggest concern during the campaign seemed to be how she was billed in the campaign ads."

Duke Prof. Karla Holloway resigns her position as race subgroup chair of Duke’s Campus Culture Initiative, to protest President Brodhead’s decision to lift the suspensions of Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty. “The decision by the university to readmit the students, especially just before a critical judicial decision on the case, is a clear use of corporate power, and a breach, I think, of ethical citizenship,” she writes in a letter. “I could no longer work in good faith with this breach of common trust.”

THURSDAY JANUARY 11: DA Nifong meets privately at his office with accuser Crystal Mangum for several hours. He tells her at the meeting he will be removing himself from the alleged sexual assault case. While she was there, Durham County sheriff's deputies serve her with a subpoena ordering her to be in court to testify at a scheduled Feb. 5, 2007 hearing. In the past 10 months, Nifong claims has never talked with her about the facts of the case. In court hearings, he says that when he met with her for the first time in the spring of 2006, they talked about other matters because she seemed upset.

A trial date of May 11, 2007 is announced for the ethics complaints filed against DA Nifong. The North Carolina State Bar had filed the complaint in December, asserting Nifong might have engaged in deceptive behavior in the way he has handled the alleged sexual assault case involving three members of the lacrosse team. The bar takes issue with the many comments Nifong made to the press early on in the case. He has hired Winston-Salem attorney David Freedman to defend him. Freedman has represented other attorneys in State Bar matters. A three-member panel will decide guilt or innocence and then, if guilty, may impose a sentence ranging from a warning to disbarment.

Defense attorneys in the Duke lacrosse case file an important supplemental motion citing mounting evidence for their argument that Judge W. Osmond Smith III throw out accuser Crystal Mangum’s identification of the suspects. The motion asserts that Mangums’s statements and the prosecution theories of what happened on March 13-14 keep changing. For example: 1) The defense says Mangum on Dec. 21 told Linwood Wilson, an investigator for Nifong, that the reported attack happened between 11:35 p.m. and midnight on March 13. The defense says the new claim contradicts the accuser's own cellular phone records, which show an incoming call at 11:36 p.m. that lasted for three minutes. Records also show that Reade Seligmann received a call on his cell phone during that period, the defense says. Time-stamped photos and records of a 911 call made by the second dancer also indicate the women did not leave the party until shortly before 1 a.m., nearly an hour after the most recent account has the alleged attack ending. In an April written statement, the accuser said she and the second dancer left the party immediately after the alleged assault. 2) In her latest statement, according to the defense, Mangum says Seligmann did not commit any sex act on her. Although he was repeatedly urged to take part in the alleged attack, she recalls, he said he could not because he was “getting married.” Lawyers have said that while Seligmann has a girlfriend, he is not engaged or married. The documents point out that in an April interview with police, Mangum then cited Seligmann as the attacker who she says stood in front of her and forced her to perform a sexual act. "The accuser's most recent recollection of events demonstrates clearly that she cannot accurately recall and describe her attackers and that any identification made by her is necessarily unreliable," the defense filing states. 3) The defense also claims Mangum now says the attacker she identified as David Evans did not have a mustache after all. In an April photo lineup, she told detectives he did. On Dec. 21, according to the motion, the accuser said she did not mean a "real mustache" but something more like a "5-o'clock shadow." 4) In that same interview, Mangum also states she is no longer certain she had been penetrated vaginally by a penis, a necessary element of rape charges in North Carolina. That led DA Nifong to dismiss rape charges against Seligmann, Evans and Collin Finnerty. Today’s filing is a supplement to a previous defense motion asking a judge to toss out the photo lineup in which the accuser identified the three suspects. A hearing on the request is scheduled for Feb. 5, and experts have said that without the photo lineup, Nifong would probably have to drop the case.

Duke Provost Peter Lange talks to the Arts & Sciences Council about the events surrounding the lacrosse case and calls for more civility in face of “personal attacks” on faculty members.
Excerpts:
“Meanwhile some of our faculty, primarily African-American but not only so, have been under repeated attacks in personal emails and in blogs. The primary precipitant – in the sense that the content offended those writing the blogs or sending the emails – was the advertisement signed by 88 of Duke’s faculty and printed in the Duke Chronicle. Subsequently, the connection to the advertisement often has become attenuated and the ad has become rhetorically transformed into and manipulated as a symbol of all that was thought to be extreme and bad about Duke faculty, and, in some cases, universities more generally. At the same time, the emails and blogs attacking what people wrote or said have sometimes been replaced by personal attacks, some of them directed at the faculty member’s scholarship or intellectual credentials, some viciously personal, still others openly threatening or racist. (…)

With the passing of time, the heat has not gone down. In the last weeks, faculty members have shared with me emails and blog material that is as merciless, distorted and vituperative as in the past. The cumulative damage of the months of attacks on some of our faculty and the distress of those who sympathize with them is exceeding the limits of prudence about provoking external reactions. It is the Provost’s job to defend the fundamental value and values of the faculty and at some point refraining from that defense because it might produce more of the same becomes itself imprudent.”

KC Johnson presents his own chronology of the lacrosse case from March 14 through April 30, 2006 in a “Durham-in-Wonderland” post.

JANUARY 12: Facing ethics charges that could lead to disbarment, DA Nifong recuses himself and asks the North Carolina attorney general's office to appoint a special prosecutor to take over the Duke lacrosse case. Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for NC Attorney General Roy Cooper, confirms in an e-mail that Nifong has sent a letter to Cooper's office with the request. Nifong's attorney, David Freedman, insists his client is not running from a weak case and that Nifong is disappointed he won't be able to take it to trial. He says Nifong met with Crystal Mangum this week to tell her in person of his decision to recuse himself. "He feels, as a result of the accusations against him, that he would be a distraction and he wants to make sure the accuser receives a fair trial," Freedman tells The Associated Press. "He still believes in the case. He just believes his continued presence would hurt her." Under North Carolina law, only a district attorney can formally request a special prosecutor. Duke University issues a statement saying it hopes Nifong's recusal could "restore confidence in the fairness of the legal process … We hope this change will lead to a fair and speedy resolution of this case." Defense attorney Joe Cheshire says he welcomes an independent party's involvement in the case. "We're extremely happy that a prosecutor who does not have an agenda, who is fair and honest, will take a look at this case," Cheshire says. "And we believe that when that happens, they will dismiss this case."

CBS News announces the Duke lacrosse case will be the focus of another "60 Minutes" report on Sunday. Last October, correspondent Ed Bradley interviewed David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann, This time, the parents of the accused players will speak with correspondent Lesley Stahl. According to a CBS News release, Rae Evans says in the interview: "Mr. Nifong, you've picked on the wrong families. You've picked on the wrong family of the Duke lacrosse team. You've picked on the wrong family of Duke University. And you will pay every day for the rest of your life." Also, Dr. Brian Meehan is grilled on why he omitted exculpatory DNA evidence in his report.

SATURDAY JANUARY 13: NC Attorney General Roy Cooper announces at a news conference that Jim Coman, a former director of the State Bureau of Investigation and head of the attorney general's Special Prosecution Section, and Mary D. Winstead, a prosecutor in that division, will now oversee the Duke lacrosse case as special prosecutors. Coman has 22 years of experience in the Attorney General's office, and has prosecuted more than 250 criminal jury trials. Winstead is a former assistant district attorney for Durham and Wake counties and has 25 years of experience prosecuting cases across the state of North Carolina. “This is a review of all of the information and evidence that has been connected thus far. We will look to see if there are any things we need to reexamine,” Cooper tells reporters. "There is a lot that is there already, and it is incumbent on us to review all that.” Cooper states, “We’re taking a completely new, fresh look at this case. The path that these case travel will be lighted by the law and the evidence alone.”

In an article giving reaction to Nifong’s recusal, the N&O reports:
“Deputy Police Chief Ron Hodge said Nifong's stepping aside won't change the substance of the evidence collected by the department's detectives that a sexual assault occurred. Hodge said he thinks that the case will still go forward and that the remaining charges will be prosecuted. "I don't think it changes anything that we've done," Hodge said. "It just means that we'll have to deal with a different attorney."

SUNDAY JANUARY 14: The CBS television news magazine “60 Minutes” presents interviews with the parents of defendants Dave Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty. The parents direct their anger at DA Nifong. "Every mother of a son in this country should be scared to death that this was so easy to perpetrate," says Kathy Seligmann. Rae Evans says she believes Nifong's relentless pursuit of the three players was politically motivated. "This is about a man who chose to use a troubled young woman's story of fantastic lies to advance his own political career, which was crumbling," she says. "He needed something big. He needed that magic bullet and he shot it and he shot it right at our sons." The Finnertys and Seligmanns say an invitation for their sons to return to school is too little too late. They state it would be hard to send their children back to a place where the leaders did not support them. Also on the program, Dr. Brian Meehan, of DNA Security Inc., admits he made a mistake by not stating in his report that he found DNA on the accuser from other men who were not lacrosse players. "In retrospect, I know there was a better way, and I should have done a better job of relaying that information," he says. In addition, "60 Minutes," reports Crystal Mangum has a long psychiatric history and has been treated with Seroquel and Depakote.

The blogger John-in-Carolina demolishes some of the myths about the Duke case:
“It’s all Nifong’s fault. No one else is to blame. Certainly not me.”
“It was such a really, really confusing time. And the issues were so complex. Gee, who could have known?”
“It was really the players, their parents and attorneys’ fault”

MONDAY JANUARY 15: WRAL reports that DA Nifong, who has recused himself in the Duke lacrosse case, could face another complaint from the North Carolina State Bar. Last month, the bar filed an ethics complaint against Nifong for his pretrial comments regarding the case, asserting that his conduct was dishonest and deceitful. The committee that handles complaints meets again Thursday. The bar won't confirm or deny whether it is looking into another complaint, but some observers say Nifong broke other professional conduct rules by failing to turn over exculpatory evidence, which works to a defendant's benefit rather than a prosecutor's, to defense attorneys in a timely manner. The evidence in question is test results in which no DNA from any lacrosse player was found on the accuser but there was DNA from other men. After a December hearing, Nifong insisted he did nothing wrong. "There was no attempt to hide anything," he said, adding that defense attorneys only had to ask for the evidence.

The N&O’s Joe Neff reveals that defense attorney Joe Cheshire sent a letter to DA Nifong March 30 warning Nifong that his comments were prejudicing the case. "Your reported comments have greatly prejudiced any court proceedings that may arise," Cheshire wrote on March 30, three days after Nifong began making public statements about the case. "I do not understand why you will reportedly speak to the media in such certain, condemning terms before all the evidence is in, but you will not have the courtesy to meet or even speak with a representative of someone you have publicly condemned, despite your knowledge of the presumption of innocence and your position as an officer of the court bound by the Rules of Professional Conduct related to pre-trial publicity." The letter makes it more difficult for Nifong to argue that his remarks were off-the-cuff, says Thomas Metzloff, who teaches legal ethics at Duke Law School.

Kathleen Eckelt R.N. in her “Forensic Talk” blog analyzes the revelation on “60 Minutes” that Crystal Mangum has been diagnosed as bi-polar and has been on the potent psychiatric medications Seroquel and Depakote.

KC Johnson in a “Durham-in-Wonderland” blogpost discusses “Race, Racism, and the Case” in which he examines how race has been exploited to advance the prosecution of the defendants in the lacrosse case.

TUESDAY JANUARY 16: DA Nifong writes a second letter to the North Carolina State Bar Grievance Committee, answering the new ethics charges against him. The contents were summarized in the July, 2007 Findings of Facts of the State Bar:

“107. In his responses to the Grievance Committee, Nifong: (a) acknowledged that he had discussed with Dr. Meehan during meetings in April and May 2006 the results of all DSI's testing, including the existence of DNA from multiple unidentified males on the rape kit items; (b) denied that he had agreed with Dr. Meehan to exclude the potentially exculpatory DNA test results from DSI's report; (c) stated that he viewed the evidence of DNA from multiple unidentified males on the rape kit items as "non-inculpatory" rather than as "specifically exculpatory"; and (d) represented that the discussion and agreement with Dr. Meehan to limit the information in DSI's report was based on privacy concerns about releasing the names and DNA profiles of the lacrosse players and others providing known reference specimens.”

It is reported that the U.S. Department of Justice has rejected U.S. Representative Walter Jones’ request that the federal government investigate DA Nifong's actions in the Duke lacrosse case. His spokeswoman says Jones will continue trying to get officials to examine Nifong's conduct. Jones last month sent two letters to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez asking him to investigate what Jones said he believed was prosecutorial misconduct by Nifong. Jones said in the letter that Nifong made prejudicial statements to the media and told Durham police to violate identification procedures. He also cited the fact that more than nine months had passed before Nifong spoke to the accuser in the case. U.S. Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard Hertling wrote to Jones last Thursday, saying the Justice Department wouldn't look into the matter. Hertling said the dismissal of the rape charge addressed some of Jones' concerns and that the North Carolina State Bar was examining Nifong's conduct. "Issues related to your concerns may well be raised in the local criminal case. Accordingly, based upon the information available at this time, it would be premature to initiate a federal investigation into this ongoing state criminal prosecution," Hertling wrote. Kathleen Joyce, Jones' press secretary, says that the congressman is continuing to press for a federal investigation. He has spoken with Hertling in recent days and plans to meet next week with director of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "It is Congressman Jones' position that, in light of Mr. Nifong's recusal from the case, there is no reason the Department of Justice should not initiate an investigation into whether Mr. Nifong's actions constitute prosecutorial misconduct and (have) denied the three Duke students their civil rights," Joyce says.

Dozens of Duke professors post "an open letter to the Duke community" on the web, explaining an ad last spring that has been widely criticized as a condemnation of lacrosse players. The new letter, signed by 87 faculty and posted at www.concerneddukefaculty.org, refuses to apologize for the April, 2006 “Listening” ad and reiterates concerns about issues of race and sexual violence on the Duke campus. It says the ad-- published in the The Chronicle April 6-- has been grossly misinterpreted. That ad has been a subject of heated debate on blogs and its signers have received angry e-mails. "The ad has been read as a comment on the alleged rape, the team party, or the specific students accused," the new letter says. "Worse, it has been read as rendering a judgment in the case....We reject all attempts to try the case outside the courts, and stand firmly by the principle of the presumption of innocence." The letter is signed by "concerned faculty," many of whom endorsed the original ad. The April ad entitled "What Does a Social Disaster Sound Like?" included anonymous statements by students talking about racism and sexism on the campus. The ad also thanked "protesters making collective noise." The letter this week backs off that a bit, saying, "We do not endorse every demonstration that took place at the time." In the online letter, concerned faculty say they won't apologize despite the fury. "There have been public calls to the authors to retract the ad or apologize for it, as well as calls for action against them and attacks on their character," the letter states. "We reject all of these. We think the ad's authors were right to give voice to the students quoted, whose suffering is real. We also acknowledge the pain that has been generated by what we believe is a misperception that the authors of the ad prejudged the rape case." KC Johnson publishes a critique of the new letter in a blogpost titled “The (Rump) Group of 88 Strikes Again” and LieStoppers also responds with an analysis “Adding Insult to Injury.”

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 17: U.S. Representative Peter King calls on the Justice Department to launch an investigation of the district attorney in the Duke lacrosse case. In a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, King asks that the FBI begin an investigation into whether DA Nifong violated the rights of the three accused players. "I am deeply disappointed by your apparent decision to defer a decision whether to nvestigate Mr. Nifong's prosecution of this case," King writes. He asks that the FBI investigate whether the DA may have violated the defendants’ civil rights, including the right to due process under the law. The Justice Department did not immediately reply. Yesterday the DOJ rejected a similar request from North Carolina U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, also a Republican.

The Johnsville News blog analyzes the text of the “Listening” ad of April 6, 2006 in light of yesterday’s open letter signed by many of the same Duke faculty members. The blog suggests that some of the statements attributed to students in the original ad may have been falsified by the ad’s primary author Prof. Wahneema Lubiano.

Duke Prof. Orin Starn, a critic of college athletics and specifically the lacrosse team, writes an op-ed for the Herald-Sun titled “Fast, Loose and Mean in the Blogosphere.”

“The Duke lacrosse saga has played itself out as much on the internet as in the courtroom, newspapers, or university halls. I like youtubing Ronaldinho’s greatest goals and e-mailing to my friends as much as the next guy. But the lacrosse mess has put on display the more squalid, sometimes vicious side of the Internet. Only a click away lies a whole ugly galaxy of insults misinterpretations, and, at worst, sick racist hate. The virtual lacrosse world is Mad Max’s Thunderdome in Gigabytes and bandwidth: no rules apply, or at least not involving those horse-and-buggy or oh-so-yesterday ink age civility, accuracy, or accountability.”

MONDAY JANUARY 22: North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley tells law students in New York that DA Mike Nifong broke a promise when he ran for a full term after being appointed to fill a vacancy. "I almost un-appointed him when he decided to run," Gov. Mike Easley says in a speech to students at New York University. "I rate that as probably the poorest appointment that I've made," Easley says. The speech was not reported at the time, but The News & Observer later obtained a recording of the speech from NYU’s spokesman. Easley visits New York to speak about public service. He discusses Nifong after an audience member asks him about the Duke case. Easley, a former prosecutor and state attorney general, says Nifong has done a poor job, adding, "You don't need me to tell you that." Easley appointed Nifong as the Durham prosecutor in April 2005 after naming then-DA Jim Hardin to a judgeship. Easley says Nifong, one of Hardin's assistant, said he wouldn't run for the office. The governor also is critical of Nifong's early statements, in which he told national news media that the case involved a racially motivated assault by lacrosse players. "That's how all this mess got started," Easley says. "He challenged the defense lawyers by talking about the case, calling the kids 'hooligans.' “

The Chronicle’s Rob Copeland interviews Duke President Brodhead about the lacrosse case.

Excerpts (C = Copeland, B = Brodhead):

C: Do you have any regrets about your handling of the scandal?

B: My principal regret is that the situation ever arose. I wish the party hadn't taken place. If the party had taken place, I wish the accusations had never arisen. I certainly wish that the district attorney had not made the statements that gave everyone such a degree of certainty about the matter. Once the situation existed, it had to be dealt with. I'm really not immune to self-criticism in any way, I believe we've handled this as straightforwardly and honorably as we could have, given the extraordinary nature of the situation and the changing nature of the facts.

C: Do you stand by all of your previous actions? Would you have done anything differently?

B: Let me take you back. You're talking about a series of events that were announced on the fifth of April, when 46 players were said to be under investigation. Every member of the Duke, Durham and national community had heard repeated statements on the certainty that the rape had taken place.... Duke was not free to say, "give us another year until we know the facts for certain."

C: To be fair, you did fire the coach and cancel the season.

B: The first thing we announced was the suspension of the season. Everytime I came near that subject, starting with the first day, I said this was not a presumption of the guilt of the players. It was not a disciplinary measure.... Many people have said to me in retrospect, "When you suspended the sport, that was your judgment of guilt." I say to them, "You are misinformed." It was an inevitability given the situation we were in. But I've tried then and in every other possible occasion to separate those acts from any question of judgment of the team.

C: Then why fire men's lacrosse head coach Mike Pressler?

B: When the coach's resignation was announced on April 5, I tried to take great care to indicate that I was not fingering him as responsible for this. What I said was that given the history that we were in the middle of living through, if and when we started the replaying of lacrosse, it couldn't be on the same terms as in the past.
We needed to close one chapter and start a new chapter. Changing the coach was just one of the necessities that came along with that. There was no pleasure to be taken in any of these decisions, but I think they were inevitable and it's all very well 10 months later to look back and say, "You should have done things differently."

C: Knowing what you do now, would you still ask for coach Pressler's resignation?

B: If I were put in the same circumstances again, I would do exactly the same thing.

C: Why did you not hold Athletics Director Joe Alleva responsible for the team as well? Why not ask for the resignations of Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, or any of the other administrators who were previously aware of the lacrosse team's issues. Why stop at coach Pressler?

B: The party was a team event. It wasn't just a group of people, it was something convened by the captain of the team. The Pressler resignation was not my attempt to say that he was responsible for the situation. It was simply a resignation of the inevitability that given where we were, we would need to make some differences to go forward with lacrosse.

C: There are numerous documented instances of fraternities, sororities and other organizations holding parties with underage drinking and strippers. Why not go after them as well, or replace their advisors?

B: You said there are documented cases. I would say that to my knowledge, there are rumored cases. The difference between this and other cases is that this one came to our attention.... It's not my idea of how to run an undergraduate school to have dragnets and police officers to investigate people and trap them in bad behavior. (…)

C: Why didn't you call for Nifong to step down, or for a special prosecutor to replace him?

B: There is absolutely no provision in the state of North Carolina for a special prosecutor to be brought in, except at the request of the DA. Why didn't I join with the defense team and file motions with them? Because it was essential that we not
be seen as a partisan player in this, but that we uphold the process that looks out over all parties and renders justice at the last.

C: On "60 Minutes" last week, the parents of the accused students said they would not want to send their children back to Duke. In particular, they said, "Who would want to send their kids back to a University which did not support them?" Do you understand that sentiment?

B: I'm a parent, and if my child were an object of such allegations, I can't imagine how appalled I would be. One of the very difficult things this whole time has been people's desire for Duke to stand up for its students. At the press conference on the 25th of March, I looked into 40 cameras and said, "These are my students too." This whole situation is a human issue.

Joan Collins writes a highly-praised article “The Other Duke Lacrosse Moms” in which she interviews the mothers of lacrosse players Matt Zash, Michael Catalino, Ryan McFadyen , Dan and Chris Loftus, and William Wolcott. The article relates that Zash had to live out of his car after being forced to vacate the Buchanan St. house; the Catalinos had to tell Michael that if he was indicted they did not have the funds to bail him from jail; and that Brian Loftus (father of Dan and Chris) is a New York firemen who was a first responder on 9/11 and is not one of the stereotyped rich lacrosse families . The article concludes:

“The hoax has caused so much pain for all the families of the 47 players. At the same time, the mothers described even stronger bonds with their husbands and children. The moms look at their sons with pride and admiration as they try to carry on with their lives. This is the resilience of youth. They know the truth is that nothing happened that night. The mothers stand in unity with the Finnerty, Seligmann and Evans families that Collin, Reade and Dave were wrongly indicted on charges for which they are absolutely innocent. Only when this “eclipse of justice” finally ends can peace return to these mothers’ hearts.”

TUESDAY JANUARY 23: Frostburg State Economics Prof. William Anderson reveals in a blogpost “The Cost of the Lie: Duke, the Courts, and Hoaxes” that legal expenses for the three indicted former lacrosse players now exceeds $5 million.

Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly in a “Talking Points” commentary attacks the “Group of 88” for their failure to apologize for their April 6, 2006 statement. His producers “ambush” Duke Profs. Ronen Plesser and Lee Baker, as well as DA Nifong in his bathrobe with his dog Tillie.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 24: The North Carolina State Bar files new and more serious ethics charges against DA Nifong, accusing him of withholding DNA evidence and misrepresenting the truth to the judge in the Duke lacrosse case. "It almost doesn't get any worse than lying to the judge in terms of ethical violations, but lying to the judge about information that suggests the defendant is innocent is even worse," University of North Carolina Law Prof. Joe Kennedy says. The State Bar revises the ethics complaint it filed in December, adding that Nifong allegedly withheld exculpatory evidence from defense attorneys and lied about it. Nifong received the amended complaint when he was already scheduled to appear in a hearing for the first charge, which alleges he violated ethics codes for pretrial comments he made early in the case. The State Bar cites findings from April 2006 that a second set of DNA tests excluded all of the lacrosse players as potential contributors. It also states that Nifong and Dr. Brian Meehan, the director of DNA Security, which conducted the tests, agreed to report to defense attorneys only positive DNA matches to samples from those who attended the lacrosse party. The complaint also states that they agreed to knowingly omit DNA matches to multiple other men found on the accuser. The defense had requested Nifong to hand over all the testing at least four different time. In court hearings, Nifong told defense attorneys and Judge Smith that he had released all of the evidence that would potentially benefit the defense. Nifong then did not hand over the complete evidence until October even though state law requires a prosecutor to hand over exculpatory information as quickly as possible. Nifong has no comment on the latest charges against him. "I'll do what I've been doing. Whatever I'll say, I'll say in the courtroom," he says leaving today’s hearing at the State Bar headquarters in Raleigh. At the hearing, he is granted an extension until Feb. 21 to make his official response to the State Bar's complaint. Nifong's May trial date is also postponed until June. If found guilty, he could be disbarred. Legal observers, however, say Nifong could face other troubles-- Judge Smith could find Nifong in contempt. Nifong could also be removed from office if someone were to file a complaint with the senior resident Superior Court judge and he finds the complaint valid. That judge, Orlando Hudson, told WRAL, however, that he has not received any complaints against Nifong.

The N&O profiles Linwood Wilson, Nifong’s investigator, whose career as a private investigator was marked by several ethics complaints: Twenty years ago he was investigated on suspicion of making false statements on the witness stand and setting up an illegal telephone tap, according to his file at the state agency that licenses private investigators. "I've worked for just about every domestic lawyer in Durham," Wilson says. "If these people feel I'm not a credible witness, I will sit on the stand all day long and say, 'Why did you hire me to work for your client?' Bring it on. My integrity stands for itself. I've never had anybody question my integrity." At 6-foot-4-inches tall, Wilson sings bass in the Spokesmen Quartet, a Southern gospel group. Married with two grown children, he was retired for seven years before being hired in December 2005 to help the DA track people accused of writing worthless checks.

The Johnsville News blog presents a picture album of the case with important visual documentation of events such as the “potbangers” protest at the Buchanan Street house.

John-in-Carolina analyzes the earliest coverage of the case in March, 2006 by the N&O. He charges the newspaper with biased reporting starting with its first report on March 24.

LieStoppers discusses the pernicious role of legal commentator Wendy Murphy in prolonging the lacrosse controversy: “As the Hoax nears death, Wendy Murphy desperately attempts to promote the fading fraud. Having proven repeatedly that truth is but a minor inconvenience, Murphy’s latest efforts demonstrate just how far she is willing to distort reality in order to advance her agenda. In an e-mail to supporters and a six page talking points memo published by the government funded National Sexual Violence Resource Center, Murphy appears to have found it necessary to contradict Defendant Nifong and the prosecution’s “evidence” and witnesses, including the false accuser herself, in order to continue to perpetuate the Hoax.”

THURSDAY JANUARY 25: Three law professors speaking at a Duke law school panel criticize the way DA Nifong has handled the case against three former lacrosse players. The three dissect the actions of Nifong over the past 10 months, and they conclude that he is a prosecutor headed for serious sanctions by the State Bar. "If everything's established, we're looking at a significant suspension," says Prof. Tom Metzloff. The bar's Disciplinary Hearing Commission will weigh the ethical and misconduct charges. Metzloff is joined on the panel by Duke Law Prof. James Coleman, a vocal critic of Nifong; Michael Tigar, an American University law professor; and Joseph Neff, an investigative reporter with the N&O. Coleman questions why Nifong and his investigators did not pursue DNA evidence found on the accuser from people not on the lacrosse team. If a sexual assault occurred, Coleman says, the evidence might lead to different suspects. Coleman reiterates his position that Nifong's early statements were racially inflammatory and appear to be for political gain. Tigar is critical of Nifong's pretrial publicity and says the prosecutor did a distinct disservice to people who want to bring complaints of wrongdoing. Some people, Tigar says, might be less likely to believe victims, and victims may be more afraid to come forward for fear their case would become a media magnet. Furthermore, Tigar says, Nifong should not have derided the players for invoking their Constitutional right to counsel -- a hallmark of the justice system.

FRIDAY JANUARY 26: The Duke men's lacrosse team opens practice, 10 months after its 2006 season was canceled. Matt Danowski, the son of Coach John Danowski, says the attention from the news media at practice was different from years past but not unexpected. ''If anything, we'll come out better and stronger from all this stuff, so I think we'll be fine,'' he says. Duke played for the national title in 2005 and was considered a favorite last year. But the season was canceled in April, 2006 after a stripper told police she was attacked at a team party. Rape charges were dropped in December against former players Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. They still face charges of sexual offense and kidnapping. John Danowski says he and his players discussed wearing the accused players' numbers on their helmets as a show of support, but that the team was looking forward to focusing on lacrosse. ''You know, one of the things I said to them today is you don't have to prove anything to anybody,'' he says. ''Just come out here and play.''

SATURDAY JANUARY 27: Kim Brummell, former co-chair of DA Nifong’s citizens’ committee, writes a letter to the Herald-Sun critical of Nifong’s handling of the case:

“Nifong owes the alleged victim, his supporters and all who voted for him a public apology for his missteps in this case. Chances are slim that will ever happen. The attorney general gives some a little hope that both sides will be able to present their case. But how much can you really do with a case riddled with bullet holes? Usually it's dead.”

SUNDAY JANUARY 28: Collin Finnerty is interviewed for a positive story in the New York Post titled “Duke Player’s Pain: Life on Hold.”
Excerpts:
"I dream of being back on the lacrosse field with my friends one day, but I'm just not sure if that's going to happen," said [Collin Finnerty,] the Garden City, L.I., resident.

"I've worked my whole life for this, and now everything just seems to be on hold until this gets resolved."

One of three Duke lacrosse players charged with raping a stripper who has since changed part of her story, Finnerty, 20, says his entire life has been put on hold since the allegations rocked the prestigious university and polarized the nation. (…)
"My mom and dad were with me when we found out [that I had been indicted], and we all just cried and hugged each other for a long time. It was unbelievable," said Finnerty, who maintains his innocence. (…)

Finnerty says he sorely misses the camaraderie of the team, which had been favored to win the national title in 2006 before the scandal erupted last April and the university shut the team down for the season.

"I've been working out most every day in hopes of getting back on the lacrosse field at some point," Finnerty said. (…)

The Chaminade HS alum has been keeping busy by taking classes close to home, at Hofstra University, and volunteering at two children's charities. And he hasn't abandoned his love of athletics.

"Since leaving Duke, I was working full time in the summer for a sports-marketing company and played in a few summer lacrosse leagues," said Finnerty. But that doesn't compare to playing for Duke. "I always dreamed of playing in college, but being recruited by Duke was just totally unexpected," he said.

MONDAY JANUARY 29: Charlotte Allen discusses “Duke’s Tenured Vigilantes” in a major article in the Weekly Standard magazine:

Throughout the spring of 2006 and indeed well into the late summer, Nifong had the nearly unanimous backing of this country's (and especially Duke's) intellectual elite as he explored his lurid theories of sexual predation and racist stonewalling.
"They fed off each other," said Steven Baldwin, a Duke chemistry professor who finally broke his faculty colleagues' own wall of silence on October 24, publishing a letter in the Duke student newspaper, the Chronicle, denouncing his fellow professors for what he called their "shameful" treatment of Seligmann and Finnerty and rebuking the Duke administration for having "disowned its lacrosse-playing student athletes." (…)

"The faculty enabled Nifong," Baldwin said in an interview. "He could say, 'Here's a significant portion of the arts and sciences faculty who feel this way, so I can go after these kids because these faculty agree with me.' It was a mutual attitude."
Indeed, it was the Duke faculty that could be said to have cooked up the ambient language that came to clothe virtually all media descriptions of the assault case--that boilerplate about "race, gender, and class" (or maybe "race, gender, sexuality, and class") and "privileged white males" that you could not read a news story about the assault case without encountering, whether in the New York Times, the Washington Post, or Newsweek for example. The journalists channeled the academics.”

TUESDAY JANUARY 30: Court hearings for the Duke lacrosse case are postponed until May after defense attorneys meet with the judge and the new special prosecutors assigned to the case. Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III delays a critical hearing, scheduled for Feb. 5, until May 7. During that hearing, the accuser is expected to testify, and defense attorneys are planning to ask Smith to throw out her photo identification of the defendants. The meeting today, which lasted two hours, is the first time the two sides have met to discuss the case. After the meeting, defense attorneys Joe Cheshire and Wade Smith say the discussion went well and that they look forward to working with the new prosecutors. "We are very excited to have professional prosecutors who are willing to sit down and engage us in conversation, who are willing to fairly look at the case," Cheshire says. "That's all we have asked for since the very beginning, so we are excited that we are engaged in the professional process." NC Attorney General Roy Cooper had appointed Mary Winstead and James Coman to the case after DA Nifong asked for a special prosecutor. Prosecutors decline to comment on the case, but AG Cooper says in a written statement that they would use the time until May to continue reviewing the matter. Some observers of the case are disappointed at the length of the delay.

EARLY JANUARY: Reade Seligmann and his father meet with Assistant U.S. Attorneys in New Jersey giving them information about the lacrosse case. They appeal to U.S. Attorney (now Governor) Chris Christie to intervene, asserting that the civil rights of Reade, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans had been violated. Excerpts from an October, 2007 letter to the U.S. Justice Department by defense attorney Jim Cooney:
“As Mr. Christie is aware, in early January 2007, I directed Reade and his father to make a report concerning the circumstances of this false prosecution to the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. At that time in the case, the central police report was found to have been prepared months after the events it purported to detail, was based on no contemporaneous notes of significance, and contained information that was flatly contradicted by other contemporaneous documents leading to a potential conclusion that parts of this report had been fabricated. (…) In January, and for several weeks and months thereafter, Reade and his father met with Assistant United States Attorneys and provided the Motions, transcripts and other pleadings that were part of the public record.”

SPECIFIC REFERENCES BY DATE

January 1: USC Law Professor Susan Estrich calls Mangum a “liar”

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240559,00.html

January 1: N&O’s Ruth Sheehan: “Drop charges”

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/01/61192/its-time-to-drop-charges.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1IQZ8wvUn

January 2: Nifong sworn into office

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1123711/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/03/80692/nifong-ill-help-durham-heal.html#storylink=misearch

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/01/nifong-hides-dissembles.html

January 2: Thomas Sowell on Nifong

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/219618/nifongs-deliverance/thomas-sowell

January 3: Duke invites Finnerty, Seligmann to return to campus

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1124935/

http://www.wral.com/asset/news/local/2007/01/03/1124964/Duke_University_Letter_to_Reinstate_Seligmann2.swf

http://news.duke.edu/2007/01/rhb_reinstate.html

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/04/53764/lacrosse-pair-in-dukes-good-graces.html#storylink=misearch

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/04/us/04duke.html?_r=1&ref=dukelacrossesexualassaultcase

http://dukechronicle.com/article/tide-turns-lax-case

January 3: Prof. Karla Holloway e-mail with racism charges against lacrosse team

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2007/01/dukenifong-hoax-day-273.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/lets-play-telephone.html

January 3: Metro Magazine reports an interview with the Finnerty family at their home

http://www.metronc.com/article/?id=1258

January 4: WRAL reports Crystal Mangum gave birth to a baby girl

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1107413/

January 4: Former lacrosse player Kyle Dowd sues Duke University

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1126808/

http://www.wral.com/news/local/flash/1126864/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/05/41102/lawsuit-is-latest-lacrosse-twist.html#storylink=misearch

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/dowd-suit.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/dowd-and-duke.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/curtis-gate.html

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/01/dukes-first-lax-suit.html

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/gaynor/070106

January 4: KC Johnson on “The Only ‘Evidence’ Left

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/only-evidence-left.html

January 4: Duke Economics Department sends letter to Chronicle

http://dukechronicle.com/article/professors-call-investigation-welcoming-all-students

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/dukes-economics-department-takes-its.html

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1574810,00.html

January 5: Prof. Cathy Davidson rejects criticism of “Group of 88”

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/05/72796/in-the-aftermath-of-a-social-disaster.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1IQcJk9Dz

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/apologia-for-disaster.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/01/our-collective-voice-blog-hooligan.html

January 6: Newsweek’s Susannah Meadows on Reade Seligmann

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2007/01/duke-hoax-day-263.html

January 7: Provost Peter Lange on “attacks” on Duke faculty

http://news.duke.edu/2007/01/lange.html

January 8: Brodhead calls on Nifong to recuse himself

http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2007/01/letter_to_community.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/brodheads-apologia.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/conflicting-pressures.html

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/01/brodhead-reveals-himself.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/us/09duke.html?ref=dukelacrossesexualassaultcase

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/09/67922/duke-leader-calls-for-manners.html#storylink=misearch

http://dukechronicle.com/article/brodhead-responds-calls-nifong-step-down

http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/02/from-jason-trumpbour.html#c116844371303743368

January 8: MSNBC’s Susan Filan calls case a “hoax”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16526151/

January 9: Finnerty assault conviction expunged

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1131599/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/09/78032/finnertys-dc-record-to-be-cleared.html#storylink=misearch

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/01/finnertys-dc-conviction-set-aside.html

January 10: Paternity Test Ordered on Mangum’s child

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/11/55737/judge-orders-paternity-testing.html#storylink=misearch

January 10: Former Nifong campaign consultant Jackie Brown urges recusal

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=4923809

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/11/43772/former-aide-nifong-snipe-at-each.html#storylink=misearch

January 10: Prof. Karla Holloway resigns committee post

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/holloway-leaves-cci.html

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/12/72330/venom-has-aftereffects-for-duke.html#storylink=misearch

http://diverseeducation.com/article/6857/

http://dukechronicle.com/article/reinstatement-sparks-fiery-faculty-response

January 11: Nifong meets with Crystal Mangum in his office

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1134867/

January 11: May trial date set for Nifong ethics complaints

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1134166/

January 11: Defense lawyers file supplemental motion to toss identifications

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1133573/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/12/89217/duke-attack-story-shifts.html#storylink=misearch

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/us/12duke.html?ref=dukelacrossesexualassaultcase

http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/story?id=2787444&page=1

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=4926225

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/anatomy-of-frame.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/theater-of-absurd.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/01/dj-vu-all-over-again.html

http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson165.html

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2007/01/linwood-wilsons-investigative-report.html

January 11: Text of supplemental defense motion

http://www.wral.com/asset/news/local/2007/01/11/1133681/motion.swf

January 11: Typewritten text of Inv. Linwood Wilson’s notes of interview with Mangum

http://www.wral.com/asset/news/local/2007/01/11/1133779/notes.swf

January 11: KC Johnson’s chronology of the lacrosse case March 14-April 30, 2006

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/early-dates.html

January 12: Nifong calls for special prosecutor, recuses himself

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1136685/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/13/42908/nifong-steps-aside.html#storylink=misearch

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/13/us/13duke.html?ref=dukelacrossesexualassaultcase

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011201332.html?sub=AR

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/path-from-here.html

http://vdare.com/stix/070113_duke.htm

January 12: “60 Minutes” preview

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/meehan-on-60-minutes.html

January 13: NC Atty. Gen. Roy Cooper names Coman & Winstead special prosecutors

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1135181/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/14/34787/lacrosse-case-in-state-hands.html#storylink=misearch

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/us/14duke.html?ref=dukelacrossesexualassaultcase

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/16599880/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/13/AR2007011300212.html

http://dukechronicle.com/article/legal-experts-recusal-may-lead-dismissal

January 13: Deputy Police Chief Ron Hodge on Nifong recusal

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/13/77366/act-prompts-expressions-of-relief.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1JAdySBvH

January 14: “60 Minutes” interviews Evans, Finnerty, Seligmann parents

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/11/60minutes/main2352512.shtml

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1136998/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/15/59107/players-parents-rip-into-nifong.html#storylink=misearch

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/01/first-take-on-60-minutes.html

January 14: John-in-Carolina debunks myths about lacrosse case

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/01/hoax-mythbuster-post-1.html

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/01/hoax-mythbuster-post-2.html

January 15: New ethics complaint against Nifong possible

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1137618/

January 15: Cheshire’s March 30 warning letter to Nifong

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/15/44563/nifong-conduct-rebuked-early.html#storylink=misearch

January 15: Kathleen Eckelt R.N. on Mangum’s psychiatric history

http://harfordmedlegal.typepad.com/forensics_talk/2007/01/no_surprise_duk.html

January 15: KC Johnson on role of race in Duke lacrosse case

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/race-racism-and-case_15.html

January 16 : Nifong writes letter to State Bar answering ethics complaints

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/07/michael-b-nifong-is-hereby-disbarred.html

January 16: U.S. Department of Justice refuses to investigate Nifong

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1138226/

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=4939868

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/17/68768/jones-still-seeks-nifong-inquiry.html#storylink=misearch

January 16: Duke faculty letter refuses to apologize for “Listening” ad

http://www.concerneddukefaculty.org/

http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/18507

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/17/33237/duke-post-seeks-to-defuse-88-ad.html#storylink=misearch

http://dukechronicle.com/article/faculty-letter-aims-clarify-88-ad

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/rump-group-of-88-strikes-again.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/group-of-88s-myths-and-realities.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/ten-and-more-questions-for-rump-group.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/01/adding-insult-to-injury.html

January 17: Rep. Peter King calls for Justice Department investigation

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/item_MShw6wfHyH2y0YErUttYKK;jsessionid=CD547A29EE3C3823DF5145077A0DD34D

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/jan/18/20070118-110935-5609r/

January 17: The Johnsville News suggests “Listening Statement” ad quotes were falsified

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2007/01/did-duke-gang-of-88-falsify-their.html

January 17: Prof.Orrn Starn on “Fast, Loose and Mean in the Blogosphere”

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2007/01/dukenifong-hoax-day-274.html

January 22: NC Gov. Easley criticizes Nifong in New York speech

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1192022/

January 22: Chronicle interviews Brodhead

http://dukechronicle.com/article/brodhead-record

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/01/chronicles-brodhead-interview-my-take.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/power-of-college-press.html
January 22: Joan Collins on “The Other Duke Lacrosse Moms”

http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/05/letters-from-friends-2.html#c116951294294999551

January 22: Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly on Group of 88

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8-qwj8RDXA

January 23: Prof. Bill Anderson on costs, legal and other, of the case

http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson167.html

January 24: State Bar files new, more serious ethics charges against Nifong

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1177453/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/25/39957/nifong-goes-on-the-defense.html#storylink=misearch

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/25/us/25duke.html?ref=dukelacrossesexualassaultcase

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,246281,00.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/01/state-bar-files-additional-charges.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/some-reactions-to-expanded-ethics.html

http://dukechronicle.com/article/nifong-faces-more-ethics-charges

January 24: Text of Amended State Bar complaint against Nifong

http://www.wral.com/asset/news/local/2007/01/24/1177454/1186416119-Nifong%20Final%20Order%20Amended.pdf

January 24: Transcript of Nifong Bar hearing

http://www.wral.com/asset/news/local/2007/01/24/1177860/Nifong%20Hearing%20Transcript.swf

January 24: N&O profiles Linwood Wilson

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/24/83453/ethics-of-nifongs-detective-at.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1IPlN6cuO

January 24: LieStoppers on legal commentator Wendy Murphy

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/01/murphys-law.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/murphys-latest.html

January 24: The Johnsville News picture gallery of case

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2007/01/witch-hunters-potbangers-and-hanging.html

January 24: John-in-Carolina analyzes N& O coverage of lacrosse case

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2007/01/mar-24-no-begins-to-frame.html

January 25: Duke Law School panel on lacrosse case

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/26/53359/professors-say-nifong-mishandled.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1IPnd2pfM

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/01/duke-law-school-panel.html

January 26: Duke men’s lacrosse team resumes practice

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/27/31192/lacrosse-returns-to-duke.html#storylink=misearch

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A04E2D9173FF934A15752C0A9619C8B63&ref=dukelacrossesexualassaultcase

January 27: Kim Brummell calls on Nifong to apologize

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2007/01/dukenifong-hoax-day-284.html

January 28: New York Post interviews Collin Finnerty
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/item_sCjpQhsjymM3gGRWEdGuEI;jsessionid=C04D3F50FD4A3D244616BEDBF6270F00

January 29: Charlotte Allen on “Duke’s Tenured Vigilantes”

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/190uejex.asp?page=1

January 30: Judge Smith stays hearings until May

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1183786/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2007/01/31/39227/duke-lawyers-get-time-to-sift.html#storylink=misearch

http://dukechronicle.com/article/prosecution-postpones-lax-hearing

Early January: Reade Seligmann and his father contact New Jersey U.S. Attorney

http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/3946823/1/ (Post #6)

GENERAL REFERENCES

(The Duke lacrosse case article indices in the Raleigh News & Observer and the Duke Chronicle have been taken down following website revisions. Articles can still be found using the search feature of the new websites.)

EVANS et al v. DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, CITY OF et al
http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00739/46882/

MCFADYEN et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al
http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00953/47494/

CARRINGTON et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-ncmdce/case_no-1:2008cv00119/case_id-47871/

Duke University & Brodhead Statements
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/announce_archive.html

Duke University Archive of Media Coverage
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/media_archive.html

Johnsville Blog Posts
http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/06/duke-case-index.html

WRAL Stories
http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/2306295/

KC Johnson’s Case Narrative
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/03/overall-case-narrative.html

Chronology by Vance Holmes “Poetic Justice”

http://www.vanceholmes.com/court/trial_duke_timeline.html

CBS News Chronology
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2006/04/19/in_depth_us/timeline1515358.shtml

AP Chronology
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/18054818/

Wikipedia Timeline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Duke_University_lacrosse_case

Friends of Duke University Media Index
http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/04/links-to-media-2-full.html

New York Times Article Index
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/d/duke_university/duke_lacrosse_sexual_assault_case/index.html?offset=60&s=newest

A Man cannot escape his Fortune Cookie

2011-04-18T22:30:00.007-04:00

The place-card by the won-ton soup
Said it was Dickie’s chair.
The delicacies kept coming
But Dickie wasn’t there.

The dignitaries shook their heads
His absence was so odd.
He had been watching CNN
Then shouted out ...“Oh GOD!”

The Face that launched his Apology Tour
And a million faculty smears
Had just been indicted...MURDER ONE
The culmination of Dick’s career.

Up to his lovely room he ran
The blot slipped in the door.
(Friends say when things upset him
He’s “hid”like this before.)

He lay there on the hotel bed
He felt...”more sinning against than sinning”
Should he make like Charlie Sheen?
Call Steele and exclaim... “WINNING.”

No...His tummy was tied up in knots
Why he could hardly breathe..
So he just wrote down ... GREAT BIG NUMBERS
Then multiplied...by 43.

Joan Foster

Jury indicts Crystal Mangum on murder charge

2011-04-18T21:41:00.001-04:00

DURHAM (WTVD) -- A Durham jury indicted Crystal Mangum on a murder charge Monday for the death of her boyfriend.

Police say Mangum stabbed Reginald Daye, 46, in the chest during an argument at the apartment the couple shared in the 3000 block of Century Oaks Drive on April 3. Search warrants previously issued say Daye told responding officers Mangum stabbed him and took his money.

Daye was later taken off life support and died on April 6...snipped WTVD-TV

Durham's Theatre of the Absurd

2011-04-14T16:53:00.003-04:00

Unfortunately our leading lady is unable to perform tonight as she is locked up in the Durham County Jail

Reginald Daye died last night.

2011-04-14T12:22:00.003-04:00

Crystal Mangum will face new charges today.

Years of sanctuary in the Church of Political Correctness, at the altar of White Guilt that entitles Black Denial, enabled this tragedy. There will be no introspection in the classes of Wahneema Lubiano today, or in Barry Saunders N&O column or in the pulpits of Durham’s Black community on Sunday. No op-ed will shriek out to Mangum’s handlers...”We Know You KNOW!”

Everything that happened to Sister Survivor is always somebody else's’ fault. Professor Lubiano’s silly word-soup prose is at least understandable to that degree.

She asked us years ago:

"What Does A Social Disaster Sound Like?"

Well, here’s a start.

If I lived near Durham, I would walk into Lubiano’s classroom today with the statement Mangum gave to Ben Himan ...her own description of her life as a 14 year old child in the bosom of Durham’s Black community.

“/28/06 - 0918

1.Called victim [Crystal Mangum] in reference to an earlier sexual assault that she reported at Creedmor police department. She stated that she was dating F_____ at the time.

2. She stated that she had ran away from home on previous times and that she had been found hiding at F____'s house after the police came with a search warrant.

3. She stated that she was used by F____ to sell drugs and take the money to him.

4. She stated that when F____ was not there some men would come over, L____, A_____ and S_____. She stated that she would have sex with them when Floyd was not around.

5. She stated later that the men paid F____ to come over and have sex with her.

6. She stated that one day F_____ confronted the victim about the men that were coming over and having sex with her. She stated that she denied it to him and then he brought the three men to the house.

7. She stated in front of her she asked them and they all said that they had been having sex with her. She stated that F____ grabbed her and they went into the bedroom where she stated three men Mr. F____, A____ and L____ “ran the train on her”

She stated she was very scared .

8, In her voice I could sense that she was becoming very emotional, she stated that she did tell some of her family members about it and that she went to Duke Hospital about a week after the incident. “

@@@@@@

This “autobiography” OF A 14 YEAR OLD CHILD...was, of course, available during the Lacrosse Hoax...but this story of the commandeering of a Black child drew no comment from Dick Brodhead. The abandonment of responsibility for this 14 year old by her parents and church and extended Black community...did not drive Professor Lubiano to abandon her own Thesaurus-thumping and go to print again. Nor would the plight of Mangum’s children as she escalated...move any of those in "Our Hearts World" to advocate for their safety.

No, but we did see an example of the enormous energy and passion expended by these folks on...

On a Hoax.

I would ask Lubiano who in the Black community of Durham was “listening” to this 14 year old child as Black men abused her and used her as a drug mule? Where were Crystal's parents, who were so moving in their media interviews when the accused victimizers were white? Where were the Reverends who thundered from their pulpits and marched in the streets and demanded a trial? Where were the Academic Listeners who are paid six-figures to pick at historical scabs?

And where has been their advocacy NOW for Crystal’s children?

"(We) know that the disaster didn’t begin on (April 13th) and won’t end with what the police say or the court decides. Like all disasters, this one has a history. "

Yes, the tragedy of this man’s murder has a “history”... right in Durham’s Black community, its churches, and among the Duke activists. It has a LOUD and VIVID and UNFORGETTABLE history.

Where are all of you when "Whitey" is not in the story? Why are you not out AMONG YOURSELVES...thundering for self-respect, responsibility, and accountability for your own actions and inactions? Why did you push into a Hoax and then leave the story when Mangum’s three children COULD NOT LEAVE?

Mangum, if victimized at 14...was victimized by members of the Black community and failed by members of the Black community. Her children have been victimized and failed by you too.

Mangum, if a paranoid liar at 14 was one again when she accused Collin, Reade and Dave. Many had this knowledge and hid it. You duped your own community. Therefore they and the Lacrosse team were then victimized and failed by you too.

These are YOUR moral failures.

Now Reginald Daye has died.

THIS IS A SOCIAL DISASTER ALL OF YOUR OWN.

In the word-soup of Lubiano’s prose, is there ever any reference to Black responsibility? Or would that jeopardize what appears to be the AA Studies core belief...the Plantation mentality that someone ELSE is responsible for YOU?
Is the issue that Black Academia cannot be introspective because that might be a slippery slope to being underfunded, or to being subjected to EQUAL academic workplace expectations? But, hey, the Gig pays well. The Tenured, but achievement-untroubled Aggrieved.

The Circus that convened to keep Sister Survivor up on the High Wire during the Lacrosse Hoax needs to be have their mouths and faces pushed into the Mirror of Accountability. They need to answer for a Black judge who pronounced Mangum...”a good Mother” and returned her to the street, untreated, to kill.

They need to search their souls about the death of Mr. Daye. One suspects though, that he will be as expendable as Mr. Elmostafa.

This is not our grandfathers’ sins we are talking about now. This is the type of Race Solidarity that excuses Mangum, as Jackie Wagstaff, Durham activist, did...as the inability of other races to understand “the Black household.”

How insulting that should be! But the Duke Listeners, so protective of the sensibilities of their minority students... let that type of ugly rhetoric slide. The “n-word” dirties the mouth it emanates from...but Wagstaffs “philosophy” demeans an entire race. ..and not a peep.

Such is the Mindset of the new purveyors of racism and sexism.They keep us divided so they do not have to provide accountability for those they abandon after the Pity Party. They keep us divided because it puts a buck in their pocket, or a vote after their name.

Like Nifong, they all used Mangum.

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/11/no-amanda-he-used-her.html

Time after time, her messes were cleaned up and she was deemed...too crazy to prosecute but not to have custody of her children. Too disoriented to be responsible but not to earn a MAGNA CUM LAUDE degree from NCCU?

This woman who spent long nights trolling motels, gyrating on poles till dawn was either genius enough to attend school every day with SUPERIOR excellence...or that degree is nothing more than a racial “high five” making meaningless all others that were truly EARNED at NCCU.

". . .We want the absence of terror. But we don’t really know what that means . . . We can’t think. That’s why we’re so silent; we can’t think about what’s on the other side of this. "

I’ll tell you...on the other side of this... were three innocent young children...sentenced by both stubborn race-Rah! Rah! support or Whitey-Absence apathy...to live their daily lives in real terror..not the “terror” of some Coed at Duke.

Where is are the voices that demanded “absence of terror” for Mangum’s children after her LAST knife-wielding..fire setting episode?

Or the absence of terror for Katie Rouse?

Why is no one LISTENING anymore?

Follow the money..the promotions...the self-interest.

Now a man has died.

Let’s keep the humanity of the victim in front of us, hectored Cathy Davidson...Listener-Apologist Extraordinaire.

Indeed let’s do.

His name was Reginald Daye.

His death is the culmination of a Hoax EVERY ONE of YOU Agenda-istas at Duke and in Durham...aided and abetted

....and then abandoned when it no longer worked for you.

YOUR swagger started long ago...and it has ended.... in a man's death and to your everlasting shame.

Duke lacrosse accuser's boyfriend dies after stabbing

2011-04-13T23:05:00.007-04:00

We are sad to report that Reginald Daye died today. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family

Duke lacrosse accuser's boyfriend dies after stabbing

Durham, N.C. — Family members of a man who was stabbed in his home April 3 say he died Wednesday evening. Crystal Mangum, the Durham woman who falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of rape in 2006, has been charged with assaulting him.

Durham police could not be reached for comment Wednesday night on whether her charges would be upgraded.

Police said Mangum, 32, stabbed Reginald Daye, 46, in the torso with a kitchen knife during a dispute at 3507 Century Oaks Drive early on April 3. Daye was taken to Duke University Hospital, and Mangum was arrested in a nearby apartment.

A man who said he was Daye's nephew called 911 to report the stabbing, saying it occurred while Daye and his girlfriend were arguing about rent money. The caller said police came to the apartment complex earlier while the couple argued, but the stabbing occurred after the officers left.

When asked for a description of the girlfriend, the caller said, "It's Crystal Mangum. THE Crystal Mangum."

He then added, "I told him she was trouble from the beginning."....

WRAL

She is Back... in Jail again!

2011-04-03T20:38:00.004-04:00

Crystal Mangum charged in Durham stabbing

DURHAM -- Crystal Mangum, the woman who was at the center of the Duke University lacrosse scandal, was charged with stabbing a man early this morning at a south Durham apartment. Police charged Mangum, 32, with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, according to a statement by the Durham Police Department...snipped

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/03/1102618/crystal-mangum-charged-in-durham.html

"We will immediately begin taking discovery"

2011-04-02T12:11:00.001-04:00

WASHINGTON, DC – April 1, 2011 – Charles J. Cooper, partner at Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, representing the 39 unindicted Duke lacrosse players in their lawsuit against Duke University and others, issued the following statement today:

“We are heartened by the judge’s carefully considered decision permitting the lacrosse players’ primary claims to move forward. We will immediately begin taking discovery and preparing the case for trial.”

Brodhead from under his desk

2011-04-01T20:20:00.003-04:00

Good Morning, President Brodhead. Sir, did you sleep... HERE... all night?
Well, your clothes look rather crumpled..and you gave the cleaning staff a fright.
Let’s begin my morning briefing...the “ruling” must be addressed.
The media keeps calling...Sir, are you underneath the desk?

Sir, it’s so hard to hear you..What’s that? “wound? and "salt?"
Do really want to say that it was all Wahneema’s fault?
Alright...”Duke made some mistakes”...”Nifong’s the reason why.”
Tell them how YOU have suffered...???? Uhh...better let that last part slide.

Emphasize “the facts kept changing”...yeah, we tried that spin.
Problem is...that TRUTH is constant...if you WAIT till “facts” are in.
There are some rumors flying...that Steele will dump it on YOU... fast.
Sir, you’ve spilled your Milkshake...Oh, is that Maalox in that glass?

Well, that completes our briefing. What’s on your calendar to do?
Representing Duke’s values, as personified in... YOU?
Best to get things scheduled...before the depositions start.
You can BET.... the toughest questions...won’t be just...on the lawyers part.

Joan Foster

Good Morning! Can we clear your calendar?

2011-04-01T14:07:00.003-04:00

Just don't tell Sue's parents!

Happy April’s Fools Day to the biggest Fools we know

2011-04-01T07:56:00.001-04:00

Happy April’s Fools Day to the biggest Fools we know.
Who hitched their wagons to a Frame...and recklessly yelled “GO!”

For all his revered credentials, big-time job and Ivy glow...
Fool One...is Richard Brodhead...the biggest Craven one could know.
Like some comic Fool , ridiculous, hiding behind his desk
Only Shakespeare might do justice to such a FAILURE of his “test”...
A comic figure popping up at podiums, foresooth...
Giving Faux Apologies while he refused to read the Truth.
A pompous little weasel who feared only FOR HIMSELF
And decided... best for HIM and Duke... to put these kids through HELL.

How fitting that this ruling should come right before the day
When Fools are celebrated...Brodhead...it’s YOUR day!

Happy April Fools Day, Nurse Levicy ...our worthy Number Two.
All those earned certificates” gonna be no use to you.
So besotted with your power and your Womyn studies faith
You became the kind of zealot, with a mission just to hate.
A disgrace to your profession, here’s a fact you can’t escape
Now we know that NURSES, and WOMEN...certainly will... “lie about a rape.”

How fitting that this ruling should come right before the day
When Fools are celebrated...Nurse Tara...it’s YOUR day!

Happy April Fool’s Day, Mikey Nifong..it’s your day.
Qualifying as ex-human...not just as ex-D.A.
Of all the Fools who fueled the Frame, one thing we know is true.
No one seemed to enjoy the suffering...half as much as you.
How you strutted, and you snorted, and proclaimed yourself, so smart.
When all the time, you knew your file was as empty as your heart.
Remember your performance...the theatrical faux “choke?”
Well, feel free again to choke yourself...when YOU go under oath.

How fitting that this ruling should come right before the day
When Fools are celebrated...Nifong..the Patron Saint!!

Happy April Fools Day..to all who made it plain
That they would rush to judgement, condemn and sign their name...
And without evidence or hesitance...but based just on racial lines
That they were just as BIASED as those red neck sheriffs back in time.

Happy April Fools Day..to all the 88 Buffoons
Off the ivy Reservation...Bias is ugly in ALL hues.

Happy April Fools Day, Hoaxers, and many more to come.
Some of you were too ambitious, some of you, just dumb.
Some of you were racist, we need no law to know your skew
Some of you just followed orders...like good Nazis always do.

How fitting that this ruling should come right before the day
When Fools are celebrated...Hoax Defendants...it’s your DAY!!!!

Joan Foster

Judge Beaty Rules - Lawsuits can move forward

2011-03-31T22:57:00.003-04:00

Federal Judge Beaty ruled today in the lawsuits filed against the numerous defendants including the Disbarred, Disgraced, and former Durham DA Nifong, DPD officers, City of Durham, Duke President Brodhead, Duke University Medical Center, and Duke employees.

It his opinion he dismissed some charges but let stand others and the door to Discovery has been opened. We will be analyzing the lengthy court opinion and posting on it.

You can follow the discussion on the LieStopper's Forum

Duke Lacrosse Lawsuits to Move Forward

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: DECEMBER 2006

2011-03-06T22:44:00.001-05:00

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: DECEMBER 2006

By sceptical

(Thanks to Quasi, Baldo, Q.A. and JSwift for their additions and suggestions.)

FRIDAY DECEMBER 1: Duke Prof. Thomas Crowley writes a letter of apology in the Herald-Sun for his November 13 article criticizing the Duke lacrosse team, supporting Durham DA Mike Nifong, and suggesting the rape allegations against defendants David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann should go to trial:
“On Nov. 13, The Herald-Sun published an “Other Voices” piece by me concerning the Duke lacrosse case. I have subsequently been informed of errors in that letter. In particular my blanket statement about behavior of the lacrosse team was neither fair in general nor applicable to the particular case now in dispute. I apologize for this and any other errors.”

In his blog “Durham-in-Wonderland,” Brooklyn College history Prof. KC Johnson discusses the appointment of Robert Steel, Duke Board of Trustees chairman, as U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury: “Steel is serving two masters—Duke and the federal government. To date, he has exhibited an inexplicable unwillingness to criticize Mike Nifong’s “separate-but-equal” justice system for Duke students. In so doing, he, along with the Brodhead administration, has left in place an image of Duke as an institution whose upper leadership (much less its faculty, such as the Group of 88) does not particularly care about the school’s own students.”

Joan Foster pens an essay for the LieStoppers blog titled “Old Albums” which concludes:
“I'm sure that [Duke University President Richard] Brodhead, the Shakespeare scholar, knows well this quote.
‘The quality of mercy is not strain’d,
...it becomes the throned monarch better than his crown;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice.’
But, last Spring, Brodhead the "Throned Monarch," the Duke President, seemingly had little mercy or empathy or personal memory of any regret. The man of letters had little of note to say. His touted eloquence evaporated. His words were parsed and forced and noticeably flat. He could not seemingly relate in any way to these young men, indicted without evidence, condemned without conviction, smeared with a broad brush by their teachers, the local newspapers ,and an ambitious prosecutor lagging in a political race. He would not stand forcefully for their rights or even meet with their parents. His defenders say,...well, he wasn't the Drum Major in the Duke Lacrosse Persecution. Faint praise, but even so, he was marching in lock-step behind the cacophonous 88...and whatever horn he occasionally tooted...was too tinny and tentative to be heard above the din.
Pity Brodhead didn't take out HIS old albums, re-acquaint himself with Young Dick and his own frail humanity...before he turned his back on these boys and closed his door to their families. He might have been able to summon up some empathy and resolve. He might have been able to look their parents in the eye and deliver his "messages" himself. He might have been able to be the kind of man we could all look to now with admiration and confidence and respect. The kind of man we expect the President of Duke University to be. He might have even made a difference.”

SATURDAY DECEMBER 2: KC Johnson attempts to answer the question of why accuser Crystal Mangum happened to choose Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann as her attackers instead of others on the lacrosse team by analyzing census information about income in the hometowns of Duke lacrosse players.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 3: The Raleigh News & Observer (N&O) publishes an article by reporter Joe Neff detailing complaints that have been filed against DA Nifong for his actions in the lacrosse case. A request for a federal investigation has come from Michael Cornacchia of New York, one of Finnerty's attorneys. He has written to the U.S. attorney general, the FBI director, the congressional delegations of North Carolina and Long Island and others, saying Nifong has violated the civil rights of the three players. The case merits an immediate investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, writes Cornacchia, a former prosecutor who recently served as chief investigative counsel for the probe of the United Nation's oil-for-food program. Neff also reveals at least 17 complaints to the North Carolina State Bar about Nifong; these are usually confidential but the authors copied their complaints to the Governor’s office, putting the letters in the public domain. According to Neff, there have also been scores of letters sent to Gov. Mike Easley and Atty. Gen. Roy Cooper about the case, most criticizing Nifong.

MONDAY DECEMBER 4: Economics Prof. William Anderson of Frostburg State College states in a blogpost titled “Why I Write on the Duke Lacrosse Case:”
“What is important here is that white, middle and upper-class people have come to understand what many other people already knew: prosecutors and the police are more likely to lie than to tell the truth. After seeing a prosecutor lie to them — and watching the Duke University administration de facto side with the prosecution — they are beginning to understand the rottenness of American criminal justice. (That there are a gaggle of prosecutors, journalists, and others willing to support Michael Nifong's illegitimate case tells us that it is not only Durham, North Carolina, that supports legal corruption.) (…)
“So here I am. The Duke case is nearly nine months old, Nifong's "evidence" has been shredded by attorneys and the blogs, yet the case continues toward trial because government courts are not about truth or justice, but rather are a plaything for prosecutors. It is obvious that truth does not matter either to the prosecutors or the judges, but I also know that truth serves as sunlight. I think of what I am doing as shining a light on cockroaches, something that makes them scatter.”

THURSDAY DECEMBER 7: Durham Police Investigator Ben Himan interviews Angel Altmon, the security guard at the Kroger’s in Durham who called the police early in the morning of March 14 after Crystal Mangum and Kim (Roberts) Pittman sat in a car in the store’s parking lot. It is uncertain why it took Himan 8 months to locate and talk to Altmon because the security guard had already been interviewed by the media as early as March 29.

The Johnsville News comments on “Asymmetric Justice in Durham:” “Revenge against three northern white boys has become the rallying cry for a coalition of the avenging. Revenge, sweet revenge for who knows how many past grievances fueled a large portion of the electorate that supported the corrupt district attorney, Mike Nifong, in the November election. The coalition of the avenging cuts across racial lines; it includes Duke faculty members, Durham law enforcement, members of the African American community, Durham power brokers, and even some Duke students.
This coalition has confused revenge with justice. For them, the Duke case is not about a single alleged rape, it is about a host of past wrongs that have been hurled like rocks in a public stoning of these three innocent men. The coalition wants them punished as symbols and not duly protected as presumed innocent individuals under the justice system.
Advocates for the avenging coalition have taken to referring to David Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann as the "Duke three," or just the lacrosse players, instead of using their proper names. They certainly find it more convenient to attack symbols than it is to attack three uniquely innocent men with names and families. Depersonalizing an act of revenge makes it easier, who dares to look their intended victims in the eye and acknowledged them by name? Societal retribution is best administered anonymously.”

MONDAY DECEMBER 11: The LieStoppers blog publishes critical comments it has received about its coverage of the lacrosse case in a post titled “The Real People of Durham and the Word on the Street.” A few samples: 1) "The real people of Durham hate obnoxious yankee punks who think they can come down here and piss on people's lawns and mistreat a local girl and try to get away with it." 2) "Joan Foster, there are a myriad of Nifong supporters posting because not everyone has idealised these accused rapists-sodomist-kidnappers as you have done and we see through the defense's manipulation and lies and see the truth: something happened at that party and it was not tiddlywinks.” 3) “You only care about the lacrosse players BECAUSE THEY ARE WHITE MALE ELITES and you could give a damn about the rest of the people being railroaded in Durham."

Prof. Bill Anderson poses the question “What if the Duke 3 Had Been Black?” in a blogpost. He concludes: “…various civil liberties groups in Durham like the NAACP and the ACLU have decided to abandon literally everything for which they have stood in the promotion of justice in order to try to railroad the Duke 3 into a conviction. Irving Joyner, a law professor at NCCU, suddenly has given up his usual support for changes of venue in racially-charged cases, claiming that because he believes a Durham jury would be more likely to convict, therefore, the trial must be held in Durham.
The real problem here is that racial politics, as well as the politics of entitlement, have clouded the judgment of many Durham residents. As I stated previously, I have no doubt that blacks in Durham in an ordinary rape case would have recognized the situation for what it was and would not be pressing for trial and conviction. Indeed, blacks have been railroaded in courts of "justice," and they rightly have had a historical reluctance to believe everything a prosecutor and the police might say. (…)
Yet, I doubt anyone in Durham really is listening or is willing to understand the ramifications of what Nifong and others there are doing. We are seeing the politics of entitlement at work, and in this case, there exist many people in Durham who believe that they are entitled to a conviction, even if it is wrongful. Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans are not real people to them, only political symbols that must be destroyed at all costs, and if this madness is permitted to continue, innocent blacks in the future also will suffer prison sentences or worse. Right now, however, the representatives of the NAACP and people like Joyner really don't care about that; they just want to see people go to prison, even if they committed no crime.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 12: It is revealed that a North Carolina congressman wants a federal investigation into how DA Nifong has handled the rape investigation of the Duke lacrosse players. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., in a December 7 letter is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to review the case, accusing Nifong of making prejudicial statements to the media and telling police to violate identification procedures. In the letter to Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales, Jones also highlights the fact that Nifong has never spoken directly with the accuser. Attorneys for the accused are to be in court December 15 when Nifong is scheduled to hand over more evidence in the case. A trial could begin in Spring, 2007. When it does, it could be one of the longest in Durham County history because of the complexity of the case, in which there are three defendants and three sets of attorneys. Defense attorneys are saying that because of the media attention the case has received, they are considering asking for a change of venue, which has not happened in Durham for nearly 20 years. Nifong has said in recent months that a Durham County jury should decide the case

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13: Defense attorneys file three blockbuster motions on consecutive days which attack the heart of Nifong’s case against the lacrosse players. The first, filed today, reveals a bombshell: detailed DNA testing by DNA Security, Inc. found genetic material from several males in Crystal Mangum’s body and in her panties -- but none at all from any team member, including none from the three charged with rape. The motion complains that the information was deliberately withheld in a report on the testing prosecutors provided earlier this year to the defense. "This is strong evidence of innocence in a case in which the accuser denied engaging in any sexual activity in the days before the alleged assault, told police she last had consensual sexual intercourse a week before the assault, and claimed that her attackers did not use condoms and ejaculated," the motion reads. Defense attorney Joseph Cheshire says in an interview that the report's findings suggest the accuser had sex shortly before the March team party where she was hired to perform as a stripper. "None of (the DNA material) happens to be from lacrosse players who are supposed to have had sex with her, which is pretty significant," according to Cheshire. Defense attorneys say the only DNA found related to their clients was a partial match to Evans on a fake fingernail that was found in a trash can at the house. That was the DNA result printed in the final report. The defense motion also contends that at least one sample sent to DNA Security Inc., a private lab in Burlington, might have been contaminated because it included DNA from Dr. Brian Meehan, the lab's director. The motion also claims there were other errors regarding numbering of tests, and asserts the testing and the report are legally and scientifically deficient.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 14: In the second of their consecutive blockbuster motions, defense attorneys in the Duke lacrosse case want Judge W. Osmond Smith III to throw out the photographic lineup in which accuser Crystal Mangum identified the defendants, and to bar her from making any in-court identifications. Attorneys for Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans ask that any in-court identifications by the accuser be prohibited on the grounds that they would be unreliable "as a result of tainted procedure … as a result of the numerous errors and misidentifications made by the accuser." Experts have said such a motion, if successful, could keep prosecutors from bringing the case to trial. "If the court throws out the out-of-court identification and rules that it is so suggestive that there can't be an in-court identification, then the case is effectively dismissed," says James E. Coleman Jr., a Duke law professor. The motion says that Mangum had failed to identify any of her attackers in an identification procedure before the April 4 lineup -- the one in which she did identify Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans as her attackers. The motion states that DA Nifong directed that a different identification procedure be used in which photos of all the white members of the team who were at the March 13 party were assembled in a PowerPoint presentation for her to view. Attorneys write that this happened despite the fact that two people at the party were not members of the lacrosse team. "In short, the accuser was asked to pick three people as her attackers from those present at the scene, and because only those thought to be at the scene were shown to her, she was, in effect, given a multiple-choice test in which there were no wrong answers," attorneys write. They also state that Mangum’s identification is "riddled with errors," with the accuser identifying two players who were later determined not to be at the party. "In the process of identifying her three attackers, the accuser actually identified four separate men as her attackers. The state apparently just chose three or four to indict without further investigation," the motion reads. It also states Mangum did not recognize people whom she had identified before and misidentified people as doing things at the party that the investigation showed they did not do.

In a commentary in “Durham-in-Wonderland” on the new motion to suppress Crystal Mangum’s identifications, KC Johnson notes: “Flawed procedures beget flawed results. In many ways, this case can be summarized with those five words. The latest bombshell defense motion demonstrates the point more clearly than any document thus far produced in the case. (…) This motion, in short, constitutes a devastating assault on Nifong’s case. It should serve not only to justify suppressing the lineup, but as a central exhibit in any ethics proceedings against Nifong conducted by the state bar.”

FRIDAY DECEMBER 15: A pivotal hearing is held before Judge Smith with all three defendants, their lawyers and families; their friends including several lacrosse players and coaches John Danowski and Mike Pressler; and DA Mike Nifong present. In the most important development, DNA Security Inc. (DNASI) lab director Dr. Brian Meehan admits under withering examination by defense attorneys Jim Cooney and Brad Bannon that he and Nifong agreed to report only parts of the results of the DNA testing—omitting the exculpatory information that DNA from multiple men not on the lacrosse team were found in Mangum and on her panties:
BY MR. COONEY:
Q.
Did your report set forth the results of all of the
tests and examinations that you conducted in this case?
A. [Dr. Meehan}
No. It was limited to only some results.
Q.
Okay. And that was an intentional limitation arrived
at between you and representatives of the State of
North Carolina not to report on the results of all
examinations and tests that you did in this case?
A.
Yes.
[Applause]
THE COURT: Sheriff, I'll ask you to be looking
for people that are giving visible or audible reactions to
anything that takes place in the courtroom. If you detect who
it is, bring it to my attention. They'll be excluded from the
courtroom.
Under later questioning, Meehan admits that the report as written was less than the full truth. This intentional agreement between Meehan and Nifong to hide exculpatory evidence later is one of the major foundations for Nifong’s eventual disbarment.

Another major revelation at the hearing is that Crystal Mangum is pregnant. Judge Smith orders a paternity test for the accuser's child, even though both sides agree there's no chance one of the three indicted players could be the father. Nifong states Mangum is due the first week of February. The judge also enters an order allowing defense lawyers access to unspecified sealed records. The lawyers had previously requested access to military, social services and hospital records kept on the accuser.

Also at the hearing, defense lawyers file the third and last of their blockbuster motions, this one requesting a change of venue for the upcoming trial. The motion lays out in great detail the prejudicial statement made by Nifong, the local media, and Duke faculty against the defendants. At the conclusion of the session, defense lawyers and Nifong agree to schedule hearings during the week of Feb. 5, 2007. During those hearings, Nifong says he will put Mangum on the witness stand. The defense lawyers will have their own witnesses, and the judge will consider whether to throw out the accuser's identification of the three lacrosse players.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 16: “Saturday Night Live” features a skit on the Duke lacrosse case making fun of DA Nifong

SUNDAY DECEMBER 17: In an interview with Fox News, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales suggests that his office might investigate the way DA Nifong has handled the Duke lacrosse rape case. Gonzales confirms he received a letter asking for a federal probe into the investigation. "Well, that is a letter that we recently received," Gonzales tells Fox News' Brian Wilson. "It's being evaluated at the (Department of Justice). I can't say anything -- anything beyond that." Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-North Carolina, sent Gonzales the letter last week asking for a federal investigation into possible prosecutorial misconduct, and specifically, to determine whether the defendants' civil rights were violated. Gonzales says that even though the case is a state and local matter, the federal government could still become involved "if an investigation is conducted in such a way that civil rights laws are violated, that would be something that we might look into."

MONDAY DECEMBER 18: A University of North Carolina law professor says he believes there should be an investigation of DA Nifong's management of the Duke lacrosse case. "I think the best course of action, at this moment, is for Mike Nifong to remove himself from this case or for him to be removed," says Professor Joe Kennedy. The statement comes after Rep. Walter Jones, R-North Carolina, last week sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking for a federal investigation into possible prosecutorial misconduct and to determine whether the defendants' civil rights were violated. Kennedy says that Jones' request seemed overblown to him until allegations later arose that Nifong and a lab director purposely withheld DNA results showing none of the charged players' DNA was found on or in the accuser's body but there was DNA from other men. "I think his actions with respect to nondisclosure of this DNA information needs to be investigated," Kennedy states. Nifong denies that he tried to hide anything and told WRAL that he is not concerned about the mounting criticism of him. He says he thinks he can fairly prosecute the case. According to Garry Frank, president of the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys, however, other district attorneys have also expressed concerns about Nifong's conduct.

Duke President Brodhead says that DA Nifong’s case "will be on trial just as much" as the defendants. In a statement released by the university in response to the events of the December 15 hearing, Brodhead states the defendants should be presumed innocent as the case pushes toward a possible spring trial date. "As I told Ed Bradley during a '60 Minutes' interview last summer, given the concerns that have been raised, when it goes before a judge and jury the DA's case will be on trial just as much as our students will be," Brodhead states. "In the meanwhile, as I have said before, our students must be presumed innocent until proven otherwise." He insists that “Under American law, the legal system is the place to establish the facts and bring a case to a just resolution.”

The group Friends of Duke University through its spokeperson Jason Trompbour endorses the call of Rep. Walter Jones for a federal investigation into civil rights violations by DA Nifong. State Rep. Stephen LaRoque, a Republican from Lenoir County, also weighs in, endorsing Jones' call for a federal investigation and suggesting a change in state law to allow prosecution of prosecutors who engage in professional misconduct. Only the N.C. State Bar currently has the authority to punish incidents of legal misconduct. "That's like having the fox guard the henhouse," LaRoque says.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 19: DNA Security Inc. (DNASI) issues a statement defending its DNA testing procedures in the Duke lacrosse case. With regard to the exclusion of exculpatory evidence of DNA from other men found in Mangum from its report, DNASI states in part: “Our report also specifically stated that DNA profiles obtained from additional reference specimens and evidence items were being retained pending instructions. Our report AND the additional results of tests where there was no DNA match were provided to our client, and then to defense counsel in the normal criminal pre-trial “discovery” process.” LieStoppers deconstructs the DNASI statement in an extensive blogpost.

The office of Rep. Walter Jones releases the text of a second letter sent by the North Carolina congressman to Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales calling for a federal investigation of Nifong. It reads in part: “Mr. Attorney General, I was encouraged to see that on Fox News yesterday you confirmed that you ‘received’ my December 7th letter and that the Justice Department is evaluating the facts it presents. The new revelations of potential prosecutorial misconduct exposed in last week’s court proceedings also require the Justice Department’s attention. At the request of a growing number of my constituents, I again urge you and your staff to fully investigate these matters to ensure that Mr. Nifong’s conduct has not illegally denied these students their constitutional rights to due process.”

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 20: DA Nifong receives a letter from the North Carolina State Bar informing him that it will be filing an ethics complaint against him. The text of the complaint is not revealed publicly until December 28. After receipt of the letter, Nifong decides to send his investigator Linwood Wilson to meet with Crystal Mangum.

In an N&O article “DA’s Footing in Lacrosse Case Unclear,” Ben Niolet explores means by which DA Nifong could be removed from the case. UNC law Prof. Joseph Kennedy says Nifong could take himself off the case, the defense could ask the judge to remove him, or the judge himself could take Nifong off the case. Typical conflicts of interest in criminal cases surface when a lawyer previously represented or prosecuted a witness, Kennedy says. Prosecutors are also replaced in cases where the state is prosecuting a law enforcement official. State law also allows a prosecutor to be removed under particular circumstances, including willful misconduct in office or conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the office into disrepute. The process begins when someone files a sworn statement in the prosecutor's county charging him or her with a violation. The senior resident Superior Court judge in that county, or a judge he or she selects, must review the complaint and decide whether it will go forward. (This particular process to remove Nifong was started later with a sworn statement by activist Beth Brewer.)

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21: Nifong’s chief investigator, Linwood Wilson, meets alone with accuser Crystal Mangum, who again changes several key details of her account. No police investigator was present, and Inv. Ben Himan later testifies that the Durham Police were not informed in advance of the interview with Mangum. At this meeting, Wilson states the accuser came up with a wholly new version of the “crime”—she now was asserting that the attack might have occurred with an object rather than penetration by a penis (required by North Carolina statute for a rape charge). This new version of events also has Mangum giving—for the first time in nine months—a precise time for the “attack,” 11.40pm. The new version also features Mangum recalling, again, for the first time, a “white” towel had been used to clean her up after the crime. This towel is said to have cleaned up the scene of the crime—but left the DNA of an unindicted resident of the house on the bathroom floor. And it cleans up the accuser—but retains none of her DNA. “How such a towel could be reconciled with the tenets of forensic science Nifong explained neither then nor since,” according to KC Johnson. At the meeting, Wilson also improperly shows Mangum pictures of the defendants, whom she recognized by their true names. Defense lawyers later use this incident as one of several arguments against an in-court identification by Mangum of her “attackers.”

FRIDAY DECEMBER 22: DA Nifong unexpectedly drops rape charges against Evans, Finnerty, and Seligmann but plans to continue prosecuting them on the other charges of kidnapping and sexual offense. Defense attorneys call for all charges to be dismissed against the three. Nifong now says he didn't have enough evidence to proceed with a first-degree forcible rape case. ,The dismissal follows a meeting yesterday between Nifong's investigator Linwood Wilson and accuser Crystal Mangum. She told Wilson that she couldn't testify "with certainty" that she was raped, according to the dismissal motions. Specifically, Mangum could not say for sure she was penetrated by a penis. "Since there is no scientific or other evidence independent of the victim's testimony that would corroborate specifically (a rape charge), the state is unable to meet its burden of proof with respect to this offense," the motion states. Defense attorneys for the trio were quick to react. "Mr. Nifong, do the honorable thing -- end this case because there isn't a case to bring," attorney Wade Smith urges. "It is the ethical duty of a district attorney not to win a case, not to prosecute all cases, but to see that justice is done," attorney Joe Cheshire states. "After all these months and all that these young men have been through ... why are they investigating the case now?" he asks. Cheshire says, "Going forward with a case when he knows he has multiple, different, contradictory statements from that person, is that seeing that justice is done, or is that simply trying to fit facts into a prosecution to prosecute it at all costs?" Nifong declines to comment on the dismissal, and his office is closed this afternoon for a Christmas party.

There is swift public reaction to the dismissal of the rape charge. Duke President Brodhead expresses relief at the dismissal and calls on Nifong to turn the case over to an independent investigator. “Given the certainty with which the district attorney made his many public statements regarding the rape allegation, his decision today to drop that charge must call into question the validity of the remaining charges," Brodhead says in a statement. "The district attorney should now put this case in the hands of an independent party who can restore confidence in the fairness of the process. Further, Mr. Nifong has an obligation to explain to all of us his conduct in this matter." Duke athletics director Joe Alleva calls the dismissal "another step in establishing the entire truth in this matter." Finnerty's parents also say they are relieved that the rape charges were dropped. "Dropping this charge is long overdue. Dropping the other charges is long overdue, but we'll take it one step at a time," Kevin Finnerty says. "The state needs to apologize to these three boys, to their families. They need to immediately take dismissals and apologize to the entire community," states Bill Thomas, the attorney for an unindicted lacrosse player.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 23: The New York Times publishes an article by David Barstow and Duff Wilson titled “DNA Witness Jolted Dynamic of Duke Case” which includes comments made by DA Nifong in a three-hour interview with the Times December 21:
“Mr. Nifong acknowledged in the interview this week that he was keenly aware of the test results Mr. Meehan had omitted from his report when he signed that court filing on May 18. He denied, though, any effort to hide the results or delay their release. He has long been known locally for giving defense lawyers open access to his evidence, even before a state law required that. And, he said, even if the test results should have been turned over months earlier, the defense still had the evidence well in advance of any trial date — which had not yet been set. “So it’s not like this is something we discover on the fourth day of a five-day trial and say, ‘Oh, by the way,’ ” he said. “I mean, that’s not what’s going on.” But given the volume of evidence in this case, he said he simply did not realize that he had failed to turn over the DNA results in question. “It was not something that I specifically noticed,” he said, “because if I specifically noticed it I would have dealt with it.” (…)
Still, Mr. Nifong’s recollection appears to conflict with Mr. Meehan’s on one crucial point. Mr. Meehan recalled that they agreed not to publish the results of unidentified male DNA in the report; but Mr. Nifong said that did not happen. “I didn’t say, ‘Include this, don’t include this,’ ” Mr. Nifong said. He added: “I said, you know, ‘Publish the positive results,’ in other words, publish what you found. If you make a connection with something, if the evidence seems to be probative, that’s what should be in the report.” More broadly, Mr. Nifong said, trying to explain his failure to disclose the DNA tests sooner, he had other work to attend to. “You know, it’s not the only case I have right now,” he said. “I have two. The other one’s a quadruple homicide. If you ask me, to everybody but a reporter for an out-of-town newspaper, the quadruple homicide is probably the more significant case.” “But because we have some of these other sexy issues here,” he added, “you all are flipping out over this particular case, which is not the most significant case in our office. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t get attention. What I’m saying is in the overall pecking order of things, it’s not the most important thing that we’re doing.”

The state NAACP’s insistence that the Duke lacrosse case be pursued in the court of law rather than the court of public opinion is unaffected by a decision to drop rape charges against the players, the group’s president claims. “We’ve always been the one, and from Day 1 it’s in writing, that we never wanted to rush to judgment, or a delay of justice ... but a thorough and meticulous investigation,” the Rev. William J. Barber II says. “In some sense, we’re seeing the process work when things get sifted through.”

SUNDAY DECEMBER 24: In an N&O article titled “Pressure on Nifong in Duke Case” Joe Neff and Ben Niolet write: “To press forward in the Duke University lacrosse 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. Nifong has acknowledged that the case now hangs on what the accuser says from the witness stand in a hearing scheduled for February. Meanwhile, pressure on Nifong continues to build. The State Bar has received multiple complaints demanding that he be disbarred. A congressman has called on the U.S. Justice Department to investigate him. And when the case returns to court, Nifong might have to explain repeated misrepresentations to judges about what evidence he had and why he did not disclose it all, as state law requires.” The article documents untrue statements Nifong made in court on May 18, June 22, September 22, and October 27, 2006.

In an accompanying article, Neff and Niolet summarize Nifong’s current situation:
“His case relies on the words of the accuser, an escort service dancer who has told her story on at least 10 occasions to nurses, doctors and investigators. Her accounts have changed with every telling. At a hearing scheduled in February, the defense will seek to have her identification of the three defendants thrown out of court. The accuser will testify, and the fate of the case rests on what she says, Nifong told The New York Times last week. (…)
As Nifong's case has deteriorated, the defense case has grown stronger. DNA tests conducted by Meehan's lab found DNA from unknown men in samples taken from the accuser's body and underwear. Time-stamped photos show the accuser on the back porch of the house during the time when she said she was being raped inside. Seligmann has produced surveillance photos showing him withdrawing cash from a bank machine one mile away at the time the woman said she was raped. His cell-phone records and digital records of him entering his dorm back up his alibi.”

A News & Observer editor admits that the newspaper omitted two pieces of information from its interview of Crystal Mangum recounted in its infamous March 25, 2006 article “Dancer Gives Details of Ordeal,” which fanned the lacrosse controversy. Writing in the N&0’s “The Editors’ Blog,” Linda Williams states:
“As I explained previously, two things the accuser said did not make it in to print… As previously stated, the accuser offered a description of the second dancer hired for the party. The presence of a second woman at the party was already known, but she was not identified at that time. The description was withheld because it was irrelevant in the absence of any other available information about the second woman. The accusers' speculation about the actions of the second woman was also not printed. If we had printed that utterance- an admitted speculation without the slightest foundation to suggest the possibility of truth-- it would have been a conscious act of libel.”

TUESDAY DECEMBER 26: State Rep. Stephen LaRoque, a Republican, says that the North Carolina attorney general needs to be given authority to investigate actions by the state’s 39 district attorneys. LaRoque, appearing on Fox TV’s legal affairs show with Greta Van Susteren, says the attorney general's office, not the state bar, should be the one to investigate misconduct charges against a district attorney. Currently, district attorneys can ask the state for help from the attorney general, but the attorney general cannot enter a case on his own.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 27: In a blogpost “Dead on Arrival” KC Johnson discusses Nifong’s case after the rape charges against Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann are dropped. He notes: “…now that the Nifong-Meehan conspiracy to withhold the exculpatory DNA evidence has unraveled, the rape charge no longer is tenable. So drop the rape charge and claim instead that the assault occurred with a foreign object—even though the accuser had never previously made such an allegation.” Johnson references noted SANE expert Kathleen Eckelt R.N.: “Where, Eckelt wonders, are the ‘significant number of injuries’ that would be expected from the latest version of events offered by Nifong? Eckelt’s conclusion is blunt: ‘Personally, like everything else that has come out about this case, I seriously question this type of hypothesis. Sexual assault by objects tends to leave far more injuries than rape alone.’ “

THURSDAY DECEMBER 28: The North Carolina State Bar files an ethics complaint against DA Nifong for his actions in the lacrosse case. The 17-page complaint accuses him of breaking four rules of professional conduct when speaking to reporters about the high-profile case. The complaint lists more than 100 examples of public statements Nifong made to the media since March. (The complaint as released does not address more recently revealed events such as the agreement by Nifong and Dr. Brian Meehan to withhold exculpatory evidence.) Among the rules the bar complaint says Nifong violated is a prohibition on making "comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused." Another of the rules Nifong was charged with breaking forbids "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation." The bar said that when DNA testing failed to find any evidence that any 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. In a statement, the bar reveals it opened a case against Nifong on March 30, a little more than two weeks after the party, and it found on Oct. 19 after an investigation that there was reasonable cause to refer the case to the bar's Disciplinary Commission for trial. A series of public hearings will be held before the Disciplinary Commission that eventually will lead to the public trial sometime next year. If it's determined that Nifong violated any ethical code of conduct, the penalties could range from a reprimand to disbarment.

The Wilmington Star becomes the first North Carolina newspaper to demand that DA Nifong resign: “Hiding behind paper hung over the windows of his office, Nifong issues written statements and refuses to talk with North Carolina reporters. Yet Thursday he gave a three-hour interview to The New York Times. Nifong doesn’t owe an explanation to the readers of a national newspaper. He owes an explanation to the people who elected him. He owes it to the people of this state. But he owes them more: his resignation.”

FRIDAY DECEMBER 29: The North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys (NCCDA) issues an unprecedented statement that calls for DA Nifong to recuse himself from the Duke lacrosse case. The NCCDA, which has no regulatory authority, is made up of the state's elected district attorneys. The group's statement says: "It is in the interest of justice and the effective administration of criminal justice that Mr. Nifong immediately withdraw and recuse himself from the prosecution of these cases and request the cases be assigned to another prosecutorial authority." The organization also states it had offered unsolicited help to Nifong in a September letter, including extra assistant district attorneys, but the offer has not been accepted. Garry Frank, president of the NCCDA, told WRAL by telephone that the executive board chose its words carefully after reviewing Nifong's handling of the case. “It is the unanimous statement of the officers of the Conference of District Attorneys," Frank says.

Attorneys for defendants Evans, Finnerty, and Seligmann file notice in a new motion of their intent to use Dr. Brian Meehan as their own expert witness. At a hearing Dec. 15, Meehan, head of DNA Security Inc., testified that he and Nifong agreed to leave exculpatory information out of a report summarizing DNA test results. The lab testing found genetic material from unknown men on accuser Crystal Mangum’s body and underwear. At trial, the defense wants Meehan to say that again. "It is anticipated that Dr. Meehan will testify that representatives of the State of North Carolina, including the Durham County District Attorney, were aware of the exculpatory results of DNA Security's work in this case and that an intentional decision was made not to report those exculpatory results to the defendants," the 93-page filing reads in part.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 30: Time magazine publishes an article “Is the Duke DA Guilty As Charged?” which foreshadows additional State Bar ethics charges against DA Nifong:
“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.
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."

The Newark, NJ Star-Ledger and the San Diego Union- Tribune newspapers each publish editorials criticizing DA Nifong’s handling of the Duke lacrosse case. The Star-Ledger calls Nifong’s behavior “the product of incompetence, overzealousness or outright misconduct” and asks for him to be removed from the case. The Union-Tribune characterizes Nifong’s conduct: “This isn’t just bad judgment. It’s a shocking abuse of power. Given his plain motive – Nifong won re-election by depicting himself as the crusader who wouldn’t let privileged white kids get away with brutalizing a young black woman – it is also despicable in its raw demagoguery. All this is why we look forward to the Durham DA having his own day in court.”

SUNDAY DECEMBER 31: An editorial in the Washington Post calls for all charges to be dropped in the Duke lacrosse case: “Just before Christmas, Mr. Nifong dropped rape charges after the accuser said she ‘could no longer testify with certainty that it occurred.’ But the three men remain charged with kidnapping and first-degree sexual offense, which carry equally severe penalties. Mr. Nifong should drop those charges as well.”

KC Johnson in his “Durham-in-Wonderland” blog examines in detail the commentary about the Duke lacrosse case from controversial television legal analyst Wendy Murphy. Johnson accuses her of making untrue statements, engaging in wholly unfounded speculation, and denigrating due process.

Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz releases a statement on the Duke case:
“I believe in the assumption of innocence before trial. I believe in the right of every defendant to a fair and impartial trial. I believe in the duty of every prosecutor to seek justice, and not merely victory in the courtroom. I believe these principles have been violated in the actions of Durham District Attorney Michael Nifong. Elected prosecutors must be held accountable for their misconduct and the prosecutor in the Duke case appears to have withheld exculpatory evidence, failed to interview the complaining witness in a timely fashion and refused to consider obvious evidence of innocence. His entire course of conduct in this case should be scrupulously investigated.”

SPECIFIC REFERENCES (BY DATE)

December 1: Duke Prof. Thomas Crowley apologizes for and retracts article

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/herald-suns-peculiar-corrections-policy.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/12/applauding-professor-89.html

December 1: KC Johnson on Robert Steel’s appointment as U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/steel-trap.html

December 1: Joan Foster’s LieStoppers esssay on Brodhead

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/12/old-albums.html

December 3: Joe Neff in N&O about complaints against Nifong

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/03/74414/das-critics-ask-bar-feds-to-intervene.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1DhcTeqR3

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/12/mike-nifongs-detractors-in-hoax-want.html

December 4: Prof. Bill Anderson on “Why I Write on the Duke Lacrosse Case”

http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson153.html

December 7: The Johnsville News on “Asymmetric Justice in Durham”

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/12/asymmetrical-justice-in-durham.html

December 11: LieStoppers on “The Real Durham and the Word from the Street”

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/12/real-people-of-durham-and-word-in.html

December 11: Prof. Bill Anderson on “What it the Duke 3 Had Been Black?”

http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson155.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/12/what-if.html

December 12: Rep. Walter Jones asks for federal probe of Nifong

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1103918/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/13/65332/jones-asks-for-lacrosse-inquiry.html#storylink=misearch

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/jones-letter.html

December 13: Text of “Motion to Compel Discovery: Expert D.N.A. Analysis”

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?0oz9ohnyh9r

December 13: Defense motion on DNA testing reveals unidentified male DNA found

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1105350/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/14/91123/motion-says-lab-withheld-dna-findings.html#storylink=misearch

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/dna-motion.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/12/red-flags-and-more-red-flags-white.html

December 14: Text of “Motion to Suppress Alleged ‘Identification’ of Defendants by Accuser”

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ccwh39wcno0

December 14: Defense motion on suppressing identifications

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/15/68039/defense-wants-id-of-players-barred.html#storylink=misearch

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/lineup-motion.html

December 15: Pivotal hearing reveals Nifong, Meehan withheld exculpatory evidence

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/16/76165/lab-chief-nifong-said-dont-report.html#storylink=misearch

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1107841/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/16/74917/paternity-test-is-ordered-in-case.html#storylink=misearch

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/meehan-transcript.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/nifong-and-naf.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/12/meehan-testifies.html

December 15: Text of “Motion to Change Venue”

http://www.wral.com/asset/news/local/2006/12/15/1108196/change_of_venue_motion.swf

December 15: Change of venue motion

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/change-of-venue-moion.html

December 15: Transcript of pivotal hearing

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/december-15-hearing.html

December 17: Atty. Gen. Gonzales to consider DOJ involvement
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1109820/

December 18: More calls for investigation of Nifong

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1110918/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/20/43405/criticism-directed-at-nifong-and.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1DiKsX6dk

http://news.duke.edu/2006/12/rhb_statement.html

December 19: DNASI issues statement on its DNA testing and report

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/12/statement-from-dnasi.html

December 19: U.S. Rep. Walter Jones sends second letter to Atty. Gen. Gonzales

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/more-from-jones.html

December 20: LieStoppers on Herald-Sun’s support of Nifong

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/12/while-criticism-of-nifong-grows-ashley.html

December 21: Linwood Wilson interviews Crystal Mangum; new version of “crime”

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/03/overall-case-narrative.html

December 21: N&O’s Niolet on removing Nifong from lacrosse case

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/22/71254/das-footing-in-lacrosse-case-unclear.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1DiNWDXOD

December 22: Nifong drops rape charges; defense attorneys call for dismissal of case

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/23/56746/rape-charges-dropped-others-remain.html#storylink=misearch

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1115698/

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/12/rape-charges-dismissed-nifong-presses.html

http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2006/12/rapedrop.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/brodhead-finally.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/22/sports/22cnd-duke.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&ref=us&pagewanted=print

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/last-enablers.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/23/sports/23duke.html?amp;amp;amp;ei=5094&en=34e93e00af42c92e&amp;amp;amp;amp;hp=&ex=1166850000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/nifongs-sinking-ship.html

December 23: New York Times article from interview with Nifong

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/us/24duke.html?ei=5094&amp;amp;amp;amp;en=6856a2f799205bc7&hp=&ex=1166936400&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/nifongs-fantasy-world.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/switch-in-times.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/12/nifong-confesses-to-nyt.html

December 23: NAACP’s William Barber on taking the case to trial

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1116684/

December 24: Neff & Niolet in N&O about pressure on Nifong

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/24/94608/pressure-on-nifong-in-duke-case.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1Dhozvd9s

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/todays-papers.html

December 24: Neff & Niolet on weakness of Nifong’s case

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/24/71476/as-states-witness-wavers-defense.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1DhrZWmDl

December 24: N&O editor admits omissions from article recounting Mangum interview

http://blogsarchive.newsobserver.com/editor/index.php?title=headline_saturday_da_mike_nifong_and_the&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#comments

December 26: Lawmaker: State Attorney General should be able to investigate DAs

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1118462/

December 27: KC Johnson on Nifong’s new theory of the crime
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/dead-on-arrival.html

December 28: NC State Bar files ethics complaint against Nifong

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1120129/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/29/88367/nifong-broke-rules-bar-alleges.html#storylink=misearch

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/us/29nifong.html?_r=1&ref=dukelacrossesexualassaultcase

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/complaint.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/analyzing-complaint.html

December 28: Wilmington Star calls for Nifong’s resignation

http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061227/EDITORIAL/61228001/-1/frontpage

December 29: North Carolina District Attorneys call for Nifong to recuse himself

http://www.wral.com/asset/news/state/2006/12/29/1121238/nifong_opinion.swf

http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/1120715/

December 29: Defense attorneys ask for Meehan as defense witness

http://www.wral.com/asset/news/state/2006/12/29/1121138/experttestimony.swf

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/12/30/36465/defense-claims-nifongs-witness.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1DoGm8qQB

December 30: Time magazine on additional possible State Bar charges

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1573260,00.html#ixzz1FCVl56mD

December 30: Newspapers criticize Nifong’s actions

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/prosecutor-is-guilty.html

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20061230/news_lz1ed30middle.html

December 31: Washington Post editorial calls for all charges to be dropped

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/30/AR2006123000886.html?referrer=emailarticle

December 31: KC Johnson on television commentaries by Wendy Murphy

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/12/wendy-murphy-file.html

December 31: Alan Dershowitz statement

http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/03/expired-documents-2.html#c116760692603552593

GENERAL REFERENCES

(The Duke lacrosse case article indices in the Raleigh News & Observer and the Duke Chronicle have been taken down following website revisions. Articles can still be found using the search feature of the new websites.)

EVANS et al v. DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, CITY OF et al
http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00739/46882/

MCFADYEN et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al
http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00953/47494/

CARRINGTON et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-ncmdce/case_no-1:2008cv00119/case_id-47871/

Duke University & Brodhead Statements
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/announce_archive.html

Duke University Archive of Media Coverage
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/media_archive.html

Johnsville Blog Posts
http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/06/duke-case-index.html

WRAL Stories
http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/2306295/

KC Johnson’s Case Narrative
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/03/overall-case-narrative.html

Chronology by Vance Holmes “Poetic Justice”
http://www.vanceholmes.com/court/trial_duke_timeline.html

CBS News Chronology
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2006/04/19/in_depth_us/timeline1515358.shtml

AP Chronology
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/18054818/

Wikipedia Timeline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Duke_University_lacrosse_case

Friends of Duke University Media Index
http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/04/links-to-media-2-full.html

New York Times Article Index
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/d/duke_university/duke_lacrosse_sexual_assault_case/index.html?offset=60&s=newest

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: NOVEMBER 2006

2011-01-16T16:09:00.000-05:00

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: NOVEMBER 2006

By sceptical

(Thanks to Quasi, JSwift, Q.A., and Baldo for suggestions and additions)

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1: The New York Times publishes a news analysis by Duff Wilson on the contest for Durham County District Attorney (DA) titled “Duke Rape Case Shadows an Unusual Campaign”: “Meanwhile, Mr.[Michael] Nifong’s supporters are trying to cast him as an experienced prosecutor and a neophyte politician. He has been a prosecutor for 28 years and says he has handled about 300 felony cases, but he is engaged in his first political race, having been appointed acting district attorney in April 2005. ‘He’s a good person, he’s a good lawyer, but he’s in a situation he has never been in before,’ said Ronald L. Stephens, a local judge who was district attorney before Mr. Nifong. Last month Mr. Nifong won the endorsement of the city’s most influential political group, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People. His supporters are predicting that whatever controversy the case has generated will not determine the outcome at the polls …”

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 2: Attorney Butch Williams provides information to Durham Police about one of Crystal Mangum’s “clients” before the March 13-14, 2006 lacrosse party at which she claims she was raped. Williams says the accuser had visited Josephus Van Hook at the Millenium Hotel several days prior to the alleged attack. Inv. Ben Himan obtains hotel records and interviews Van Hook in subsequent days.

Economics Prof. William Anderson of Frostburg State College analyzes “Why the Duke Hoax Continues” in a two-part blogpost, the first of which focuses on Duke University faculty. He states, “Thus, we ask ourselves why this case is different, and why much of Durham and the Duke University faculty have rushed well beyond judgment to a point at which they demand that no one confuse them with facts. The short version of the answer is this: the politics of race and sex trump justice and even logic.”

In a column in the Duke Chronicle titled “Nifong. Not Fine by Me,” student Kristin Butler urges student to vote against DA Nifong in the upcoming election: “Nifong has no one to blame but his own antagonism for his electoral woes. And woes they are-especially on the Duke campus. Whether or not it was true that "there's been a feeling in the past that Duke students are treated differently by the court system," Nifong has made sure that we are today. Does the man who vowed to "not allow Durham's view in the minds of the world to be a bunch of lacrosse players at Duke raping a black girl from Durham" really think his behavior has done anything to "address the underlying divisions that have been revealed?" Of course not; he is the one who has "revealed" them.”

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3: The former security manager at the Platinum Club asserts that four days after Crystal Mangum was allegedly assaulted at the lacrosse team party, Mangum told co-workers at the strip club that she was going to get money from those at the party. "She basically said, 'I'm going to get paid by the white boys,' " H.P. Thomas, the former security manager, says in an interview with the Raleigh News & Observer (N&O). "I said, 'Whatever,' because no one takes her seriously." Mangum never gave any indication that the party was a bad time, let alone that she was assaulted or raped, Thomas states. "She was as regular as pie," Thomas explains. "She didn't do anything different." During the March 17 conversation , Mangum showed Thomas a hospital bracelet and paperwork. While she talked about being owed money, the accuser never gave any word or indication of being hurt; he states, "The other girls would have known if something had happened… If another dancer had been beat up or raped by a bunch of white boys, there would have been a ruckus." Thomas explains that dancers must sign in when they take guests into the club's VIP room. He says those sheets show that Mangum had signed in March 17 and 18. He states she also danced the following weekend. The club's owner, Victor Olatoye, says the club's records show Mangum was dancing at the club March 23, 24, 25 and into the early hours of March 26. Olatoye claims he has no record of her working the previous weekend.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 4: The N&O publishes an article by Benjamin Niolet analyzing the upcoming election for Durham DA:
“It's hard to find someone in Durham who does not have an opinion on Mike Nifong. For those who support the 28-year veteran Durham prosecutor, the choice on the Nov. 7 ballot is simple: fill in the oval next to the Democrat's name. But for those who disapprove of Nifong, things are more complicated. They can pick Lewis Cheek, a Democratic County commissioner on the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate. Cheek says he is an alternative to Nifong but promises that he will not accept the job if he gets the most votes. Or voters can select Steve Monks, the chairman of the county's Republican Party. Monks' name doesn't appear on the ballot but has to be written in on a blank line. Unlike, Cheek, Monks says he will take the job.”

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 5: The N&O reports on the end of early voting late yesterday: “At Durham's Board of Elections, a modest building on West Corporation Street just west of downtown, a line 100 people long waited to vote. The scene was more like a tailgate party where candidates shook hands and a nonpartisan group of volunteers served food, coffee and music. Just after 1 p.m., the last voter in line cast the 650th ballot of the day and the 4,775th since Durham County began early voting Oct. 19. [Board of Elections chief Mike] Ashe said that some were voting for the first time and that many were prompted to vote by the district attorney race. The bitter campaign has focused on incumbent Mike Nifong's handling of the rape case against three Duke University lacrosse players. (…) Soon after he arrived, Nifong approached three members of Duke Students for an Ethical Durham, a group that has worked against Nifong. The prosecutor told the students that since they were working against him, they might as well meet. Nifong held out his hand. No one shook it. After an awkward moment, Nifong shook hands with the head of another anti-Nifong group, then went to work the line of voters.”

Duke senior Steven Miller writes a column in the Chronicle: “Our fellow students are not on trial because of evidence, but in spite of it. This is a moral, social and legal outrage. It is an assault on our peers, our community and the core values of our nation. To successfully unleash this depraved injustice, it seems our DA has managed to go against criminal procedure, legal precedent, constitutional protections, hundreds of years of common law and thousands of years of ethics tracing back to the Old Testament. Nifong must have confused America with a police state.”

MONDAY NOVEMBER 6: In a news perspective on the “Group of 88,” Chronicle reporter Rob Copeland elicits comments from two of the 88 signers of the controversial April 6 “Listening Statement,” an advertisement in the Chronicle: “ ‘That statement was about the climate on campus, it wasn't taking a position on the case,’ [Literature Prof. Alice] Kaplan said. ‘There's nothing in the statement that says anyone is guilty or innocent.’ (…) [English and Law Prof. Karla] Holloway wrote in an e-mail that misreadings of the advertisement have attracted the most attention. ‘It was extraordinarily telling that these respondents displaced the actual content of the ad for the fiction of their own meagerly articulated agendas,’ she wrote. She added that she would sign the petition again ‘in a heartbeat.’ Both Kaplan and Holloway said they have received hate mail from strangers. ‘The often vicious, frequently racist and generally poorly composed responses I have received speak for themselves,’ Holloway said.”

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 7: DA Mike Nifong wins his election bid, defeating two challengers after a highly divisive campaign thrust into the national spotlight by his handling of the Duke lacrosse alleged rape. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Nifong leads with 49 percent of the vote over Durham County Commissioner Lewis Cheek, who has 39 percent. Steve Monks, a Republican who mounted a write-in campaign for the position, trails with 12 percent of the unofficial total. Observers note that Nifong did not get a majority of the vote. Nifong says that he considers the votes against him to be protest votes, but he says that won't affect his future decisions in the Duke lacrosse case or in other cases. "I'm going to continue doing what I've done for the last 28 years for the next four years," Nifong says. "And for the next four years, I'm going to continue doing what I believe to be the right thing." Nifong states that the contentious campaign has been hard on his family, but he has taken it in stride. "I've been through a lot worse than this," says Nifong, a cancer survivor. "This is inconvenient, but it's not life-threatening. Win or lose, I'm still Mike Nifong." His opponents in the political fight were not ready to surrender. "I hope the North Carolina State Bar will do what the Durham citizens could not," says Beth Brewer, spokeswoman for the leading anti-Nifong group.

Nifong has a brief run-in at the polling place with Bob Harris, the popular play-by-play voice of the Duke Blue Devils, when Nifong attempted to shake his hand. The radio announcer jumped into his car and was visibly upset when he noticed a television cameraman filming the exchange. He called county sheriff's deputies, who took no action after they arrived. The exchange between Harris and Nifong:
“You've got to be nicer than that," Nifong said.
"Get out of here," Harris said. "Don't pull this crap."
"This isn't about Duke," Nifong said. "This isn't about Duke at all."
"No," Harris said. "It's about honesty. You're not honest.”

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8: A LieStoppers editorial “Something to be Proud Of” responds to Nifong’s election: “Those with “something to be proud of” are those who stood against abuse of power and those who have vowed to continue the fight. The justice of this cause will be determined by the truth and that truth has yet to be revealed in its full and dramatic glory. Innocence is only the beginning. Citizens of Durham did their best to avoid the painful process of exposing Nifong and the ugly details of this hoax. That process is now inevitable. While we are disappointed it could not be avoided, frankly, we are looking forward to it. When the hoax is over and the full truth known, we will all look back and judge our actions against the standards of “something to be proud of.” LieStoppers is comfortable where it stands.”

The Chronicle reports on the scene at the Durham courthouse as the final vote tally is announced: “When the final vote totals were confirmed, there was an immediate cheer from the yellow-clad Nifong supporters clustered on one side. Shanieka Rhinehart, an assistant district attorney, started a chant of "Let's go Nifong" and others supporters exchanged hugs and high-fives. "This goes to show that justice can't be bought by a bunch of rich white boys from New York," said Harris Johnson, a former state Democratic party official and Durham resident for 56 years. "Duke has a habit of sweeping things under the carpet. I guess this goes to show that no matter how much money you have, Durham is owned by its citizens," he added. Across the aisle, the members of Recall Nifong-Vote Cheek sat quietly --some crying-- and two Duke lacrosse players stood stoically in the back.”

The N&O relates the following exchange with Nifong after the election: “As for the hard-fought campaign, Durham's district attorney told an interviewer he had learned some things... ‘I don't know if I've learned who my friends are, but I have learned who my friends aren't,’ Nifong said. ‘Which in some ways is more valuable.’"

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 9: An N&O article “Nifong Benefited From Split” analyzes the DA election results which Nifong won by a purality. Nifong, a Democrat, received 26,116 votes or 49 percent, according to unofficial results that exclude provisional ballots. County Commissioner Lewis Cheek, a Democrat on the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate, received 20,875 votes, or 39 percent. Voters cast 6,193 write-in votes, and Durham's election director says that all but about 300 went for official write-in candidate Steve Monks, a Republican. In October, Durham County had more than 54,000 registered black voters and more than 81,300 registered white voters. Race appeared to play a part in the election. Nifong received 80 percent of the vote in 13 precincts where black registered voters far outnumber whites, according to Durham County Board of Election statistics. In the 12 precincts where Nifong received less than 35 percent of the vote, white registered voters far outnumber blacks with one exception -- a polling place where many Duke students vote went heavily for Nifong but has a relatively diverse racial breakdown of registered voters. W.I. Patterson Recreation Center gave Cheek his biggest margin with 68 percent of the vote. But across town at the Shepard Magnet School just south of the historically black NCCU, nearly all voters -- 96 percent -- turned out for Nifong. In a separate analysis, KC Johnson reports that Nifong received votes from around 95% of the black votes and 20-15% of the white vote.

Ed Bradley, lead CBS correspondent for “60 Minutes” on the Duke case, dies in New York from complications of leukemia. According to the New York Times, “In the weeks before his final hospitalization, Mr. Bradley had been scrambling to finish the Duke report in particular, while fending off what would become the early stages of pneumonia. “He just kept hitting the road,” Ms. [Charlayne] Hunter-Gault said. “Every time I talked to him, he was tired. I’d say, ‘Why don’t you go home and rest?’ He’d say, ‘I just want to get this piece done.’ ” Michael Gaynor publishes an appreciation of Bradley’s work in a blogpost “Duke case: RIP, Ed Bradley—We’ll do the rest.”

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 10: The Johnsville News preserves the text and an image of the “Listening Statement,” the controversial ad in the April 6 Duke Chronicle signed by 88 faculty members at Duke. The African and African American Studies department, which co-sponsored the ad, has just now pulled the text from its website. The text begins:
“We are listening to our students. We’re also listening to the Durham community, to Duke staff, and to each other. Regardless of the results of the police investigation, what is apparent everyday now is the anger and fear of many students who know themselves to be objects of racism and sexism, who see illuminated in this moment’s extraordinary spotlight what they live with everyday. They know that it isn’t just Duke, it isn’t everybody, and it isn’t just individuals making this disaster.
But it is a disaster nonetheless.These students are shouting and whispering about what happened to this young woman and to themselves…”

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 12: N&O editorial page editor Steve Ford explains why the newspaper did not endorse a candidate in the DA contest and suggests that the NC State Bar should take a look at Nifong’s actions in the lacrosse case. “With the players' advocates, including many Durham voters aligned with Duke, burning to get even, it was no surprise to see challengers to Nifong materialize. But the challengers were phantoms, in a way. County commissioner Lewis Cheek agreed to have his name put on the ballot after a petition drive, but said he wouldn't serve if elected. Republican Steve Monks mounted a write-in campaign that clearly didn't have a chance. If Cheek had won and declined to take office, a new D.A. would have been appointed by Governor Easley. Our editorial page staff considered whether to endorse Cheek, but decided that this was a candidacy with one purpose -- to short-circuit the lacrosse case prosecution. In our view, that wasn't a good enough reason to support him. Nor did we feel Nifong had earned our seal of approval. In this contest, our opinion boiled down to a preference for letting nature take its course. (…)If the case goes to trial, at least jurors will make the decisions on the basis of all the available evidence and on the strength of testimony under oath. That's better than decisions being made outside the courtroom by the public at large, which likely would have been the effect if Nifong had lost. Meanwhile, given the persistent questions about Nifong's handling of the case, the N.C. State Bar -- which oversees the conduct of this state's lawyers -- ought to be gearing up to take a look. If the case turns out to be house of cards, the man who built it should have some explaining to do.”

MONDAY NOVEMBER 13: The Herald-Sun publishes a letter from defense attorney Joe Cheshire concerning an article quoting fellow attorney Kerry Sutton, who at one point defended David Evans, approving DA Nifong’s election: “But it must be noted that Nifong’s only “right” and “job” as a prosecutor in this or any other case is to satisfy his oath to see that justice is done. He has no right to take over the role of lead investigator from the police and then refuse to view exculpatory evidence, or to order an illegal and improper photo lineup procedure, or to make factually baseless public statements that pander to race, gender and class during an election cycle. Justice is not done in any criminal prosecution when a DA who assumes the role of chief factual investigator and does not bother to talk with the chief prosecuting witness about her allegations to assess her credibility, and instead lets forth a stream of pure speculation about the “facts” of the case to conform to the evolving investigation: speculation that, in fact, contradicts materials in his own case file and sworn statements made by his own investigators and assistants in the investigation…”

LieStoppers presents a comprehensive investigation of the “potbangers” who inflamed the Duke and Durham communities during the last week of March. “From the ‘Wall of Silence’ to Community Uproar to a National Story” examines the role of Duke activists from March 24 to 27 as they used the case to attack the lacrosse team, “sexism,” and “racism.”

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 14: According to the former manager of the Platinum Club, Crystal Mangum passed out at the strip club two nights before the lacrosse party and had to be carried to the parking lot. The four people carrying Mangum accidentally dropped her in the gravel parking lot on March 11, states Yolanda Haynes, the club's former manager. Haynes' account of that night at the club offers a possible explanation for the scratches doctors would later note on Mangum’s body. The account also describes behavior, including incoherence and unconsciousness, that is consistent with how Mangum was acting the night of the lacrosse party. On March 11, Haynes says, a couple came into the club and Mangum, who danced under the name "Precious," started pulling the female customer's hair. Someone complained, and Haynes says she told the accuser to go to the bathroom. When Haynes followed, she states she found Mangum naked and passed-out cold. Someone called the accuser's boyfriend, and it took four people to get Mangum outside to the car. Mangum had vomited, but Haynes says she did not notice the odor of alcohol.

On the “Friends of Duke University” website, Joan Collins describes meeting indicted lacrosse player Collin Finnerty and his mother Mary Ellen: “So much had been taken away from him, but Collin finds strength is what remains behind, namely the love of his family and the support of his friends, including his girlfriend of three years. As I watched Collin and his mother interact, I witnessed first hand the love that this mother and son have for one another. These past eight months have only strengthened the bond between them. (…) When I asked what message they would you like people to know, Collin and Mary Ellen told me they have the truth on their side and that they can not wait for everyone else to know it. Knowing that people understand this is a hoax and feel the pain these false accusations have caused them helps them get through each day.”

In her Fox News television show “On The Record,” Greta Van Susteren is the first to describe Judge W. Osmond Smith III as a “potted plant” for his slowness in deciding pending motions before him in the lacrosse case. According to the transcript, “Greta: ‘...what in the world is the judge doing? The judge has had motions for discovery. He's not a potted plant. Why doesn't he order the parties to court and start litigating these motions and move this case?’”

Duke Geology Professor Thomas Crowley writes a pro-Nifong op-ed article in the Herald-Sun “Don’t be too quick to toss lacrosse case” which reads in part: “I am surprised at the number of letter writers to your paper who, although they have no legal qualifications, seem to assume they have sufficient knowledge about the Duke lacrosse case to conclude that the case should be thrown out of before even it goes to trial. I don’t know what happened that night with respect to these students and that woman, but I do know that the following items about the case that would lead one to hesitate before throwing out the case.
• The Duke lacrosse players were no angels – they had a previously established history of rowdiness tarnished with racial comments, and one of the accused had been previously arrested for anti-gay comments while drunk.
• Why are photographs available before and after the alleged event, but not during it? Is it possible that photographer did not want to document what happening during that time?
• Why was the woman sober when she arrived and staggering to the point of passing out a mere 30 minutes later? Was she possibly drugged by someone when they encouraged her to have a drink? If so, what were their motives?
The accuser has in turn been accused of misleading statements about what happened and how long it took. Of course, some of this could be intentional deception, but it could also reflect the alcohol (and drugs?) and the stress and distortion that came with anxiety and terror. It is very common for people to distort time when they are being traumatized, whether they had a drink or not.”

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 15: LieStopper’s Philip Wood critiques in detail Prof. Crowley’s op-ed column and concludes: “Although he has no legal qualifications and obviously little knowledge about the facts of the case, Professor Crowley finds it his place to offer public opinions, suggestions, suppositions, and even accusations that contradict, not only facts that are readily available to him if he chose to educate himself, but also countless legal experts with far greater expertise than that offered by his multiple Geology degrees.”

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 16: Durham Police Inv. Ben Himan and Linwood Wilson interview Yolanda Haynes, former manager of the Platinum Club, who had been quoted in a November 14 N&O article about Crystal Mangum’s behavior at the strip club. Haynes is critical of statements by “Fats” Thomas, former security manager of the club who claims Mangum was back at work March 17, but confirms his account that Mangum had danced at the Platinum Club on March 25, just 11 days after the alleged gang rape.

Chronicle columnist Kristin Butler criticizes her fellow students for their apathy in the November 7 election: “There are many, many reasons to be depressed about last week's election. But one, in particular, stands out: not many of us voted. According to preliminary data from the Board of Elections, turnout in Durham's precinct 5-which serves students from West and Central campuses-was the second lowest in the county, with just 18 percent of registered voters casting ballots. In precinct 2, which encompasses East Campus, the turnout was only 23 percent.”

Brooklyn College Prof. KC Johnson is interviewed by “Frontpage” about the Duke case: “Duke, as an institution, has revealed a hollow moral core. Seven months into a case of what might be the highest-profile example of prosecutorial misconduct in the last decade, two Duke law professors and two Duke arts and sciences professors have publicly criticized Nifong. Meanwhile, Group of 88 members continues to defend their actions, even to the point of making demonstrably false public assertions about the players. Meanwhile, Brodhead has shown himself unwilling or unable to lead the institution, allowing what amounts to a "separate-but-equal" system to be established in Durham, under which Duke students are second-class citizens. The silence of North Carolina's political and legal establishment regarding Nifong's misconduct is stunning…”

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 19: In a guest column in the Herald-Sun titled “Lacrosse Players Far From Innocent,” Duke senior Shadee Malaklou writes a response to a November 13 letter-to-the-editor by defense attorney Joe Cheshire:
"Not only was Cheshire's guest column unprofessional, but it was also completely insensitive to the multitudes of women who have been victim, in one way or another, to the lacrosse players' actions… After all, how could we forget the desperate situation of these young men? Indeed, although we have been allowed to — encouraged to — forget their racism and misogyny, we have not been allowed to forget their innocence."
"Much of the emphasis on this 'innocence' has ignored the gender and racial prejudice of the March 13 party. If nothing else, Nifong is holding the lacrosse players accountable for that, and as a woman at Duke who knows just how much these men get away with, I'm thankful… If things went the 'right' and 'just' way, as Cheshire argues they should have, the lacrosse players would be quickly excused of their actions. Nifong might not be in the right, legally, but that doesn't mean he's not doing the right thing."
"And here's why: Very rarely are the Duke lacrosse players not drinking or partying, and true to Duke's motto of 'Work hard, play hard,' it is understood and accepted at Duke that what happens under a drunken stupor is excusable, and forgivable the next morning,"

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 21: As part of ongoing commentaries on medical aspects of the Duke case, Kathleen Eckelt R.N. writes in her “Forensic Talks” blog about the unlikelihood of DA Nifong’s claim that a choke hold was used during the alleged assault of Crystal Mangum: “The DA went so far as to demonstrate the choke hold on TV, supposedly as a way of explaining why there were no marks. Of course, not much has been mentioned of it since. This was a very serious accusation, one which helped to rile a community. It's not something that can be explained away as a mistake due to traumatization or memory trouble. It either happened or it didn't. It's either factual or it isn't. If it is, just because there were no visible injuries, doesn't necessarily mean there should be no signs. And if it isn't ... well, then that could, and should, reflect on the whole accusation. There are several reasons why I seriously questioned that this choking occurred. The first, as I've stated, is the fact that she, admittedly, was impaired by the combination of the alcohol and Flexeril. Both of these drugs are central nervous system depressants - which means they can depress the respiratory system as well. If you add a choke hold on top of this, I believe that the accuser would have been rendered unconscious almost immediately. I do not believe she would have even had a chance to fight or break her false nails…”

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 25: Prof. William Anderson examines the Duke case as an example of “Post-Modern Prosecutions.” He writes, in part: “As the Duke Non-Rape case blunders toward an unjustified trial, we must understand that we are now looking at a full-blown application of post-modernism in the legal arena. First, we see many of the Duke University faculty members writing in various venues that while they seriously doubt that the rape, sodomy, and kidnapping charges against David Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann are true, nonetheless the young men should be put on trial because of their race, sex, and class. Furthermore, the Duke administration, in its various sets of talking points, has said the same thing, except that the administration claims that a trial will present a chance for the Duke 3 to "prove their innocence." (…)
Perhaps the most "post-modern" of the prosecution claims is that the multiple stories that the accuser told police constitute "proof" that the Duke 3 raped her. In the aftermath of the lacrosse team party, she told police that she was raped, that she was not raped, the entire team raped her, that 20 people raped her, that her partner, Kim Pittman-Roberts, helped the rapists, that Pittman-Roberts tried to stop the rapists, that she and Pittman-Roberts fought back, that five men raped her, that three men raped her, and that she was "100-percent sure" at every lineup that Brad Ross was at the party when, in fact, he was not. "

MONDAY NOVEMBER 27: Chronicle columnist David Kleban discusses the concept of “innocence” in the lacrosse case: “These three [Evans, Finnerty & Seligmann] are being condemned by professors and other students, not based on factual evidence or even individual character, but on nebulous accounts of an entire team's history of being less than ‘angels.’ They have become the scapegoats of a radical segment of academia that believes, as English Professor Karla Holloway wrote, that, ‘The appropriate presumption of innocence that follows the players, however the legal case is determined, is neither the critical social indicator of the event, nor the final measure of its cultural facts.’ These ‘cultural facts’ represent the altar at which some seek to sacrifice three men, regardless of their factual --in the real sense-- actions. That doing so implies a perversion of traditional and constitutional methods of administering justice is a secondary concern…”

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 28: The Johnsville News publishes a detailed analysis of Crystal Mangum’s various statements about the March 13-14 party and lists over 20 discrepancies. The post emphasizes the differences between her written account to the police on April 6 and her other recountings of what happened. According to the analysis: “The false accuser, Crystal Gail Mangum, in the Duke non-rape case, gave investigators a written statement on April 6, 2006, that is a total fabrication.”

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 29: In the first of a major two-part blogpost “Green Light for Nifong,” KC Johnson investigates the actions of Duke President Brodhead during the beginning of the lacrosse incident. “In the event, a close examination of the events between March 16 and April 3 shows that Brodhead’s actions signaled a belief that team members, more likely than not, were guilty. As the president’s defenders have pointed out, each and every one of his statements contained a for-the-record reminder that, legally, his students deserved presumption of innocence—comments that were buried amidst much more passionate denunciations of the team and its alleged or actual behavior.

SPECIFIC REFERENCES (BY DATE)

November 1: New York Times’ Duff Wilson on Durham DA race

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/01/us/01duke.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=us;_r=1;amp

http://dukechronicle.com/article/da-nifong-seeks-keep-office-amid-lax-scandal

November 2: Prof. Bill Anderson on “Why the Duke Hoax Continues”

http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson148.html

November 2: Kristin Butler column on upcoming DA election

http://dukechronicle.com/article/nifong-not-fine-me

November 3: Mangum wanted money from party-goers, security manager claims

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/11/04/97066/accuser-in-duke-lacrosse-case.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz18b4bm6dA

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/11/todays-n.html

http://dukechronicle.com/article/security-guard-alleged-lax-victim-sought-money

November 4: N&O’s Ben Niolet analyzes upcoming DA election

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/11/04/53447/durham-da-race-is-blurry-picture.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz18b2Uea24

November 5: N&O on end of early voting

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/11/05/72278/voting-takes-a-spirited-tone.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz18b8T2ATV

November 5: Chronicle’s Steve Miller on Nifong

http://dukechronicle.com/article/duke-lacrosse-call-action

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2006/11/chronicle-columnist-nails-it.html

November 6: News perspective in Chronicle on “Group of 88”

http://dukechronicle.com/article/group-88-faculty-hears-criticism-wake-lax-scandal

http://dukechronicle.com/article/ad-question

November 7: Nifong elected District Attorney

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1088392/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/11/08/36777/nifong-fends-off-two-challengers.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz18b6t1vmZ

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/11/duke-case-day-203-v-day.html

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2006/11/go-bob-harris-go.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/11/interpreting-results.html

http://dukechronicle.com/article/turnout-not-dampened-rain

http://dukechronicle.com/article/nifong-holds-cheek

November 8: LieStoppers editorial on Nifong’s election

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/11/something-to-be-proud-of.html

November 9: N&O analyzes election results, including race effects

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/11/09/33771/nifong-benefited-from-a-split.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz18bAtpTey

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/11/nifong-and-black-vote.html

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/11/duke-hoax-day-207.html

November 9: CBS’ Ed Bradley dies

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/10/arts/television/10bradley.html

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/gaynor/061110

November 10: The Johnsville News preserves text & image of “Listening” ad

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/11/duke-case-listening-statement.html

November 12: Editorial page editor Steve Ford on the N&O’s lack of endorsement for DA

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/11/12/53796/no-gong-for-mike-nifong-yet.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz18bDOX1IM

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2006/11/no-still-for-nifong.html

November 13: Joe Cheshire letter to Herald-Sun

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/11/cheshires-bill-of-particulars.html

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/gaynor/061111

November 13: LieStoppers on the “potbangers”

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/11/from-wall-of-silence-to-community.html

November 14: Report: Mangum passed out at strip club on March 11:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/11/14/44919/event-told-of-accuser-in-lacrosse.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz18bFIqFfG

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/11/more-from-yolanda-haynes.html

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=4762294

November 14: Joan Collins on meeting the Finnertys

http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/05/letters-from-friends-2.html#c116353966571190418

November 14: Greta Van Susteren calls Judge Smith a “potted plant”

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229617,00.html

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/11/duke-hoax-judge-oz-smith-potted-plant.html

November 14: Duke Prof. Thomas Crowley’s pro-Nifong op-ed in Herald-Sun

http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/03/expired-documents-2.html#c116345668814499627

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/11/legal-analysis-by-thomas-j-crowley-esq.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/11/more-makalou.html

November 15: Liestoppers on Prof. Crowley’s op-ed

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/11/crowleys-full-of-hot-air.html

November 16: The Chronicle’s Kristin Butler on low student turnout

http://dukechronicle.com/article/tyranny-minority

November 16: Frontpage. Com interviews Prof. KC Johnson

http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=1515

November 19: Shadee Malaklou letter “Lacrosse Players Far From Innocent”

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/6141/shadeemalaklouhs111906bqv6.jpg

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/gaynor/061120

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2006/11/duke-student-misses.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/11/more-makalou.html

November 21: Kathleen Eckelt RN on Nifong’s claim of a choke-hold

http://harfordmedlegal.typepad.com/forensics_talk/2006/11/duke_lacrosse_c.html

November 25: Prof. Bill Anderson on “Post-modern Prosecutions

http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson152.html

November 27: Chronicle’s David Kleban on “innocence”

http://dukechronicle.com/article/innocence-and-innocence

November 28: The Johnsville News on Mangum’s April 6 written statement

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/11/duke-hoax-statement-analysis-ii.html

November 29: KC Johnson on President Brodhead’s actions

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/11/green-light-for-nifong.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/11/stubbornness-of-facts.html

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2006/11/tragedy-at-duke-part-i.html

GENERAL SOURCES

(The Duke lacrosse case article indices in the Raleigh News & Observer and the Duke Chronicle have been taken down following website revisions. Articles can still be found using the search feature of the new websites.)

EVANS et al v. DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, CITY OF et al

http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00739/46882/

MCFADYEN et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al

http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00953/47494/

CARRINGTON et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-ncmdce/case_no-1:2008cv00119/case_id-47871/

Duke University & Brodhead Statements

http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/announce_archive.html

Duke University Archive of Media Coverage

http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/media_archive.html

Johnsville Blog Posts

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/06/duke-case-index.html

WRAL Stories

http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/2306295/

KC Johnson’s Case Narrative

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/03/overall-case-narrative.html

Chronology by Vance Holmes “Poetic Justice”

http://www.vanceholmes.com/court/trial_duke_timeline.html

CBS News Chronology

http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2006/04/19/in_depth_us/timeline1515358.shtml

AP Chronology

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/18054818/

Wikipedia Timeline

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Duke_University_lacrosse_case

Friends of Duke University Media Index

http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/04/links-to-media-1-full.html

New York Times Article Index

http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/d/duke_university/duke_lacrosse_sexual_assault_case/index.html?offset=60&s=newest

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: OCTOBER, 2006

2010-12-13T17:10:00.002-05:00

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: OCTOBER, 2006

By sceptical

(Thanks to Quasi, JSwift, and Baldo for comments and suggestions.)

SUNDAY OCTOBER 1: The Raleigh News & Observer (N & O) runs a profile of Durham District Atty. Mike Nifong by reporter Benjamin Niolet. The article reads in part: “Anyone who asks why Mike Nifong won't drop the Duke University lacrosse rape case doesn't know Mike Nifong. In his long career, Nifong has earned a reputation as a prosecutor who charges hard at his opposition and relishes going to trial. Although his unpredictable behavior might puzzle some observers of the lacrosse case, it is vintage Nifong... Even after DNA tests came back negative or inconclusive, and evidence emerged that contradicts the state's case, Nifong pressed ahead. He was so confident in the accuser's story and his case that he refused to meet with lawyers who said they could prove players' innocence. He bickered with the lawyers in the media and needled them in court. The faith in his case was a familiar posture for a man who, with talent and the resources of the state on his side for nearly 30 years, is accustomed to having the upper hand.”

The N&O profile of Nifong is analyzed by Brooklyn College Prof. KC Johnson in his Durham-in-Wonderland blog in a post “The N&O Does Nifong.” The Johnsville News notes: “The most shocking statement from today's N&O profile of Mike Nifong: “Although Nifong has never heard the woman [Crystal Gail Mangum] tell her story, he believes her.” How could a prosecutor not have read a written statement from a rape accuser or even talked to her about the assault and still believe her? It's astonishing.”

TUESDAY OCTOBER 3: The Johnsville News criticizes DA Nifong and Durham administrators for lack of attention to the city’s gang problem. The post observes: “The Durham City Manager, Patrick Baker, apparently shares Nifong's priorities. He thinks cracking down on Duke students' partying is "a high priority," forget gangs, guns, and drugs. The N&0 reported: ‘In an interview Sept. 8, Baker said cracking down on the partying was an enforcement priority but that "to his knowledge" Gottlieb was not under any specific direction to treat Duke students differently.”” Nifong is quoted: ”You can't really conduct trials in an atmosphere, where there is intimidation of witnesses, or where there is fear something might happen… The District Attorney's Office is not equipped to protect witnesses in any situation. There aren't any local witness protection programs or anything of that nature. The fact is that people are to some extent on their own, in terms of their protection."

THURSDAY OCTOBER 5: The Chronicle publishes an article “Pace of lax cases raises questions” which explores how slowly the cases against indicted lacrosse players David Evans, Collin Finerty and Reade Seligmann have progressed in the last 5 months. "The discovery phase is taking an inordinate amount of time," lawyer Robert Ekstrand is quoted. The defendants are not expected to face trial until Spring, 2007 at the earliest. Neil Vidmar, professor of law, says that the timeline for the trial so far is typical of cases like this. "The wheels of justice grind slowly for a reason," he says. The appointment of Judge W. Osmond Smith III as the sole judge is expected to move things along, according to Ekstrand.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 6: The blog Liestoppers posts an essay “Anatomy of a Nifonging” in which the conduct of DA Nifong in the lacrosse case is compared to a 2004 study by the Center for Public Integrity concerning prosecutorial misconduct. Liestoppers lists nine lessons from the study which Nifong is said to have violated, calling him “the poster child for prosecutorial misconduct.”

SATURDAY OCTOBER 7: The Duke men’s lacrosse team plays in a charity exhibition tournament in Rockville Centre, N.Y. It is the first time the team has participated in an off-campus game since the university canceled the remainder of the season in April. Duke begins in the Long Island Fall Lacrosse Tournament with a two-hour exhibition against Towson, followed by hour-long scrimmages against Hofstra and Division II New York Institute of Technology.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 8: N&O reporter Joseph Neff interviews the two experts who designed the identification procedures for criminal suspects adopted by Durham and other police departments. The two psychologists say that Durham police violated two fundamental essentials when accuser Crystal Mangum identified suspects in the alleged rape-- an independent investigator did not run the procedure, and no “fillers” were used. According to Profs. Gary Wells and Brian Cutler, police must give a witness the chance to pick the wrong person. This is why photo lineups contain “fillers” -- photos of people who resemble the suspects but are demonstrably innocent. Durham police showed Mangum only photos of Duke lacrosse players. The DA and police had declared all 46 players suspects. "It's a multiple-choice test with no wrong answers," Wells says.

In an accompanying article “The Problem with Matt,” Neff recounts that Mangum on April 4 actually identified four suspects, including Matt Wilson, instead of the three attackers she claimed had assaulted her. A transcript of Mangum’s videotaped session with police shows that Sgt. Mark Gottlieb ignored Mangum’s comments about Wilson, whom she had failed to identify in previous photo ID sessions.

New York Magazine publishes a major article “Rape, Justice and the ‘Times’” by Kurt Andersen excoriating the coverage of the Duke lacrosse case by the New York Times:

“But real facts are stubborn things. And today, the preponderance of facts indicate that there is an injustice—committed, as it turns out, against those perfect offenders. Yet at the epicenter of bien-pensant journalism, the New York Times, reporters and editors—although pointedly not the paper’s columnists—are declining to expose it. “The only thing we can look forward to now,” says Dan Okrent, who was the Times’ ombudsman until last year, “is what the Times will say to the accused once the charges are dropped, or once acquittals are delivered.” (…)

The Times has not addressed any of this. For the past few years, I’ve tended to roll my eyes when people default to rants about the blindered oafishness or various biases of “the mainstream media” in general and the Times in particular. At the same time, I’ve nodded when people gush about the blogosphere as a valuable check on and supplement to the MSM—but I’ve never entirely bought it. Having waded deep into this Duke mess the last weeks, baffled by the Times’ pose of objectivity and indispensably guided by Johnson’s blog, I’m becoming a believer.”

Liestoppers criticizes the original March 25, 2006 N&O article “Dancer Gives Details of Ordeal” by Samiha Khanna and Anne Blythe which fanned the flames of the lacrosse controversy with an incomplete, one-sided account of the only interview with Mangum. The critique “Walk Down Memory Lane” comes after the N&0’s Linda Williams admits the article omitted Mangum’s claim that she was robbed by second dancer Kim (Roberts) Pittman and that Pittman assisted in the sexual assault.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 10: A Durham-in-Wonderland blogpost ”Understanding SANE III” highlights procedural and factual shortcomings in the medical aspects of Nifong’s case, especially faulty conclusions by Sgt. Mark Gottlieb and SANE nurse-in-training Tara Levicy. SANE expert Kathleen Eckelt discusses discrepancies between the objective medical findings concerning Mangum and later claims by Levicy and Gottlieb.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 11: Attorneys for Dave Evans send a letter to DA Nifong saying that they are entitled to a report of anything Mangum told Nifong about the night she claimed she was raped. The letter, filed in court by lawyers Joseph B. Cheshire V and Bradley Bannon, seeks to pin Nifong on whether he has heard the accuser tell her story. The attorneys have highlighted several inconsistent accounts from Mangum indicating that her accusations are false. Evidence turned over to the defense contains a reference to a single meeting April 11 between Nifong and Mangum. He told a judge last month that Mangum said nothing at that meeting, in part because she was still too traumatized from what happened at the March 13 party. The letter also asks for notes or reports by Linwood Wilson, Nifong’s investigator, none of which have been turned over.

KC Johnson reveals that Mike Nifong personally lent his campaign $28,989 before the primary because campaign donations had dried up. In a major Durham-in-Wonderland post “Follow The Money,” Johnson writes: “A cynic could argue that, in mid-April, Mike Nifong had 28,989 reasons to seek indictments against Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty before the primary. The full story, of course, isn’t that simple. But the campaign finance report illuminates the severe financial and political pressures bearing down upon the district attorney at the very time he made a series of ethically and procedurally dubious decisions in the lacrosse investigation.”

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12: CBS News issues a release about the upcoming Duke segment on Sunday’s “60 Minutes” program. According to CBS, Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann maintain their innocence in interviews with correspondent Ed Bradley. "It's a national story we began working on six months ago," says Kevin Tedesco, a "60 Minutes" spokesperson. "A '60 Minutes' story on an event can often refocus attention on it and in this case... you will be hearing from [all of] the accused for the first time." Bradley also interviews Kim (Roberts) Pittman, the other dancer at the party, who refutes Mangum’s account of the night's events. Bradley made multiple visits to Durham and conducted interviews with many people--including administrators and family of the defendants--for the double-length segment which will make up two-thirds of the program.

The Johnsville News reviews the various, sometimes conflicting, accounts made by Kim (Roberts) Pittman about the events surrounding the March 13-14 lacrosse team party in a post “Duke Case: Kim Roberts version 6.0.”

The campus group Duke Students for an Ethical Durham holds a barbeque on West Campus to spur students voter registration for the November election. DSED and lacrosse team members sit at tables registering students and other voters. County Commissioner Lewis Cheek took the stage at the barbecue. Cheek -- endorsed by the Anybody But Nifong and Recall Nifong-Vote Cheek campaigns -- told the Duke students that he would vote for himself because his name is on the ballot, even though he has said he will not serve. He urged them to vote Cheek, too, if they had concerns about Nifong and Republican Steve Monks. Cheek plans to attend more rallies and meet with political endorsement groups. Many lacrosse players and their new coach, John Danowski, were at the Duke rally. "It was about register and vote," says lacrosse player Tony McDevitt.

Later, at a social event at Shooters II, bar owner Kim Cates agrees to donate a portion of the night's proceeds. "We think they're completely innocent and we've been wanting to help them out, in any which way we can," Cates says, adding that she approached lacrosse players and their supporters to propose the event. "The owner of Shooters has been real supportive throughout this whole thing," says junior Bo Carrington, a lacrosse player who helped plan the event. "[Cates] offered to do a night where she would donate all of the cover charges to Duke Students for an Ethical Durham." DSED opposes the election of DA Nifong.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 13: Judge W. Osmond Smith III rules attorneys representing three Duke lacrosse players do not have to turn over the results of a poll of Durham residents. DA Nifong had filed a motion last month calling for an immediate stop to telephone surveys of potential jurors, labeling the questions a "thinly disguised attempt to influence the opinions of respondents." Nifong states he became aware of the poll after his wife was called by an opinion-research firm wanting to gauge her attitudes about the Duke case. Smith says any phone surveys conducted by the defense were designed to help develop a trial strategy and were privileged information that attorneys don't have to turn over to Nifong. "The questions do not appear to be designed to influence the opinions of the respondents, but more to determine what the opinions are, or would be, under a given set of circumstances," Smith writes. "The effects and influences exposed or created by the polling can be dealt with readily and appropriately in jury selection, just as in dealing with any other matters of pre-trial publicity." Smith also enters an order freeing lacrosse players and other potential witnesses from a previous judge's order limiting what they could say to the media. The modified order, which was agreed to in court Sept. 22, is entered two days before the accused are to speak on "60 Minutes."

SUNDAY OCTOBER 15: CBS’ “60 Minutes” features a double length segment on the Duke lacrosse case. The television program reveals: accuser Crystal Mangum was dancing at a strip club just days after the alleged attack; second dancer Kim (Roberts) Pittman disputes key aspects of Mangum’s allegations; and the three indicted players thought they would be cleared by negative DNA testing. The show is the first public appearance by Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans, who expresses regret for helping to plan the ill-fated March 13 party.

The three state they were frustrated when authorities continued to pursue the case after DNA tests failed to find a match with Mangum. Evans tells "60 Minutes" he cooperated with police when they arrived to start investigating the allegations. "It was scary," Evans says. "I woke up from a nap to 10 police officers in my living room with a search warrant. I went through every part of it -- told 'em where they could find things and that we'd fully cooperate and answer any questions they had." But Evans and Seligmann say they were never interviewed by police or prosecutors. Indictments against them followed a series of controversial photo lineups, in which the accuser identified Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans. "It felt like Russian roulette. It could have been any single one of us," Seligmann explains. "Kids were even calculating their chance ... the percentage ... that you would get picked." Both Seligmann and Finnerty say they both have alibis. Cell phone records show that Seligmann placed several calls, including one to a taxi service, and left the party before, defense attorneys say, the alleged rape would have occurred. "I left soon after I saw them do their act in the room with everybody else," Finnerty says. "I saw them leave the room. I never saw them again in my life." Finnerty adds, "It's changed my life, no matter what happens from here on out. It's probably going to be something that defines me my whole life." Evans says he regrets his decision to host the party with alcohol and strippers. "I was naive, I was young, I was sheltered," Evans explains. "And I made a terrible judgment. In five months I've learned more than I did in 22 years about life."

The CBS report also includes an interview with Pittman, who was also hired to perform at the party (pictures from which are shown in screen captures by The Johnsville News). She states she was separated from Mangum twice during the evening, both times for 5 to 10 minutes. Pittman says the accuser never gave her any reason to believe she had been attacked or that a rape occurred. "She obviously wasn't hurt. You know, she was fine," Pittman says. "She wouldn't have went back into the house if she was hurt." Pittman also disputes claims made by the accuser that she was actually present at the time the accuser said she was attacked. "Nope," Roberts responds when asked about the claim.

The "60 Minutes" report also shows a video of Mangum performing at a strip club two weeks after the party. Late Sunday, attorney Joseph Cheshire states the tape was made a few days before Mangum went to a hospital complaining of lingering injuries from the attack. "It's enormous," says Cheshire, who represents Evans. "The relevance is she's saying she's so hurt and can't hardly move and can't remember what she's doing and some kind of victim of a rape and yet we'll have testimony and demonstrative evidence that days later she's in the strip club performing."

Also on the “60 Minutes” program , DA Nifong comes under fire by Duke Law Prof. James Coleman for how he has handled the high-profile investigation. Coleman tells CBS that Nifong has committed "prosecutorial misconduct," citing a controversial series of photo lineups with only lacrosse players. Coleman describes the case as "out of control," and also criticizes Nifong for the way he handled the case in the days before charges were first filed in April. Coleman states he believes a special prosecutor should be appointed. He also questions whether Nifong has a case at all.

Liestoppers features a post “Occam’s Razor II” which offers detailed evidence to demonstrate that the simplest explanation for the facts uncovered so far is that Mangum is lying and that the rape allegations are a hoax. The article presents 90 different inconsistencies and contradictions as to why her stories do not add up.

The Johnsville News publishes FAQ about the “Duke lacrosse rape hoax” with detailed answers and references to 25 questions.

MONDAY OCTOBER 16: DA Nifong states he did not watch the "60 Minutes" report featuring three Duke lacrosse players that he is now prosecuting. "It would be hard to comment on something that I hadn't seen," he says at a news conference concerning an unrelated investigation. Asked whether, as the prosecutor, he was disinterested in what the accused players had to say, Nifong responds, "I have a tape of it. I have a transcript of it. I didn't watch it." He adds, "There was no need for me to watch it last night."

African-American blogger LaShawn Barber writes a scathing post about the “60 Minutes” report. She blogs in part:

“The stripper-accuser’s luck is as rotten as it can get. Not only did she make up a gang-rape story, she happened to blame it on the three people least likely to have done it! Seligmann has an alibi supported by a paper trail. He says he tried to tell the police and Nifong about it, but they refused to talk to him. Finnerty says he also has a provable alibi. Evans and the other two say they did nothing wrong. They weren’t even among the group that called Roberts a “Ni*ger.” Seligmann says he didn’t say it and won’t accept responsibility for others saying it.
By the way, Roberts started the whole verbal exchange by calling one or more players “small dick white boy(s).” She whined, “They could have said anything else. They could have said ‘black’ but they said ‘Ni*ger.’”
That’s a lot of nerve. Hitting below the belt and questioning a man’s physical endowments, a very sensitive area to begin with, and Roberts is surprised the “white boys” retaliated and called her a Ni*ger? …
Wherever the false accuser is, I hope her conscience is eating her alive. Until she rectifies this mess, which means coming forward and confessing she made up the whole thing, and apologizing to Evans, Seligmann, and Finnerty, I hope she never has a moment’s peace. I hope her lies are taking a toll on her health. I hope the damage she’s doing to innocent lives causes tenfold damage to her own.
If anyone out there still believes David Evans, Reade Seligmann, or Collin Finnerty raped a black stripper on March 13, 2006, you’re willfully deaf and blind. And stupid.”

KC Johnson writes a comprehensive case narrative so far of the alleged rape controversy. In “Durham-in-Wonderland,” Prof. Johnson suggests there have been five stages of the case so far: 1) the March 13-14 party; 2) the “investigation” March 16-23, primarily involving Sgt. Mark Gottlieb; 3) the Nifong “usurpation” March 24-April 6; 4) the “effects of demagoguery” April 6-May 3; and 5) the “effects of procedural fraud” May 4- present.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 17: The Chronicle’s Saidi Chen reports that while Sunday's "60 Minutes" segment heavily criticizes the actions of DA Nifong, a number of legal experts say it is difficult to determine the extent of the program's impact. "It's hard to say whether [the program] helped the defense.... But I can tell you that if you're a prosecutor and this segment just came on you're probably not excited," says Richard Meyers, a UNC law professor and former federal prosecutor. "Statements that the players who appeared on television made can be used as prior inconsistent statements. They can be impeached with it," Meyers explains. Another attorney, Woody Vann, who represented Mangum in a previous case, notes, however, that the interviews would not have happened if the defense teams thought their cases would be damaged. "[The players'] attorneys would not have let them on camera unless they felt very confident they would come across as sincere, believable, credible, and that they wouldn't say anything that could harm their legal status-and they didn't as far as I could tell," he says. Because of the polarizing nature of the case, the segment likely did little to change the opinion of those watching, Vann says. What people took away from the program also depends on their existing biases and perceptions of the case and of the show, says Jennifer Collins, a law professor at Wake Forest. "60 Minutes" was the top-rated program during its time segment last week. According to Nielsen ratings, approximately 12.8 million households--20 percent of televisions in use at the time-- were tuned to the program.

Liestoppers states “the impact of '60 Minutes' expose’ of District Attorney Mike Nifong’s hijacked hoax is readily apparent. A brief review of some of the comments the big tractor has elicited leaves little doubt that the injustice that we, and other bloggers, have been hollering about for months is now common knowledge across the country. From coast to coast, millions of people now know that Nifong is the embodiment of prosecutorial misconduct.”

Durham Police investigator Ben Himan meets with Linwood Wilson, Nifong’s investigator, and Victor Olatoye, owner of the Platinum Club. Olatoye provides an affidavit stating that the accuser had not danced at the strip club since before the alleged attack. Olatoye later attempts to correct the affidavit based on club records.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 19: In a post “Understanding SANE IV” KC Johnson reviews some of the medical facts of the case using expert commentary from SANE Kathleen Eckelt. Johnson writes: “Not only did Nifong bring a case based on procedural fraud in the legal arena; but the medical report that he claimed persuaded him a rape occurred actually is dramatically inconsistent with the accuser’s stories. Eckelt’s work raises the disturbing question of whether Nifong constructed out of whole cloth the medical case as he did with the procedural handling of affairs. But of course, to quote Eckelt, ‘Then again, maybe they do things differently in North Carolina.’ ”

FRIDAY OCTOBER 20: Local and national journalists discuss at a Duke forum why the lacrosse story has dominated news headlines for the past 7 months. "It became not just a story for us, quickly, but it became sort of a neighborhood and community protest story," says Bob Ashley of the Durham Herald-Sun. "We were becoming aware this was a district attorney in the middle of an election," states Susannah Meadows of Newsweek. "This wasn't just about a woman saying she was raped." Duke University estimates there have been nearly 75,000 stories done on the case. Local journalists complain the story seemed to spin out of control when national networks and writers took hold of the script. "They were making generalizations for purposes of sensationalism," says Seyward Darby of The Duke Chronicle. The panel of journalists – all but one having ties to Duke-- talk about mistakes made during the coverage. ESPN's Jay Bilas points to self-described experts who weighed in on every aspect of the case. Panel members agree the case has raised the issue of terminology, such as what to call Mangum, the woman at the center of the controversy. "The distinction between victim and accuser -- it's really alleged victim or accuser," says Bilas.

Duke Law Professor James Coleman writes a letter to the Durham Herald-Sun:
“Your editorial about the recent "60 Minutes" report mischaracterizes both what the district attorney's role has been in the Duke lacrosse rape case and why some of us have criticized him. Like much of the media hype that has surrounded the case, your editorial turns the case into an ugly caricature by suggesting that the decision to prosecute the Duke students was made by a valiant prosecutor on a white horse who is defending a helpless black woman who "ranks near the bottom of society." That is what the prosecutor also suggested when he told a largely African-American audience that he personally would protect "this black girl" from the hooligans at Duke. I find that characterization of the case offensive and patronizing. Why do you say the accuser is "near the bottom of society?" She is an apparently talented student and mother who dances to support herself and her child. She is a woman, not a "black girl."
Trying to make this case about race and class has done a great disservice to Durham. From the start, it should have been handled as just an alleged rape that had to be investigated and prosecuted if the evidence warranted it. As someone who has criticized Nifong's handling of the case, I have not called for him to dismiss it; rather, I have suggested only that a special prosecutor be appointed who can make the kind of disinterested decisions about the case that Nifong has shown himself incapable of making. If the case goes to trial, it should be based on the strength of the evidence against the defendants, rather than as a convenient way to shift responsibility for ending what now appears to be a highly questionable prosecution to a judge or jury.”

SUNDAY OCTOBER 22: An article in the N&O explores the new role of bloggers in coverage of major stories such as the Duke lacrosse case. The article features Prof. K.C. Johnson: “A Maine native who teaches history at Brooklyn College, Johnson, 38, has no tie to Durham aside from a few visits over the years. Nevertheless, he has fixated on the enormously high-profile Duke lacrosse case, turning his own outrage over District Attorney Mike Nifong's handling of it into a lively, popular and occasionally scathing blog through which he posts daily critiques and criticisms of Nifong, other players in the case and the media. He spends a couple of hours each day working on the blog, which, he said, is read by between 15,000 and 20,000 people each week. His blog entries are heavy with detail culled from public records. On occasion, he has corrected errors on his blog. "You can't put up wrong things and expect your product to be treated seriously."”

MONDAY OCTOBER 23: KC Johnson in a blogpost “What, Exactly Did the Police Investigate?” discusses the lack of a thorough police investigation after the initial rape allegations and the failure of police and DA Nifong to follow up on leads and re-interview witnesses such as Kim (Roberts) Pittman to resolve discrepancies.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 24: Duke chemistry professor Steven Baldwin writes a column in the Chronicle about the relationship between Duke’s faculty and students:
“My biggest concern has always been with Duke’s treatment of the student athletes at the center of the storm. These kids were abandoned by their university. At least one of the indicted students, perhaps all three, was trespassed from Duke property. They were denied the presumption of innocence, despite the mounting evidence that the case against them is made of smoke and mirrors and is fatally flawed procedurally. They have been pilloried by their faculty and scorned by the administration. They are pariahs…”
“On the other hand I do not believe that a faculty member publicly describing any student in pejorative terms is ever justified. To do so is mean-spirited, petty and unprofessional, at the very least. The faculty who publicly savaged the character and reputations of specific men’s lacrosse players last spring should be ashamed of themselves.”

Durham Police investigator Ben Himan meets with Linwood Wilson, Nifong’s investigator, and “Fats” Thomas, a bouncer at the Platinum Club. Thomas shows them a DVD with the dance scene depicting Mangum from "60 Minutes". He did not allow them to keep the DVD. The dance apparently had occurred on March 25.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 25: DA Nifong has a double-digit lead heading into the November election for district attorney, according to a survey of Durham voters. The poll, commissioned by the N&O and WRAL-TV, asked 600 likely voters whom they would vote for. Of those polled, 46% say they will vote for Nifong, while 28% of respondents say they will vote for county Commissioner Lewis Cheek. Two percent say they planned to vote for write-in candidate Steve Monks. The poll, conducted between Oct. 16 -19, finds that 24% remain undecided, enough to change the outcome. The poll also reveals that nearly half of Durham residents feel worse about the relationship between Duke University and Durham in the aftermath of the lacrosse scandal. Asked about the town-gown bond, 47% of all respondents say they felt less positive about it, and 31% feel the same -- while 14% feel more positive. Eight percent aren't sure. There was a stark difference of opinion along racial lines. Among black voters, 67% felt worse about Duke-Durham ties, while only one-third of white voters expressed a more negative view. Twenty-one percent of white voters felt the relationship was better, compared with only 5% of blacks. Latino residents' views were similar to those of African-Americans. "It's disappointing to see these numbers, but it's not surprising, given the racial aspect of the situation," says John Burness, Duke's vice president for public affairs.

The Johnsville News, in a blogpost “Duke Case: Identification Issues,” summarizes the inconsistencies of Mangum’s identification of lacrosse players in her photo ID sessions with Durham police. “Forget the fact that local, state, and federal identification procedures were violated by not having fillers and that an investigator who does not know the suspect's identity should be conducting the lineup. Even with rigged lineups, Ms. Mangum fails to make convincing identifications. The only crime involved here is allowing anyone to be indicted for rape based only on these flawed identifications.”

THURSDAY OCTOBER 26: Nearly 100 people pack into the Duke’s Bryan Center to hear three panelists discuss the lacrosse case. Organizer Daniel Bowes the Duke-Durham community liaison, says, "This is not meant to be an anti-Nifong event or an anti-lacrosse event. This is a forum meant to facilitate an honest discussion of various perspectives surrounding the social and legal aspects and repercussions of the Duke lacrosse case." KC Johnson, history professor and “Durham-in-Wonderland” blogger, outlines at least five points where he thought Nifong had either violated the N.C. State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct or police procedures. Larry Holt of the Durham Human Relations Commission tells of a history of off-campus student behavior problems that had led the Trinity Park neighborhood to lobby police to aggressively target rowdy Duke student parties. Stephen Miller, a Duke senior who leads the Conservative Union on campus, expresses outraged at an ad last spring signed by 88 faculty. He describes it as a missive in which professors and students had assumed a crime occurred, regardless of the results of the police investigation. Audience members speak of the case as one with major legal flaws that has made victims of the accused. One speaker says he wished the administration had stood behind the lacrosse team. Donald Ceres, a divinity graduate student who grew up in Durham, thinks the case is polarizing because many in Durham think of Duke as a walled-off campus of elitists.

In a post “Referendum on Nifong” Liestoppers discusses the politics of the upcoming Nov. 7 election in which Nifong is running for a full term as Durham DA. The article examines the role of candidate Steve Monks, a Republican, and his advisor Cliff Brandt as possible spoilers, siphoning votes away from Lewis Cheek, Nifong’s strongest opponent.

According to a post on “Talk Left,” a Duke parent (not associated with the lacrosse team) sent an e-mail to President Brodhead questioning why the indicted players had not received more support from Duke. The parent received the following message back from a Duke official (not named in the post but later revealed to be VP Larry Moneta):
"President Brodhead asked me to respond to your email to him about our support for the students and alumnus charged in the case. Let me assure you that we're in regular contact with them and their families and offering considerable support. As you know, for the reasons articulated by the president on numerous occasions, Duke cannot pre-judge the outcome of the case regardless of media accounts. We all hope this ends soon.”

The spokesperson for Friends of Duke University, Jason Trompbour, writes a response:“I am posting here for the first time because the assertion made by Brodhead’s assistant that the Duke administration has been “in regular contact with them and their families and offering considerable support” is so absolutely outrageous that I believe you should know the facts.
Brodhead and the rest of the administration have had no contact with any of the lacrosse players or their families whatsoever with the following three exceptions:
1. Brodhead talked to Devon Sherwood’s family and apologized for what they were going through. Devon is African American.
2. One of the families of a player who was not charged ran into Brodhead at a reception following the dedication of a facility at Duke Medical Center. Brodhead was very cold and uncaring toward them. One of the trustees joined them and was supportive of the lacrosse players. The trustee asked them how to get lacrosse wristbands and he indicated he wanted to get enough for a lacrosse team at the university where he teaches. As Brodhead watched silently, the family members gave him one of their own wristbands, and he put it on immediately. At this point, apparently, Brodhead walked away.
3. Colin Finnerty’s parents contacted Brodhead to ask for permission to transfer credits from other colleges. Both Colin and Reade Seligmann are taking classes this semester at colleges near their homes. However, Duke will not let them transfer more than two courses so they are unable to keep up with their studies while suspended unless they get permission to transfer more. Colin was supposed to do study abroad this semester, but Duke cancelled that. Brodhead refused to meet with them despite several requests. Finally, the person in charge of the annual giving program told Brodhead that, unless he agreed to see the Finnerties, he would resign. Only then did Brodhead agree to meet them. In the meeting, Brodhead remained intransigent and he and Mrs. Finnerty got into terrible argument. The Finnerties walked out because Brodhead started insulting them.
There has not been a single note, card or other expression of kindness from anyone in the Duke administration to any of the three accused students.
By contrast, I received an e-mail from someone close to Reade Seligmann who told me that, the same day Duke suspended Reade, an Ivy League athletic department official called him to tell him how much they believed in him and wanted him to come to their university and play lacrosse. The people there had recruited him out of high school, two years prior, remembered what a great person he was. They had that much confidence in him.”

FRIDAY OCTOBER 27: In a contentious hearing before Judge W. Osmond Smith, DA Nifong reveals that he has not talked to accuser Crystal Mangum in detail about her rape allegations. Nifong asserts if he talked to a witness, he could risk becoming a witness in the case himself. Defense attorneys want to know about conversations Nifong may have had with Mangum. Nifong tells the judge that there was nothing to tell. "I understand the answer may not be the answer that they want, but it is the true answer, and it is the only one I can give them," Nifong says after the hearing. Defense attorney Joe Cheshire says, "Mr. Nifong did admit that he, in fact, has basically never talked to this woman and has absolutely no idea what her story is, and yet he has chosen to continue to go forward with this case." Nifong states that during a meeting in April, Mangum looked too traumatized to talk about the incident. Nifong says she spoke less than 15 words, had difficulty making eye contact and looked like she was going to cry the entire time. Since then, according to Nifong, “ I've had conversations with (the accuser) about how she's doing. I've had conversations with (the accuser) about her seeing her kids." He states, "I haven't talked with her about the facts of that night. ... We're not at that stage yet."

Nifong also reveals the criminal investigation has largely ended. Nifong tells the judge that Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, who ran several key elements of the inquiry, has been on sick leave and other than being called to testify would likely have no further involvement in the case.

During the hearing, Nifong turns over 1844 pages, including a written report, concerning DNA testing performed by the SBI and by DNA Security Inc. in Burlington. The material is in response to a September 22 order by Judge Smith that Nifong supply to the defense all underlying data and documentation about the DNA testing in the case. The incomplete report later plays a role in Nifong’s disbarment. Also at the hearing, Judge Smith states he received medical records involving Mangum from the hospital. Those documents are currently under seal until the judge looks at them and decides whether the prosecution or defense can use them. Another hearing in the case is scheduled for December, which some observers believe is too lengthy a delay.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 28: The N&O reports it has reviewed the entire video of Crystal Mangum performing an athletic pole dance at a strip club at the same time she was visiting hospitals complaining of intense pain from being assaulted. A time-stamped video shows a woman at The Platinum Club on March 26. The club's former security manager, H.P. Thomas, identifies her as Mangum. The video shows a limber performer. The same woman told doctors at UNC and Duke hospitals around that time that she had been assaulted and was now racked with pain. Linwood Wilson, investigator for DA Nifong, says that he has watched the video but could not say with certainty that it was Mangum dancing. At trial, defense lawyers could show the video to undercut what Mangum told doctors and nurses in the days and weeks after the party. On March 16, two Durham police officers interviewed Mangum at home and later Sgt. Mark Gottlieb described a woman in excruciating pain. Nine days after that interview, according to security manager Thomas, the woman was filmed dancing. The video segment, about a minute long, shows the woman, introduced as Precious, as she approached a floor-to-ceiling pole on a stage, dressed in a thong and skimpy top. She grasped the pole and lowered herself into a squatting position, so that her buttocks almost touched the floor. With her hands on the floor, she stretched out her right leg vertically, as though she was kicking to the ceiling while squatting, and waved her leg several times to either side of the pole. The Johnsville News shows a screen capture of Mangum’s performance.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 29: Duke Literature Professor Grant Farred writes an article in the Herald-Sun “Secret Racism Underlying Lacrosse Case, reading in part:
“The racist taunts by the lacrosse players on that infamous March night were nothing historically new. The vulnerability of black bodies now assumes a different guise, but its political realities remain unchanged, especially in this instance, as it applies to black and minority women. That is only a public secret, but an ongoing shame.
Why have the racial slurs and a player’s e-mail “promise” about killing and skinning “strippers b—s” been forgotten, and transgressions against Durhamites made victim to the relentless commitment to exonerating the three players? In casting the players as the aggrieved “victims,” as CBS’ “60 Minutes” did and the players, their attorneys and the PR machines continue to insist, what has been eliminated from discussion is a more serious issue. How is the lacrosse affair symptomatic of the political culture at Duke?
Why is there not a more urgent sense on the university campus about March 2006? Why has it not precipitated a more profound educational, political, and intellectual crisis? If the gravity of the situation did register, how is it possible that the team could be reinstated despite its criminal history? How could an athletic director’s response to the affair suggest that this was simply a matter of “boys being boys,” by which he really means that historic white privilege should go unimpeded, and perhaps even [un]punished?”

MONDAY OCTOBER 30: In an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” second dancer Kim (Roberts) Pittman states that at the lacrosse party Crystal Mangum was clearly impaired and "talking crazy" afterward. "The trip in that car from the house went from happy to crazy," Pittman says. "I tried all different ways to get through to her." Pittman, who has previously called the rape allegations "a crock," left the party with the accuser and drove her to the parking lot of a nearby grocery store. Unable to get the accuser to leave her car, Roberts says she pushed on the accuser's arm and leg to try to force her out. At that point, according to Pittman, the accuser said: “Go ahead, go ahead. Put marks on me. Go ahead. That's what I want. Go ahead.” According to the Johnsville News, a poll by ABC shows that 85% of respondents say this new information does not look good for the prosecution.

DA Mike Nifong says he is comfortable about the decisions he has made about the Duke lacrosse rape allegations. "I think that I have a responsibility to prosecute this case," Nifong tells the Associated Press in an interview. "I think that really nothing about my view of the case and my view of how the case ultimately needs to be handled has been affected by any of the things that have occurred." Nifong had granted numerous newspaper and TV interviews as he prepared to face two challengers in May's Democratic primary -- an election he won. "I think it was pretty clear that I (misunderstood) the likely consequence of appearing on camera," Nifong says. "What I was trying to do was to reassure the community, to encourage people with information to come forward. And that was clearly not the effect." After that initial flurry of interviews, Nifong generally stopped talking publicly about the case. But in an interview about the upcoming general election, Nifong defends his handling of a case that has divided a community and has led to a debate about race, class and sex, as well as claims of the culture of privilege for athletes at Duke. "My personal feeling is the first step to addressing those divisions is addressing this case," Nifong claims. "That is not the kind of thing that you can really assign to somebody else and say, 'You go do this for me. The future of Durham's in the balance and I don't really want to get my hands dirty. You do it.'" Nifong says granting so many interviews was his only regret, insisting that he and police investigators have not mishandled the case. Nifong's apparent indifference to criticism angers defense attorney Joseph Cheshire, who says Nifong's belief he "wouldn't look back and do any of that differently is astounding." The latest questions about Nifong's handling of the case came last week, after he said he and his staff have yet to interview Mangum about the facts of the case, leaving that work to police. He states his responsibility is to direct the investigation, not conduct it. "I've been prosecuting cases for 28 years, and nobody has ever asked me questions about my policies in terms of when I have normally interviewed witnesses," he says. "But all of a sudden, everybody has an opinion about when I should interview witnesses in this case."

N&O columnist Ruth Sheehan urges Durham voters to cast their ballots against DA Nifong by voting for Lewis Cheek in the general election next week. She writes in her opinion column: “At this paper, and in this column, my colleagues and I have written plenty about prosecutors with tunnel vision, who press forward with flawed cases at any cost. Here's a chance for voters to say, "Not here. Not in Durham." Durham voters can set this case before new eyes. If only they would. “

TUESDAY OCTOBER 31: Liestoppers comments on Nifong’s AP interview:
“In an interview with the Associated Press yesterday, interim District Attorney Mike Nifong, makes the stunning admission that he feels he has a responsibility to prosecute the Hoax, not, apparently, because doing so is his legal obligation, but rather because he seems to feel it is his societal obligation because of the “underlying divisions” revealed by the Hoax…
Echoing the sentiments of the potbangers who attached their agendas to the Hoax, Mr. Nifong reveals his own. Admitting that, with “a stroke of a pen” he could end the nightmare being experienced by the innocent Duke Three and their families, if he were “so inclined,” Mr. Nifong declares his “responsibility to prosecute” this hoax is the “first step in addressing these issues.” If DA Nifong’s words are to be believed, he clearly misunderstands what his responsibilities within the criminal justice system are. If his words are sincere, he clearly has put three young men in jeopardy of decades in jail while soiling their good names, damaging their lives and causing their families to endure outrageous expense, not in the interests of criminal justice but rather in the interests of serving his own personal agenda of addressing “underlying issues.” “

KC Johnson in “Durham-in-Wonderland” also addresses Nifong’s comments: “A trial is designed to determine whether or not the three people charged committed a crime. It’s not designed to address Durham’s “underlying divisions”—a task, based on what we’ve seen in this case, that the city’s political leadership has utterly failed to perform in the last generation.”

Devon Sherwood, the only black player on the Duke lacrosse team, is interviewed on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Sherwood, 19, says that his three white teammates who have been accused of sexually assaulting a black woman have been stereotyped by class and skin color. "It's almost a reversal." Sherwood said he found it "impossible" to believe that the rape allegations are true. "I'm 100 percent confident," he said. "I know nothing indeed happened that night at all."

SPECIFIC REFERENCES (BY DATE)

October 1: Nifong profiled by N&O’s Benjamin Niolet

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/01/66059/stormy-da-at-center-of-lacrosse.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz15t3unY5S

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/10/n-does-nifong.html

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/duke-case-justice-is-game.html

October 3: The Johnsville News on Durham gangs

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/durhams-gangland.html

October 5: Chronicle article on slow pace of lacrosse case

http://dukechronicle.com/article/pace-lax-case-raises-questions

October 6: Liestoppers on Nifong and prosecutorial misconduct

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/10/anatomy-of-nifonging.html

October 7: Duke men’s lacrosse team returns to competition

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/07/51677/duke-mens-lacrosse-to-play-in.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz15t4x0dDY

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/sports/othersports/08duke.html?_r=1&ref=duke_lacrosse_sexual_assault_case

October 8: Joe Neff reveals problems with Mangum’s identifications

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/08/52689/experts-lacrosse-ids-likely-tainted.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz15t804Tbs

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/08/58063/the-problem-with-matt.html#storylink=misearch

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/duke-case-rogue-reporter.html

October 8: New York Magazine article on New York Times’ coverage

http://nymag.com/news/imperialcity/22337/

October 8: Liestoppers on March 25 N&O “Dancer” article

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/10/walk-down-memory-lane.html

October 10: KC Johnson on faulty SANE conclusions

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/10/understanding-sane-iii.html

October 11: Defense attorneys ask for records of Nifong’s contacts with Mangum

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/12/57992/defense-wants-report-on-accuser.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz16RXMtjhb

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/duke-case-cheshire-letter-to-nifong.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/10/new-defense-motion.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/10/no-notes-wilson.html

October 11: KC Johnson reveals Nifong personally loaned campaign $28,989

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/10/follow-money.html

October 12: DSED promotes voter registration at barbeque

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/13/36547/cheek-stumps-in-da-race.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz16RXwL6BL

http://dukechronicle.com/article/lax-players-work-get-out-vote

October 12: Preview of “60 Minutes”

http://dukechronicle.com/article/indicted-lax-players-speak-60-minutes

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/duke-case-kim-roberts-version-60.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/14/us/14duke.html?ref=duke_lacrosse_sexual_assault_case

October 13: Judge Smith rules on polling by defense attorneys

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/14/37507/lacrosse-case-survey-wins-ruling.html#storylink=misearch

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1055685/

http://www.wral.com/asset/news/local/2006/12/09/1086660/flash.swf

October 15: “60 Minutes” on Duke case

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/11/60minutes/main2082140.shtml

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1092150/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/16/38700/suspects-dancer-contradict-accuser.html#storylink=misearch

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/duke-case-60-minutes-recap.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/16/sports/sportsspecial1/16duke.html?_r=1&ref=duke_lacrosse_sexual_assault_case

October 15: Liestoppers on 90 contradictions in charges against lacrosse players

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/10/occams-razor-ii.html

October 16: Nifong on “60Minutes” show

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1087895/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/17/85084/show-went-on-without-the-da.html#storylink=misearch

October 16: LaShawn Barber commentary on “60 Minutes” show

http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2006/10/16/duke-rape-case-2/

October 16: Case narrative according to KC Johnson

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/10/case-narrative.html

October 17: Reaction to “60 Minutes” program

http://dukechronicle.com/article/law-experts-weigh-60-minutes

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/10/hoax-laid-bare.html

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/10/highly-unacceptable-behavior.html

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2006/10/on-coleman-chronicle-2-no-0.html

October 19: More from KC Johnson & Kathleen Eckelt on SANE issues

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/10/understanding-sane-ivkathleen-eckelt.html

October 20: Panel of journalists discuss lacrosse case coverage

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/21/59363/lacrosse-case-news-examined.html#storylink=misearch

October 20: Prof. James Coleman letter to Herald-Sun

http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/03/expired-documents-2.html#c116135362185822891

October 22: N&O on role of bloggers in news coverage

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/22/39769/rules-to-blog-by.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz16Rg5f600

October 23: KC Johnson on the lack of a police investigation

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/10/what-exactly-did-police-investigate.html

October 24: Duke chemistry Prof. Steven Baldwin’s letter

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/10/steven-baldwin-speaks-out.html

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/duke-case-yes-please-tar-and-feather.html

October 25: Poll shows Nifong in the lead

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/25/87562/nifong-in-drivers-seat-but-many.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz16RhwBXr8

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/25/68403/town-gown-ties-frayed.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz16RjVzeAc

October 25: The Johnsville News on identification issues in the case

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/duke-case-identification-issues.html

October 26: Duke forum on lacrosse case

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/27/45062/perspectives-offered-on-lacrosse.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz16RmlEBf2

October 26: Liestoppers on Nifong, polls and Durham politics

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/10/referendum-on-nifong.html

October 26: TalkLeft post on Duke “support” for indicted players

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/duke-case-dog-bites-man.html

October 27: Hearing before Judge Osmond Smith: Nifong never questioned Mangum

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1088128/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/28/80991/da-i-havent-heard-accusers-account.html#storylink=misearch

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/duke-case-outrage.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/10/yesterdays-hearing.html

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8L15CTO0&show_article=1

http://www.ncbar.gov/Nifong%20Final%20Order.pdf

October 28: Videotape of Mangum pole dancing March 26

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/28/76809/video-may-aid-players-defense.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz16RuE0uor

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/duke-case-hoax-busting-video.html

OCTOBER 29: Professor Grant Farred article in Herald-Sun

http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/03/expired-documents-2.html#c116135362185822891

October 30: Roberts claims Mangum said “Make marks on me”

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1092174/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/31/87757/second-dancer-accuser-wanted-marks.html#storylink=misearch

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/10/duke-case-mangum-said-put-marks-on-me.html

October 30: Nifong interview with Associated Press

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1092176/

October 30: N&O columnist Ruth Sheehan calls for Nifong’s removal

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/10/30/89173/turning-the-tide-in-durham.html#storylink=misearch

October 31: Reaction to Nifong interview with Associated Press

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/10/underlying-issues.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/10/symbolic-justice.html

October 31: Devon Sherwood interviewed on “Good Morning America”

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LegalCenter/story?id=2617301&page=1

GENERAL SOURCES

(The Duke lacrosse case article indices in the Raleigh News & Observer and the Duke Chronicle have been taken down following website revisions. Articles can still be found using the search feature of the new websites.)

EVANS et al v. DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, CITY OF et al
http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00739/46882/

MCFADYEN et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al
http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00953/47494/

CARRINGTON et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-ncmdce/case_no-1:2008cv00119/case_id-47871/

Duke University & Brodhead Statements
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/announce_archive.html

Duke University Archive of Media Coverage
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/media_archive.html

Johnsville Blog Posts
http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/06/duke-case-index.html

WRAL Stories
http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/2306295/

KC Johnson’s Case Narrative
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/03/overall-case-narrative.html

Chronology by Vance Holmes “Poetic Justice”
http://www.vanceholmes.com/court/trial_duke_timeline.html

CBS News Chronology
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2006/04/19/in_depth_us/timeline1515358.shtml

AP Chronology
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/18054818/

Wikipedia Timeline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Duke_University_lacrosse_case

Friends of Duke University Media Index
http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/04/links-to-media-1-full.html

New York Times Article Index
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/d/duke_university/duke_lacrosse_sexual_assault_case/index.html?offset=60&s=newest

Hat Tip: sceptical for his continual dedication to disovering the details of the Duke Lacrosse Frame!

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: SEPTEMBER, 2006

2010-10-04T08:57:00.004-04:00

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: SEPTEMBER, 2006

By sceptical

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1: Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III officially takes over sole management of the alleged rape case against former Duke lacrosse players Dave Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty. He was assigned on August 18 after defense attorneys for the 3 indicted players and Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong reach agreement to have the case declared “exceptional,” allowing a single judge to preside.

It is revealed that a toxicology test of accuser Crystal Mangum’s hair turned up no signs of controlled substances. DA Nifong told defense lawyers of the negative results in a meeting Aug. 25. In April, Newsweek reported that Nifong had "hinted" that a date rape drug may have been used in the alleged rape. A urine toxicology test was not performed when Mangum was examined in the emergency room March 14, hours after the party. Bradley Bannon, one of Dave Evans' attorneys, says Nifong did not say what drugs the laboratory tested for.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 3: In his blog “Durham in Wonderland,” Prof. KC Johnson of Brooklyn College discusses why DA Nifong has resisted calls to recuse himself from the lacrosse case in favor of a special prosecutor. Johnson suggests Nifong himself could be called as a witness to explain his comments early in the case, thereby forcing him to step-aside. Johnson also foreshadows future events when he writes:
“Returning to reality, it’s easy to understand why Nifong has so desperately resisted a special prosecutor. “Justice” for the accuser isn’t high on his agenda; it seems unlikely, in fact, that it’s on his agenda at all. Rather, allowing a special prosecutor–or any other representative of law enforcement, such as the Justice Department–access to his case records almost certainly would conclude with the new prosecutor referring Nifong’s actions to the state bar’s ethics committee. The subsequent termination of his law license couldn’t be far behind. And that’s merely a best-case scenario for Nifong. The worst-case outcome would find him crossing the aisle to serve as a defendant himself.”

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 4: The Duke men's lacrosse program holds its first practice in more than five months. The Blue Devils open fall training at 7:15 a.m. with a two-hour practice under new coach John Danowski. "It felt great," senior Tony McDevitt says. "There's not too many times that you can appreciate a great sweat, and, today, I think everybody appreciated that." The team last practiced together on March 27, a day before Duke President Richard Brodhead suspended play. Brodhead then canceled the season and coach Mike Pressler was forced to resign on April 5. Danowski was hired in late July. Duke has five weeks of fall practices scheduled.
The New Yorker publishes a long discussion about the lacrosse crisis by Peter Boyer entitled “Big Men on Campus.” The article reveals that Duke Board of Trustees Chair Robert Steel personally lured President Brodhead to Duke from Yale. It also quotes Steel about why the lacrosse practices and games were abruptly stopped at the onset of the crisis:
On that fitful weekend in late March when the TV satellite trucks hit campus, the lacrosse team could be seen practicing for the Georgetown game, a scene that became an endless video loop suggesting institutional indifference. “We had to stop those pictures,” Bob Steel says. “It doesn’t mean that it’s fair, but we had to stop it. It doesn’t necessarily mean I think it was right—it just had to be done.”

The article also features interviews with Duke President Brodhead and lacrosse team critics Orrin Starn and Peter Wood:

Brodhead reflected on all that had happened as we chatted in his office in July, and said that it brought to mind Shakespeare’s “Othello”—not for its obvious associations with interracial passions and violence but for its lesson on prejudgment. The scene at the beginning of the play, he said, was particularly instructive. Desdemona’s father hears about his daughter’s relationship with the Moor, and he sighs, “Belief of it oppresses me already.”
“He doesn’t say, ‘Oh, now I see what you’re getting at,’ ” Brodhead said. “He’s saying, ‘Now I realize that I always believed it’—‘Belief of it oppresses me already.’ It’s probably, to my mind, the greatest literary image of the action of prejudice—how a story is told to engage something in the mind that brings with it absolute certainty that derives from the nature of the stereotypes.”
He had located a clarifying point of reference in the lacrosse ordeal, and he became animated. It had been a headlong narrative, driven partly by a willingness to affirm favored certitudes about justice.
“ ‘Belief of it oppresses me already,’ you know?” he continued. “And the thing is, we actually can’t blame people for being subject to this, because it is so deeply human. And if, from day to day, we’ve seen people in the throes of this, we recognize that as a dimension of our humanity. At the same time, it really is our obligation to resist it, because, you know—truth and justice, they are cant phrases unless we try to take the trouble to make them have a reality to them. And what do truth and justice mean? Truth and justice mean something opposite from our preconceptions.”

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 5: Robert Steel, chair of the Board of Trustees, is nominated by President George W. Bush for the position of undersecretary of the treasury for domestic finance, the White House announces. "Bob will bring wisdom and an extraordinary range of knowledge to this important position, and the country should be grateful for his willingness to render this significant public service," President Brodhead says in a statement. If confirmed, Steel, a l973 Duke graduate, will be responsible for leading the Department of the Treasury's policy on issues such as fiscal policy, domestic finance and government assets. Steel says he will accept the position under the condition that he is allowed to continue leading the Board of Trustees.

Liestoppers publishes a major blogpost entitled “Occam’s Razor” which investigates problems with DA Nifong’s case-- the contradictions between Crystal Mangum’s written statement and statements by other witnesses, the lack of DNA evidence, the absence of physical trauma to Mangum, the early failures of identification, the shortcomings of the police investigation, and doubts about the credibility of the accuser. The post, documented in great detail, suggests that the simplest explanation is that there was no sexual assault and that the charges are a hoax.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 6: KC Johnson analyzes the Joint Omnibus Motion to Compel Discovery filed by defense attorneys on August 31 in a Durham in Wonderland post “The Defense Strikes Back.” Johnson discusses new information from the motion, including the April 4 request by City Manager Patrick Baker for a timeline of the case from Durham Police Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, the lack of notes from the first two photo lineups on March 16 and 21, and the disagreement between Gottlieb and DA Nifong about what transpired in their April 11 meeting with Crystal Mangum.

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 7: The Duke Chronicle features an interview with athletic director Joe Alleva which reveals that Duke will update its student-athlete handbook instead of coming up with a new code of conduct for athletes. When President Richard Brodhead reinstated the men's lacrosse team in June, the program returned under its own code of conduct, which includes specific penalties for a list of potential infractions. At the time, Alleva said his department--in concert with the coaches and student athletes--would draft an over-arching code for all teams to be distributed early in the fall. "We're not doing a code of conduct," Alleva now says. "We've always had a student-athlete handbook that has rules and regulations in it, and we've updated the handbook to put more meat into it and more detail to it." All student athletes are now required to self report all off-campus infractions to their respective head coach within 48 hours.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 8: The Johnsville News blog publishes an exploration of the record of black journalist Cash Michaels’ reporting of the lacrosse controversy. Early on, Michaels, who writes for the Wilmington Journal, wrongly suggested that “hush money” had been offered to Mangum or her family to drop the charges. More recently he has suggested that “something must have happened” at the lacrosse party, but has also criticized DA Nifong’s failure to follow proper procedures. Michaels has also confirmed that CBC News correspondent Ed Bradley has been doing interviews for a “60 Minutes” segment on the case in October.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 9: A News & Observer investigation charges that Durham Police Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, lead investigator in the lacrosse case, unfairly targets Duke students. Members of the lacrosse legal defense team are now closely examining the arrests Gottlieb made before the alleged rape. Records show that the sergeant arrested a disproportionate number of Duke students, all on misdemeanor violations such as carrying an open beer in public or violating the city's noise ordinance. Such charges usually earn an offender a ticket such as those issued for speeding. But court records show Gottlieb often arrested Duke students on such charges, taking them to jail in handcuffs. Gottlieb got the lacrosse case weeks after serving 10 months as a patrol shift supervisor in police District 2, which includes about a quarter of the city. From May 2005 to February 2006, when Gottlieb was a patrol supervisor in the district, court records show that Gottlieb arrested 28 people. Twenty were Duke students, including a quarterback of the football team and the sister of a men's lacrosse player. At least 15 of the Duke students were taken to jail. In comparison, the three other squad supervisors working in District 2 during the same 10 months -- Sgts. Dale Gunter, John Shelton and Paul Daye -- tallied a combined 64 arrests. Two were Duke students. Both were taken to jail. Gottlieb often treated Duke students and nonstudents differently. For example, Gottlieb in 2004 wrote a young man a citation for illegally carrying a concealed .45-caliber handgun and possessing less than a half-ounce of marijuana, but records indicate he wasn't taken to jail. He was not a Duke student.

Another News & Observer article looks at Sgt. Mark Gottlieb’s off-duty activities. Gottlieb was placed on administrative duties in July after he and four other officers were questioned about an assault outside Blinco’s, a Raleigh sports bar. After an investigation by Raleigh detectives, two Durham officers, but not Gottlieb, were charged with misdemeanor assault. Gottlieb also ran a red light and struck another vehicle in 2005 but did not receive a ticket. Gottlieb struck Joseph George Stevens on March 30, 2005, on Creedmoor Road in northwest Raleigh. He caused $7,000 in damage, according to an accident report that faulted Gottlieb. No injuries were reported. Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue states the handling of the Gottlieb accident was not unusual. For many years, he said, the unwritten rule among Raleigh police officers was to not issue citations in wrecks unless there was a serious injury or alcohol was involved. Sughrue doesn't see any evidence that Gottlieb was treated differently than most people involved in wrecks.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 13: Chronicle columnist Jon Detzel, in an article titled “Enough Already,” expresses the wishes of some Duke students that the whole controversy over the lacrosse incident would go away:
“Unfortunately after nearly six months of hyper-exaggerated and partisan media and community outrage-and a summer of continuous investigation, fact-checking and, above all, debunking-we are still consumed by the legacy of one of our darkest hours.
As a result, our reputation is in jeopardy like never before. Our name has become synonymous with words like rape, privilege, alcohol abuse and prejudice. The innocent days of "work hard, play hard" are over, since to the outside world that mantra only seems to justify the alleged crimes of the lacrosse team and the Duke mentality they purportedly personify. Sadly, the days of "work hard, play not so much" are at hand.
The issue dominates our collective consciousness. And I am sick and tired of hearing about it.”
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 14: The two Durham police officers charged in July with assaulting a cook outside a Raleigh sports bar are fired, Chief Steve Chalmers announces. Gary P. Lee, 38, and Scott C. Tanner, 33, the two officers who face misdemeanor assault charges after a fight outside Blinco's, have seven days to appeal their dismissals through a city grievance process. "These two were involved in what I would describe as nothing less than a public brawl with a perfect stranger," Chalmers said. "It really failed to rise to the level of what we expect from our officers." Chalmers also says at a news conference that no disciplinary action would be taken against three other officers questioned about their alleged involvement in the Wake County incident. Two of those officers are involved in the Duke lacrosse case; an internal investigation cleared Sgt. Mark Gottlieb and officer Richard D. Clayton.

Durham Police Chief Stephen Chalmers defends Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, the controversial lead investigator in the lacrosse case who has been charged with targeting Duke students. Chalmers says Gottlieb was just doing his job last year when he aggressively cracked down on partying college students in the Trinity Park neighborhood. A Sept. 9 article in The News & Observer recounted that Gottlieb had arrested at least 20 Duke students during his time in District 2, a number disproportionate compared with three other patrol sergeants working in the same area at the time. Court records show Gottlieb arrested many of those students and took them to jail on minor misdemeanor charges. Meanwhile, some nonstudents intercepted by Gottlieb were not arrested, but instead were written citations on more serious charges such as possession of marijuana and a concealed firearm. The police chief now says officers patrolling Trinity Park were specifically instructed to arrest problem students rather than cite them. Gottlieb not only was carrying out those directions, Chalmers says, but was likely to have made more arrests than other officers because he volunteered to work extra shifts patrolling areas near Duke's campus. "Most sergeants don't make many arrests at all, but Mark is a hands-on supervisor," Chalmers said. "He was doing his job. He was just doing it more aggressively than some others. That doesn't mean he was wrong."

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15: Duke Professor Orrin Starn writes an op-ed article “A Grand Show of Arrogance by Duke Athletics” in the Herald-Sun critical of the Duke Athletic Department and its director Joe Alleva. Starn calls for Duke to abandon NCAA Division I athletics in favor of club sports.

The Johnsville News blog discusses why it took Durham police three weeks to obtain a written statement from Crystal Mangum after the alleged attack, and how “statement analysis” would help determine the truth and credibility of her April 6 statement to police.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 16: Durham in Wonderland features a post entitled “Understanding SANE” in which KC Johnson states that 1) Crystal Mangum’s injuries were not consistent with the attack she described; 2) Sgt. Gottlieb’s after-the-fact notes about the SANE results lack credibility; and 3) Duke Hospital did not follow protocol with Mangum’s SANE exam there. Johnson credits the blog “Forensic Talk” by Kathleen Eckelt R.N. for expert opinion about how the case was handled.
.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18: In a new motion, defense lawyers request the handwritten notes from a security guard who observed Crystal Mangum when she first reported being sexually assaulted. Gerri L. Wilkes was working on March 14 at the Durham Access Center, a mental health and detoxification center, when police brought Mangum in because she met the criteria for involuntary commitment. The accuser interacted with three people at the center, according to defense lawyers, but it was not until recently that they realized one of the workers had kept notes from the 40-minute encounter. Earlier this summer, DA Nifong told a judge that no reports of the encounter were made at the center and that an admissions log was all that existed. Kirk Osborn, the defense lawyer, found out about the notes while interviewing Wilkes. Defense lawyers also are trying to get recordings from any radio exchanges among officers on secondary channels on March 14. Defense lawyers also want Nifong to give a precise account of what allegedly occurred that night—a “bill of particulars”. They demand a more precise timeline of the alleged offenses. They ask the prosecution to specify which of the two bathrooms at 610 N. Buchanan the gang-rape allegedly occurred. Lawyers also ask the prosecutor to specify which "sexual act" each defendant is accused of committing.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 19: The Chronicle reports that the newest edition of Duke’s Bulletin of Information and Regulations specifically forbids the hiring of strippers. In Chapter 5 of the bulletin, "Event Guidelines and Registration," the new rule states "strippers may not be invited or paid to perform at events sponsored by individual students, residential living groups or cohesive units." Stephen Bryan, associate dean of students and director of judicial affairs, says the change was not an addition but rather the inclusion of an accidentally removed policy. A clause regarding exotic dancers originally existed in the bulletin until the 2003-2004 academic year but was inadvertently omitted in 2004 when fire safety guidelines for themed parties were expanded, he explains. This year, the provision was reinstated following the rape accusation against members of the men's lacrosse team. Since then, Duke Student Government leaders have criticized the wording of the clause as unclear, questioning whether the jurisdiction extends to off-campus functions.

The Chronicle publishes an editorial about police tactics used on Duke students:
“In August 2004, an incident at Cafe Parizade provoked charges of racial insensitivity as four seniors filed official complaints alleging misconduct on the part of Duke University Police officers. Students reported that they heard the singing of "We Shall Overcome" from one or more officers as they were clearing the mostly black crowd outside of the party. Upon an internal review, the department absolved the officers of violating any policies.
Last fall, in response to a student gathering at the Belmont apartment complex, Durham police officers tackled several students in an attempt to clear the area and reportedly left one senior with a bloodied face while he was escorted to the squad car in his bathing suit.
These incidents, when viewed in light of more recent reports of harsh treatment of Duke students by local police, paint a troubling portrait of over-the-line police actions. Yet, with the notable exception of the recent firing of the two Durham officers, few if any actions have been taken to redress the growing concern from the Duke community.”
In his Durham in Wonderland blog, KC Johnson lists “Twenty Questions” about the shoddy and incomplete police investigation of Mangum’s charges of sexual assault.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMEBR 20: DA Nifong files a motion to compel defense lawyers to reveal whether they hired a pollster to test the mood of potential jurors. The motion contains an affidavit filed by Nifong's wife, Cy Gurney, that describes a call she received Sept. 11. The surveyor wanted to gauge attitudes in the community, according to the affidavit, and then went on to ask a number of questions about the Duke lacrosse case. In her affidavit, Gurney says the person who questioned her about the case asked how likely she would be to believe a stripper who said she was raped and whether she believed Durham investigators conducted an unfair lineup of suspects in the case. "Many of the questions asked, however, actually constituted a thinly-disguised attempt to influence the opinions of respondents," Nifong writes in the motion. In a joint response, defense attorneys say they had informed Nifong on Aug. 25 that they defense was likely to conduct such polling and that it was necessary because of what they call prejudicial comments by the DA early in the case. The polling, defense attorneys said, was limited to 300 interviews. According to the motion, the New York research firm Central Research Services, Inc., conducted the poll. Nifong also files a second motion asking the state to pay $595 for a drug test administered to the accuser for the drug Ecstasy. The court document says a defense attorney for a player who was not charged had told Nifong that the woman was on the drug. The motion does not reveal what the test results showed

The Johnsville News blog analyzes an essay “Coda: Bodies of Evidence” by Duke Professor Karla FC Holloway giving her take on the lacrosse controversy. She is a supporter of Crystal Mangum and one of the Group of 88 who signed an ad in The Chronicle.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 22: At a major hearing today, the first before Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III, DA Nifong says the three indicted lacrosse players took only five to 10 minutes to sexually assault Crystal Mangum, hired to perform as a stripper at a team party, and not the 30 minutes she originally described to investigators. "When something happens to you that is really awful, it can seem like it takes place longer than it actually takes," Nifong states. Observers note that this represents yet another change in the timeline of the alleged assault according to Mangum and Nifong. At the hearing Judge Smith denies a defense request that prosecutors provide a detailed accounting before trial of the alleged assault, including the exact time, place and type of sexual act the accuser said each defendant committed. Kirk Osborn, who represents Reade Seligmann, says the defense needs the "bill of particulars" because the accuser has told several different versions of the alleged assault, and his client has a right to know which version prosecutors will present at trial. Nifong says he is not required to state the exact time of the alleged attack, but offers that authorities believe it took place between 11:30 p.m. on March 13, when the accuser arrived at the party, and 12:55 a.m. on March 14, when police arrived and found no one at the house. "Out of his client's whole life, we have given him an hour and a half that he has to account for," Nifong states. The timing is crucial, according to Osborn, who says Seligmann made eight calls on his cell phone between 12:05 a.m. and 12:14 a.m., when he called a cab company for a ride. The cab took Seligmann to an ATM, a fast-food restaurant, and finally back to his dorm at 12:46 a.m.
At the hearing defense attorney Bradley Bannon asks for the details of the DNA testing, including lab bench notes from DNA Security Inc., but Nifong mocks the request. "I have to note the irony," Nifong says. Nifong tells the judge that the lawyers held news conferences after both rounds of DNA testing were complete to announce that the tests showed no rape occurred. Yet now, the prosecutor states, the lawyers wanted the type of information defense lawyers often use to attack the reliability of DNA tests. "It's interesting now that they are trying to get information that would help dispute those tests," Nifong says, noting that the information the defense wanted copied from the private lab would cost $4,000. Bannon raises his voice at the hearing saying that the district attorney obtained indictments despite the first DNA tests, which were negative. "The state chose to pursue this evidence. We are entitled to this information that we're asking for no matter how much it costs." After the verbal sparring, Judge Smith orders Nifong to provide the DNA information within 30 days and the state court system to pay the costs of the lab employees' time and resources. It later turns out that the DNA testing records reveal that Nifong and lab director Brian Meehan withheld exculpatory evidence that DNA from other men was present on and in Crystal Mangum, leading to Nifong’s eventual downfall.
The prosecution announces at the hearing that the recordings of all Durham Police Department radio calls for March 13th and 14th have been destroyed. Durham Police Department tape use policy calls for tapes to be reused after 60 days. Even though the police tapes were requested in an April 28th motion by the defense, and ordered by Judge Stephens on May18th, the prosecution now maintains that the tapes were destroyed on or after May 13th, just five days or less before Judge Stephens’ order.
At the hearing DA Nifong also asserts that he did not discuss the specifics of the case when he met Crystal Mangum on April 11, a claim met with skepticism by defense attorneys but not challenged by Judge Smith.
Defense attorneys at the hearing ask Judge Smith to compel Nifong to respond more quickly to their requests for evidence. Nifong doesn't return phone calls or respond to written motions, the attorneys claim. "I think we could've made this process much more simple if Mr. Nifong was just willing to sit down and talk with us," defense attorney Joseph Cheshire says. "I apologize if I'm not doing things the way they want things to be done," Nifong replies. "This isn't the only (criminal) case in Durham."
Nifong turns more material over to defense attorneys at the hearing including e-mails sent by Durham police officers investigating the case, reports summarizing information retrieved from lacrosse players' computers, investigator notes and a CD with e-mail activity among seven people at Duke. Judge Smith also loosens a previous “gag order” by Judge Kenneth Titus restricting public statements by the defendants, their families and other potential witness; their lawyers; and prosecutors.
The Johnsville News blog investigates charges that racial slurs were used during and after the lacrosse team party in March. With the exception of the comment reported by neighbor Jason Bissey, the post concludes that claims of racial slurs by the lacrosse players have been exaggerated.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 23: In a prescient analysis of the September 22 hearing, KC Johnson writes in a blogpost “The D.A.’s Tough Day” about the defense attorneys’ request for more details about DNA testing:
“It’s easy to see the Nifong distraction for yesterday’s hearing: his bizarre obsession with defense attorneys’ routine decision to poll 300 Durham County residents about the case. What, then, is the bombshell evidence he expects? I suppose we’ll learn in a few days, but for now, my money is on the DNA. Defense lawyers want complete information about the second round of DNA testing, with a suggestion that there might be additional matches to people other than lacrosse players (no matches with the accuser) and the accuser’s three admitted sexual partners in the week before the party (one match, of three). If additional DNA exists, and that DNA belongs to someone not yet tested, then the accuser concealed information about her number of sexual partners in the days before the party.
Nifong’s objection to the evidence? Its $4035 pricetag. This sudden burst of frugality seems particularly rich given the nearly $23,000 that Nifong already spent to conduct a highly unusual second round of DNA tests—a fact that Brad Bannon pointed out yesterday. The judge, of course, ordered the D.A. to supply the material by October 20, so we'll soon see specifically what Nifong didn't want to turn over.”

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 25: Kim (Roberts) Pittman, the second dancer at the lacrosse team party, is placed on house arrest for parole violations in an unrelated incident. She appears in court on a probation violation in connection with a 2001 conviction for embezzlement. She stole $25,000 from a photo-finishing company in Durham, where she was a payroll specialist, according to court documents. Pittman failed to pay restitution to her former employer, missed appointments with her probation officer and left North Carolina without permission. She is placed on house arrest for between 60 and 120 days and has her probation extended for three years.

Kevin Finnerty, the father of indicted Duke lacrosse player Collin Finnerty, say he was outraged when District Attorney Mike Nifong asserted that defense lawyers should be punished for violating the prohibition on out-of-court comments. "I was outraged he would say that, given his prior statements," Kevin Finnerty states. "When he first got involved in this case, he inflamed the story locally and nationally with his opinions, before doing the investigation." At a court hearing Sept. 22, Superior Court Judge Smith modified an order that had prevented players and their families from speaking in public. Smith reminded lawyers that they must abide by North Carolina's Rules of Professional Conduct, which prohibit lawyers from making out-of-court statements that could prejudice the outcome of a case. Prosecutors have added responsibilities: The rules prohibit them from saying things outside court that could heighten public condemnation of the accused.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 27: Duke University has been tracking media coverage since rape allegations involving members of the lacrosse team surfaced in March. John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs, says 75,000 stories were printed or aired about the university and the case during the four months following the allegations. Worries about how people perceive the university led to a nationwide survey. A New York firm conducted a survey in late April, after the first two players were indicted and President Brodhead canceled the lacrosse season. A second survey was done in mid-June, after Brodhead reinstated the lacrosse program and set up several committees to look into campus culture. About 1,600 people, including alumni, Durham residents and the general public were surveyed. "What we found was that it is not having a significant impact on the perception or quality of the university," says Burness. He states that the June survey found 86 percent of the people polled in Durham had a favorable view of the university. "Ultimately, Duke will be judged in this situation, not by the incident itself, but how the university responded to it," states Burness. He reports the majority of the 450 alumni surveyed have a "very favorable" view of the university and how it handled the situation. However, a representative for the group Friends of Duke says, "The closer you are to the situation, the worse Duke's response looks."

KC Johnson explores contradictions in the statements made by DA Nifong over time in a Durham in Wonderland post “M. Nifong, Revisionist.”

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30: Duke Athletic Department officials prevent Duke students from registering other students to vote at the Duke football game today.
Members of Duke Students for an Ethical Durham (DSED) and lacrosse team members are barred from bringing voter registration forms into the football stadium. DSED states it had prior approval for the voter registration drive, which is primarily aimed at Duke students. DSED supports the ouster of DA Nifong.

SPECIFIC REFERENCES BY DATE

9/1/06 Toxicology Test Negative
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/09/01/82338/test-lacrosse-case-accuser-free.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0zHU1YMVr

9/4/10 Lacrosse Team Holds First Practice
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/09/05/63339/duke-returns-to-field.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0zHn5q3ky

http://dukechronicle.com/article/mens-lax-team-returns-practice

9/4/06 New Yorker on Lacrosse Crisis, Brodhead
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/09/04/060904fa_fact#ixzz0zknivKwF

9/5/06 Robert Steel Nominated for Treasury Post
http://dukechronicle.com/article/bush-names-bot-chair-treasury-post

9/5/06 Liestopper’s “Occam’s Razor”
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/09/occams-razor.html

9/6/06 KC Johnson on Joint Omnibus Motion to Compel Discovery
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/09/defense-strikes-back.html

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/09/duke-case-joint-omnibus-motion-to.html

9/7/06 Chronicle Article on Student Athlete Rules
http://dukechronicle.com/article/no-formal-athlete-code-instituted

9/8/06 The Johnsville News on Cash Michaels
http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/09/duke-case-special-ed-for-doubters-with.html

9/9/06 N&O Article on Police Sgt. Mark Gottlieb Targeting Duke Students
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/09/09/69130/detective-got-tough-with-duke.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0zHqDBPdR

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/09/duke-case-war-against-duke.html

9/9/06 Gottlieb Off-Duty Activities
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/09/09/81710/off-duty-activities-looked-at.html#storylink=misearch

9/13/06 Jon Detzel Column in Chronicle
http://dukechronicle.com/article/enough-already

9/14/06 Durham Police Officers Fired Over Blinco’s Incident
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/09/15/76774/2-durham-cops-fired-over-bar-affray.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0zHlHYErS

http://dukechronicle.com/article/2-durham-officers-fired-assault

9/14/06 Police Chief Chalmers Defends Sgt. Gottlieb
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/09/18/78566/police-okd-duke-crackdown.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0zHsqNTMT

9/15/09 The Johnsville News on “Statement Analysis”
http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/09/duke-case-statement-analysis.html

9/16/06 KC Johnson on “Understanding SANE”
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/09/understanding-sane.html

9/18/06 Defense Motion for Bill of Particulars
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/09/19/41579/lacrosse-lawyers-seek-notes.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0zHVxa6bJ

9/19/06 Duke Forbids Strippers
http://dukechronicle.com/article/duke-forbids-exotic-dancers

9/19/06 Chronicle Questions Police Tactics
http://dukechronicle.com/article/questions-plague-police-tactics

9/19/06 KC Johnson’s “Twenty Questions” About Police Investigation
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/09/twenty-questions.html

9/20/06 Nifong Motion on Defense Polling
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/09/21/35674/nifong-assails-phone-survey.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0zHd4kRAX

9/20/10 The Johnsville News on Karla Holloway Essay
http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/09/duke-case-holloways-jungleland.html

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/09/travails-of-karla-holloway.html

9/22/06 First Hearing Before Judge Smith
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/09/23/59852/da-gets-to-wait-on-his-theory.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0zHgvFTXu

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1092104/

http://dukechronicle.com/article/defense-pushes-nifong-specifics-lacrosse-case

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/09/duke-hoax-hearing.html

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/09/duke-case-more-evidence-turned-over.html

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/09/duke-case-oz-moves-to-wonderland.html

9/22/06 The Johnsville News on Racial Slurs
http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/09/duke-case-slur-analysis.html

9/23/06 KC Johnson on Hearing & DNA Test Information Request
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/09/das-tough-day.html

9/25/06 Pittman Placed Under House Arrest
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1058451/
9/25/06 Kevin Finnerty Criticizes Nifong Statement
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/09/26/85077/durham-das-stand-draws-fire.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0zHassrbR

9/27/06 Duke survey
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1058451/
http://dukechronicle.com/article/research-reveals-impact-lax-scandal-dukes-image
9/27/06 KC Johnson on Changes in Statements by Nifong
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/09/m-nifong-revisionist_27.html
9/30/06 Voter Registration Drive at Stadium Blocked by Duke Officials
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/09/black-panthers-welcome-duke-students.html

GENERAL SOURCES

(The Duke lacrosse case article indices in the Raleigh News & Observer and the Duke Chronicle have been taken down following website revisions. Articles can still be found using the search feature of the new websites.)

EVANS et al v. DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, CITY OF et al
http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00739/46882/

MCFADYEN et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al
http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00953/47494/

CARRINGTON et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-ncmdce/case_no-1:2008cv00119/case_id-47871/

Duke University & Brodhead Statements
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/announce_archive.html

Duke University Archive of Media Coverage
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/media_archive.html

Johnsville Blog Posts
http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/06/duke-case-index.html

WRAL Stories
http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/2306295/

KC Johnson’s Case Narrative
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/03/overall-case-narrative.html

Chronology by Vance Holmes “Poetic Justice”
http://www.vanceholmes.com/court/trial_duke_timeline.html

CBS News Chronology
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2006/04/19/in_depth_us/timeline1515358.shtml

AP Chronology
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/18054818/

Wikipedia Timeline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Duke_University_lacrosse_case

Friends of Duke University Media Index
http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/04/links-to-media-1-full.html

New York Times Article Index
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/d/duke_university/duke_lacrosse_sexual_assault_case/index.html?offset=60&s=newest

Hat Tip (More like a complete I am not worthy): sceptical's exhaustive & detailed research into his continuing chronology is a tour de force.

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: AUGUST 2006

2010-08-19T00:55:00.002-04:00

UPDATED CHRONOLOGY OF DUKE LACROSSE CASE: AUGUST 2006

By sceptical

(Special thanks to Quasi, Baldo, JSwift and Q.A. for reviewing the manuscript.)

TUESDAY AUGUST 1: History Prof. Robert KC Johnson of Brooklyn College starts a new blog “Durham in Wonderland,” which proves to be highly influential in the eventual unraveling of the rape hoax. In his first post, entitled “Brodhead Files,” Johnson criticizes Duke President Richard Brodhead’s July 25 response to a statement by the group Friends of Duke University urging more support for the lacrosse players:

“Brodhead’s record on due process matters, alas, extends beyond his silence. While ignoring FODU’s request that he speak out against the dual-procedure structure, the president did use the letter to discuss procedural matters. “We are eager,” he wrote, “for our students to be proved innocent” at trial.
This is an astonishing conception of due process. Brodhead isn’t a lawyer; his training came in English. But surely he understands—and, if not, his University Counsel does—that the purpose of a trial is not for the accused to “be proved innocent”.

The Herald-Sun publishes an article “Lawyers Haggle Over DNA Matches” about DNA results from the bathroom of the Buchanan St. house linked to lacrosse player Matt Zash and a towel found in the house linked to Dave Evans. Blogger John-In-Carolina asserts the article is a re-hash of information previously available in April and argues that the article fits a pattern of biased reporting by the newspaper, its editor Bob Ashley, and reporter John Stevenson.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 2: The News & Observer also prints an article about the DNA matches from the bathroom and a towel, and the issue of their relevance:

“Investigators looking into allegations of rape at a Duke lacrosse party recovered two positive DNA specimens from players who lived at the house, according to a defense attorney. The DNA is in addition to an inconclusive sample taken from a fake fingernail found in the bathroom where accuser Crystal Mangum said she was raped. Genetic material taken from that fingernail, which was in a trash can, could not exclude but was not a match to Dave Evans, who lived at the house and has been indicted.

One of the DNA samples, semen recovered from the bathroom, belonged to Matt Zash, a team captain, his attorney said [yesterday]. Zash, who has been eliminated as a suspect, apparently was watching television in his room while the March party went on. "The fact that Mr. Zash's DNA in any form was found in his own bathroom is evidence of nothing related to his case," said Kerry Sutton, Zash's attorney.

Another specimen matched to Evans was recovered from a towel found in a hallway near Evans' room and the second bathroom in the house. The towel also contained DNA from another person, and SBI testing has conclusively determined that the second specimen did not match the accuser or the 46 members of the lacrosse team who submitted DNA samples, Sutton said.

"It seems to me that the state of North Carolina has spent thousands of dollars to prove that a young college man's DNA is in his house," said Brad Bannon, one of Evans' attorneys. Mark Edwards, a Durham defense lawyer who is uninvolved with the lacrosse case, said the DNA evidence does not appear to have any connection to the state's rape case. "This has nothing to do with nothing. This has to do with 19- 20-year-old males full of testosterone looking for an outlet," Edwards said. "What this evidence tells you is that when you're walking around these guys' house, make sure you have shoes on." “

FRIDAY AUGUST 4: In a blogpost titled “Scapegoating,” KC Johnson explores the forced resignation of Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler and takes Duke President Brodhead to task for claiming that no one on the lacrosse team was scapegoated.
SUNDAY AUGUST 6 : The News & Observer publishes a major article by Joe Neff titled “Lacrosse Files Show Gaps in DAs Case.” The article raises new questions about the investigation of Crystal Mangum’s rape charges and the prosecution of the three Duke lacrosse players. Neff reviews the confidential 1,800 page case files, posssibly leaked to him by defense attorneys, and states:
“ In examining the files Nifong has produced in the case, The News & Observer found that the accuser gave at least five different versions of the alleged assault to different police and medical interviewers and made shaky identifications of suspects. To get warrants, police made statements that weren't supported by information in their files.
The district attorney commented publicly about the strength of the medical evidence before he had seen it. He promised DNA evidence that has not materialized. He suggested that police conduct lineups in a way that conflicted with department policy.”
The Johnsville News expands on the Neff article in a post “Duke Case: Digging through the gaps, inconsistencies and rubble to see the Hoax:
“The underpaid and overworked reporters for The News & Observer are starting to get their keyboards in gear and respond to some of the criticism regarding a lack of solid journalism in their coverage of the Duke lacrosse rape hoax.

Apparently the News & Observer now has access to all 1,800 pages of the case documents Nifong has provided the defense. They also look like they've now read some of the material. Just like Dan Abrams and MSNBC did back in June the News & Observer is now showing that Mike Nifong has no case. He is prosecuting a hoax.”

MONDAY AUGUST 7: Mike Pressler, the Duke lacrosse coach who resigned under pressure in April amid allegations that three of his players raped an “exotic dancer”, is announced as the new lacrosse coach at Bryant University in Rhode Island. Pressler, 46, signed a five-year contract yesterday and will be on campus for the start of the fall semester. He replaces Rory Whipple, who resigned in May after seven years with the Bulldogs. "Some people may be critical, but we have done our due diligence and believe we have made the right decision based on his record as a coach over 24 years," Bryant President Ronald K. Machtley says. Pressler was the national Division I coach of the year in 2005, when he took Duke to a runner-up finish at the NCAA lacrosse championship.

The News & Observer runs a Correction to the August 6 Joe Neff article. Although the error does not change the main conclusions of the article, it undermines the credibility of the piece:
“This report on the Durham lacrosse case Sunday contained an error involving the timing of a discussion between District Attorney Mike Nifong and Investigator Michelle Soucie.
On April 4, Nifong instructed Soucie to nail down what the accuser in the case had done on the day prior to the alleged rape. That was nearly two weeks before the first two indictments in the case.
This error changes the implication of the first five paragraphs of the story: that the conversation between Nifong and Soucie was an example of the words and actions of police and prosecutors outpacing the facts in the file.
The error does not affect the accuracy of the remainder of the story, which reported gaps between the prosecution's words and its evidence.”
TUESDAY AUGUST 8: Durham Police Investigator Ben Himan attempts to get a statement from the owner of Angels Escort Service, for whom accuser Crystal Mangum worked. The following is from Himan’s written contemporaneous notes:

8/8/06 - Called both numbers for 490-0444, 846-0219 (0291), called Angels Escort Service spoke to a female who stated she was "tammy”. I asked if we could set up an appointment to get a statement. She stated that she had already told me everything that she was not there. I stated that there is some information that I have received that someone called later and spoke with you. She they she can hardly remember and that she wishes we would have got a statement back when it happened. I stated to her that I tried meeting with her and asked for a statement when I first talked to her, I reminded her the last time I talked to her, I asked simple information like, name, date of birth, she wouldn’t give me any information. She became upset on the phone and stated that she would give me information and asked for my number, office number was given.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 9: A committee is formed to raise money to have anyone but Mike Nifong appointed the next district attorney, and Steve Monks announces that he will wage a write-in candidacy for the job. Earlier in the week, Nifong, who has been under harsh criticism over his handling of the Duke lacrosse case, sends a letter to supporters asking for a "substantial contribution" to help him run "an aggressive, highly visible campaign." Durham Board of Elections officials certify 100 signatures for lawyer and county Republican Party Chairman Steve Monks. A blank line over the words "(write in)" will appear on the November ballot for his name. After a successful petition drive authorized by county Commissioner Lewis Cheek to have his name added to the ballot as an independent candidate, Cheek then announced that he would not run, nor would he accept the job -- although he would vote for himself. If Cheek were to win and turn down the job, the governor would appoint the next district attorney. Durham residents organize a political action committee called "Committee to Recall Nifong--Vote Cheek." A spokeswoman for the group, Beth Brewer of Durham, declines to comment.

News & Observer reporter Joe Neff answers readers’ questions in a new N&O article in the wake of his blockbuster August 6 expose based on the lacrosse case files.

Prof. Robert KC Johnson in a Cliopatria blogpost discusses the new time-line information from the August 6 Neff article and how it suggests that DA Nifong may have known about the negative DNA results earlier than previously suspected.

Democratic strategist Susan Estrich acknowledges the weakness of DA Nifong’s procedures in an important blogpost “Duke Case: Failure of Procedure.” The article indicates a change in opinion of some liberal commentators after disclosure of the case files.

“Consider: The District Attorney went to the grand jury for an indictment before he even performed DNA tests (it turns out there was no match). One of the investigators was still collecting prices for DNA tests while the DA was giving interviews. He announced to the press that he was certain that a rape had taken place before excluding the possibility that the woman's physical symptoms were the result of sex with another man (turns out she'd had sex with her boyfriend within the preceding 24 hours). They were still investigating the woman's whereabouts during the 24 hours leading up to the party, and they had already been to the grand jury. The prosecutor relied on a photographic identification procedure that reportedly violated the standards of his own department. If the discovery is any indication, his case is sitting on quicksand.”
SATURDAY AUGUST 12: Prof. Bill Anderson explores the important role blogs have played in informing the public about the Duke lacrosse case in a posting “Blogs and the Mainstream Media.” He mentions the contributions of Liestoppers, the Johnsville News, John-in-Carolina, Friends of Duke University, and KC Johnson. He also notes that the blogs of the News & Observer’s Melanie Sill and Ruth Sheehan have provided a forum for readers to give feedback on the newspaper’s coverage.

MONDAY AUGUST 14: Black columnist Cash Michaels is interviewed on WLIB-AM by Gary Byrd and criticizes the actions of DA Nifong and the Durham PD in the lacrosse case:

“As recently as two weeks ago the Chief of Police is telling my investigator, "Oh, certainly" the PD is satisfied with its investigation and the strength of the case. Chalmers noted the City Manager's continuing full support, D.A. Nifong's continuing full support, and when they have their day in court the fruits of the investigation will be apparent. Well, Gary, based on what we now know, they don't have anything. This case may not get to trial, because after the case management conference currently scheduled for August 21st, then comes the time for fast and furious defense counsel motions arguing that these charges have to be dismissed...now. Nifong recently had to admit that evidence he'd hoped to have "we ended up not having."

TUESDAY AUGUST 15: Moezeldin Elmostafa, an alibi witness for one of the players charged in the Duke lacrosse rape investigation -- only to be arrested on a three-year-old shoplifting warrant – appears in court on a shoplifting charge that he says is unfounded. After uncovering a surveillance tape from Hecht's department store, a prosecutor changes the charges against taxi driver Elmostafa from misdemeanor larceny to aiding and abetting misdemeanor larceny. Assistant DA Ashley Cannon and an attorney for Elmostafa, Karen Bethea-Shields, tell a District Court judge that the case will go to trial Aug. 29. Elmostafa signed a sworn statement in April saying that on the night of the Duke lacrosse party, he picked up Reade Seligmann and another player and drove them to a cash machine, a fast-food burger joint and then a campus dorm. In May, an investigator in the lacrosse case arrested Elmostafa on a 2003 warrant charging him with shoplifting from Hecht's. The cab driver has said the warrant came after he gave a cab ride to a woman who later pleaded guilty to stealing from the department store. Elmostafa has said that once he learned about the theft, he helped investigators with the case. Lawyers representing the players are raising questions about why authorities made the arrest and ask whether someone is trying to intimidate Elmostafa, who is planning to apply for U.S. citizenship.
Attorneys for the three indicted Duke lacrosse players meet with DA Nifong and court officials to discuss having the case declared “exceptional.” The designation would attach a single judge to handle the pretrial matters and the trial. That judge would have the authority to set hearing dates and handle other scheduling issues. After the meeting, Durham Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson says all parties had agreed on a single judge to nominate to state court officials, who must approve the choice.
The Johnsville News questions why accuser Crystal Mangum’s multiple statements that she had been robbed during the March 12-13 events have been ignored by DA Mike Nifong:
“Mike Nifong has never used the word, robbery, nor was any charge of robbery included in the indictments against the three Duke men. The crime of robbery has mysteriously disappeared from the Duke lacrosse case.
But, robbery was a major element of the crime when the story first broke in March.”

THURSDAY AUGUST 17: Senior Resident Superior Judge Orlando Hudson sends a letter to the NC State Chief Justice, Sarah Parker, recommending that a single Superior Court judge be appointed to oversee the Duke lacrosse alleged rape case. Doing so, Hudson writes, would "promote efficient administration of justice" because a single judge could, in part, "more expeditiously handle and rule on the motions and issues as they arise by having a thorough knowledge of the history of the actions and of the legal and factual issues." Judge Hudson states that he met with DA Nifong and defense attorneys for the three indicted players and that they were in agreement about declaring the case “exceptional.” Much later, observers note that this step was a turning point in the case because judicial decisions were taken out of the hands of Durham jurists such as Judges Ronald Stephens and Kenneth Titus who were associates of DA Nifong.

FRIDAY AUGUST 18: State Chief Justice Sarah Parker signs off on an agreement that will allow a single judge to preside over all proceedings in the Duke case. Superior Court Judge Osmond Smith is assigned to the case, which is expected to go to trial in the Spring of 2007. Defense attorney Joe Cheshire says, "I am very pleased at the appointment of Judge Smith," he said. "He is universally respected as one of North Carolina's hardest-working and most even-handed judges. I am glad we were able to agree on his appointment, and I look forward to this case now having some positive and secure direction."

SATURDAY AUGUST 19: County Commissioner Lewis Cheek, an attorney, writes a letter in the News & Observer explaining that he will not campaign for the District Attorney office because of economic reasons. “Efforts to find a way to protect my law firm from economic harm caused by my departure continued after that successful petition effort. No workable solution was found. Therefore, I couldn’t run and wouldn’t be able to serve as District Attorney.”.

MONDAY AUGUST 21: The Liestoppers blog in a series of articles examines the lack of consistent evidence backing up a number of confident statements by DA Nifong and Durham PD spokespersons about the case, including comments about the 911 phone call and Nifong’s about-face about the importance of DNA results. In “Another Hoax Within A Hoax” Liestoppers looks at the timeline of the events of March 15-31 and suggests that Nifong was bluffing in his public statements to the press.

TUESDAY AUGUST 22: Trinity Park residents welcome first-year Duke students to East Campus residence halls, bringing them gift baskets loaded with home-baked cookies, brownies, candy, nuts, fruit and sugary messages. Trinity Park, the neighborhood just beyond the stone wall rimming the freshman campus, has been the epicenter of a long struggle between Durham and some Duke students who throw raucous parties. The friction was widely publicized after the lacrosse team party with escort service dancers, underage drinking and criminal allegations. Now, months later, residents and students hope to relieve some of the tension by starting the new school year on a different tenor. Alice Bumgarner, a Trinity Park resident, organized the basket drive. This fall, Duke student body President Elliott Wolf has made better town-gown relations a priority of his administration.

The Johnsville News runs a prescient post “Duke Case Tipping Point: When Does the Mainstream Media Call This Case A Hoax?” The article notes that the Johnsville News itself was the first to label the case a hoax on June 16, 2006 and that Michael Gaynor first called it such in the headline of his July 7, 2006 blogpost.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 23: Duke President Richard Brodhead welcomes freshmen to campus in a convocation at Duke Chapel. Brodhead does not dwell on the school's lacrosse team rape case, but he uses the allegations of underage drinking, boorish behavior and sexual assault to teach the new students about the possible aftermath of off-campus parties and what he said was a renewed obligation of civility. "The resulting legal accusations remain unresolved, and we pray that they will be resolved in speedy, fair and decisive fashion," Brodhead said toward the end of his speech. "But in addition to the contested legal charges, larger questions were raised about responsible student behavior and the boundaries of acceptable conduct. Not a single [one] of those questions is unique to Duke, but we are not free to ignore them."

THURSDAY AUGUST 24: The Chronicle reports that new Duke men’s lacrosse coach John Danowski arrived in Durham last week and is actively at work preparing for the new school year.

FRIDAY AUGUST 25: DA Nifong and defense attorneys for the three indicted Duke lacrosse players meet with Superior Court Judge Osmond Smith for an hour to discuss the case. Smith, who had been appointed last week to handle all aspects of the case, sets a Sept. 22 hearing for pretrial motions, and issues an order barring cameras and recorders from the courtroom for all pretrial hearings.

The New York Times publishes a major, controversial article by Duff Wilson and Jonathan Glater-- largely based on the previously unrevealed, after-the-fact case notes written by Durham Police Sgt. Mark Gottlieb. Titled “Files from Duke Rape Case Give Details But No Answers,” the article reads in part:
“…Whether the woman was in fact raped is the question at the center of a case that has become a national cause célèbre, yet another painful chapter in the tangled American opera of race, sex and privilege. Defense lawyers, amplified by Duke alumni and a group of bloggers who have closely followed the case, have portrayed it as a national scandal — that there is only the flimsiest physical evidence of rape, that the accuser is an unstable fabricator, and that Mr. Nifong, in the middle of a tight primary campaign, was summoning racial ghosts for political gain.
By disclosing pieces of evidence favorable to the defendants, the defense has created an image of a case heading for the rocks. But an examination of the entire 1,850 pages of evidence gathered by the prosecution in the four months after the accusation yields a more ambiguous picture. It shows that while there are big weaknesses in Mr. Nifong’s case, there is also a body of evidence to support his decision to take the matter to a jury.
Crucial to that portrait of the case are Sergeant Gottlieb’s 33 pages of typed notes and 3 pages of handwritten notes, which have not previously been revealed. His file was delivered to the defense on July 17, making it the last of three batches of investigators’ notes, medical reports, statements and other evidence shared with the defense under North Carolina’s pretrial discovery rules.
In several important areas, the full files, reviewed by The New York Times, contain evidence stronger than that highlighted by the defense: …”

Within hours of the appearance of the New York Times article by Wilson and Glater, the group of bloggers known as Liestoppers goes on-line with a devastating critique of the New York Times article, pointing out in detail numerous errors and omissions. The blogpost is a milestone in on-line citizen journalism. The Liestoppers post concludes:

“The New York Times has published an article that is lengthy but chooses to ignore many of the basic facts of the case. Was the New York Times really so taken in by the sudden magical appearance of Gottlieb's notes four months after the night of March 13th? With the release of these notes it is eminently clear that Nifong is not the only evil actor in this travesty. It is extremely disappointing that the New York Times would chose to facilitate rather than expose this hoax.”

Real Clear Politics’ Tom Bevan reports that DA Nifong is the source of the leak to the New York Tines in an attempt to spin public perception of the case: “District Attorney Mike Nifong leaked all 1,850 pages of evidence in the Duke Lacrosse Case to the New York Times in hope of countering the public perception that the whole thing is a sham and a textbook example of prosecutorial abuse.”

Later that day, Prof. KC Johnson also analyzes the problems with the Wilson/Glater article in the New York Times with a “Durham In Wonderland” post titled “More Bad Times.” Johnson argues the Times article shows bias against the lacrosse players, avoids asking key questions of Nifong, and takes Sgt. Gottlieb’s case report written 3 months after-the-fact without the skepticism called for because of the inconsistencies between Gottlieb’s report with other contemporaneous records.

SATURDAY AUGUST 26: Prof. Bill Anderson criticizes the Wilson/Glater article in a blogpost “Desperate Times” and puts it in context of other ideological reporting by the New York Times:
“…While supporters of Nifong will claim that this article from the "newspaper of record" sheds further light in favor of the prosecution, it actually does the opposite. First, and most important, it tells us that the most important "mainstream" newspaper in the world does not ask serious questions when clear discrepancies are raised. Second, it also tells us that when an agent of the state lies, and uses the prosecutorial apparatus in a dishonest and abusive way, the agent can find refuge in the New York Times if the desired outcome can validate the Times’ politically-correct view of the world.
Tawana Brawley disappointed the editors of the Times, who obviously were hoping that the girl’s story was true. Having been burned once, the editors this time apparently have decided that they will continue to press the lie no matter what the truth may be. They will stand by their man, Michael Nifong, and stand by him to the bitter end. But they will stand by him.”
SUNDAY AUGUST 27: The News & Observer’s Joe Neff discusses new information from the “Supplemental Case Notes” produced by Sgt. Mark Gottlieb in an article titled “Cop says nurse found trauma in Duke case.”

KC Johnson writes about what he describes as the biased coverage of the Durham Herald-Sun of the lacrosse case in a “Durham in Wonderland” blogpost titled “Eyes Wide Shut.”

MONDAY AUGUST 28: John Pessah profiles several figures on the Duke campus and how they have been affected by the lacrosse controversy in an article for ESPN The Magazine titled “Months later, unanswered questions haunt Duke.” He writes about women’s lacrosse coach Kerstin Kimmel, anthropology professor and athletic critic Orin Starn, black studies professor and radical Wahneema Lubiano, lacrosse players Yanni Newton and Matt Zash, and new lacrosse head coach John Danowski.

Two Duke students launch a drive to register Duke students to vote so they can cast a ballot against DA Nifong. Juniors Emily Wygod and Christiane Regelbrugge are so outraged by Nifong's handling of the lacrosse rape case that they start a voter registration campaign on campus. The students sit outside the student center on Duke's West Campus trying to drum up new voters in Durham. They hand out 300 registration forms by late Monday and receive 35 back. By Oct. 13, the last day to register for the November almost 17 percent of the 12,000 students on campus. In past elections, Duke students have not made up a high percentage of the 140,897 registered voters. Late last week, elections, Regelbrugge and Wygod hope to have registered more than 2,000 students, or there were 650 registered voters on Duke's East Campus and 712 registered voters on West Campus, according to the Durham County Board of Elections.

TUESDAY AUGUST 29: Cab driver Moezeldin Elmostafa is found not guilty today of shoplifting by Judge Ann McKown. Elmostafa, 37, was charged with aiding and abetting misdemeanor larceny in a 2003 shoplifting case in which he was accused of stealing five purses worth about $250 from a Durham department store. Among those observing the trial are Durham police officers Ben Himan and Richard Clayton, who glared at Elmostafa. Critics of DA Nifong claim that Elmostafa’s arrest is part of an effort to influence his testimony concerning Reade Seligmann’s alibi evidence; Elmostafa had picked-up Seligmann and a classmate in his taxi after the team party where Crystal Mangum claimed she was assaulted..

Stuart Taylor, Jr. criticizes the August 25 New York Times article by Duff Wilson and Jonathan Glater in a Slate post “Witness for the Prosecution? The New York Times is still victimizing innocent Dukies”:
“…The Wilson-Glater piece highlights every superficially incriminating piece of evidence in the case, selectively omits important exculpatory evidence, and reports hotly disputed statements by not-very-credible police officers and the mentally unstable accuser as if they were established facts. With comical credulity, it features as its centerpiece a leaked, transparently contrived, 33-page police sergeant's memo that seeks to paper over some of the most obvious holes in the prosecution's evidence.
This memo was concocted from memory, nearly four months after the underlying witness interviews, by Durham police Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, the lead investigator. Gottlieb says he took no contemporaneous notes, an inexplicable and indefensible police practice. Gottlieb had drawn fire before the alleged Duke rape—perhaps unbeknownst to the Times—as a Dukie-basher who reveled in throwing kids into jail for petty drinking infractions, noise violations, and the like, sometimes with violent criminals as cellmates.
Gottlieb's memo is contradicted on critical points by the contemporaneous notes of other police officers, as well as by hospital records seeming to show that the accuser did not have the injuries Gottlieb claims to have observed. The Times blandly mentions these contradictions while avoiding the obvious inference that the Gottlieb memo is thus unworthy of belief.”

Two Durham residents, Kim Brummell and Victoria Peterson, start a group “Citizens for Mike Nifong,” according to an article in the Chronicle.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 30: KC Johnson analyzes the case of Moezeldin Elmostafa, the cab driver who was picked up on an old shoplifting warrant in an apparent attempt to influence his alibi testimony for Reade Seligmann. Johnson finds it disturbing that the warrant was resurrected by Linwood Wilson, Nifong’s investigator, and not the Durham PD; that Nifong ordered he be notified when the cabbie was arrested; and the intimidating presence of Ben Himan and R.D. Clayton at Elmostafa’s August 29 trial (where he was found not guilty).
Duke hires public relations firm Edelman to help publicize positive aspects of the University, officials confirm. The independent global firm will work to select, simplify and present Duke's best characteristics both internally and to the public, says John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations. "I feel pretty strongly, especially in this post-lacrosse environment, that we need to have more clarity in our messages about Duke's distinctive strengths and the wisdom and discipline to emphasize them with clarity," Burness writes in an e-mail to campus leaders Wednesday afternoon. "Edelman presented an exceptionally strong situational analysis to our group and is well known for placing a heavy emphasis on research-driven communications," he says.
An article in the Chronicle profiles Kevin Cassese, who was interim head coach of the Duke lacrosse team after it was reinstated June 5. He is credited with holding the program together until new head coach John Danowski took over. "I got a crash course in how to be a head coach in seven weeks," says Cassese, a 2003 Duke graduate who joined the Blue Devil staff in July 2005 as an assistant coach.
Another Chronicle story features the efforts of some Durham residents and Duke students to oppose the reelection of DA Mike Nifong. The political action committee Recall Nifong-Vote Cheek, which is not affiliated with any particular party, has begun to rally support for the challenger. Since its formation Aug. 9, the grassroot group has grown to include between 50 and 100 members, says spokesperson Beth Brewer. The committee is also attempting to set up voter registration drives at both Duke and North Carolina Central University to encourage out-of-state students to register to vote in the election. "The lacrosse incident got students rallied and excited to vote," she says.
THURSDAY AUGUST 31: Defense attorneys for Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann file joint motions requested a lengthy list of evidence from DA Nifong, including: 1) notes of what the accuser Crystal Mangum told Nifong when she met with him April 11; 2) notes of what Brian Meehan, the director of DNA Security Inc., a Burlington company that analyzed DNA evidence, said during two meetings with Nifong in April; 3) any laboratory reports from a toxicology test done on a sample of Mangum’s hair; and 4) copies of all Durham Police Department e-mail messages about the investigation. The Durham Police Department collected the messages in June in response to a public records request
SPECIFIC REFERENCES BY DATE

August 1 “Brodhead Files” by KC Johnson

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/08/brodhead-files_01.html

August 1: “Duke lacrosse: A fake Herald-Sun story?” by John in Carolina

http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2006/08/duke-lacrosse-fake-herald-sun-story.html

August 2: “Two Lacrosse DNA Tests Are Positive” by Benjamin Niolet in News & Observer

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/08/02/90900/two-duke-lacrosse-dna-tests-are.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0ukdtvjAO

August 4: KC Johnson on Coach Mike Pressler and “Scapegoating”

http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/28870.html

August 6: “Lacrosse Files Show Gaps in DA’s case” by Joe Neff in News & Observer
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/08/06/44677/lacrosse-files-show-gaps-in-das.html#storylink=misearch
August 6: The Johnsville Blog on Neff’s article
http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/08/duke-case-digging-through-gaps.html
August 7: Mike Pressler named head lacrosse coach at Bryant University.
http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20060806_06brylax.1eee8a0.html
August 8: Ben Himan’s Case Notes
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/07/inv-ben-himans-typed-notes-part-3-may.html

August 9: Political Action Committee to oust Mike Nifong formed by Beth Brewer & others in Durham
http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/08/10/76446/nyone-but-nifong-drive-takes.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0vbFhtmj7

August 9: Neff Article Answers Questions From Readers

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/08/09/33323/your-questions-about-the-duke.html#storylink=misearch

August 9: KC Johnson discusses new time-line information from Neff article

http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/29040.html

August 9: Susan Estrich on deficiencies in Nifong’s case
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/8/9/83336.shtml

August 12: Bill Anderson on blogs and the mainstream media

http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson137.html

August 14: Cash Michaels interviewed on radio
http://crystalmess.blogspot.com/2006/08/cash-michaels-on-wlib-am-with-gary.html

August 15: Elmostafa appears in court on shoplifting charge

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/08/15/63909/rape-case-witness-has-court-date.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0uf3IzxQK

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/08/16/33347/taxi-drivers-charge-changed.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0vbIjaGYn

August 15: The Johnsville News on Mangum’s robbery claims

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/08/duke-case-poofthe-grubby-thievery.html

August 17: Osmond Smith appointed as Judge for lacrosse case:

http://dukechronicle.com/article/1-judge-handle-rest-lax-case

August 19: Lewis Cheek letter in the News & Observer about his candidacy

http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/03/expired-documents.html#c115659972862974616

August 21: Liestopper’s “A Hoax Within A Hoax”

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/08/another-hoax-within-hoax.html

August 22: Trinity Park residents welcome freshmen to East Campus

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/08/23/85792/duke-neighbors-seek-fresh-start.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0vbOIXsmN

August 22: Johnsville News on labeling the case a “hoax”

http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/08/duke-case-tipping-point-when-does-main_21.html

August 23: President Brodhead welcomes freshmen at Convocation

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/08/24/89864/students-welcomed-warned-to-behave.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0vbUP76d8

August 24: Danowski in Durham for new job as Duke coach

http://dukechronicle.com/article/danowski-settling-new-job

August 25: “Files from Duke Rape Case Give Details But No Answers” by Duff Wilson and Jonathan Glater in New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/25/us/25duke.html?_r=1&ref=duke_lacrosse_sexual_assault_case

August 25: Liestoppers dissects Wilson/Glater article in New York Times

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/08/enough-from-duff.html

August t 25: “More Bad Times” by KC Johnson concerning New York Times article

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/08/more-bad-times.html

August 26: “Desperate Times” by William Anderson concerning New York Times article

http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson138.html

August 27: Joe Neff on the new information from Gottlieb’s case notes as revealed in the New York Times article

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/08/27/91873/cop-says-nurse-found-trauma-in.html#storylink=misearch

August 27: KC Johnson discusses coverage by Durham Herald-Sun of the case

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/08/eyes-wide-shut_27.html

August 28: ESPN Magazine profiles of six involved with lacrosse case by John Pessahm

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncaa/insider/news/story?id=2563683&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncaa%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d2563683

August 28: Duke students launch registration drive targeted against Nifong

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/08/29/51816/district-attorneys-race-may-attract.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0vbVrzAhG

August 29: Stuart Taylor, Jr. on the Wilson/Glater article in the New York Times

http://www.slate.com/id/2148546

August 29: Elmostafa found not guilty in shoplifting case

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/08/30/38843/cabbie-in-lacrosse-case-acquitted.html#storylink=misearch

August 29: Citizens for Mike Nifong article in Chronicle

http://dukechronicle.com/article/citizens-show-support-nifong

August 30: “The Peculiarities of the Elmostafa Case” by KC Johnson

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/08/peculiarities-of-elmostafa-case.html

August 30: Chronicle Profile of Kevin Cassese, interm lacrosse head coach

http://dukechronicle.com/article/cassese-holds-lax-program-together

August 30: Recall Nifong- Vote Cheek article in Chronicle

http://dukechronicle.com/article/students-town-support-nifong-opponent

August 31: Defense attorneys file joint motion seeking more discovery

http://www.newsobserver.com/2006/09/01/82338/test-lacrosse-case-accuser-free.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz0ukbXZHCN

GENERAL SOURCES

(The Duke lacrosse case article indices in the Raleigh News & Observer and the Duke Chronicle have been taken down following website revisions. Articles can still be found using the search feature of the new websites.)

EVANS et al v. DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, CITY OF et al
http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00739/46882/

MCFADYEN et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al
http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/north-carolina/ncmdce/1:2007cv00953/47494/

CARRINGTON et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-ncmdce/case_no-1:2008cv00119/case_id-47871/

Duke University & Brodhead Statements
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/announce_archive.html

Duke University Archive of Media Coverage
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/mmedia/features/lacrosse_incident/media_archive.html

Johnsville Blog Posts
http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2006/06/duke-case-index.html

WRAL Stories
http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/2306295/

KC Johnson’s Case Narrative
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/03/overall-case-narrative.html

Chronology by Vance Holmes “Poetic Justice”
http://www.vanceholmes.com/court/trial_duke_timeline.html

CBS News Chronology
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2006/04/19/in_depth_us/timeline1515358.shtml

AP Chronology
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/18054818/

Wikipedia Timeline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Duke_University_lacrosse_case

Friends of Duke University Media Index
http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.com/2006/04/links-to-media-1-full.html

New York Times Article Index
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/d/duke_university/duke_lacrosse_sexual_assault_case/index.html?offset=60&s=newest

Hat Tip: sceptical for his great work!

USA World Champs Again

2010-07-24T19:12:00.004-04:00

MANCHESTER, England -- A four-year long rebuilding project by the U.S. men’s national team culminated Saturday in a 12-10 victory over Canada -- the team that dethroned it in 2006 -- in the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship final before 4,651 fans at the University of Manchester.

“We dreamed of this. This was our destiny,” said Team USA head coach Mike Pressler. “The script was written. We just had to go out there and prove it.” Lacrosse Magazine

Congratulations to the Golden Boys!

Clip of them Celebrating!

Has Anything Changed Since the Duke Lacrosse Case?

2010-07-06T12:42:00.003-04:00

Someone asked the question recently...has ANYTHING changed because of the Duke Lacrosse case?

Well...in some ways, yes.

Those of us inside and outside of academia have had the "Rules of Instant and Egregious Condemnation" clarified for us.

1. Three white privileged Lacrosse players accused of raping a Black woman? The three P's apply: POUNCE! PONTIFICATE! PROSLETIZE!

CARPE DIEM!

2. A Black Fraternity guest is accused of raping a white woman? SILENCE.

3. A White but Gay Employee of Duke is accused of pimping out his adopted Black Son? SILENCE.

There would be absolutely no Faculty "Listening" allowed in the latter cases. There is no agenda currency in listening to the agony of a white rape victim or the fear of a poor Black child, sexually exploited by his adopted father. There's no PC teaching moment in it. In fact, the opposite...hence the mandatory group-muffle.

In those last instances the only sound heard on the Duke campus was Kathy Davidson's yawn. Nothing like the incessant public yowls of the Lacrosse case.

We understand now.

The empathy shown for any victim, even a child, must be weighed against the Societal PC Victim Status afforded the Offender....and any Angry Studies Career Protection Points available through incessantly pushing the Metanarrative.

The Duke faculty also understands that if they abide by these rules, and only condemn within these clarifications, their careers will flourish.

So a mutual better understand sans respect does exist.

It's something.

But, how about over at the Durham Police Department? Has anything changed THERE?

Well, in that case, no.

On May 4th 2010 The NC Court of Appeals issued a rebuke of the procedures employed by Durham Detective Richard Clayton, the Durham PD, and the prosecution by overthrowing a conviction and issuing an order for a new trial in the case of STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. DEMONTRE ANTHONY SAMUEL
http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/...df/091230-1.pdf

"Richard Clayton? Now that name rings a bell....a REBUKE?

Oh yes.

Detective Clayton is remembered for his supporting role as one of Sergeant Gottlieb’s investigators in the discredited 2006 Duke Lacrosse Hoax. He was the officer who gave Crystal her first ID attempt on March 16 at her home. Just to review...he showed her four photo arrays of 6 people. Those 24 were ALL members of the Lacrosse Team.

His narrative of the event wasn't submitted until the second round of discovery. This was the first of the violations of DPD General Order 4077 covering ID procedures. Later Clayton was the officer who was sent to arrest Reade Seligmann's alibi witness on trumped up charges, cab driver Moezeldin “Elmo” Elmostafa. Mr. Elmostafa would later testify to what Clayton said to him before his arrest, "The detective asked if I had anything new to say about the lacrosse case. When I said no, they took me to the magistrate..."

Mr. Elmostafa was later exonerated at trial, but nevertheless, he had to endure the injustice of that trial that was without a scintilla of credible evidence or as Stuart Taylor commented was "transparently contrived" and "unworthy of belief."

So what was the basis for this new rebuke of the DPD in the Samuel's case?

One of the main contentions in the Samuel's Appeal Court decision was the introduction of weapons at the trial which also had no scintilla of evidence linking either of the guns to the crimes charged. These weapons came from a search warrant obtained from a questionable ID procedure and subsequent investigation of witnesses who would have conflicting statements to the Police and the Court. These weapons were used to influence the jury decision of guilty.

In the appeal opinion of appellate Judge Linda Stephens and concurred by Chief Judge John Martin it stated;

"..Clayton called Larry down to the station so that Larry “could identify who did it[.]” Larry was shown a photo array created by Clayton containing Defendant’s picture. Larry did not identify his assailant the first two times he viewed the array. Believing that Larry had “paused” at picture number five, Defendant’s picture, Salmon left the room to talk with Clayton. Clayton and Larry’s mother then entered the room to lend “moral support” to Larry. After talking with Larry for five minutes, Clayton and Larry’s mother left the room, and Salmon again showed the photo array to Larry. This time, Larry identified Defendant as the assailant. Salmon went to Clayton’s room with a “smile on his face” to tell Clayton that Larry had identified Defendant in the photo array.

Based on this questionable identification, Clayton obtained a search warrant for Defendant’s home. As a result of the search, the two handguns were found. As discussed supra, there was not a scintilla of evidence linking either of the guns to the crimes charged...."

Now isn't this all very interesting? Was the Duke Lacrosse case one rogue event of "funny business?" Or just business as usual for Durham DPD?

In the civil lawsuit filed 10/05.2010... the exonerated former Lacrosse defendants, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and Dave Evans sought to change the methods and manners of how the DPD investigates cases. Specifically it calls for a federal monitor...for a system out of control and seemingly out of integrity.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1896692/

Richard D. Emery, a New York-based civil rights attorney representing Reade Seligmann, one of the plaintiff trio said to an interview to WRAL TV

"The demands here are to protect other people from false accusations that these boys suffered – other people in Durham and other people throughout the country – by using this case as a deterrent," Emery said.

In particular the civil lawsuit demands

"that all eyewitness identification arrays, lineups, and similar procedures conducted by the Durham Police Department, whether formal or informal, and/or of suspects or “witnesses,” conform to the provisions of General Order No. 4077 and be recorded by videotape "

Some have tried to argue this was unnecessary. Durham is doing fine overseeing itself. The NC Court of Appeals certainly gives the lie to that line of defense.

Two years and 9 months have passed since the plaintiffs filed this lawsuit.

The May 4 Court of Appeals rebuke tells us that at the DPD...nothing much , except the unfortunate targets have changed. The circumstances and ID procedure that were one of the root causes of the false arrest of Duke Lacrosse Players and the harassment of the 2006 Lacrosse Team ... were used again in the case against Demontre Samuel.

One of the same officers is even involved.

Once again we hear essentially the same words..

"There was not a scintilla of evidence..."

Still think the DPD is run by the book?

Still think the DPD doesn't need that Federal nanny?

Still think the Civil Suits are just about money?

Well, then, you must be a Duke Professor...fiddling with that "PC Fairness" calculation by which you wish to run your skewed new world.

Hat Tip: sdsgo