by sceptical
(This is the final segment in a series of chronologies about
the Crystal Mangum/ Mike Nifong rape hoax and attempted frame-up of the 2006
Duke lacrosse team. When I began researching and writing the first part in
early 2009 I had no idea this project would consume nearly four years. I have
decided to conclude the chronology after the “innocent” declaration by Atty.
Gen. Roy Cooper in April 2007. While there have been many subsequent events,
most notably Nifong’s trial and disbarment and the ongoing civil lawsuits, that
day marked the end of the beginning of the Duke Lacrosse Case saga.)
(Throughout the last four years, I have been fortunate to
have an informal board of reviewers who have looked at the final drafts to make
additions, corrections, and suggestions. I would like to thank bloggers Quasi,
Baldo, JSwift, Q.A, and Payback for
reviewing some or all of the chronologies. I do plan to update the entire
series in the future after any access we have to depositions,j and after any
trials in the civil lawsuits. There are still many unanswered questions)
MONDAY APRIL 2: An article in
Newsday quotes prominent North Carolina African-American politician Floyd
McKissick, Jr. as being critical of Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, whom
he supported in the past. McKissick is chairman of the ruling Durham Democratic
Party.
"The
African-American community of Durham wants fairness, and the view is that if
Mr. Nifong was not fair in this case, what's he going to be like in other
cases?" said Floyd McKissick, a prominent African-American lawyer who is
chairman of the Durham Democratic Party and a Duke Law School graduate.
McKissick supported the DA for re-election, but has become increasingly
concerned about allegations that Nifong misused his office in the case.
Brooklyn College Prof. KC Johnson in his blog “Durham-in-Wonderland”
analyzes the role that Judge Ronald Stephen played in prolonging and inflaming the
case against former Duke lacrosse players Dave Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin
Finnerty:
“One of the two people who recommended Mike Nifong to
Governor Easley, Judge Ron Stephens appeared at six critical junctures in the
lacrosse case. At each stage, he made decisions that appeared questionable at
the time, dubious in retrospect, and deeply troubling when viewed in totality.”
TUESDAY APRIL 3: The North
Carolina State Bar announces that a hearing on a motion to dismiss ethics
charges against DA Nifong will be held on April 13, 2007. Nifong’s attorneys
are trying to get charges dropped. Nifong is scheduled to stand trial before the
State Bar on June 12.
Blogger John-in-Carolina writes
an open letter to Duke Vice President Larry Moneta about the “Wanted” and
“Vigilante” posters which appeared on the Duke campus in March 2006 following the
revelation of Crystal Mangum’s accusations, later proved false, that she had
been raped at a lacrosse team party. Moneta was at a March 26, 2006 meeting
with lacrosse parents where a request was made to remove players’ photos from the
goduke.com website. These photos were later used in the posters. John in Carolina asks when the
photos were removed, and if Duke knows who pulled them for the posters.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 4: The CBS television program “60 Minutes”
today receives a prestigious Peabody Award for its broadcast on the Duke
lacrosse case. The Peabody website states: “A
"60 Minutes" team led by correspondent Ed Bradley delved into the
allegations of rape against Duke University lacrosse players and stopped a
prosecutorial rush to judgment in its tracks.”
In an AP story titled “Once-Eventful Duke Lacrosse Case has
Become A Waiting Game,” Aaron Beard reveals that the special prosecutors in the case
are continuing interviews of witnesses and are scheduled to meet with accuser
Crystal Mangum.
“Cooper's spokeswoman,
Noelle Talley, said Wednesday the state's review is ongoing.
"Our attorneys are conducting additional interviews this week, including
meeting with the accuser," she said...”
The North Carolina Senate unanimously approves a bill to
make it easier to remove DAs or judges who have been disbarred. The governor
would declare a judgeship or district attorney's post vacant when the judicial
official is disbarred or suspended from practicing law, if the measure is
enacted. The legislation was filed in response to the case of a District Court
judge who lost his law license. But the bill could also affect DA Nifong if he
is suspended or disbarred. The measure, which now goes to the House for consideration,
would apply only after the judicial officer's appeals before the State Bar have
been exhausted. Once the position is declared vacant, the governor could
appoint a replacement.
In an blogpost, Prof.
William Anderson writes an open letter to North Carolina Attorney General Roy
Cooper: “You have had nearly three
months, and I hear that the basic legwork is over. All that is left for you to
do is to face the cameras and face the music. This will be your moment. You
have a choice: you can lie, or you can tell the truth. I will urge you in no
uncertain terms: tell the truth. You will not regret it.” Anderson urges Cooper to drop the charges,
apologize to the three former lacrosse players, and investigate the actions of
DA Nifong and Judge Ronald Stephens.
FRIDAY APRIL 6: On the first anniversary of the publication
of the so-called “Listening Statement” ad in the Duke Chronicle signed by 88 Duke
faculty members, KC Johnson writes in a blogpost titled “Continued Group of 88
Mysteries” that a number of questions about the controversial ad remain
unanswered. These include whether it was paid out of departmental funds and
whether the departments listed as signatories actually voted to do so. Blogger
John-in-Carolina also explores questions about the funding of the ad.
DA Nifong’s lawyer David Freedman appears on NBC’s “Today”
show and is interviewed by host Matt Lauer. “I believe if he [Nifong] handled it again, he would not make all the
statements that he did,” Freedman tells Lauer. The lawyer also says Nifong
would deal with the DNA evidence differently. He denies that Nifong pursued the
case to pander to Durham’s
African-American community, whose votes helped elect him DA last May. “We steadfastly deny that. At no time did
he do those things to pander to the community,” Freedman claims, adding that
Nifong had worked 29 years as an assistant in the DA’s office and had been
appointed to the DA post. The state Attorney General’s office has taken over
the investigation and is expected to rule soon on whether to continue the case.
Freedman asserts that Nifong “has no interest at this point” in what the
attorney general decides. “He has no personal interest. He’s very
professional,” Freedman says of his client. “Whatever the attorney general’s
office does with the case he’s fine with. He trusts their judgment. “
SATURDAY APRIL 7: Duke junior attackman Zack Greer scores
three of his game-high six goals during a 5-1 Duke run midway through the game
and the Blue Devil lacrosse team holds off a late-game rally by Johns Hopkins
to earn an 11-9 win in Baltimore. The win is the fourth straight for Duke,
which improves to 9-2. Hopkins
drops its third straight and falls to 4-4.
SUNDAY APRIL 8:
Duke
lacrosse players Bo Carrington and Steve Schoeffel speak out in interviews for
an article in the Charlottesville Daily Progress. They talk “
about the experience of becoming villains in the eyes of
their peers - and many people across the country - as well as traveling the
long journey back to the lacrosse field and a return to something close to normalcy.” The players both call for an apology from
Duke for how the team and their former coach, Mike Pressler, was treated by the
University:
“For Carrington and Schoeffel, a true happy ending would include more than just a
national championship. The two players still feel burned by school officials,
who have not apologized to the team for the way things were handled last
spring. "It's something that we've asked for," Schoeffel said of an apology from the Duke administration. "It's not like we've been waiting
for them and we've been passive. We've actually asked and said: 'This is
something you can do for us. We would appreciate this and it would go far for
us.'" The Blue Devils have heard nothing but silence. [Duke Vice President
John] Burness said the administration has no plans to issue an apology. "We're
sensitive to the fact that [Carrington and Schoeffel] and others believe that an apology
is appropriate," Burness said. "That has not yet been determined to be the
position of the university."”
Duke Engineering Prof. Michael Gustafson comments in his
blog that lacrosse players such as Bo Carrington were personally vilified on
campus in Spring 2006 because their photos were available on a Duke website
even after the players requested the photos be removed, and then on a “Wanted”
poster derived from them:
“Bo Carrington's
experience above, along with the experiences of other members on the team, go
to show that the university, through its not having taken down the GoDuke.com
pictures in a timely manner after
receiving a request to do so, and through its not actively removing the
"Vigilante" posters from campus, and allegedly through there being university employees who distributed
materials that led to an unsafe and hostile environment for some of our
students (for example, handing out various posters and chant sheets, or
creating an address list of the lacrosse families, or sending a message to an
open forum that a particular student should be discredited if at all possible),
did not fulfill its obligations to those students.”
MONDAY APRIL 9: A column written by Steven Marcus for Newsday quotes Duke VP
John Burness refusing to apologize to the lacrosse team members:
"We're expecting that there's probably
going to be civil suits from folks trying to get money out of us, that comes
with the turf." Burness said there is a segment of the population that has
asked him if Duke will apologize to the players if their legal problems
disappear. "I said," Burness replied, "for what?"
TUESDAY APRIL 10:
Numerous news organizations state that sexual
assault charges again fomer Duke lacrosse players Evans, Finnerty, and Seligmann
will soon be dropped. Lara Setrakian of ABC News reports that sources in the NC
Attorney General’s office say that all charges will be dropped against the
three and that there will be an announcement tomorrow. According to Jerralyn
Merritt of
the Talk Left blog:
“Tomorrow appears to be the day the North
Carolina Attorney General's office will announce its
decision on whether to drop or proceed with sexual assault charges
against the three former Duke lacrosse players. Smart money says the case will
be dismissed. Two of the defendants, Reade Seligman and Collin
Finnerty traveled to Durham
today, and the press is swarming around. “
WRAL reports that one of the three accused former Duke players arrives at Raleigh-Durham International Airport
this afternoon. Reade Seligmann and his family arrive just after 3 p.m. on a
flight from Newark, N.J. They have no comment. Defense attorney
Wade Smith tells WRAL that the families of all three suspects—Seligmann, Collin
Finnerty and David Evans—have remained hopeful and are cautiously optimistic
that charges could be dropped. Evans and Finnerty are also expected to arrive
soon in Raleigh.
N
ational network news crews, including CBS News,
are converging on Raleigh
today in anticipation of a development. "If and when the attorney
general's office makes an announcement, Raleigh-Durham will be ground zero for
national news media," CBS News correspondent Byron Pitts notes. The
N&O later confirms that all three have come to Raleigh for the expected announcement
tomorrow.
The Associated Press reports
today that Kevin Finnerty says in an earlier interview that it has not gotten
any easier for his family in the
year since his son Collin was accused of sexually assaulting a stripper. They
know Collin could face a long prison sentence if convicted -- a prospect they
consider unthinkable. But there is little they can do now but wait for state
prosecutors, who took over the case earlier this year from DA Nifong, to decide
whether to drop the charges or bring their 20-year-old son and his teammates to
trial. "We've never been through anything like this," Kevin Finnerty
says in a telephone interview from his home in Garden City, N.Y. "This is
our son's life at stake, and it's just not over until it's over. I would say
that we know that we have the truth on our side and from the outset we've felt
the truth will prevail.” Finnerty adds, "The waiting process is wearing us
down emotionally. We take comfort in the fact that these prosecutors are
searching for the truth. And that's different from how we felt before their involvement."
In the past year, Collin Finnerty has worked as a volunteer with children who
lost family in the terrorist attacks of September 11 while also taking courses
at Hofstra University. He is currently working as a
volunteer assistant lacrosse coach at his alma mater, Chaminade High School.
Prof. KC Johnson updates his case narrative which
summarizes events in the lacrosse case from October, 2006 (his first summary)
to the present.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 11: State prosecutors today dismiss all charges against
the three defendants in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case, and North
Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper declares the three former students
“innocent.” "There is insufficient evidence to
proceed on any of the charges," Cooper says at a news conference that
attracts national media attention. "The result is these cases are
over." The announcement marks the end of the 13-month criminal case
launched against Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann after Crystal Mangum alleged she
was gang-raped for 30 minutes during an off-campus party in the early-morning
hours of March 14, 2006. Although sexual assault victims often provide varying
accounts of a traumatic experience, Cooper says, the statements made by Mangum
varied too much and there was no other evidence to support her story of an
assault. "The inconsistencies were so significant and so contrary to the
evidence that we have no credible evidence that an attack occurred at that house
on that night," Cooper says, adding that the photo identification lineup
was flawed and no DNA evidence linked the players to the women. Cooper calls
the pursuit of the case "a tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify
serious allegations." Without naming DA Nifong, he comes down against
"overreaching prosecutors" and calls for a law that would allow the
state Supreme Court to remove a district attorney from a case whenever such a
move would assist the pursuit of justice. "There were many points in this
case where caution would have served justice better than bravado," Cooper asserts.
"In the rush to condemn, a community and a state lost the ability to see
clearly. Regardless of the reasons that this case was pushed forward, the
result was wrong." Mangum likely still believes the sexual assault
allegation and wanted to proceed with the case, Cooper states. He says criminal
charges wouldn't be pursued against her. "Our investigators, who talked
with her over a period of time, think that she may actually believe the many
different stories that she has been telling," Cooper says. "And in
reviewing the whole history -- there are records under seal that I'm not going
to talk about … -- we decided it's in the best interest of the justice system
not to bring charges." (See video in References)
Finnerty,
Seligmann and Evans watch Cooper's news conference with their families and
attorneys at a downtown Raleigh
hotel. When the decision to drop the charges is announced and Cooper states
they are “innocent,” there is an audible gasp in the room, and the players and
their families begin to sob. "Don't expect us to be happy," defense
attorney Joseph Cheshire states later. "We're angry, very angry. But we're
relieved." Cheshire
says the players were needlessly berated and ridiculed for months. "These
men were, are and always will be innocent," he says. "They have been
mistreated as badly as any group of people I have ever seen." Later the
three and their attorneys hold a press conference at which friends applaud, dozens
of teammates cheer, and their parents look on with pride. However, the three
former lacrosse players insist there is nothing to celebrate, and they lash out
at both DA Nifong and reporters who asserted they were guilty. "For
everyone who chose to speak out against us before any of the facts were known,
I truly hope that you are never put in a position where you have to experience
the same pain and heartache that you have caused our families," states Seligmann.
"It's been 395 days since this nightmare began, and now it's finally come
to closure," Evans says. "We're just as innocent today as we were
back then." "This entire experience has opened my eyes up to a tragic world of
injustice I never knew existed," Seligmann explains. "If police
officers and a district attorney can systematically railroad us with absolutely
no evidence whatsoever, I can't imagine what they would do to people do not
have the resources to defend themselves.” All three former defendants call for change in
the state's legal system, specifically a checks and balance system for district
attorneys and in favor of recording of grand jury hearings. (See videos and
texts of statements by Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann in References)
Thirty-eight
of 41 members of the 2007 men's lacrosse team and all 31 women's players attend
the press conference held by the formerly
accused and their attorneys. In a show of solidarity for their friends and
former teammates, the Blue Devils stood at the rear of a gaggle of reporters
and television cameras. "This isn't a day to gloat or celebrate, it's much
more one of relief," co-captain Ed Douglas tells the Chronicle earlier.
"It's more of a sign in recognition that, finally, this has passed
us." Sitting on a bus as they travelled to the former defendants' press
conference in Raleigh,
the members of the men's and women's teams listened intently to Cooper's
address over the radio. "When everyone was
listening, it was kind of just like shoulders back and a deep breath like,
'Finally, finally, it happened,'" Matt Danowski relates. "We thought
it should have been over Day One, but there were so many curveballs and so much
going on that you never knew if it was actually going to happen.... Finally
there's some completion to it."
Numerous
officials issue comments today following the dismissal of charges in the Duke
lacrosse case. Mike Pressler, who under pressure resigned his position as coach
of the Duke team last year when the charges were filed and who now coaches at Bryant University,
says, "Today is the celebration of the two words we’ve attached our lives
to for almost 13 months – the truth. It is the same truth today as it was a
year ago. Our story has not changed and today’s announcement is long, long
overdue." At Duke, President Richard Brodhead issues a statement saying,
"I join with everyone who cares about justice in welcoming the North
Carolina State Attorney General’s announcement that the remaining charges have
been dropped." He claims, “From the outset, I have been careful to note
that these students were entitled to the presumption of innocence, and I looked
to the legal system to determine the merit of the charges." Duke, he says,
"won’t be afraid to go back and learn what we can from this difficult
experience." From the state NAACP offices, President William J. Barber II
issues a statement saying, "We respect the integrity of the Attorney
General’s investigation and supported the involvement of special prosecutors. If
his office believes the state lacks sufficient evidence to convince a jury
beyond a reasonable doubt that all the elements of each crime took place, then
it is the State’s constitutional duty to dismiss the charges. We trust that the SBI has
left no stone unturned in the investigation of this case."
Robert Steel, chairman of the Duke
Board of Trustees, issues an important statement emphasizing that President
Brodhead’s actions in the lacrosse case had the support of the Trustees. He
reiterates Duke’s strategy of deferring to the legal system, even when it
became apparent that normal legal procedures had not been followed.
“Much as we wish that these three young
men, their teammates and their families -- and indeed the whole community of
people who love Duke -- could have been spared the agony of the past year, we
believe that it was essential for the University to defer to the criminal
justice system. As imperfect and flawed as it may be, it is that process that
brings us today to this resolution.
Throughout the past year President Richard
Brodhead consulted regularly with the Trustees and has had our continuing
support. He made considered and thoughtful decisions in a volatile and
uncertain situation. Each step of the way, the board agreed with the principles
that he established and the actions he took. As we look back -- and with the
benefit of what we now know -- there is no question that there are some things
that might have been done differently. However, anyone critical of President
Brodhead should be similarly critical of the entire board.”
THURSDAY APRIL 12: DA Nifong issues
a statement “apologizing” to the three lacrosse players declared innocent by
Atty. Gen. Cooper but not admitting he had done anything wrong. ''To
the extent that I made judgments that ultimately proved to be incorrect, I
apologize to the three students that were wrongly accused,'' Nifong writes in a
three-paragraph statement. ''I also understand that when someone has been
wrongly accused, the harm caused by the accusations might not be immediately
undone merely by dismissing them,'' Nifong states. ''It is my sincere desire
that the actions of Attorney General Cooper will serve to remedy any remaining
injury that has resulted from these cases.'' The apology is rebuffed by lawyers
for the former students, whose families are seeking Nifong's ouster and
considering suing him for damages. The NC State Bar has formally accused Nifong
of numerous ethical violations. ''I still haven't heard him admit he did
anything wrong,'' says James P. Cooney III, a lawyer for Seligmann. ''I think
the most concrete way he could apologize to everybody is to resign his
office.'' Nifong says he supported the dismissal of the sexual offense and
kidnapping charges based on new evidence the attorney general had gathered in a
three-month review. He objects to being called ''rogue'' and ''unchecked.'' He
also takes credit for having turned over the case for review by the attorney
general. ''If I did not want to subject either that investigation or my own
performance to such scrutiny -- if, in other words, I had anything to hide -- I
could have simply dismissed the cases myself,'' he writes. Blogger KC Johnson analyzes what he calls the
“false apology.”
North Carolina U.S.Congressman Walter Jones renews his call for a federal
investigation into DA Nifong and the way he handled the lacrosse case. Jones in
December asked the U.S. Department of Justice to review the case, saying Nifong
made prejudicial statements to the media and told police to violate
identification procedures. The Justice Department declined to intervene, saying
it was more appropriate to allow the case to play out. Federal attorneys also
note that Nifong already faces ethics charges from the North Carolina State
Bar. "“In light of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper’s dismissal
of all criminal charges against the three men, it is clear that this matter now
cries out for oversight," Jones writes in an April 11 letter to the
Justice Department. “I again urge you to launch a federal investigation to
review Mr. Nifong’s conduct to determine if it constitutes prosecutorial
misconduct and has denied these students their civil rights as U.S.
citizens under federal law.” Jones states that at least eight other members of
Congress also have called for a federal investigation of Nifong.
An
analysis of the lacrosse case by the N&O’s Samiha Khanna asserts that it
was accuser Crystal Mangum’s inconsistency and contradictions in her own statements
that brought the case against the former Duke lacrosse players to an end
yesterday:
“But her
words, leaked slowly over the past year, also helped seal the fate of the case
dismissed Wednesday by the office of state Attorney General Roy Cooper.
"No DNA confirms the accuser's story," Cooper said at a news
conference. "No other witness confirms her story. Other evidence
contradicts her story. She contradicts herself." Since
she leveled her accusations, Mangum, 28, has given at least six documented
versions of what happened. She won't face charges of filing a false police
report, Cooper said. "Our investigators ... think that she may actually
believe the many different stories that she has been telling," he said. (…)
Through her statements during the past year, Mangum has contradicted herself
and at times, misrepresented her past. The wavering recollections,
embellishments and muddied timelines provided by Mangum undermined her
credibility. Piece by piece the criminal case that Durham District Attorney
Mike Nifong built against the players -- Collin Finnerty, Dave Evans and Reade
Seligmann -- collapsed.”
The Duke Chronicle calls for DA
Nifong to be disbarred based on his actions in the lacrosse case.
“Nifong has lacked both ethical professionalism and
competency in prosecuting this case and has done irreparable harm to his
credibility. As a result, he is certainly unable to act as a chief legal
official in Durham.
Moreover, his track record demonstrates that Nifong has not and will not be
able to fairly practice the law in the future. While we think the proper and
full investigation of his conduct should proceed, we also believe that the
outcome of that investigation is clear. Given his actions during the past year
and the commentary of his peers in the profession, Mike Nifong can no longer be
Durham's
district attorney and should be disbarred.”
ABC’s Terry Moran writes a blogpost
“Don’t Feel Too Sorry for the Dukies.”
“They got special treatment
in the justice system–both negative and positive. The conduct of the lacrosse
team of which they were members was not admirable on the night of the incident,
to say the least. And there are so many other victims of prosecutorial
misconduct in this country who never get the high-priced legal representation
and the high-profile, high-minded vindication that it strikes me as just a bit
unseemly to heap praise and sympathy on these particular men. So as we rightly
cover the vindication of these young men and focus on the genuine ordeal they
have endured, let us also remember a few other things: They were part of a team
that collected $800 to purchase the time of two strippers. Their team
specifically requested at least one white stripper. During the incident, racial
epithets were hurled at the strippers. Collin Finnerty was charged with assault
in Washington, DC, in 2005. The young men were able to retain a battery of
top-flight attorneys, investigators and media strategists.”
FRIDAY APRIL 13: After a public hearing attended by DA Nifong and his attorney,
the North Carolina State Bar denies a motion by Nifong to drop ethics charges
against him for his actions in the Duke
lacrosse case. The hearing concerns one of three charges against Nifong—that he
had withheld DNA evidence exonerating the three indicted players. The
Disciplinary Hearing Committee chaired by F. Lane Williamson hears arguments by
Nifong attorney Dudley Witt and State Bar prosecutor Katherine Jean. After the
one-hour hearing, Williamson and the other two committee members deny the
motion to dismiss.
An N&O article by Craig Jarvis
outlines accuser Crystal Mangum’s past emotional and social difficulties
.
“The
28-year-old woman has struggled with poverty, alcohol abuse and psychological
instability. In recent years she turned to therapists for help with bipolar
disorder and other mental problems and took anti-psychotic medication (…) In
the past year Crystal Mangum has disappeared into the shadows. In the beginning,
authorities put her up in a safe house -- a sprawling townhouse complex on
Chapel Hill Street -- but she has reportedly stayed in several friends' and
relatives' homes in the Triangle since then. She has dropped out of NCCU. She
is living off welfare and child-support payments but probably hasn't been
dancing because she was pregnant most of the past year. Her mother says a
lawyer may have helped her out with money to live on.”
George Washington University Law Prof. John
Banzhaf suggests Duke University
should consider suing DA Mile Nifong as a consequence of his actions in the
Duke lacrosse case and also should call for Nifong’s resignation.
"A DA with a clear
grudge against Duke, who probably would like nothing better than to try to
vindicate himself in the eyes of many of the voters by bringing a successful
criminal proceeding against one or more Duke students, and who has shown a
willingness to violate their legal and constitutional rights if necessary to do
so, is a clear and present danger to every student on the Duke campus, and a
risk that Duke can ignore only at its peril," says Banzhaf.
The
Durham Herald-Sun, which long was a supporter of DA Nifong, switches its
position and calls on him to resign in an editorial today.
“But Cooper's
simple statement cut to the heart of prosecutorial misconduct. Nifong, he said,
pressed on with the case without a credible witness or credible evidence. To
hear that about a prosecutor with 28 years of experience was shocking. It is
bound to raise questions about what other cases have been pursued improperly by
the Durham DA's
office. How many defendants without the resources to hire energetic attorneys
have been sent quietly off to prison? Nifong has been seriously damaged by his
own actions, by the charges from the State Bar and now from Cooper's report.
His problems could cause ripples through other cases being handled by the Durham DA's office. As a
result, we think it will be impossible for Nifong to continue as Durham district attorney.
It's time for him to resign.”
SATURDAY APRIL 14:
The N&O publishes the first installment of a major five-part series
by investigative reporter Joe Neff summarizing the Duke lacrosse case. The
first article, which describes DA Nifong’s background and mode of operation,
reveals:
“Mike Nifong found out about the case that now threatens
his career March 23, 2006, when he stopped by the office copier and found a
court order demanding DNA samples from 46 Duke lacrosse players. An escort
service dancer told police that three men at a team party had dragged her into
a bathroom and raped her anally, vaginally and orally for 30 minutes, according
to the order. The Durham
district attorney's reaction, he later told lawyer Jim Cooney: "Holy crap,
what is going on?"The next day, Nifong told Durham police he was taking over (…)
When Nifong called [political campaign organizer Jackie]
Brown in the fall of 2005, looking for a campaign manager, Brown had never
heard of the prosecutor. This was unusual for an insider who's well-connected
with Durham's
political organizations. Brown agreed to meet him for lunch Jan. 2, 2006, at
the downtown Marriott near the courthouse. Nifong showed up with his wife, Cy
Gurney. As the women ate Caesar salads and Nifong tended to a steak sandwich,
Gurney did most of the talking. Brown was struck by the first words out of
Nifong's mouth."He said, 'I really don't want this job; I was the last one
on the list. I just need three years and seven months for retirement. You won't
have to worry about running another campaign for me.' "Brown was taken
aback: Did Nifong, then 55, really want to go through the hassle of a campaign?
"He said, 'I know nothing about politics. That's why I need you to be
campaign manager.' "
In an analysis on April 19, after
the conclusion of the series, KC Johnson lists 20 new revelations from Neff’s
reporting.
President Brodhead says in a speech
to alumni during reunion weekend that Duke administrators tried to handle the
fallout from the lacrosse case as honorably as they . could. Brodhead states, "But I also do think it
also time for us to look each other in the eye and say we have suffered this
story for a year, and now let us figure out how to move on to a constructive
future." The president's speech in Page Auditorium includes a question-and-answer
session that saw graduates press Brodhead to say what administrators had
learned from the lacrosse incident -- and to say that some of the school's
problems could have been avoided had Duke officials more forcefully advocated
for the presumption of innocence. Brodhead praises Cooper for choosing to
announce the dismissal of the charges Wednesday with "absolutely the most
unambiguous language to say that there never had been a case to be made in this
case." He also joins the attorney general in saying that Nifong had led
people astray by lying about the facts of the case. "As we look back we
now know something that was not so clear then, which was how much of the
certainty had derived from the statements of the district attorney, starting in
the earliest days of that story, who really did speak without any hesitation or
reservation about the certainty that the crime in question had taken
place," Brodhead says. "Later, we all learned to have many doubts
about that, but at the time people don't usually have such doubts about
district attorneys, so we were off to the races.” He claims that, "We had to respond to a
situation of great emotional intensity, great uncertainty. I always took care
on every occasion to make clear that no act we did was intended as a judgment
of the students or of the guilt of the students." Brodhead defended his
decision to cancel the lacrosse team's 2006 season. "If you were in Durham last April, in a time which every TV show in America, every newspaper in America had
really played this up to the heights of hysteria -- as I say, hysterical
certainty -- it was just completely implausible to say we could continue to
play lacrosse under those circumstances," he said. "It would have
been physically dangerous for the members of our team to have done so. This was
very, very well known to them at the time."
SUNDAY APRIL 15: The CBS television show “60 Minutes”
features interviews with the three exonerated lacrosse players and NC Atty. Gen.
Roy Cooper. According to the CBS summary of the broadcast:
"We
had heard that he might say, as we refer to it now, as the "i" word –
innocent. But when he first said there's insufficient evidence to go forward,
we were saying, 'Oh my God,'" remembers David Evans."Because he
didn't say it right away?" Stahl remarks.
"He didn't say it, and then all of a sudden, there's this crescendo, and
you can see where he was going with his speech," Evans explains."I
never heard 'innocent' because everyone in the room jumped up and starting
cheering," Evans adds, referring to the moment State Attorney General
Cooper made the announcement that all remaining charges had been dropped.
"We
were waiting for it from the very beginning. And the moment he did it, I
completely broke down. I don't even remember who I ended up hugging. Everyone
was jumping up and down and we knew then that was when we got our lives
back," Reade Seligmann said to Stahl. […]
"All
of this was a tragedy because it should have been stopped somewhere along the
line. Good prosecutors, we demand them to look hard at the facts, look hard at
the law. We also demand them to change their minds if the facts so
dictate," Cooper says. "Here, these contractions were clearly
pointing to the fact that this attack did not occur. And it's disappointing and
really outrageous that it was not stopped sooner." […]
But
the attorney general also announced he would not press charges against her [Mangum]
for filing false police reports. "Is the decision purely about her mental
state or did you also take into account what this might do to this community
which was already roiled in racial tension? Were you afraid that it would
exacerbate more racial tension?" Stahl asks Cooper. "We did consider
it. We did talk about it. But we think in the best interest of justice, that it
was not the right thing to do," Cooper says.
The second of a five-part series by the
N&O’s Joe Neff is published today. Titled
“A case starts to unravel,” Neff lays out how DA Nifong refused contact with
the lacrosse players’ lawyers and declined to examine exculpatory evidence
after DNA results came back negative. Neff also notes the prior relationship
between Nifong and accuser Crystal Mangum’s family:
“Nifong
didn't tell [attorney Bill] Thomas that he knew Mangum and her family. In 1992,
one of her uncles who owned a small grocery store in Durham was slain in a robbery. The case
dragged on for three years, but finally the killer was tried and convicted. Nifong
was the prosecutor, and the case earned him the Mangum family's confidence,
which would have helped Crystal Mangum feel comfortable with Nifong in the Duke
case, according to her mother, her brother and a family friend. "The whole
family knew him and trusted him because of that case," said Delois
Burnette, a minister who has known the Mangums for decades. "People had
confidence in him that he would do us right because he had prosecuted that
case."
Prof. KC Johnson writes about media
scorn for the exonerated former lacrosse players in an opinion article for ABC
News, for which he served as a consultant:
“
The reaction from some major news organizations to this [innocence]
announcement was startling. While not challenging Cooper's actions, the Boston Globe labeled
Evans, Seligmann and Finnerty "louts." Columnist Dan Shanoff called
them "douchebags." The Washington
Post clucked that the three players "were not paragons of virtue,"
and that "some of the players -- though not necessarily the three accused
students -- made racially derogatory remarks to the accuser and the other
dancer who accompanied her." (Actually, the second dancer, Kim Roberts,
unequivocally stated that Evans said nothing derogatory to her, while Seligmann
and Finnerty both proved they had left the party well before the racially
charged argument occurred.) "Nightline" co-host Terry Moran told
people not to "feel sorry for the Dukies," noting that "they are
very differently situated in life from, say, the young women of the Rutgers
University women's basketball team," and, "there are many, many cases
of prosecutorial misconduct across our country every year." Such comments are cold-hearted
at best and shameless at worst.”
Peter Applebome of the New York Times also explores hatred on the part of
academics and others for the Duke lacrosse players:
“How did college kids with no shortage of character
witnesses become such a free-fire zone for the correct thinkers in academia,
the news media and the socially conscious left? Like l’affaire Imus in reverse,
why did denouncing them remain fair game long after it was clear that the
charges against them could not be true, and that even most of the misbehavior
originally alleged about the team party was distorted or false? “That’s what I
keep asking,” said Ed Abbot, the mayor of this village where the Seligmanns
live, and a longtime friend of the family. “People had racial agendas, economic
agendas, media-driven agendas, and who these boys were got totally lost. You
feel like you’re in the middle of the forest screaming and no one can hear.”
Bishop
John Bennett, a Durham
preacher who voiced criticism of the handling of the Duke lacrosse
investigation from the beginning, now says the system failed and the truth
might never be known. Bennett had led in March, 2006 a vigil gathered for
prayer and called for justice outside of the house where Crystal Mangum claimed
she was sexually assaulted by three Duke lacrosse players. "One of the
main reasons why we held a rally (was) because there was no due process,” says
Bennett, who led several such vigils. At the time, Bennett criticized Durham police for not
making an arrest when the allegations first surfaced. One year later, he says
he still believes that was the biggest mistake in the case. “I do believe that
something out of the ordinary did happen in that house,” he asserts. “I'm not
saying it was rape. I'm not necessarily saying it was them.”
Lisa Keys of the New York Post
reviews a list of whom she describes as the “tormentors” of the lacrosse
players in an article titled “Victims of a Witch Hunt.”
The Raleigh News & Observer
joins in the call for DA Nifong to resign in an editorial published today:
“Under the circumstances, Nifong ought to
consider whether to remain in the office to which he was elected last fall for
a four-year term. If the State Bar relieves him of his license, that obviously
will become a moot point. But even if any disciplinary steps fall well short of
that penalty, it's hard to see how the district attorney can continue to
function effectively. His resignation now would serve the public interest.”
REFERENCES
April 2: McKissick criticizes Nifong
April 2: Role of Judge Ronald
Stephens
April 3: John in Carolina about “Wanted” and “Vigilante”
posters
April 4: “60 Minutes” wins Peabody award for
coverage of case
April 6: 1st Anniversary
of “Listening Statement” ad signed by 88 Duke faculty members
April 6: Nifong lawyer David
Freedman defends him on NBC’s Today show
April 7: Duke lacrosse defeats Johns
Hopkins
April 8: Lacrosse players Bo
Carrington and Steve Schoeffel speak out in interviews
April 8: Prof. Mike Gustafson on
Carrington & Schoeffel interviews
April 9: Newsday column quotes VP
John Burness
April 10: Decision expected soon in
lacrosse case
April 10: Reade Seligmann and family
arrive at RDU Airport
April 10: AP interviews Kevin
Finnerty
April 10, 11: KC Johnson’s Case Narrative
April 11: Atty. Gen. Cooper declares
the Duke Three “innocent” and drops charges
April 11: Video of Cooper news
conference
April 11: Video of former lacrosse
players’ news conference
April 11: Texts of statements by
Evans, Finnerty, Seligmann at news conference
April 11: Current lacrosse team
members attend press conference
April 11: Reaction to dismissal of
charges in Duke lacrosse case
April 11: Statement by Robert Steel,
chairman of Duke Board of Trustees
April 12: Nifong apologizes to
exonerated lacrosse players
April 12: Rep. Walter Jones renews
call for federal investigation
April 12: N&0 analysis of
Mangum’s contradictory statements
April 12: Duke Chronicle calls for
Nifong disbarment
April 12: ABC’s Terry Moran
criticizes lacrosse team
April 13: State Bar denies motion to
dismiss ethics charge against Nifong
April 13: N&0 analysis of
Mangum’s emotional and social difficulties
April 13: GWU Law Prof. John Banzhaf
suggests Duke sue Nifong
April 13: Herald-Sun calls on DA
Nifong to resign
April 14: Joe Neff’s investigation of Duke lacrosse
case: Part 1 about DA Nifong
April 14: Duke President Brodhead
addresses lacrosse case with alumni
April 15: “60 Minutes” interviews
exonerated lacrosse players, NC attorney general
April 15: Joe Neff’s investigation of
Duke lacrosse case: Nifong refuses exculpatory evidence
April 15: KC Johnson on media scorn
for exonerated players
April 15: Peter Applebome of NewYork
Times on hate for Duke lacrosse players
April 15: Bishop Bennett says system failed
in lacrosse case
April 15: Lisa Keys of New York Post
on “tormentors” of the lacrosse players
April 15: N&O calls on DA Nifong
to resign
April 22: New York Times public editor on paper’s
coverage of lacrosse case
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
February, 2007: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/4512633/1/#new
March, 2007: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/4702968/1/#new
April 1-15, 2007: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Liestoppers_meeting/topic/5000347/1/#new
