Disbarred Nifong to be sued? Charged criminally? What do you think is proper?

[Stinky The Clown]

Poll question: Disbarred Nifong to be sued? Charged criminally? What do you think is proper?

Nifong has pretty much seen his ability to earn a living end. He's been disbarred. Probably justified, since a prosecutor has a weighty power that should never be abused.

Now, it seems, those three 'innocent boys' are considering a way to sue him and also to see him charged criminally.

Personally, I think this should end right here. For those three 'innocent boys' to say they're harmed for life is, in my view, bogus. Is there anyone who doesn't know about the outcome of this case? They weren't let off on some technicality. They were let off with a statement by the State of North Carolina that they should never have been charged. In other words, **innocent**. Not 'not guilty'.

I-N-N-O-C-E-N-T

It seems to me that anything these 'innocent boys' or their families do now is simply piling on. Were these not the sons of privilege, they'd never get to go one step further. Their innocence is all they'd have.

And as a secondary question, what of the woman who made the original claim? Since the case was dropped, it is a safe assumption that she knowingly lied. In the aftermath of that, at least four lives (Nifong and the 'innocent boys') have been directly affected, and not for the better.

[BlackHawk706867]

1. Nifong caused allot of pain in this case, he should face the consequences as...

befitting.... That will no doubt mean civil law suits etc.... Accountability is what it's all about.

ww

[Rydz777]

35. If the defendants had not been able to afford smart lawyers,

one of whom discovered (by accident it seems) the DNA cover-up, these kids could very well have gone to jail. It was a close thing for them. Nifong deserves every punishment he gets, and I hope there are not many more like him out there who have not yet been exposed.

[Stinky The Clown]

36. They're not 'kids'

They are three adult men.

[Mandate My Ass]

2. The only thing I know is who is the real loser here

the next stripper or sex worker who is legitimately raped or assaulted will have zero credibility.

It's difficult enough for women to come forward after such a trauma for a variety of reasons, now it's even worse.

[Stinky The Clown]

6. I could not agree more

Every woman who makes false claims of rape, sexual harassment, spousal abuse, etc., makes it harder for those who justifiably make the claims.

It isn't just sex workers and strippers, it is ANY woman. (Paging Paula Jones)

[Mandate My Ass]

7. it was the perfect storm

the ambitious DA and the sicko stripper using each other to climb up the food chain while stepping on the heads of an entire gender who was trying to climb out of the paleolithic "well just look what she was wearing" mentality.

[BlackHawk706867]

10. The reallity is it was hard enough for a woman to go thru a rape case...

and now he has just upped that anti big time. I don't know what the percentage of women is that don't bother reporting rapes, but I bet it will now increase.

ww

[Donald Ian Rankin]

26. You don't think the wrongly accused men were "real losers"?

They've lost a hell of a lot of time and money, and been through hell; their lives may well never be the same again.

[Dinger]

3. First Thing I Thought About When I Heard:

Why is gonzAllAss still AG?

[napi21]

4. You also have to remember he did these things for POLITICAL reasons!

I say hit the guy with everything you have! I don't always agree with using anyone as an example but in this case it might stop some other politicians from doing criminal things as well!

[pampango]

37. Exactly. If it was a case of incompetence or oversight, that would

be different. But when he went after them for selfish political gain that went over the line. Get all you can from him. Whether the victims were rich or poor doesn't matter given the selfishness of his misconduct.

[Scooter24]

5. He can only be sued in his official capacity

as DA. Which means the taxpayers will be picking up the bill for the civil suit.

I can't see criminal charges being sustained against Nifong in this case.

[19jet54]

11. Not true in this case...

... only if conducted in the capacity of official duty by any reasonable person. Since misconduct and personal gain were at the heart of his misdeeds, it fails the "reasonable person" condition and releases his official duty reasonableness condition. The DA office & city fall under the conditions you suggest, but not him personally.

[Scooter24]

14. can we prove that his motives

were directed at personal gain?

There is a gray area when the person involved campaigned on an agenda and was voted into office. So the question is what personal gain he could have achieved here? Votes? If that's the case then I don't a civil case going forward. It would be different if say he had accepted a bribe or gift.

Misconduct we can agree on, but I still feel his actions were taken in his capacity as DA.

[Stinky The Clown]

16. I agree with you .... but this is why we have juries.

[19jet54]

8. Different set of rules...

... Those entrusted with public office have a different set of rules to follow (Reference comment by Judge regarding Scooter):
- Violation of Public Trust
- Obstruction of Justice
- Interfering with a criminal investigation
- Filing false police reports
- Federal Law USC 18 - Human rights violations & conspiracy
- Election Law violation
- Using public office for personal gain
- Perjury
- Ugly & a Despicable Human Being

[Kagemusha]

12. Sadly, who would be the one to investigate those crimes? AG Gonzales.

Small shock Gonzales has declined to do so.

[LisaL]

9. It's easy for you to say they shouldn't sue. They spend a lot of money defending

themselves.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. "It's easy for you to say ..... "

No problem with you point.

Nice tone used to make it, though. :)

[bbinacan]

15. Nifong should be sued, charged and the woman

who lied about what happened deserves the same thing.

[DaveJ]

17. Agreed

We all know those two will make tons of money from book and movie deals. All those who want to scam the system should be scrutinized.

[TahitiNut]

18. Funny about that ... OJ was found not guilty, too.

I personally have more than a reasonable doubt that he was guilty ... but there's absolutely NOTHING to prevent these three "innocent" young men from being treated by SOME (even on DU) the same way MANY (even on DU) treat OJ. (They're lucky they're white and not married to blacks, right??) I have absolutely no doubt that some DUers still regard those guys as guilty.

:puke:

[mondo joe]

20. Of course the Duke students were not found "not guilty" - they were declared innocent.

Not that that will matter to some.

[Stinky The Clown]

22. I can't speak for others, but in my view ......

..... I admit to buying into their guilt at first. I changed that view as things started to come out. I now believe they're innocent (not 'not guilty' but rather, completely innocent.).

All that said, I personally find the three of them monumentally unsympathetic.

[Pushed To The Left]

27. This is why I would like to see them sue Nifong

A false accusation can damage a person's reputation for life, even if that person is acquitted. I remember there was a movement after the OJ verdict to get "Not guilty" changed to "Not proven" which would have been a horrible idea because legitimately innocent people would be branded "Not proven".

[jberryhill]

33. OJ was found liable for wrongful death

...in the civil suit. OJ is further engaged in financial games to avoid paying the damages awarded in the civil case. The problem with the OJ criminal case is that the prosecution did such an outstandingly bad job that, if I were on the jury I would have had to go with "not guilty" there as well. Yes, I think he did it. But when the one cop through whom all of the critical evidence came decides he is going to lie on the stand, then the case is done with.

Yes, our system is supposed to err on the side of letting actually guilty people go free, and that is why the verdict of a trial is "not guilty".

This ain't that.

The second prosecutor didn't say "there's not enough to go forward with here". The second prosecutor said the accused were "innocent". Go find any situation anywhere, where a prosecutor has said that.

[bbinacan]

19. And just what are you implying

by using the phrase 'innocent boys' ?

[Stinky The Clown]

24. I misposted my answer to you. Please see post # 23, below.

[Paladin]

21. Your Attitude Sucks

These kids were the victims of a judicial witch hunt. Their economic status should have no bearing on the justice to which they're entitled. Nifong deserves to go down and go down hard for this.....

[Stinky The Clown]

23. My attitude, and my use of that phrase in quotes refers to the fact that the three of them .....

.... are adult men, not boys. It was a phrase specifically used by their defense counsel to paint them in a sympathetic light.

[bbinacan]

31. I think it would have been

more accurate for you to have said innocent 'boys'. Saying 'innocent boys' seems to imply they're not innocent.

[Stinky The Clown]

25. First of all, it turns out it was a prosecutorial witch hunt, not judicial.

Second of all, they're not 'kids' .... they are adult men.

[Paladin]

38. It Isn't Just A "Boys" vs. "Adult Men" Ax You're Grinding

Your use of the inflammatory "sons of privilege" phrase shows you're peddling the same class-based hatred that's turning up all too frequently on DU threads regarding this unfortunate incident. How about being thankful that a rogue prosecutor has been put out of business, instead of whining about the economic status of the victims?

[ncrainbowgrrl]

28. it's not just those three players.

It's the rest of the lax team... some who lost so much- respect, academic standing, guilt by association,

It's about a community (Dook) that had to go through this episode (I can't believer i'm defending duke)

it's about the high school seniors who had committed to duke and then watched from afar as their school-to-be was bashed (and not b/c of the performance of the b-ball team. HAH! Had to get it in. :evilgrin: )

It's about Durham, North Carolina which became a town under siege by exploitive news media (read: nancy grace, rita cosby, etc...)

It's about race relations coming to the forefront in ways that were unpredictable, sometimes positive, and sometimes, very negative

It's about Lives of the parents of the the accused, the friends of the accused, the siblings of the accused, their friends.

It's about the people of North Carolina who were promised a DA who swore he would not run for a second term when appointed to his position... and then lied.

It's about the waste of state resources spent on this case.

And it's about the fact that he could have ended it all... just by playing within the rules of the legal game... but didn't.

Nope. It's not just about three Duke Men. It wound up being about so much more.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

29. Both Mike Nifong and Crystal Magnum should be prosecuted.

Equality before the law works both ways - the rich have just as much right to justice as the poor. It's also important to send a message that falsely alleging rape, or abusing the office of a Prosecutor, will be punished.

I can perfectly well understand, and sympathise with, women in certain circumstances falsely claiming to have been raped, *provided they ensure that no-one is convicted*. Falsely claiming to have been raped, and allowing - let alone encouraging - the conviction of someone for that rape is unutterably contemptible; on a par with kidnapping someone for many years.

These men have had to spend an awful lot of money obtaining justice; they should sue to get it back, as well as for compensation.

It's not "piling on", it's as plain and simple an example of justice as you're likely to see.

[1monster]

30. Nifong caused two of the young men to be suspended from Duke.

He caused another one to lose a very good job offer. He cost them thousands of dollars in legal fees. He trashed their reputations for over a year.

These guys were just into early adulthood and not bad kids. (If I remember correctly, one of the young men left the party BEFORE the stripper arrived.)

The only sympathy I can dredge up for Nifong is the sympathy that I have for anyone who screws up his/her life all on his/her own. He could have and should have done the right thing. He didn't. And he kept on doing the wrong thing until he was forced to make it right.

And yes, this will follow the young men all of their lives. They were the innocent parties in this whole fiasco.

It will, of course, also follow Nifong for the rest of his life, but I think that is probably only just.

Doesn't it make you wonder whether he deliberately railroaded others into prison? It sure does make me wonder.

[VP505]

32. One has to wonder

how many people with none of the resources those young men had have been in a similar situation and are now sitting in some prison. For that reason, IMO, Nifong should be sued and made an example of by the Judiciary so hopefully every DA would think three time before doing that to anyone else..

[jberryhill]

34. Tough question

On the one hand, I don't know what a 56 year old de-barred lawyer is going to do with the rest of his life.

On the other hand, we're talking about a man who was trying to put three innocent people away for 30 years, for his own personal gain.