More charges filed against Nifong (Duke Prosecuter Busted)

[joeunderdog]

RALEIGH -- The state bar lodged new and more serious ethics charges Wednesday against the district attorney in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case, accusing him of withholding evidence from the defense and lying to both to the court and bar investigators.

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Those tests uncovered genetic material from several men on the woman's underwear and body, but none from any lacrosse player. The bar complaint alleges those results weren't released to defense lawyers and that Nifong repeatedly said in court he had turned over all evidence that would potentially benefit the defense.

Nifong made "knowingly false statements of material fact" both in court when asked about the test results, and to the bar's grievance committee as it investigated his actions. Those actions constitute a "systematic abuse of prosecutorial discretion ... prejudicial to the administration of justice," the complaint read.

"If these allegations are true and if they don't justify disbarment, then I'm not sure what does," said Joseph Kennedy, a law professor at the University of North Carolina. "The bar is alleging he covered up evidence suggesting innocence and then lied about it to the judge and the bar. It's hard for me to imagine a more serious set of allegations against a prosecutor."

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Attorney General Roy Cooper has pledged a thorough review of the remaining charges pending against lacrosse players Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. While Nifong dropped rape charges in late December after the accuser changed a key detail in her story, they are still charged with sexual offense and kidnapping. All have strongly maintained their innocence.


http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=133542

[pnwmom]

1. These comments were encouraging:

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"There's no question that these new charges have significantly increased the chances for a serious sanction, possibly including suspension or disbarment," said Thomas Metzloff, a Duke law professor and member of the bar's ethics committee, which is not involved in prosecuting the case against Nifong.

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"I'd say any time any charges are filed with the state bar they're all serious and we want to make sure we handle them all properly," said attorney David Freedman.

But Metzloff said since the complaint now deals with several different aspects of the case, it is unprecedented in its seriousness. "It is basically a criticism of the entire way he's handled the case," Metzloff said.

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NOTE: a large portion of the N.C. State bar association complaint can be found here:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0124071nifong1.html