Mike Nifong: guilty of contempt, sentenced to one night in jail

Details here.

I stopped spending a lot of time on the Duke Rape Hoax this spring, after it became clear the three lacrosse players would go free, in part because 1) nothing anyone did could add to the superb work of KC Johnson's Durham in Wonderland, and 2) my forthcoming wedding was consuming every second of my spare time.

The sentence seems abrurdly light, considering the wreckage Nifong wrought on three innocent lives. But a statute is a statute.

With Nifong--like rumpot Otis in "The Andy Griffith Show"--scheduled to spend Friday night in the clink (presumably he won't be allowed to lock himself in his cell), it appears the criminal aspect of the case is over.

All that is left is for the three defendants to reach a settlement with the city of Durham. And then sue Nifong. For everything he has or will ever have.

Finally, this, too, deserves repeating:

The world of information, justice, and public opinion, in the age of the internet, is a far different place than anyone could have expected. This started with Dan Rather's forged memos, and one CBS executive's memorable question: "Who cares about some guy in his pajamas sitting in his living room?" Everyone soon found out; Rather's memos probably cost John Kerry the election.

It is well to remember the great child sexual abuse hoaxes of the middle- and late-1980s, during which demonstrably innocent people were thrown into jail on the flimsiest of evidence--much of it implausible, much of it physically impossible. In the most notorius of these, The McMartin Pre-school Hoax, Ray Buckey spent five years imprisoned without bail awaiting trial before the case collapsed of its own absurdity.

It took years of work by a cadre of tenacious journalists from either end of the political spectrum (most notably Claudia Rosset of The Wall Street Journal and a small group of reporters from The Village Voice) to topple the entire apparatus of lies and improper assumptions of the whole (it deserves to be called) movement. (Does anyone remember the button reading "Kids Don't Lie"--they don't? Ever?) With the benefit of instant commmunication, and the ability of the next KC Johnson to communicate with anyone with a laptop and a link), it will be interesting to see how quickly the next McMartin-style farce will be exposed.

Durham LAX: All charges dropped

Attorney General Roy Cooper: "Innocent."

I doesn't get more definitive.

Continuing: Duke LAX charges to be dismissed

The link here.

Surely there have been greater cases of prosecutorial misconduct in recent years.

But none so brazen in the face of the truth.

Duke LAX Case: All charges dropped

ABC news is reporting that all charges have been dropped in the Duke Lacrosse case.

Ongoing . . . .

Durham DA Nifong hit with Ethics violations

The details here.

Consider:

At this moment, removal as DA and a lengthy suspension of his law lisence is the best case scenario. Nifong's career as DA is over. Disbarment is a genuine possibility.

And jail time? Don't be surprised.

I'm reminded of what one of the mothers (it might have been Mrs. Finnerty) said on 60 Minutes, when asked what she would say to Mike Nifong, were he in the room.

"'Mr. Nifong,'" she replied. "'You picked on the wrong families. And we're going to remind you of this every day for the rest of your life.'"

The rich gets richer

The post in April, on the North Carolina NAACP website, shows the mindset of the NAACP at the time. Of particular interest is this sentence, posted in early April, which advised not only vocal participation by the NAACP but quick action by the Duke president even before the DA's investigation was completed:

First, we must clearly denounce any code of silence, which seeks to inhibit ascertaining the facts.

Second, we must have deep compassion and concern for the victim and challenge any attempts to demean or destroy her rather than to seek and ascertain the truth.

Third, we must ensure that the D.A.’s investigation be completed thoroughly and promptly and that serious consequences be meted out if all the allegations are proven to be true. All of the allegations include sexual violence/gang rape, racial slandering/hate crimes, underage alcohol use, and any prior history of racial bigotry and intimidation must be fully investigated. We do not want a rush to judgment. But neither do we want a delay of justice. While the D.A. completes his thorough and prompt investigation, we want Duke to zealously conduct and complete its own internal investigation.

The idea that Duke should wait until the D.A.’s investigation is completed is wrong-headed.

I mean, this is too easy. It took me four minutes on the North Carolina NAACP website to find the above passage, which encapsulates perfectly the mindset of the NC NAACP nine months ago. So different now: "Keep moving, folks. Nothing to see here." This attitude is so in-keeping with Lawrence O'Donnell during his year-end appearance in The McGlaughlin Group, when he pronounced the Duke Hoax (though he didn't call it that) the most overrated story of 2006: "It doesn't need a this kind of daily examination. Let the story play out."

Poor fellows. Gradually at first, and then suddenly, all fun went out of the game. Now, we're (mostly Joseph Cheshire, but the rest of us as well) are supposed to be quiet. Now, we're supposed to sit back, turn away . . . you know, let the process play out.

Not a chance, guys. Nine months of facts, revelations, and story after story after story later, now it's our turn to bang the pots. Outside your window, in case you were wondering.

(I owe an Anonymous for this tip; in my previous comments box I was made aware of the so-called "82 Crimes and Torts," whatever the hell that means, the NAACP claimed the Duke players committed, a claim made just as the case was congealing. I'd thank Anon if I knew Anon's name; as it is, a word of thanks as it is.)

Oh, this is rich

The North Carolina NAACP wants everyone--especially the defense--to shut up about the Duke rape case while the state's Attorney General looks into the matter.

Sure thing, guys.

Duke invites 2 players back to campus

Another stone drops. Reade Seligman and Collin Finnerty may enroll and re-join the lacrosse team (the third, Dave Evans, graduated last spring).

Apparently the presumption of innocence means something after all.

Details here.

My favorite part of every one of these articles lately is what comes near the end: "Nifong could not be reached for comment."

The latest on Duke

Mike Nifong sworn in as Durham DA today.

In private.

Behind locked doors.

Unreal.

KC has the details.

Duke as the year turns

I saw the McMartin preschool hoax play out for five years in front of me (I lived in Los Angeles, and I told myself, Never again.

The problem is people who say, "Who cares?"

Like, for instance, Lawrence O'Donnell

Caught "McGlaughlin Group" last night. I don't have much use for Lawrence O'Donnell, but what he said was especially hateful. When asked his opinion on "The Most Overrated Story" of 2006, he responded: The Duke Rape Case.

"Let it play out," he said. "There's no need for examining it day to day."

No no no no no. A thousand times no. O'Donnell is a Washington insider who finds the whole affair boring, never mind the effect on these three young men.

This--once a dismissal comes, as it surely will--will be the bloggers' finest hour.

All of you: do not flag or fail. Keep up the pressure. Dismiss, dismiss, dismiss or let the heavens fall.

North Carolina Bar issues Nifong complaint

About freaking time.

Four steps:

Removal as prosecutor in the Duke Hoax.

Resignation as DA.

Disbarrment.

Indictment.

Taylor and Johnson and Duke

A WSJ editorial on Duke by the two journalists most responsible: KC Johnson, whose blog has made mincemeat of the prosecution, and Stuart Taylor, whose August article in Slate helped nudge DA Nifong's misconduct into focus.

Money quote:

The case is now unraveling so rapidly as to be ridiculed on "Saturday Night Live." Mr. Nifong is on his way to being disbarred, unless North Carolina's legal establishment wants to be held up to national scorn. He faces lawsuits and at least a remote risk of federal criminal investigation. As for Durham's black leaders, and many in the media, and much of Duke's faculty, history will mark them down as enablers of abusive, dishonest law enforcement tactics. They will share responsibility for the continued use of such tactics, mainly against black people, after the Duke lacrosse players' innocence has become manifest to all serious people and the spotlight has moved on.

Read the whole thing.

The latest on Duke

Mike Nifong has been dishonest, crooked and, at times, just plain weird.

But his dropping of the rape charge, and not the others, is the first action I would describe as "cute."

Drop the one charge--the central charge--on account of its being completely disproven, in the hope of proving the ancillary charges by a preponderence of the evidence?

Drop the rape charge and then say with a straight face that the DNA is "out of play," when the absence of of LAX players' DNA is perhaps even more exculpatory in the ancillary charges?

Cute. Real cute.

On a related note: Will KC Johnson be the first blogger to win the Pulitzer Prize? One can hope. His latesthere.

Nifong drops rape charge against Duke Three

The details here.

If Mike Nifong thinks he has reduced the scrutiny toward himself by dropping the one charge that has been absolutely disproven, he has another think coming.

In future years, the story of the Duke Three will rival that of the Scottsboro boys, the Guilford Four, the McMartin Preschool staff and Steve Pagones, who was the primary scapegoat in the Tawana Brawley hoax.

As always, the estimable KC Johnson weighs in, with at least six sensational posts today. To wit:

There is absolutely no justification for any continued allegations against any of the players; I suspect this is the beginning of the end for the case against them--and the beginning of the ethical and perhaps legal case against Nifong.

Dismiss. Dismiss. Dismiss on all counts. And then go after Nifong.

Sowell on Duke

It is now clear that revery day an rape indictment hangs over the three accused Duke lacrosse players is a travesty of historic proportions.

It is a matter of record that the District Attorney, Mike Nifong:

1. Showed the alleged victim a line-up featuring only white Duke lacrosse players, thus diregarding all norms of investigation, and the legal standard in the state of North Carolina;

2. Pursued an indictment against a lacrosse player who has a three-fold alibi (a black cabbie places him miles away from the scene of the supposed crime when the crime took place, and both a time-stamped ATM receipt and a time-stamped video camera place him at his bank);

3. Disregarded results of a negative DNA test against the accused, after assuring beforehand that said tests would demnonstrate innocence if negative;

4. Conspired with a DNA lab to keep from the defense a positive DNA result for three other men, none of whom are lacrosse players.

What is amazing is that, if Nifong could wave a wand and remove these four facts from public purview, there would still be enough to exonerate the defendants.

Thomas Sowell has the latest.

Sowell's conclusion matches mine, to a point. Nifong should be removed from office. He should be disbarred.

I would go further. When all is said and done, he should be caged.

Duke: the beginning of the end?

It appears the Great Duke Rape Hoax may be inching toward its proper dismissal.

Up until yesterday, the charitable characterization of Brian Meehan, head of DNA Security, was incompetence beyond words. That positive DNA matches of three men were found on the person of the alleged victim, none of them Duke lacrosse players, was withheld from defense counsel, would seem to be (in the best light) a huge blunder by a scientist unaware of of the rules of discovery.

Then this moment:

Seligmann attorney Jim Cooney: “Was the exclusion of material the result of a specific agreement between you and representatives of the state of North Carolina?”

DNA Security director Brian Meehan: Yes.

As always, the esteemed KC Johnson weighs in.

Durham in Wonderland

Ten years from now, an HBO film will detail every inch of DA Mike Nifong's ehtical lapses.

Fifty years from now, books will be written on this scandalous witch hunt.

KC Johnson should win a prize.