New at Reason

Jeff Taylor checks in on the Duke case to see if Mike Nifong's implosion shows any sign of slowing down.

Comments

Jim Bob | June 14, 2007, 1:20pm | #

I wish I could be surprised that NC lawyers are trying to make it easier for the Nifongs of the world to get away with it.

Warren | June 14, 2007, 1:32pm | #

Seems to me that the key story here, is that the judicial system routinely railroads the defendants that pass through it. It's so routine that the participants forget they're able to get away with it because nobody's watching. In this case the defendants had enough juice to push back the rock and expose all the grubs. These defendants beat the rap, and Nifong is going to take the fall. The system however, will continue to scale and gut the tons of small fish that get caught in it's drift nets.

ed | June 14, 2007, 2:23pm | #

I'd like to know why Mainstream Media is still witholding the name of the discredited accuser. Do they think she's innocent? Is it now against the rules to publish the name of a rape "victim" who lied about the whole thing? What the hell?

biologist | June 14, 2007, 3:07pm | #

good article, Jeff

"This duty is rooted in the notion that the prosecution has no client but justice itself; that it doesn't "win" a case with just any conviction, only in convicting the guilty. Incredibly, this distinction still seems to escape Nifong and his legal team."

My impression is that that distinction not only escapes Nifong, but the public at large, sadly.

helpful elf | June 14, 2007, 4:24pm | #

Ed,

RTFA: Crystal Gail Magnum

BG | June 14, 2007, 4:51pm | #

Good article.

So does this mean I should stop basing my impression of the criminal justice system on Law & Order episodes?

Anonymous | June 15, 2007, 9:29am | #

"Seems to me that the key story here, is that the judicial system routinely railroads the defendants that pass through it."

I think this is absolutely correct. I had a recent unfortunate run-in with the legal system a bit like the Duke folks (though for a much less serious accusation), and my experience was that the Nancy Grace's of the world are the rule, not the exception, in prosecuting offices.

For local prosecutors, its all about touting conviction rates in their assembly line system of plea bargains.

If you read between the lines here, what Nifong apparently hoped was that his public statements and withholding of evidence wouldn't matter because the case would be plead out long before it reached the point where this stuff would ever come out.

David | June 15, 2007, 10:15am | #

Here is a great prediction from Thomas Sowell in May '06. http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4668

His analysis of how this story would play out was fascinating then and is even more so now.

Seamus | June 15, 2007, 11:08am | #

Every time I read more about this story, and see how Nifong didn't really care about guilt or innocence, the more I think how appropriate it would be to put him and make him share a cell with a *real* rapist. (But as Richard Nixon, might say, "That would be wrong.")

FBC3 | June 15, 2007, 3:14pm | #

Think they'll review Nifongs previous cases?
Doubt it. It's an "isolated incident," you see.

MIchael | June 17, 2007, 3:59am | #

Colon Willoughby, the DA in Raleigh is next to go down.

DARREL | June 18, 2007, 5:36pm | #

WHY have we heard NOTHING about the legal costs of the boys parents in this case? Seems that would shed some light on just how many past cases were probebly "Nifonged" because 'victims' didn't have an extra $5 MM or so for a defense.

Duke Parent | June 19, 2007, 10:05am | #

To read more about the legal defense fund and the latest news on this case visit, FODU

Laura Ann Jenkins | June 20, 2007, 12:11am | #

Is Richard Alpert, Tarrant County (TC) Prosecutor (Ft. Worth, Texas) another Nifong? Get your answer at choose2question.com. If you have questions like we do, help us get answers. Lacking media support and outrage like the Duke lacrosse players, we have created choose2question.com to highlight the case of another African American male being wrongfully imprisoned. I am Laura Adams-Jenkins. My son is Roy Adams, Jr. who was convicted of intoxication manslaughter and sentenced to 12 ½ years in prison in the death of Grapevine, TX Police Officer Darren Medlin. I believe this was a horrific accident and that my son has been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. I don’t believe my son was intoxicated or impaired. Instead, I believe this accident happened as a result of my son having an epilepsy seizure. A neurologist who specializes in epilepsy testified he believed the seizure was a cause of the accident. We understand the sorrow and passion associated with the death of an on duty white police officer. My son's father is a retired DEA professional. However, we had hoped and prayed for justice.

We believe Richard Alpert was instrumental in the wrongful conviction of our son. Go to choose2question.com for a full explanation of my son's case. Here are a few examples of the questionable actions. 1. First person to interact with my son at the scene testified she turned off her video camera to explain the missing tape segments from her in-car video. 2. TC Lead Prosecutor’s office directed my son’s blood draw be handled differently than the regular process and had it go to the TC Medical Examiner’s lab rather than the normal process. 3. TC Medical Examiner testified there were “small, small” things that needed to be changed in the lab to meet certification requirements. We learned after the trial that the lab was not in compliance with 11 essential requirements. Not meeting one essential requirement means the lab failed.