Duke Prosecutor to Resign Facing Questions of Ethics

Durham County district attorney, Michael B. Nifong, announced on Friday that he is planning to resign, according to the New York Times. He faces disciplinary charges for the mishandling of a sexual assault case against three Duke University lacrosse players who were later declared innocent. He apologized to those players while speaking before a disciplinary hearing panel, as well as their families.

56 year old Nifong has yet to face the ethics charges against him which could lead to his disbarment. Joseph B. Cheshire, a lawyer for one of the three former players , mentioned that defense lawyers planned to file a motion requesting that Nifong be found in criminal contempt of court for misstatements to the judge and lawyers in pretrial hearings. He said "I believe it is a cynical political attempt to save his law license. His apology is far too late." This could result in fines or jail time. The families are also considering civil suits.

His announcement to resign occurred on the fourth day of a hearing by the North Carolina State Bar, which has charged him with "systematic abuse of prosecutorial discretion" for withholding evidence and making improper pretrial statements. "It has become increasingly apparent, during the course of this week, in some ways that it might not have been before, that my presence as the district attorney in Durham is not furthering the cause of justice," Michael Nifong said. The case began when a stripper hired for a lacrosse party was sexual assaulted by the three players. The led to a case revolving around issues of race and privilege. Nifong brought the most serious charges against the boys, saying, "I am not going to let Durham's view in the eyes of the world be a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl from Durham." He later apologized and took the blame for his statement. "I think that crossed the line," he said.

Reade W. Seligmann, one of the defendants, condemned Nifong for his accusations, according to the New York Times. "For him to apologize and then to continue to slander 46 innocent people about a crime that did not happen, is outrageous," he said. Reade also spoke of how Nifong refused to meet with his attorney, who had evidence that he was not even at the party when the assault supposedly occurred. Nifong was not interested in hearing in what he didn't believe to be true. Reade recounted his whole terrible ordeal, including explaining to his parents his indictment, as well as dealing with it around the college. "The feeling on campus was as lonely as you can imagine," he said.

Source:

Wilson, Duff. "Facing Sanction, Duke Prosecutor Plans to Resign." New York Times. 16 June 2007. 16 June 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/16/us/16duke.html?th&emc=th