The Duke lacrosse case is a widely reported 2006 criminal case in which three members of the men's lacrosse team Duke University are accused of rape. This case raises a variety of responses from media, faculty groups, students, communities, and others. The case resolution sparked public discussion about racism, media bias and legal process on campuses, and eventually led to the resignation and resignation of the chief prosecutor, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong.
In March 2006, Crystal Gail Mangum, a black student at North Carolina Central University who worked as a stripper, escort and dancer, accused three students of Duke University - all members of the Duke Blue Devils lacrosse team - raped her. The rape allegedly occurred at a party held at the home of two team captains in Durham on March 13, 2006. The Durham District Attorney, Nifong, said the alleged rape was a racial crime.
In response to the allegations, Duke University suspended lacrosse teams for two games on March 28, 2006. The following week, on 5 April, Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler was forced to resign under threat by athletic director Joe Alleva and president Duke Richard. Brodhead canceled the rest of the 2006 season.
On April 11, 2007, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper dropped all charges and declared three innocent lacrosse players on charges of rape. Cooper stated that the players - Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans - became victims of "tragically hasty to accuse."
The preliminary prosecutor, Mike Nifong, was branded a "bad boy" by Cooper, and resigned from the case in January 2007 after the North Carolina State Bar filed an ethical indictment against him. In June 2007, Nifong was dismissed for "dishonesty, fraud, fraud and misinterpretation", making him the first attorney in North Carolina who was fired for experimenting. Nifong served one day in jail for lying about sharing DNA tests (criminal contempt); The lab director said it was a misunderstanding and Nifong claimed it was due to a weak memory. Mangum was not facing charges for his false accusations, because Cooper refused to prosecute him.
Cooper notes several inconsistencies between Mangum's account that night and Seligmann and Finnerty's alibi proofs. The Durham Police Department has also been criticized for violating its own policies by allowing Nifong to act as de facto chief investigator; using suspect photo identification procedure with Mangum; pursued the case despite many inconsistencies in records taken by Investigators Benjamin Himan and Sgt. Mark Gottlieb; and distributing posters suspected to be guilty of the suspects shortly after the allegations.
In 2007, Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans sought unspecified damage and called for a new criminal justice reform law in federal civil rights lawsuits against City of Durham.
Video Duke lacrosse case
Timeline of events
Events at home
In March 2006, Crystal Gail Mangum, a student at North Carolina Central University, has been working part-time for about two months as a stripper. Although Mangum claimed that he had just done stripping, he actually worked in a strip club in early 2002: When he was arrested that year for stealing a taxi and trying to run over a police officer, the incident report stated that he had never danced in a strip club that night.
On March 13, 2006, a party was held at 610 North Buchanan Boulevard, a house owned by Duke University and used as a lacrosse Duke lacrosse residence off campus. The party is meant as compensation for the team that must stay on campus and skip Spring Break. The players consume alcohol at parties. Some players do not know that the strippers are being hired until the players arrive at the party and are asked to contribute to the cost of strippers.
A team captain contacted Allure, a companion service, and asked for two strippers. However, the two women who came, Mangum and Kim Mera Roberts (aka Kim Mera Pittman), each black and biracial (half-black/half-Asian). Before arriving at the party, Mangum, according to his own confession, has consumed alcohol and Flexeril (a muscle relaxant recipe). Mangum and his co-worker that day, Roberts, went to the party separately. Roberts drove alone and arrived first, and Mangum was later revealed by a man.
According to the captain of the team, one player asked whether the stripper had a sex toy, and Roberts responded by asking if the penis was too small. The player then held up a broomstick and suggested that he "use this [as a sex toy]". The exchange of these words suddenly stops the show, and the two strippers hang out in the bathroom of the house. While the women are still in the bathroom, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty leave home. The women finally got out, and Mangum scoured the courtyard half-dressed and screaming.
According to the accused, the women were persuaded back home with an apology, at which point they were separated. He asserted that he was then dragged into the bathroom and was raped, beaten, and suffocated for half an hour. Later, the police received a 911 call from a woman who complained that whites were gathering outside the house where the party had been calling racial insults and threatened to subscribe to her with a broom.
Some party attendees expressed displeasure that the stripper had given a very short performance despite being paid several hundred dollars to perform. The team captain who had hired strippers tried to convince the women to return home and finish the show. Both women returned home, but after being approached by a player who previously lifted a broom, again refused to appear and locked himself in the bathroom. At this point, a number of party guests have left, and residents of the house, including David Evans, ask the remaining guests to leave as they fear the noise will cause neighbors to complain to the police. When the strippers left the bathroom and the house for the second time, a resident locked the door so that they (and the guests who had left the house) could not get back in.
Shortly before 1 am, Mangum and Roberts entered Roberts's vehicle. Roberts called the partygoers "white short boys", and scorned a player about "how he could not get it himself and had to pay for it", which was shouted by one player, "We ask white people instead of niggers." Mangum and Roberts set off in Roberts's car.
Roberts then telephoned 911 and reported that he had just come from North 610 Buchanan and a "white man" had shouted "negro" at him from near the wall of the Eastern Campus. The party ended shortly afterwards and everyone, including the residents, left home. The police then went home as a result of Roberts' complaints, but received no answer at the door; a neighbor asserted that the party held earlier had ended.
Upon departure
When Roberts left with Mangum, the two women began to argue. Roberts stopped the car and tried to push Mangum out. When it failed, Roberts drove Mangum to a nearby Kroger supermarket, went inside, and notified a female security guard that a woman refused to leave his car. The guard walks to the car and asks Mangum to leave, but Mangum stays in the vehicle. The guard later said he did not smell alcohol on Mangum's breath, but thought he might be under the influence of other drugs. At 1:22 am, the guard called 911 to report that Mangum refused to leave the car. The police then arrive, removing Mangum from the car and questioning him.
Since Mangum has no identification, will not talk to the police, have difficulty walking, and looks very disturbed, the police took him to Durham Center Access, mental health facilities and substance abuse, for unconscious commitments. During the admissions process, he claims that he has been raped before his arrival.
Mangum was transferred to Duke University Medical Center. Skin, arms, and leg examinations showed no swelling, no abnormalities, and three minor injuries to his right knee and right heel. When asked, he specifically and repeatedly refused to accept physical blows by hand. Further examination showed no pain in the back, chest, and neck.
There is a spread of vaginal discharge. Mangum later claimed that he had performed using a vibrator for a couple in a hotel room just before the lacrosse team party. This activity, or yeast infection, can cause swelling. The investigator â € <â €
Several hours after the party ended, Ryan McFadyen, a member of the lacrosse team, e-mailed another player who said he planned to have some strippers on top, kill them, and cut their skin while wearing Duke- spandex problems and ejaculation.
E-mail dimulai:
To anyone interested, tomorrow night, after tonight shows, I decided to have some strippers to edens 2c. everything is accepted.. but there will be no nudity. I plan to kill the bitches as soon as [y] walk in and process [ sic ] to cut their skin while cumming in my duke spandex issue.. all beside the arch and tactics [his two teammates] retorted
Some players suggested the e-mail was meant as a funny irony. The administrator insists the e-mail is a clone of Patrick Bateman, the protagonist in Bret Easton Ellis's novel, American Psycho, which is read and lectured in more than one Duke class, as shown by the mail-response of other players. One response reads, "I'll bring Phil Collins," another reference to American Psycho's book and movie . Police released McFadyen's e-mail but refused to release the following e-mail, leaving the impression that McFadyen's e-mail was actually intended as a serious threat. McFadyen then received a thousand death threats in a week.
E-mail that causes many people consider guilty on the part of the players. McFadyen was not charged with any crime, but he was temporarily suspended from Duke, with a university citing security concerns. He was invited back to Duke to continue his studies later that summer.
Maps Duke lacrosse case
Investigation and prosecution
Investigation and timeline of investigation
The day after the party, on March 14, 2006, Durham police began their investigation into the rape allegations by interviewing Mangum and searching for 610 North Buchanan based on a warrant. The three captains of the home-based team, including David Evans, volunteered to give statements and DNA samples to the police and offered to take a lie test. The police rejected the offer.
On March 15, 2006, Durham police made their investigation public when Sergeant. Mark Gottlieb, the police supervisor, posted on the digital community bulletin board that they were investigating a young woman's rape by three men at 610 North Buchanan, where she attended a party at the end of the night of March 13, and asked anyone in the area to see or heard something unusual to contact Investigators â € <â €
On March 16 and 21, 2006, police demonstrated Mangum's photographic arrangement as an attempt to identify its attackers. Each photo array contains only photos of lacrosse team members, and does not follow the policies recommended by the Durham Police Department including photographs of individuals who are not considered suspects (known as "fillers"). Mangum identifies Reade Seligmann as someone who attends the party, but not as an attacker, and does not identify Evans at all despite seeing his photo twice.
On March 27, 2006, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong received his first briefing on the case from Gottlieb and Himan. Within hours of receiving the briefing, Nifong made his first public statement about the case. During the week of March 27, Nifong with his own estimates gave fifty to seventy interviews and devoted more than forty hours to the journalists. After that, he continues to make statements, though less frequently. Many Nifong statements relating to alleged failure or refusal of team members to provide information to law enforcement authorities, requests of team members against their constitutional rights, or Nifong's own opinion that crimes have occurred, that it is racial motivation, and that one or more lacrosse players are at fault.
On April 4, 2006, Mangum was shown another photo arrangement containing only photos of 46 members of the white lacrosse team, including members who did not attend the party, and no fillers. Photos are shown to Mangum as a powerpoint presentation, with each photo projected individually into Mangum, rather than displaying all the unified images. For the first time, Mangum identifies photos of Seligmann, Evans, and Finnerty as his attackers. He also identified at least one other photo as a player present at the party; Further investigations show he is not there yet.
On April 10, 2006, a lawyer who was detained by one of the lacrosse players stated that the time-stamped photographs were showing that the woman who made the allegations (later identified as Mangum) was already injured when she arrived at the party, and was deeply disturbed. Also on April 10, a player lawyer announced that a DNA test by the North Carolina state crime lab had failed to connect Duke lacrosse men to rape.
On April 18, 2006, Seligmann and Finnerty were arrested and charged with first-degree rape allegations, first-rate sexual crimes and kidnappings. On the same day, search warrants were executed in Finnerty and Seligmann's dorm rooms. Seligmann reportedly told several teammates "I'm glad they chose me," alluding to a strong alibi in the form of ATM notes, photographs, phone notes, statements from taxi drivers, and DukeCard notes being swiped at the dorm.
On May 12, 2006, DNA Security Inc. (DSI), a private company involved by Nifong to conduct second round DNA testing, produced its report (which was later recognized by the DSI director incomplete). The report contained DNA analysis found on fake nails that Mangum dumped in the bathroom bins, and concluded that 2% of the male population, including lacrosse team captain Duke David Evans, could not be excluded from a match with nail DNA..
On May 15, 2006, former team captain and 2006 graduate Duke Evans became the third player indicted for alleged first-degree rape, sexual offenses and kidnapping. Just before surrendering to the Durham County Detention Center, he made a public statement declaring his innocence and hope to be released from charges within weeks.
On June 8, 2006, court documents revealed that Roberts, in his initial statement, said he was with Mangum all night except for a period of less than five minutes. In addition, after hearing Mangum claiming he was sexually assaulted, he called his claim "a jar."
On December 15, 2006, it was reported that Brian Meehan, director of DSI's personal DNA testing laboratory, testified that, based on an agreement between himself and Nifong, he had withheld information from the May 12 DSI report, resulting in incomplete reports.. Defense lawyers argue that the cut information is a liberating proof.
On December 22, 2006, Nifong dropped rape charges against the three lacrosse players after Mangum informed an investigator of various versions of the show and said he was no longer sure about some aspect of the original story. Allegations of abduction and sexual offenses are still pending against all three players.
On December 28, 2006, the North Carolina bar filed an ethical suit against Nifong for his actions in this case, accusing him of making public statements that harmed the administration of justice and increasing public condemnation of the defendant, and engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or falsehood. The 17-page document accused Nifong of violating four rules of professional conduct, and recorded more than 100 examples of statements he made to the media.
On January 12, 2007, Nifong sent a letter to North Carolina Attorney General, Roy Cooper, requesting to be excluded from the case, citing the responsibility of the case to the attorney general's office. The next day, January 13, Cooper announced that his office would take over the case.
On January 24, 2007, the North Carolina State Bar filed a second round of ethical indictments against Nifong for systematic abuse of prosecution policies detrimental to the administration of justice when he withholds DNA evidence to mislead the courts.
On March 23, 2007 Justin Paul Caulfield, a legal analyst for sports magazine In Lacrosse, told Fox News that the allegations against Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann would be canceled soon. While the Office of the Attorney General of North Carolina first denied the report, on 11 April 2007, announced that it had fired all charges against three lacrosse players. Cooper not only ignored the allegations but also took the unusual step of declaring the defendants innocent. Cooper also announced that Mangum would not be prosecuted, stating that the investigator and lawyer who had interviewed his mind "he probably really believes the many different stories he has told... it is for the best justice not to bring charges".
On April 12, 2007, the attorney general, in declaring Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans not guilty, also referred to Nifong as a "naughty prosecutor".
DNA test
Shortly after the party, the prosecution ordered 46 of 47 members of the lacrosse team to deliver DNA samples, although some members had been absent from the party. The only black member of the team was released because Mangum had declared that his assailant was white. On April 10, 2006, it was announced that DNA testing by a state crime lab failed to connect any of the 46 team members tested on suspicion of rape.
After a preliminary test by a state crime laboratory, Nifong prosecutors sought the services of a private laboratory, DNA Security Inc. (aka DSI) from Burlington, North Carolina, to conduct additional tests. The DNA of some unknown men is found in Mangum and on the rape kit item that has been tested, but nothing matches any of the lacrosse players. Nifong falsely declares to the court and public that DNA is only found from one male source, Mangum's girlfriend.
In a motion made on 15 December 2006, defense lawyers argued that DNA analysis reports written by the DSi and given to them by the Nifong office were incomplete, as it omitted information indicating that no genetic material from some people found in Mangum fits with DNA samples from the lacrosse team. Brian Meehan, director of the DSi who wrote a misleading report, testified that his lab was not trying to retain information, but acknowledged that the decision not to release a full report violated lab policy. Meehan testified that after discussions with Nifong, he decided to hold the names of those issued by DNA testing (all 46 members of the tested lacrosse team) to protect the privacy of the players who were not involved in the case, despite the fact that two players (Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty) have been charged with rape more than three weeks before the report's release date. Meehan was later dismissed in October 2007 based on this incident.
DNA was also extracted from all the surface of three fake Mangosteen nails taken from the trash in the bathroom of the house (widely but not accurately reported as DNA taken only from the "underside" of a single nail). According to DNA Security, nail DNA shows some characteristics similar to the DNA of lacrosse player David Evans. However, the match was not conclusive, as 2% of the male population (including Evans) can not be excluded on the basis of the sample. Also, since Evans lives at home, defense lawyers argue that every DNA present may come from tissue paper, cotton swabs, or other janitorial rubbish that is in the trash with the nail. This was confirmed later by the Attorney General Cooper investigation: "... as far as DNA Evans can not be excluded, the SBI experts assert that DNA can easily be transferred to the nails from other materials in the trash".
Nifong argues that the lack of DNA evidence is unusual and that 75-80% of all cases of sexual violence have no DNA evidence. Rape victims often postpone reporting by day or week, inadvertently destroying DNA evidence. However, in this case, Mangum undergoes rape checks just hours after the end of the party, so the absence of DNA evidence is deemed impossible by jurists.
At the next Nifong ethics trial on June 14, 2007, a complete DNA discovery was revealed during the testimony of defense attorney Brad Bannon. According to conservative estimates, the laboratory has found at least two unknown male DNAs in the Mangum pubic area; at least two unknown male DNAs in his rectum; at least four to five unknown male DNAs in his underwear; and at least one male DNA identified in her vagina.
Previous Collin Finnerty Incident
In November 2005, Finnerty and two of Chaminade High School's lacrosse teammates had previously been accused of mild attacks in Washington, D.C., after a fight with a Washington man outside Georgetown's bar. Finnerty was accused of threatening and mocking the man.
Although the man alleged that Finnerty had pushed and threatened him, the man was actually punched by a third party (a Finnerty friend), who admitted the blow. The witness later testified that Finnerty himself had actually been beaten in the head by a suspected victim's friend. Although the man alleged that Finnerty and his friends had called him "gay" (among the degrading names), the incident was not prosecuted as a racial crime. Finnerty was initially accepted into a diversionary program for first offenders, allowing a simple assault charge to be dismissed after its completion in community service.
However, after Durham's allegations emerged, Washington prosecutors D.C. canceled his transfer approval and proceeded with the alleged assault. In the trial, defense witnesses are not allowed to testify and police officers present details that are not in their records.
Finnerty was sentenced and sentenced to a six-month trial. On December 28, 2006, shortly after the rape allegations at Durham against Finnerty were dropped, Judge Bayly ended Finnerty's probation.
In January 2007, Finnerty's assassination beliefs were emptied (by order signed by Bayly) and his records were deleted.
Questions defense and media
Crystal Mangum's credibility as an accuser
Possibility of intoxication and mental state
Lawyers for Duke lacrosse players have said that Mangum is drunk with alcohol and possibly another drug on a party night. With the police's own admission to the police, he had taken the Flexeril recipe and drank "one or two large beers" before going to the party.
The Attorney General's Office then noted that Mangum had taken Ambien, methadone, Paxil, and amitriptyline, though when he started taking these drugs was uncertain. He has a long history of mental problems and suffers from bipolar disorder.
Inconsistency in Mangum story
During the scandal, police reports, media investigations, and defense lawyers' movements and press conferences uncovered some key inconsistencies in Mangum's story.
Some questions about his credibility are:
- Durham Police say Mangum continues to change his story and is not credible, reporting that he initially told them that he was raped by 20 white men, then reduced the number to just three.
- Another police report stated that Mangum initially admitted he was just groping, rather than being raped, but changed his story before going to the hospital.
- On December 22, 2006, Nifong canceled charges of rape after Mangum declared that he was pierced from behind but he did not know what. In North Carolina, penetration with objects is considered a sexual assault, not a rape. On January 11, 2007, several inconsistencies were revealed after the defense filed a motion detailing the interview on December 21, 2006. For example, he changed the details about when he was attacked, who attacked him, and how they attacked him:
- In the new version of the December 21 interview, Mangum claims he was attacked from 11.35 pm to midnight, much earlier than previous allegations. This new time before the well-documented alibi proof for Reade Seligmann put him away from home. However, the defense revealed that this new time would show Seligmann was on the phone with his girlfriend during the peak of the attack. In addition, he received an incoming call at 11:36. and someone stays on the phone for 3 minutes, which will take place during the party according to the new schedule.
- This new statement contrasts with a time photo showing that she danced between 12:00 and 12: 04 am. It also means that they stayed at the party for nearly an hour after the alleged attack since Kim Roberts took him to the 12: 53s home. In an April statement, Mangum said they left immediately after the attack.
- Mangum changed the name of the attacker, claiming that they have used many pseudonyms.
- The accuser also changed his description of Evans. He had previously claimed that he was attacked by a man who looked like Evans except with a mustache, but later stated that the assailant had only a shadow of five o'clock.
- Mangum claims that Evans stood in front of her, making her perform oral sex on her. Earlier, he stated that Seligmann did this. In a recent statement, he stated that Seligmann did not commit any sexual acts on him and that he said that he could not participate because he was getting married. Even though she has a boyfriend, nobody ever shows her getting engaged or getting married.
- North Carolina Attorney Roy Cooper says Mangum tells many different stories about the attack. In one account, he claims he was suspended in the air and assaulted by the three of them in the bathroom. Cooper later said the show seemed very unreasonable because of the small size of the bathroom. According to a 60 Minutes investigation Mangum gave at least a dozen different stories.
- In his own investigation, The News & amp; Observer , North Carolina's second largest newspaper, determined that Mangum gave at least five different versions of the incident to police and medical interviewers in August 2006.
- Mangum, at one point, claimed both Evans and Finnerty helped him into his car on departure. However, a photo shows him being helped by other players, while electronic records and witnesses report that Evans and Finnerty are gone. After seeing the photo, Mangum claims that it must have been engineered or Duke University paid someone.
- Mangum does not consistently select the same three defendants in the line of photos. Media reports have revealed at least two photo formations that took place in March and April where he was asked to remember who he saw at the party and in what capacity. In the March lineup, he did not pick Dave Evans at all. There is only one individual he identifies at a party with 100% certainty during both procedures - Brad Ross. Once identified, Ross provided incontrovertible proof to the police that he and his girlfriend were at North Carolina State University before, during, and after the party through cell phone records and a written statement from a witness.
Other credibility issues
Duke defense lawyers or media reports indicate:
- The second paring at home, Kim Roberts, says that Mangum is not raped. He states that Mangum is not clearly ill. Likewise, he denied another aspect of Mangum's story including denying that he helped dress Mangum after the party and said that they were not separated by force by players as Mangum reported.
- DNA results indicate that the woman had sex with a man who was not a Duke lacrosse player. Prosecutor Joseph Cheshire said the test showed DNA from a male source from a vaginal swab taken from Mangum. Media reports that this DNA originated from his girlfriend.
However, it was later revealed that DNA from some men who were not lacrosse players or Mangum's girlfriends had been found, but these findings were deliberately withheld from the Court and the defense.
- He has made similar claims in the past that he did not pursue. On August 18, 1996, the 18-year-old dancer - told a police officer at Creedmoor she had been raped by three men in June 1993, according to a police document. The officer who took the woman's report at the time asked her to write a detailed timeline of the events that night and brought the account back to the police, but she never returned.
- The strip club's security officer said that Mangum told colleagues four days after the party that he would get money from some boys at a Duke party that had not yet paid him, stating that the boys were white. The security guard did not make a big deal because he felt nobody took him seriously.
- Mangum was arrested in 2002 for stealing a taxi from the strip club where he works. He leads police officers with high speed pursuits before he is arrested, at which point his blood alcohol level is more than double the legal limit. He was sentenced to three weeks in custody.
Durham Police Department action
Lawyers and the media have questioned the method of photo identification process, and argue that police supervisors in this case, Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, has been targeting Duke students unfairly in the past.
Photo identification
Lawyers and media reports alike suggest a very flawed photo identification process. During the photo identification, Mangum was told that he would see the lacrosse player Duke University who attended the party, and asked if he remembered seeing them at the party and in what capacity. Defense lawyers claim this is essentially a "multiple-choice test in which there is no wrong answer", while Duke law professor James Earl Coleman Jr. argues that "[t] he officer told the witness that all the suspects, and said, apply, 'Choose three.' That's so wrong. "
US Department of Justice Guidelines recommend to include at least five photos of non-suspect fillers for each of the included suspects, as did the Durham General Police 4077, adopted in February 2006.
Ross (the only player he identifies attending the party with 100% certainty during the two procedures) gave police investigators evidence that he and his girlfriend were at North Carolina State University before, during, and after the party through cell phone recordings and a statement from a witness. The other person identified by the accuser in April also gave evidence to the police that he did not attend the party at all. In terms of Seligmann's identification, Mangum's confidence increased from 70% in March to 100% in April. Gary Wells - a University of Iowa State professor and an expert in police identification procedures - has asserted that memory does not improve over time.
According to a transcript of photo identification released on The Abrams Report, Mangum also stated that David Evans had a mustache on the night of the attack. Lawyer Evans stated that his client had never had a mustache and that the eyewitness photograph and testimony would reveal that Evans never had a mustache.
Allegations of bullying tactics
Defense lawyers suggest police use intimidation tactics with witnesses. On May 11, Moezeldin Elmostafa, an immigrant taxi driver who signed a sworn statement about the whereabouts of Seligmann that defense lawyers said gave a powerful alibi, was arrested on two years of shoplifting charges. The arresting officer first asked if he had anything new to say about the lacrosse case. When he refused to change his testimony, he was taken into custody. Arrest and conviction will destroy his chances of citizenship and could lead to his deportation. Elmostafa was later on trial for shoplifting and acquitted, after a security tape sounded to prove that a security guard who was the primary witness of the prosecutor's office had "wrongly remembered" the events.
Police also arrested the ex-husband of Mangum, Kenneth McNeil; his girlfriend, Matthew Murchison; and other friends, with their own separate case disposition at the hands of Nifong District Attorney. The daughter of the Durham police chief was arrested with an old warrant, and the head himself was absent from the assignment and was not seen by the press for most cases.
Supervisor
News & amp; Observers suggest that investigative investigators lacrosse, Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, has targeted Duke students unfairly in the past, putting some of his investigative tactics into question. Gottlieb has made a disproportionate number of Duke student arrests for breaches of offenses, such as carrying an open container of alcohol. Typically, this violation makes ticket offenders pink similar to a traffic ticket.
From May 2005 to February 2006, when Sgt. Gottlieb was a patrolman in District 2, he made 28 total arrests. Twenty of the arrests were Duke students, and at least 15 people were handcuffed and taken to jail. This is very different from the two other officers who served in the same district during the same 10-month period. They make 64 total arrests, only two of them are Duke students. Similarly, The News & amp; Observer alleges that Gottlieb treats non-students very differently. For example, he wrote a young man for illegally carrying a.45 caliber caliber pistol and possession of marijuana (a crime much worse than a Duke student brought to a committed prison), but not taking him to jail. Citizens praised Gottlieb for dealing fairly with the harsh parties and irregular behavior by the students.
The Duke student newspaper, The Chronicle, illustrates another example of violence and dishonesty from Sgt. Gottlieb. It was published that one student held a party at his rented home off-East Campus before the Rolling Stones concert in October 2005. The morning after the concert, on 3rd of A.M., Sgt. Gottlieb leads home raids with nine other officers while the students are half asleep. It was reported that a student was dragged out of bed and then dragged down the stairs. It was reported that all seven housemates were handcuffed, arrested, and detained for violating the noise regulations and opening a container of alcohol offense. Sergeant Gottlieb reportedly told a student, a Serbian American citizen, that the student could be deported. Other stories include throwing a 130-pound man against his car for an open container of alcohol offenses, refusing student IDs because he was international, looking through his wallet without a warrant, refusing to notify a student of his rights, and a false allegation.
acts of Attorney Nifong
Possible political motivation
At the time of the rape allegations made in March 2006, Mike Nifong was in the midst of a Democrats primary election campaign that was difficult to maintain his position as a Durham District Lawyer, facing strong opposition. It is understood that if Nifong loses the main, he will most likely lose his job. Some commentators have argued that Nifong's prosecution of Duke lacrosse players and his numerous statements to the media was fueled by his political strategy to attract African-American voters. The main one was held on May 6, 2006, and Nifong won by a thin margin of 883 votes. The results show Nifong won the primary on the basis of strong support from the black community. Nifong went on to win the general election in November 2006, albeit with a lower margin than usual for Democratic candidates in Durham at that time.
Prosecutor's Office
Nifong hired Linwood E. Wilson as the principal investigator. During Wilson's private detective career, there are at least seven formal questions about his behavior. In 1997, Wilson was reprimanded by the state commission. After the appeal the decision was rejected, he let his detective license expire. In response to criticism, Wilson stated that no one ever questioned his integrity. On June 25, 2007, shortly after Nifong's dismissal and dismissal from office, it was reported that Nifong's successor, interim prosecutor Jim Hardin Jr., sacked Wilson from office.
Wider effect
Effects on Duke's faculty
Mike Pressler, lacrosse team coach, received threatening e-mails and phone calls, has blasphemed the marks placed on his property, and has often been the victim of vandalism after the allegations. On 5 April 2006, he resigned (later revealed to have been forced) as soon as McFadyen's e-mail became public. Through his lawyer, he declared that his resignation was not a mistake on his part. On the same day, Richard H. Brodhead, president of Duke University, suspended the rest of the lacrosse season.
Other Duke faculty members (sometimes referred to as Group 88 or "Gang 88") have been criticized for their "Social Disaster" letters as well as individual comments and reactions that create the perception of prejudice.
Effects on Duke's students
Shortly after the party, the University president warned in a school e-mail email about the threat of gang violence against Duke students. Other Duke students stated that they had been threatened. The masses protested outside the house where the party, hitting pots and pans in the early hours of the morning.
Photos of lacrosse team members have been posted clearly around Durham and on the Duke University campus with information requiring them to come forward with information about the incident.
Media policy regarding disclosure of accused and defendant identity
Fox News is the only national television news outlet to reveal Mangum photos after the dismissal of the case, although MSNBC and 60 Minutes revealed his name. Some great broadcasters do not publish the name Mangum at any point, including ABC, PBS, CNN, and NBC.
Publication of Mangum identity
Photographs of Mangum partially disguised at the party were broadcast by The Abrams Report on MSNBC cable news channel and by local NBC 17 WNCN television affiliate in North Carolina. On April 21, 2006, Tom Leykis's outspoken talk-radio host revealed the name Mangum during his national syndicated talk-radio program. Leykis has revealed the identity of the accusers of sexual abuse in the past. On May 15, 2006, MSNBC host Tucker Carlson revealed Mangum's first name only on his show, Tucker . The court records presented by the defender reveal the name Mangum.
On 11 April 2007, several other major media sources revealed or used the name and/or image of Mangum after the attorney general dropped all charges and declared the players innocent. These sources include: CBS, The News & amp; Observer, WRAL, all The McClatchy Company (covering 24 newspapers across the country), Fox News,
Effects on community relationships
The accusation has inflamed already strained relations between Duke University and his master Durham city, with the Duke lacrosse team members vilified in the press and vilified inside and outside the campus. On May 1, 2006, the New Black Panthers held a protest outside Duke University. The case attracted national attention and highlighted racial tensions in the Durham area.
Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow/Push Engagement
In 2006, Jesse Jackson promised that the Rainbow/Push Coalition would pay tuition for Mangum. Jackson says the offer of tuition will stay good even if Mangum made up his story.
Aftermath
Mike Nifong On June 16, 2007, the North Carolina State Bar ordered Nifong to be dismissed after a three-member bar disciplinary panel unanimously found him guilty of fraud, dishonesty, fraud or misinterpretation; making false statements about material facts before the judge; making false statements about material facts before a bar investigator, and lying about withholding the DNA evidence that ruled out.
After the state bar announcement, Nifong submitted a letter of resignation from his post as Durham county district attorney, which will be effective in July 2007. However, on June 18, Durham High Court Judge Orlando Hudson ordered Nifong to be removed from office..
On August 31, 2007, Nifong was detained in a criminal court for deliberately making false statements to the court during the criminal proceedings. High Court Judge Durham W. Osmond Smith III sentenced Nifong to one day in jail, which he then served.
Crystal Mangum
On December 15, 2006, it was reported that Mangum was pregnant and the judge in the case ordered a paternity test.
In May 2008, Mangum graduated from North Carolina Central University with a degree in police psychology.
On August 22, 2008, a press release announced the planned publication in October 2008 of a memoir by Mangum, The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story.
The press release indicated the book "can not and does not deal with the complicated legal aspects of the case" but it's "a mess of facts about Crystal's life, along with the will of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper to settle disputes about open file discovery, swallowing the whole case". Defense counsel Joseph Cheshire responded to the news by saying that if the book was true, "I think it would be great, and I do not think anyone would think badly of it in any form, form, or form," but that if the memoir does not acknowledged the falsehood of his accusations against the players, that he would advise them to start a civil action against him. His book was published later that year. In it, he continued to argue that he had been raped at the party and that the case was politically motivated. The book describes his previous life, including the claim that he was first raped at the age of 14.
Reins Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans
On June 18, 2007, Duke University announced that they had reached a settlement with Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans. No details about the settlement were disclosed.
According to author William D. Cohan, Duke reportedly agreed to pay $ 60 million for three defendants (with each player receiving $ 20 million) under confidentiality terms. Seligmann's lawyer told the New York Daily News that the settlement "was not anywhere near that much money".
Seligmann was enrolled as a student at Brown University in the fall of 2007, and is an important part of Brown reaching the NCAA lacrosse tournament in 2009 as well as the 10th nationwide rankings. He became an active fund-raiser and supporter for the Project of Innocence. He graduated from Brown in 2010 and from Emory University School of Law in 2013. He has stated that his experience during the Duke lacrosse case motivated him to attend law school and pursue a legal career.
Finnerty enrolled at Loyola College in Maryland, leading the team in judgment when Greyhound qualified for the NCAA 2010 lacrosse tournament. Finnerty graduated from Loyola in May 2010.
David Evans, who had graduated from Duke before being indicted, received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in May 2012.
men's lacrosse Duke team
Not a month went by when I was not reminded of the damage alleged to my reputation and the public perception of my character. Sometimes only time can heal the wound.
In January 2007, lacrosse team member Kyle Dowd filed a lawsuit against Duke University and against visiting visiting visiting professor and 88 member Kim Curtis claimed he and another team were scored on their final paper as a form of retaliation after a scandal it broke. This case is solved with an undisclosed condition except that the Dowd value is changed to P (for "Pass").
Professor Houston Baker, who continues to accuse Dowd and others of being a "hooligan, rapist", calls Dowd's mother "a livestock lady", after she e-mails him. Duke Provost Peter Lange responded to Baker, criticizing Baker for judging teams based on race and gender, citing this as a classic tactic of racism.
The director of Athletic Duke at the time, Joe Alleva, who forced the resignation of lacrosse coach Mike Pressler, faced criticism over his handling of the case. In 2008, Alleva announced he was leaving Duke for the position of Director of Athletic at Louisiana State University. The lacrosse team, restored for the 2007 season, reached the NCAA Final as the # 1 seed. The Blue Devils lost to Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays in the championship, 12-11.
In May 2007, Duke requested that the NCAA return a one-year feasibility for the players on the 2006 men's team, part of the canceled season. The NCAA provided a team request for another feasibility year, which applies to the 33 members of the 2006 team who became the underclassmen in 2006 and who remained at Duke in 2007. Four of the seniors from 2006 attended graduate school at Duke in 2007 and played for team. In 2010, the last year in which the team included a fifth year senior (freshman in 2006), Duke won the NCAA Lacrosse Championship defeating Notre Dame, 6-5 overtime, to give the first lacrosse championship school.
On June 7, 2007, it was announced that lacrosse coach Mike Pressler and Duke had reached a financial settlement. Pressler was later hired as coach by Second Division (now Division I) of Bryant University in Rhode Island. In October 2007, Pressler filed a lawsuit to cancel the settlement and held a hearing on a false ending claim on the grounds that Duke spokesman John Burness had made disparaging remarks about him. After Duke failed in an attempt to have the case dismissed, the matter was resolved in 2010 with Duke apologizing in a press release but declined to comment on compensation to Pressler.
On August 25, 2007, various sources predicted the players would file a federal civil rights suit against the city of Durham.
Duke University
On September 29, 2007, President Duke Brodhead, speaking at a two-day conference at Duke Law School about the practice and ethics of trying cases in the media, apologized for "causing families to feel abandoned when they desperately need support."
On July 12, 2010, Duke destroyed the house where the party took place, 610 North Buchanan Boulevard, after the place was vacant for four years after the Duke lacrosse case.
Sgt. Mark Gottlieb
In July 2014, Sgt. Mark Gottlieb committed suicide in Dekalb County, Georgia where he worked as a paramedic.
Claim filed by player
On September 7, 2007, it was reported that the three accused players (Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans), who had settled with Duke University, planned to file a lawsuit for their civil rights violations against the city of Durham and several employee cities, unless the city approved settlement including the payment of $ 30 million over five years and the enactment of a new criminal justice reform law. Insurance coverage covers up to $ 5 million.
Lawyers cite three major areas of vulnerability for the city:
- Photo suspect identification procedure given to Mangum.
- The big difference in the notes taken by Investigator Benjamin Himan during the March interview with Mangum and Sgt. Gottlieb notes in July
- The release of CrimeStoppers posters by police shortly after allegations that a woman was "sodomized, raped, assaulted and robbed." This terrible crime sent shockwaves throughout our community. "
Durham declined the settlement offer and on October 5, 2007, three players accused of filing a federal suit accused a widespread conspiracy to frame them. His name is Nifong, the laboratory that handles DNA work, the city of Durham, the former city police chief, deputy chief of police, two police detectives who handle the case and five other police officers. The players sought unspecified damage, and also wanted to place the Durham Police Department under court supervision for 10 years, claiming police action poses "a major risk of irreparable injury to others in Durham City". According to the lawsuit, Nifong designed a conspiracy to help him win support for his election bid. Nifong reportedly told his campaign manager that the case would provide "millions of dollars in free advertising".
On January 15, 2008, the city of Durham filed a motion to remove himself as a defendant, citing irresponsibility for Nifong's actions. On the same day, Nifong filed for bankruptcy. On May 27, 2008, Judge William L. Stocks revoked a residence permit from the filing of Nifong's bankruptcy and ruled that the plaintiff's claim could be filed.
On March 31, 2011, Judge James Beaty issued a decision on the case of Evans et al. , enforcing claims against Nifong and his Wilson charter investigator for a conspiracy to commit a malicious prosecution in the course of their investigation; the city of Durham for negligence; Nifong, Wilson, and investigators of Gottlieb and Himan police for malicious prosecution, proof-hiding, and falsifying proof of counterfeit. However, the civil rights claims of the players, who constitute the lion's share of their Complaints, are dismissed on the grounds that civil rights laws are applicable only to people of African-American descent.
Plaintiffs argue that they have alleged racial discrimination as a white plaintiff. However, the claim Ã,§ 1985 based on this * 971 dispute failed for two reasons. First, the Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit have indicated the intention to limit the protection of Ã, § 1985 against discrimination against "classes of persons who, insofar as the enforcement of their rights", in unprotected circumstances similar to victims of Klan violence. "Buschi, 775 F.2d in 1258 (citing United Bhd. Of Carpenters, 463 US at 851, 103 S.Ct. at 3368); see also Cloaninger v. McDevitt, No. "As recognized by the controlling laws of the Fourth Circuit, the only class of persons protected by Section 1985 (3) is an African American.") (Quoting Harrison, 766F.2d at 161-62); Stock v. Universal Foods Corp., 817 F. Supp. 1300, 1310 (D.Md.1993) (refuses Ã, § 1985 (3) claims for plaintiffs, as white men, not class members who have suffered pervasive historical discrimination); Blackmon v. Perez, 791 F. Supp. 1086, 1093 (EDVa.1992) (rejected Ã, § 1985 (3) claims by white plaintiffs because "plaintiffs do not represent classes of persons who do not enjoy the possibility [] effective enforcement of state rights" (internal citations removed )).
On December 17, 2012, the Court of Appeal of the Fourth Circuit rejected all federal players' claims in Evans v Chalmers Case. 11-1436 (C.A. 4), holding:
To recapitulate, we hold the following. We reverse the district court's rejection of all acts of defendants to reject the alleged federal claims against them. We reverse the court's rejection of City's motion for a concise assessment like the state law claim alleged to him. We affirm the court's refusal of the Gottlieb Officers and the Himan movement to ignore the alleged state charges against them. We reverse court rejection of officers' motions to reject all other state law claims. We refuse due to lack of appeals jurisdiction appeals City claims the constitutional state of the allegedly opposed. Finally, we return the case for further processing that is consistent with this opinion.
The only claim to survive this decision is the state constitutional claim. Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III agrees, decides:
Some additional observations may underscore the excessive nature of the case. Plaintiffs have sought to improve every experimental claim and to prosecute every possible defendant. The result is a case in the far leg of the law and one destined, whether it works entirely, to spread the damage in all directions.
On October 7, 2013, the United States Supreme Court rejected Petition's petition for Certorari submitted by Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans, refusing to review the decision of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
On May 16, 2014, three accused lacrosse players and Durham City completed their longstanding lawsuit. Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans agreed to cancel their lawsuit and did not receive any money compensation at all. The city agreed to award a $ 50,000 grant to the North Carolina Commission of Inquiry.
A lawsuit filed by a non-accused player and their family
On February 21, 2008, a family of 38 members of the 47-lacrosse team who were not accused of filing a 225-page lawsuit against Duke University, Duke University Hospital, Durham City, and officials from each organization for multiple claims of harassment, civil rights deprivation, contracts and other claims.
A Duke University spokesman replied that "now we have seen the lawsuit and as we said before, if the plaintiff has a complaint, it is with Mr. Nifong.Our legal strategy - attacking the Duke - is misguided and unfounded, the family continues, Duke offers to cover any attorneys' fees or other fees outside the pockets, but they reject this offer We will vigorously defend the university against these claims. "The city has never released an official response to the lawsuit. The lawsuit against the university was settled out of court in 2013. No party will discuss the details of the settlement.
ESPN Documentary: Fantastic Lies
The document 2016 Fantastic Lies , centered around the case and as a result, is part of the ESPN movie series 30 for 30 . It aired on March 13, 2016, 10 years until the day the lacrosse players hosted a house party.
Among the journalists invited to contribute were ESPN college basketball lecturers and Duke Jay Bilas graduate, who in his other capacity as a practicing lawyer then wrote a letter of reference to the university administration that criticized their handling of the whole situation. Crystal Mangum was approached by a film crew to tell her side of the story and agreed to do so, but the prison officer did not allow her to be filmed.
See also
- Racial trick
- Brawley's Brother rape allegations
- Rape on Campus
References
Further reading
- Up to Proven Not Guilty: Political Accuracy and Embarrassing Injustice from the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case by Stuart Taylor Jr. and KC Johnson (2007); ISBNÃ, 0-312-36912-3
- It's Not About The Truth: The Uncountable Story of The Duke Lacrosse Rape Case and Life It's Destroyed by Don Yaeger & amp; Mike Pressler (2007); ISBNÃ, 1-4165-5146-8 A Rush to Injustice: How Strength, Prejudice, Racism, and Political Accuracy overshadow Truth and Justice in the Lusrosse Duke Rape Case by Nader Baydoun and R. Stephanie Good (2007); ISBN: 978-1-59555-118-4
- The Duke Lacrosse Case: History of Modern Documentary and Analysis of Scottsboro by R. B. Parrish (2009); ISBN: 978-1-4392-3590-4
- Party Like the Star of Lacrosse by Paul Montgomery (2007); ISBN 978-0-615-17150-0
- The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Gale Mangum Story by Crystal Gale Mangum & amp; Edward Clark (2008); ISBN: 978-0-9817837-0-3
- The Price of Silence: The Duke Lacrosse Scandal, The Power of Elite, and Corruption of Our Great University by William D. Cohan (2014); ISBN 978-1-4516-8179-6
External links
- Stories collected from The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & amp; Observer
- Photo Gallery "Duke Rape Rape" via TV Court
- Video: Duke Jurors Speak (Grand Jury)
- Exclusive: Duke Lacrosse Grand Jurors Speak Out - ABC News
- Complete transcripts and audio Apologies from Duke University President Richard Brodhead and Address Ethics and Practice Trying Cases in Media - AmericanRhetoric.com
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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