Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Duke lacrosse: At Friends of Duke University

there are two items I want to call to your attention.

First, Joan Collins of Garden City, N.Y., writes a beautiful letter which begins

Amidst all the ugliness and weakness the Duke Lacrosse Case has revealed, we should not forget the true heroes that have emerged. Dave Evans, co-captain of the 2006 Duke Men's Lacrosse Team is such a hero.

Ernest Hemingway defined courage as "Grace under pressure." What better evidence of this than Evans' inspiring and courageous speech to the press on the steps of the Durham County Jail on May 16, 2006.

One day earlier, Mr. Evans joined fellow senior classmates in graduation ceremonies at Duke, one of the most important and long awaited days of students and their families. But Evans and his family had been told earlier that Dave would be indicted and thrust front and center into the media spectacle known as the Duke Lacrosse Case.
You can read the rest of Joan Collins' letter here.If you want to go there right now and finish the letter before moving to the second item, I don’t blame you.

Go ahead. A click from Joan’s letter will bring you back here to JinC.

And I’ll be right here waiting when you get back; and then we can go on to the second item which is a response by FODU's Jason Trumpbour to a Raleigh News & Observer op-ed critical of FODU and supportive of the man they’ve called “America worst DA,” Mike Nifong.

Trumpbour begins:
In a recent opinion piece in this newspaper, John Schwade weakly defends Durham District Attorney Michael Nifong’s handling of the Duke lacrosse case. Schwade can find little positive to say about Nifong. […]
Trumpbour summarizes Schwade’s “case,” and then says:
[Schwade] devotes most of his efforts to personally attacking Nifong’s critics, among them Lewis Cheek and the organization I represent, the Friends of Duke University. Cheek he dismisses with ridicule. […]

As for FODU, Schwade borrows a page from Nifong and attempts to exploit or create prejudice within the community by using unfair caricatures. He compares us to the mafia and darkly suggests we are using “money”, “influence,” and “friends in the national media.” […]
Trumpbour easily turns Schwade’s false accusations on themselves :
[Friends of Duke University is] a group of alumni and parents who are deeply concerned about what is happening to three members of the Duke Community.

We want to see justice served, not frustrated.

I myself am a former attorney in the Criminal Appeals Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s office. I now teach law, jurisprudence and legal practice to law students and students in a graduate program in legal and ethical studies.[...]

The source of our concern is Nifong’s egregious and systematic misconduct. Nifong has made false and prejudicial extrajudicial statements in violation of the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct.
With Trumpbour's background, you'd expect him to expose Nifong’s misconduct; and he does just that :
[Nifong] has invited the public to disregard the civil rights of the accused and made appeals to prejudice.

He has a continuing conflict of interest due to his political alliance with another attorney who hopes to profit from the Duke case.

He has manipulated witnesses.

Worst of all is his violation of NCRPC Rule 3.8 which prohibits a prosecutor from avoiding “pursuit of evidence merely because he or she believes it will damage the prosecutor’s case.”
There’s more. You can read it all here.

Thank you Joan Collins and Jason Trumpbour. Thank you FODU.

To the players and families: Your case grows stronger ever day.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

The wheels of justice are grinding slowly. Do all of us have to wait on Nifong's timetable of a trial next spring? Should this abusive prosecutor be allowed to get away with this ridiculous and unfair delay?.

Anonymous said...

Joan Collins letter is hearfelt..and eloquent.She has touched many hearts tonite.
I hope the families of these young men will see it!

Anonymous said...

The wheels of justice grind slow and exceedingly fine.

They also enact a toll on the foolish. Nifong, look out!

-AC

August West said...

Ain't gonna be no trial. Not no way. Not no how. Smith is on the hot seat. With an impeccable reputation for fairness and deference to the rule of law. Media scrutiny will be redoubled when the matter is finally next in court. Let Mikey start that, "Well, I believe DPD is still working to ascertain phone and computer records..." SHIT in front of ol' W. Osmond. I do believe a public dressing down is in order. Can't wait!

Cash, and the following Black press, is thisclose to adopting "hoax" as the primary headline descriptive for this travesty. Ed Bradley's comin' to town. It's over, Johnny. It's all over. 'Cept the malicious prosecution suits.

August West said...

Sorry JWM. I fear that two shared bottles of Santa Margherita have loosed the ol' Marine Corps tongue. Apologies for my lapse of decorum, here, at this impeccable place.

Anonymous said...

To 11:28:

Agree that Cash Michaels has all but called this a hoax. In that vein, the Johnsville News has issued this challenge to readers:

When does the Main Stream Media call this case a Hoax?


http://johnsville.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

So why are you sure that CBS will air the truth?

JWM said...

To Anons re: "Wheels of justice..."

Fair people are all hoping for what you two are pointing out.

To Joan Foster,

Well said. You get around the blogoshere a lot. Can you help post that letter other places?

The players have been so slimed; they deserve all the "correcting" we can get out there.

To NDLAX84,

I appreciate your sensitivity.

That said, I'm not sure JinC is really impeccable. Certainly Melanie Sill doesn't think so.

Anon re: Johnsville "challenge,"

Interesting challenge. I plan to post on it.

Anon asking, "So why are you sure that CBS will air the truth?"

You question cuts to the chase. We all need to keep it before us.

James with 3 comments,

I'm glad your commenting. You help me learn.

And I love commenters who correct their errors.

I'll ask a favor of you and every other JinC readers: When I make a mistake, please point it out.

You all will make JinC a better place and me a better person.

To all of you commenters,

Thank you.

John

August West said...

Tucker Carlson already has called the sham a "hoax."

CARLSON: Welcome back. I just want to make something absolutely clear. In our conversation with Georgia Goslee a moment ago about the Duke rape hoax, she alleged—or appeared to allege; she was speaking pretty quickly—that Reade Seligman‘s DNA—he‘s one of the accused lacrosse players at Duke—was either found on the victim or at the scene.

As I attempted to make clear, that is completely untrue. And it is completely untrue. So I just want to make totally clear, Reade Seligman‘s DNA not found, so far as we know, anyway—so far as anybody knows—on the accuser. Totally false.

We continue now our conversation with the Reverend Al Sharpton. Rev, welcome back.

SHARPTON: Yes, sir.
_______

CBS needs its street cred back. It's going to be bloody.

Anonymous said...

John,

Having just returned from vacation, I was delighted to find find my letter "Profile in Courage-Dave Evans" highlighted on your distinguished blog. Thank you.

I would like to emphasize that Ernest Hemingway's definition of courage as "Grace under pressure" truly captured that special moment of Dave Evan's speech on May 16,2006.

Abe Lincoln said "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power". Lincoln's words are so simple, yet so profound. Do they not call to mind Mr. Nifong's actions over the past months in the Duke Lacrosse Case?

But perhaps any comparisons should be reserved for a future letter.

Anonymous said...

To JMW,

The Profile in Courage letter was written by Joan Collins. Joan Foster is the very witty one.