I thought he would get a slap on the wrist.
Well that’s good news.
~Matt
He asked them to do it.
I can’t wait until the civil suits get filed and this guy gets nailed big time.
A totally appropriate outcome. I won’t have a problem in the Duke lacrosse players take him too the cleaners as well via civil suits.
Now, the questions become how much damage did Nifong do to the credibility of proscutors nationally, and what if Nifong is not a freak occurence but just someone that played the game extremely poorly. In other words, is this the tip of the iceberg as far as how a significant fraction of prosecutors do their job, albeit not as grotesquely clumsy or extreme in their actions as Nifong. Is there more to worry about our justice system than us non-legal career people realize?
I, for one, find myself very much concerned.
…and now if we can get Nancy Grace off the air, the world will be complete. 
**He asked them to do it. **
Not to nitpick, but only after the handwriting was on the wall did he say that he felt that disbarment was appropriate. I don’t think he begged them. He could have done that last week.
Is there more to worry about our justice system than us non-legal career people realize?
Yes. Scary, yes.
I know a few ADA’s and AUSA’s, based on that small sample size and their war stories, they are trying to do the right thing and God help you if they decide you are IT. Same is true with police. That presumption of innocence thing has really taken a beating. Having said that, given the volume and budget constraints it is amazing how often they do get it right.
I was at a prosecutors’ conference in the early stages of this case, when Nifong was having press conferences about how he was going to prosecute the case, etc. I knew then it was going to blow up in his face.
Good thing the Duke students each had a $million to cover their legal fees, otherwise they would be serving 20 years in prison while Nifong would be looking forwad to his next election. Without money there is no way to legally fight the government.
Just remember that in America we have two legal systems - one for the rich, and one for the poor. I think most of us would fall under the poor category.
Actually, I think the evidence sucked so bad in this case, a public defender would have won at trial. Probably not in advance, as it happened with expensive counsel, but I don’t see how a jury could have heard all the evidence and concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that these guys were guilty. Don’t underestimate the constitutional protections given to defendants. Juries do take the presumption of innocence and burden of proof seriously as a general rule.
we have two legal systems - one for the rich, and one for the poor.
Interestingly, one of the Duke players alluded to this very thing during their press conference
a public defender would have won at trial.
I seriously doubt that as a public defenders strategy is to plea bargain. Anyway, each of the Duke defendants (parents) spent over ONE $MILLION each in defending themselves. No way can most of us afford that kind of slam dunk presumption of innocense. Besides, if your butt was on the line, I’m sure you’d prefer a highly paid attorney too (just because you know just how fair the system really is).
Of course I would prefer the hottest expensive lawyer I could get. What I am saying is the the evidence in a case actually has a lot to do with the outcome. Public defenders do take cases to trial, and sometimes they even win. Public defenders are not idiots or incompetent lawyers. They do have too many cases, and plea bargain a lot because most of their clients are SO guilty. This case was a loser for the prosecution. Naturally, it’s always a good idea to get an excellent lawyer, but this case did not require a miracle worker. What the defendants got for their money was excellent media management, and an early resolution in their favor without going to trial.
Just remember that in America we have two legal systems - one for the rich, and one for the poor. I think most of us would fall under the poor category.
I get the impression that the legal system isn’t the only place the rich have a step above the rest of us. Money talks in all walks of life, the “justice” system is no different.
I think this case is so outside the norm its hard to use as a showcase of a dual system.
The DA had a bad case and that became more obvious as time went on. The expensive defense really seemed to come into play when they found the DNA evidence of other sex partners than the accused buried deep in the mounds of paper provided by the prosecution; I’m guessing that a court appointed lawyer would have missed that. But the case seemed to be pretty weak by then. I think SNL was already doing great skits of Nancy Grace upset that the case was souring on her by the time that was revealed.
Where I think the expensive lawyers really helped the falsely accused in this case was keeping them from cracking under the pressure to take a plea bargain, whether they ever did anything wrong or not.
I suspect that even with a court appointed lawyer, they would have probably been cleared in this case as long as they remained steadfast in their own defense. They probably wouldn’t have had a spectacular proclamation of their innocence by a replacement DA, and most folks would assume that they got away with something.
I think this case is so outside the norm its hard to use as a showcase of a dual system.
I agree. A good example of the advantage of millions of dollars would be the O.J. case. That was pretty amazing.
Who’s that poor blond haired chick that’s spending 45 days in the big house? Didn’t she have money? How come she’s still there?
I’m not discounting what you say as money is usually a good thing to get lots of things done. But money isn’t a slam dunk in the justice system.
~Matt
If the poor blond chick didn’t have money she would have 1) gone to jail after the first offense while suspended (this was the second), and 2) she would have gone to jail for up to 6 months and not 45 days. She was given a LOT of leniency you and I would not have been given.
Holy shit I agree with YaHey. This is a bad sign people.