DNA Buoys Duke Lacrosse Defense Attys.

They Say Genetic Material On Accuser Doesn't Match Any Team Member

(AP)  DNA testing in the Duke lacrosse rape case found genetic material from several males in the accuser's body and her underwear — but none from any team member, defense attorneys said in court papers Wednesday.

The papers were filed by attorneys for the three lacrosse players charged, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans. They complained that the information about DNA from other men was not disclosed in a report prosecutors provided earlier this year to the defense.

The testing was conducted at a private laboratory for the prosecution.

"This is strong evidence of innocence in a case in which the accuser denied engaging in any sexual activity in the days before the alleged assault, told police she last had consensual sexual intercourse a week before the assault, and claimed that her attackers did not use condoms and ejaculated," the defense said.

In an interview, defense attorney Joseph Cheshire said the findings suggest the accuser had sex shortly before the March team party where she was hired to perform as a stripper. The woman has said three lacrosse team members gang-raped her in a bathroom at the party.

"None of (the DNA material) happens to be from lacrosse players who are supposed to have had sex with her, which is pretty significant," said Cheshire, who represents Evans.

District Attorney Mike Nifong declined to comment on the defense motion. A trial is not expected to start until spring.

Prosecutors ordered the testing at DNA Security of Burlington after an initial round conducted by the state crime lab failed to find a conclusive match between the 27-year-old accuser and any lacrosse player, a fact trumpeted by the defense attorneys.

Stan Goldman, a criminal law expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said the defense can use what DNA Security found to argue that if their clients did in fact rape the accuser, the extensive testing should have uncovered their DNA. But he downplayed suggestions that the report could be the key to winning the case.

"There seems to be so many problems with this case, it's hard to say one more will be fatal," Goldman said. "If the jury was going to believe the case before this, it strikes me this is not going to be fatal."

[ginolee1]

I also read elsewhere that Nifong knew about the exculpatory DNA evidence but chose not to share this knowledge with the defense.

Isn't this called prosecutorial misconduct ?

I think Nifong should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This guy is an embarrassment and deserves some serious jail time.

[jimibear]

You know what would be even nicer than that, stressfree? If you grew a brain. I guess you're "stress-free" due to not having to go to the trouble of thinking, like the rest of us.

That woman is so clearly lying about this whole thing that anyone who still believes her is either stupid or insane. Which are you?

[processor2]

The justice system in this country should make the penalty for a false accusation the same as the accusation itself

Examples

1) If the penalty for armed robbery is 7-years, then the penalty for falsely accusing someone of armed robbery should also be 7 years.

2) If the penalty for rape is 20 years, then the penalty for falsely accusing someone of rape should also be 20 years

3) etc.,etc.,etc.

[stressfree3]

Wouldn't it be nice to see those boys go to jail for rape.

They also write that the accuser's identification is "riddled with errors," with the accuser identifying two players who were later determined not to be at the party.

"In the process of identifying her three attackers, the accuser actually identified four separate men as her attackers. The state apparently just chose three or four to indict without further investigation," the motion reads.

It also states the woman did not recognize people whom she had identified previously and misidentified people as doing things at the party that the investigation showed they did not do.

This is not the first time defense lawyers have asked the court to disallow the photo lineup. In an earlier motion, the defense called the procedure "unnecessarily suggestive" because the accuser was shown only photos of lacrosse players.

But Thursday's motion makes a much more detailed argument. It details efforts by police investigators and Nifong to assist the accuser in identifying the three men she said gang-raped her in a bathroom.

This latest motion comes one day before a scheduled hearing in which Nifong is expected to hand over more evidence to defense attorneys.

Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann, who have maintained their innocence throughout the investigation, are expected to be in court. It would be the first time they have been in court together.

Nifong has not commented, telling WRAL that he is reserving his comments for the courtroom

This just in:
The motion says that the alleged victim had failed to identify any of her attackers in an identification procedure before the April 4 lineup -- the one in which she did identify Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans as her attackers.

It goes on to say that District Attorney Mike Nifong directed that a different identification procedure be used in which photos of all the white members of the team who were at the March 13 party where the alleged attack occurred were assembled in a PowerPoint presentation for her to view.

Attorneys write that this happened despite the fact that two people at the party were not members of the lacrosse team.

"In short, the accuser was asked to pick three people as her attackers from those present at the scene, and because only those thought to be at the scene were shown to her, she was, in effect, given a multiple-choice test in which there were no wrong answers," attorneys wrote.

This just in:
DURHAM, N.C. -- Defense attorneys in the Duke lacrosse case now want the judge presiding over the case to throw out the photographic lineup in which the accuser identified the defendants.

In a motion filed Thursday, attorneys for Reade Seligmann, 20, Collin Finnerty, 20, and David Evans, 23, also ask that any "in-court" identification by the accuser be barred on the grounds that it is unreliable "as a result of tainted procedure %u2026 as a result of the numerous errors and misidentifications made by the accuser." Experts have said such a motion, if successful, could keep prosecutors from bringing the case to trial.

"If the court throws out the out-of-court identification and rules that it is so suggestive that there can't be an in-court identification, then the case is effectively dismissed," said James E. Coleman Jr., a Duke University law professor.

This just in:
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- WRAL's Julia Lewis has confirmed that the accuser in the Duke lacrosse case gave birth late Thursday at UNC Hospitals.

Her pregnancy had not been public knowledge until now.

When WRAL called her boyfriend's home Thursday evening, the person who answered the phone had no comment and then hung up.

The 27-year-old gave birth nine months after she alleges she was raped by three Duke University lacrosse players at a March 13 team party.

After the party, she was taken to a local hospital to be examined.

A defense attorney tells WRAL that a test taken at the hospital showed that she was not pregnant at the time of the party and that she was given emergency contraception commonly referred to as the morning-after pill.

The suspects in the case -- David Evans, 23, Collin Finnerty, 20, and Reade Seligmann, 20 -- have denied the allegations.

This week, attorneys in the case filed a motion in which they said male DNA from multiple sources was found on the accuser, but none from their clients. In another motion, they ask that the judge presiding over the case throw out the photographic lineup in which she identified the defendants, saying the IDs were the result of a "tainted procedure."

At the time of the alleged incident, the woman, a divorced mother of two, had worked for an escort service to help support her children and to pay for classes at North Carolina Central University.

[lumpenelk]

"f the defense is so 100% sure their clients are innocent.. and that no jury would ever believe the accuser's story, why are they trying so hard to get the case thrown out prior to going to court? Why not just wait and beat it in court? Sounds a bit guilty-ish to me!
Posted by RBQue at 05:07 PM : Dec 14, 2006"

Nonesense, it's a defense attorney's job to have charges dismissed before a trial. If you would like to see more on the many errors in this case
I suggest you look here:

http://johnsville.blogspot.com

"I be that Negro was an escort. Some sort of hoe.
Posted by antoniorego at 04:20 PM : Dec 14, 2006"

Calling a person of African descent "Negro" is now considered derogatory. That said, yes the accussed
worked for an escort agency and has admitted to performing sexual acts for money. IE she has been or is a prostitute.

"In an interview with a local newspaper, the accuser said she had worked for an escort service for two months, meeting clients one-on-one several times a week."

[lumpenelk]

"f the defense is so 100% sure their clients are innocent.. and that no jury would ever believe the accuser's story, why are they trying so hard to get the case thrown out prior to going to court? Why not just wait and beat it in court? Sounds a bit guilty-ish to me!
Posted by RBQue at 05:07 PM : Dec 14, 2006"

Nonesense, it's a defense attorney's job to have charges dismissed before a trial. If you would like to see more on the many errors in this case
I suggest you look here:

http://johnsville.blogspot.com

[jimibear]

?

[processor2]

The justice system in this country should make the penalty for a false accusation the same as the accusation itself

Examples

1) If the penalty for armed robbery is 7-years, then the penalty for falsely accusing someone of armed robbery should also be 7 years.

2) If the penalty for rape is 20 years, then the penalty for falsely accusing someone of rape should also be 20 years

3) etc.,etc.,etc.

[kjgal]

If it had been a white woman at a party with a bunch of black guys I still wouldn't believe her story. She was about to be busted for drugs and screamed "RAPE!" That's EXACTLY what happened! What was she doing there in the first place? She was selling herself! Not only is she a HO, she's a STUPID HO!
And the DA was just praying for something juicy to happen! God forbid if one of his children is ever in a similar situation, accused or accusing. He should be punished somehow.
THROW IT OUT WITH THE REST OF THE TRASH! Stop wasting HONEST taxpayers money!

[jimibear]

RBQue, that's really not a logical conclusion. I'd guess that they want public vindication, without the circus a trial would be. Put it this way: if you were accused of a horrible crime you didn't commit, would you rather have the case thrown out, or have the whole business drag on for months through a public and humiliating trial? If they are innocent, why should they have to continue this business for months longer? Why should they have to have their names splashed across the media even more? With all that publicity, they'd always be "so and so, accused rapist" even after they were found not guilty.

Also, there's no knowing what a jury might decide. Accusations of rape are emotionally freighted. If the accuser is convincing enough, they could go to jail even if innocent. A judge throwing out the case avoids that possibility.

Frankly, I don't think these guys are guilty, and I think the woman is an opportunistic wh*re who is trying to cover her own sl*tty behavior by accusing them of rape, and she's using the publicity to make money. I agree with the poster who said that people making false accusations should get the penalty for the crime they make up.

[rbque]

If the defense is so 100% sure their clients are innocent.. and that no jury would ever believe the accuser's story, why are they trying so hard to get the case thrown out prior to going to court? Why not just wait and beat it in court? Sounds a bit guilty-ish to me!

Prosecutors generally have immunity from civil liability in connection with performing their duties, However there is a way the DA can be held accountable. Evidence revealed thus far in papers turned over by Nifong to the defense seems to show that there is not only reasonable doubt of the players' guilt, but doubt "that's strong, pervasive and compelling." Since Nifong is "forging ahead in light of a complete lack of credible evidence to support a conviction," the accused players should hold Nifong accountable when they are acquitted.
How can they sue the DA when he is protected from civil liability?

Not all prosecutorial conduct enjoys absolute immunity, in Buckley v. Fitzsimmons, the Supreme Court held that a prosecutor was not absolutely immune from civil liability for false statements made in a press conference and for other pre-trial investigative conduct; in that case, only 'qualified immunity' applies,"
it may be possible for the Duke team members to sue Nifong based on statements he made during the numerous press conferences that he held early in the case, if they can show that "he made knowingly false or misleading statements - mischaracterizing evidence, or omitting to mention important evidence favoring the defense."

[siddin-2009]

There is a system for it, you can sue the accusor for "Abuse of Civil Liberties"

[stressfree3]

in this country, Blacks have been falsely accussed for atleast 100 yrs and no one wanted to punish the accussers for making false statement. Now, when three rich white kids appears to be innocent of a crime, everybody's talking about lets change the system. I say "NO"...Keep things as they are.

[bluestardad]

Anyone would know these white boys couldn't do her any good!

[processor2]

The justice system in this country should make the penalty for a false accusation the same as the accusation itself

Examples

1) If the penalty for armed robbery is 7-years, then the penalty for falsely accusing someone of armed robbery should also be 7 years.

2) If the penalty for rape is 20 years, then the penalty for falsely accusing someone of rape should also be 20 years

3) etc.,etc.,etc.