Duke LAX case discussion continued.....;)

Parent Cafe
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<p><a href=“http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/545040.html[/url]”>http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/545040.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>"Burch is not registered as a student at any college or university, according to police. "</p>

<p>“In the latest case, police have said the district attorney’s office would not be involved until after charges were filed.”</p>

<p>It will be interesting to see when the DA gets involved now that charges have been filed!</p>

<p>This provides a little more information:
<a href=“http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-821294.cfm[/url]”>http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-821294.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>

Very different treatment for these party hosts!</p>

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<p>

But these hosts didn’t hire hookers. Nor were any of the residents alleged to have participated in gang rape.</p>

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<p>

Hookers? I thought the accuser in the lax case was an honor student from a church-going family?</p>

<p>

How inconsiderate of the neighbors…</p>

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<p>No, they just had a gun, marijuana, and oxycontin sitting around. </p>

<p>It may just be me, but I think having a gun and oxycontin laying around is a bigger deal than hiring hookers.</p>

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<p>Ag54, the gun, marijuana and Oxycontin were at the home of the accused rapist, not the party site.</p>

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<p>No, that’s not correct. If you read the original article in the Duke Chronicle, before the accused rapist was identified, it states that a bag containing a gun, marijuana and oxycontin were brought out of the house where the party was held.</p>

<p>The link can be found if you page back through these posts.</p>

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<p>Here is one link about the “green leafy substance and the handgun”</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-818991.cfm[/url]”>http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-818991.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Here is the Duke Chronicle article about the marijuana, cocaine and oxycontin</p>

<p><a href=“http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2007/02/13/News/OffEast.Rape.Investigation.Continues-2716034.shtml?sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com[/url]”>http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2007/02/13/News/OffEast.Rape.Investigation.Continues-2716034.shtml?sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>This was all before the rapist was identified, they just had a description</p>

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<p>Isn’t possession of a firearm a protected constitutional right?</p>

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<p>Absolutely, but when mixed with cocaine and oxycontin, it’s a recipe for disaster. </p>

<p>For whatever reason, the police took it, maybe it wasn’t licensed to the person who had it and that’s why the police confiscated it. I don’t know.</p>

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<p>Now that an arrest has been made, are there any protests planned?</p>

<p>NAACP?
Group of 88?
Jesse Jackson?
Durham Community?
Feminist Groups for the Victim?</p>

<p>Where is the outrage? :eek:</p>

<p>Where is the alleged Victim’s support? :confused:</p>

<p>Are there posters of the accused plastered all around town? :eek:</p>

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<p>

Yes, but highly regulated and restricted.</p>

<p>To buy a firearm in NC requires the usual background check and permit. I don’t think anyone has said whether this particular handgun was owned legally or not.
<a href=“http://www.jus.state.nc.us/NCJA/ncfirearmslaws.pdf[/url]”>http://www.jus.state.nc.us/NCJA/ncfirearmslaws.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
Federal and NC state laws say that a person is ineligible to purchase or possess a firearm if:
<a href=“4”>quote</a> The person is an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana, or any depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance (pages 5 and 7).

[/quote]

So, if someone in the house threw a bag out the window with a gun, marijuana, cocaine and oxycontin in the same bag, it would seem he no longer has a legal right to own or carry that firearm, even if it was purchased legally. He is in trouble with not just the Durham PD but the state and Federal authorities.</p>

<p>Carrying a concealed weapon is not allowed in NC except for certain military and law enforcement officers (page 12). I don’t know whether putting a handgun in a bag and walking around with the bag constitutes concealing the weapon, but it sounds like it to me. More trouble.</p>

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<p>I see that Ag, but the ?HeraldSun article seems to read that the gun and drugs were found when the person was arrested, suggesting a different location??? SOmething is not clear.</p>

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<p>

No, but the U.S. Supreme Court has re-written the Constitution to say it is a protected right.</p>

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<p>^ One of the articles I read was trying so hard to protect the criminals here that the author speculated that it may be a paint ball gun.</p>

<p>I can’t find the article now, but I remember seeing it.</p>

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<p>

They’re probably saving that for the lax game this weekend. :rolleyes:</p>

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<p>I have only seen limited coverage of this, but is it the case that the firearm, ‘leafy green substance’, oxy and cocaine were all in the same bag? were they all owned by the same person? Were they owned by a resident of the house? Did anyone have a prescription for the oxy? Did they get it from Rush?</p>

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<p>Maybe we should wait and see what evidence the police and prosecutors have and against whom instead of, um, rushing to judgement? </p>

<p>“Now that an arrest has been made, are there any protests planned?”</p>

<p>I am sure there are, but this time they will be in support of the defendent.</p>

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<p>"Feb 20, 2007 : 11:09 pm ET</p>

<p>DURHAM – A 21-year-old man charged with raping a Duke University freshman during an off-campus party this month has been released from jail under $50,000 bail and is negotiating to hire a prominent criminal defense attorney, a judge was told Tuesday.</p>

<p>Michael Jermaine Burch, of 322 Junction Road, is accused of second-degree rape in connection with a Feb. 11 incident at 405 Gattis St., where members of the Duke chapter of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity were having a party.</p>

<p>One fraternity member and three other Duke students lived at that address then but have since moved.
During a preliminary hearing before District Judge Claude Allen Tuesday, defense lawyer James D. “Butch” Williams made what is known as a limited appearance on Burch’s behalf. But Williams said later it looked like he would be formally hired by the suspect and his family soon.</p>

<p>Burch is not a student at Duke, and it wasn’t immediately clear whether he crashed the fraternity party."</p>

<p>Wasn’t the bail for the lacrosse players set at $400,000 ???
If Burch can hire a “prominent” lawyer, his bail should be the same, shouldn’t it?
Maybe a silent financial supporter HAS stepped up to the plate??
Very Interesting. ;)</p>

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<p>Rationally bail should be proportionate to the wealth of the defendant, all other things being equal. I assume the lacrosse players were more affluent than this defendant.</p>