<p>If anyone is interested, the Police Hearing in the Duke case is going on right now and is online live on CNN. Reade’s lawyer is making an extensive presentation about the case right now.</p>
<p>Soozievt, fill us in. What happened?</p>
<p>VeryHappy…I can’t really fill you in, I’m sorry. I had it on my screen at the early part of it when Reade’s lawyer was making a fine presentation. But I had to force myself to shut it off as though I find it very interesting after following the case, I have a lot of work to do and so went on to trying to accomplish my work (and this window here is also a distraction!). The little bit I saw was he was presenting certain facts about the case…the accuser’s many versions and contradictions, the evidence such as the photos of the party and all the cell phone records and Reade’s other evidence of his whereabouts and certain statements gathered by police and other things the police did NOT gather, etc. I shut it off in the middle of it but that lawyer is VERY good in my opinion. He also was using powerpoint during his presentation.</p>
<p>"Defense attorney: rush to prove guilt in Duke lacrosse case
July 20, 2007 14:32 EDT</p>
<p>DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – A defense attorney in the Duke University lacrosse case says police officers investigated allegations of rape in hopes of proving guilt over all else.</p>
<p>Attorney Jim Cooney told a panel today that the investigation directed by former prosecutor Mike Nifong was directed largely toward proving the truth of the accuser’s story and the guilt of the defendants rather than trying to determine what happened.</p>
<p>Cooney, who represented falsely accused and now-exonerated former player Reade Seligmann, gave a two-hour presentation to a panel formed by Durham city leaders to investigate the Durham Police Department’s role in the case.</p>
<p>Three players were indicted, but state prosecutors declared all three men innocent victims of a “tragic rush to accuse.” Nifong resigned as Durham County district attorney after being disbarred for more than two dozen violations of the state’s rules of professional conduct."</p>
<p>I recall so well in the early stages of this case that what baffled so many of us was how there was an assumption of guilt and finding things to fit that theory, rather then investigating what happened. I recall so many wondering with regard to the DA, and to some extent the polilce too, why their job was not to investigate without taking a side, but to simply seek justice. That is how it should be but not how it appeared to be. It felt like the DA was the accuser’s “attorney” trying to prove her side and the police sought to find things to bolster the accuser’s case. Even the police officer who submitted notes way after the interview, did not seem to be seeking justice. Even much later in the case, when the evidence from the defense was strong, it seemed that the police were helping in changing the timeline and what not to bolster the AV’s case. I never felt like the DA or the police were impartial and seeking to get to the bottom of it all. It seemed like they were defense attorneys for the accuser. Simply not wanting to get statements or alibis from the young men alone suggests not wanting to get all the facts.</p>
<p>Does anyone know where Nifong is now?</p>
<p>^ Maybe on the lamb??? :D</p>
<p>"RALEIGH, N.C. – A criminal contempt hearing for disbarred Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong has been delayed. </p>
<p>Instead, a July 26 court date will be used only to hear pre-trial motions in the case. Judge W. Osmond Smith, III, the superior court judge who accused Nifong of lying to the court during the Duke Lacrosse case, delayed the contempt hearing this week.</p>
<p>The actual contempt hearing will be scheduled for another date."</p>
<p>
That POOR lamb!! :D</p>
<p>Ooops… Could be “on the lam” ? 
</p>
<p>Oh well, either one could explain his silence !!! :o</p>
<p>Apparently the “scandal” was short lived! </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2007/08/giving.html[/url]”>http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2007/08/giving.html</a></p>
<p>"Thursday, August 2, 2007</p>
<p>Durham, NC – Duke University received $380,059,931 in philanthropic gifts between July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2007, eclipsing by approximately 11 percent the previous year’s record total of $341.9 million. "</p>
<p>1s - I think there are many things in play with that; possibly part of it, though, is along the line taken by several of my alum friends and I. We are of the opinion that, while we have issues (and, yeah, some BIG ones) with how all this went down, it’s more executional than institutional (no idea if the first thing’s a word, but carries the message).</p>
<p>Personally - I am waiting to see what the Presidential Committee (chaired by Bostock and Reuben-Cooke) has to say. The Duke Magazine coverage has been…soft…but then it’s a magazine not a newspaper, and it’s more promotional than informational in nature. The Chronicle has shut down its message boards, but that is a decision I firmly agree with, given the worthless invective that populated most of the threads. I am hopeful that Kristen Butler will have a column and that Elliott Wolf is returning to journalism from his stint as Duke Student Government president - that alone should strike fear into the hearts of folks who acted in violation of students’ due process. Should be an interesting year…Not to mention our Dean heading for provostial pastures.</p>
<p>“Should be an interesting year…”</p>
<p>Yup, and sokkerson’s last year there before moving on to the unknown…:(</p>
<p>And don’t forget there will be a new police chief in Durham - Jose Lopez, Assistant Police Chief for Hartford, Connecticut. As one reader said, OMG - he’s a Yankee!</p>
<p>“Durham’s major crime issue is the perception of crime, the belief that there’s a lot of crime out there,” Lopez said. “I think that’s the issue we have to tackle.” </p>
<p>It sounds as though Lopez means to make a difference.</p>
<p>Hopefully, Chief Lopez wants to make a change in the actual crime and not just the perceptions of it :)</p>
<p>I am certain the residents of Durham hope so, too. In 2006 Money magazine has Durham personal crime incidents at 774 per 100,000 individuals with the Best Places average at 228. Property crime is 6.071 vs. 3,105. See stats at this link:</p>
<p><a href=“http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/snapshots/PL3719000.html[/url]”>http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/snapshots/PL3719000.html</a></p>
<p>The crime stats on the 2006 Durham State of Economy report look much better than prior years. Crime appears to have decreased. See Durham Public Safety section. Stats are from 2005 and have not been updated for 2006. I like the chart comparing Durham to their peer group of cities in the Southeast.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.durham-nc.com/about/stateof_economy_2006_info.php[/url]”>http://www.durham-nc.com/about/stateof_economy_2006_info.php</a></p>
<p>CLEARLY all those stats mean is that Durham, as a town of Utmost Integrity and Honesty, <em>reports</em> things at a higher rate than its crime-ridden, dishonest peers…</p>
<p>Didn’t another recent publication rank the “Research triangle” area as one of the best places to live? Durham is in the triangle I think.</p>
<p>I personally wouldn’t want to live there, but that’s just me. ;)</p>
<p>This was from 2003, but I think there was one more recent.
<a href=“http://www.bestjobsusa.com/sections/CAN-bestplaces2003/CNraleigh.asp[/url]”>http://www.bestjobsusa.com/sections/CAN-bestplaces2003/CNraleigh.asp</a></p>
<p>Here’s the Money magazine 2007 Data:
<a href=“http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/snapshots/PL3719000.html[/url]”>http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/snapshots/PL3719000.html</a></p>
<p>According to the 2007 data, crime is much lower in Durham than the average for the other cities on the list. It seems odd that there would be such a discrepancy from 2006 and 2007.</p>
<p>do you think Durham is a better place to live than Chapel Hill?</p>
<p>^ No. ( Just speaking for me, not everyone.)</p>
<p>I don’t know that much about Chapel Hill. From our very limited experience,
Chapel Hill seems to have a much better “Main” street and a few more restaurants. ;)</p>