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

[1sokkermom]

<p><a href=“http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=5643467[/url]”>http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=5643467&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[MomofWildChild]

<p>The Taylor book got a good review in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. I’ve ordered it.</p>

[LakeWashington]

<p>The students were innocent of the charges levied against them. Nifong wronged them. But does that justify a demand for $30 million from the taxpayers of Durham?</p>

[LakeWashington]

<p>Their lawyers met with Durham leaders to ask for $30 million for lawyers’ fees etc. <a href=“http://www.newsobserver.com%5B/url%5D”>www.newsobserver.com</a>.</p>

[Opie_ofMaybery2]

<p>“The students were innocent of the charges levied against them. Nifong wronged them. But does that justify a demand for $30 million from the taxpayers of Durham?”</p>

<p>Honestly? I don’t know if I can answer that question. That could have been very easily my Lax S. What’s fair? Let’s wait and see. Those three boys lives have been damaged severly and we may never know what the full extent is. There is still a segment that believes they “did it” and will forever. What about future employers? </p>

<p>Sometimes awards have to be substantial to give pause to others before they attempt to convict without trial, as these boys were.</p>

<p>What amount do you feel is fair?</p>

[ellemenope]

<p>States don’t even pay that kind of money for people they have wrongly convicted and kept behind bars for decades…Of course, those people didn’t have the high powered lawyers, thus no +++ lawyers’ fees.</p>

[katliamom]

<p>Duke probably has more money that most states</p>

[ellemenope]

<p>They are asking $30 mil from the City of Durham, which has a $5 mil insurance policy. Citizens will have to come up with the rest.</p>

[epistrophy]

<p>This may seem like just so much legal “inside baseball,” but I find it kind of interesting that these three ex-defendants are apparently not being represented, in connection with their current efforts to obtain damages from the City of Durham, by the lawyers who guided them through their criminal case. Or by any other local lawyers, for that matter. </p>

<p>Rather, Seligmann is now apparently being represented by Barry Scheck, who is best known for his DNA-related work on the OJ case and for his subsequent work as one of the founders of the Innocence Project. And Evans and Finnerty are being represented by Brendan Sullivan, who is with the high-powered Williams & Connolly firm out of Washingto, D.C., and probably best known for his representation of Oliver North during a Congressional hearing, where he uttered the line, “I’m not a potted plant.”</p>

[parentofbear]

<p>Lake Washington</p>

<p>You had a great DA up there. Down here in Multnomah County we have a very good one. Clackamas County had one disbarred and the current one has issues. So whether you can trust your DA is very uneven.</p>

<p>Durham deserves history repeating itself. Johnston surrendered to Sherman at Bennett’s Place not far from Durham. The City of Durham should do the same to the lawyers. Otherwise this will look like Little Big Horn except with lawyers to paraphrase a Durham City Councilman. If a case is filed the discovery alone will cost the city millions. Ten million each just might improve justice for all in North Carolina.</p>

<p>epistrophy</p>

<p>You get the right representation for every job. I’m a CPA. You wouldn’t call me to do an audit. My job is to solve tax controversies on the West Coast.</p>

[razorsharp]

<p>

But does that justify a demand for $30 million from the taxpayers of Durham?

The people of Durham re-elected Nifong during the middle of the trial. He represents them and they are stuck with that decision. You could make the same argument regarding McDonalds. For example, if a McDonalds truck driver runs over someone, why should McDonalds be responsible for the stupid act of one of its employees? The answer is for the same reason Durham is responsible for the actions of its prosecutor, Nifong.</p>

<p>

States don’t even pay that kind of money for people they have wrongly convicted

States have sovereign immunity under the U.S. Constitution. They can only be sued if they agree to being sued. Cities don’t have U.S Constitutional protection.</p>

[JeepMOM]

<p>Sueing for monetary return is like a game - shoot for the moon and settle for less - which will be divided 3 ways. Yes - they have the right to sue for this amount - think of the monetary output these 3 and their families had to put out - think of the legal fees - the losses they all suffered - mentally and emotionally - and will continue to possibly suffer for the rest of their earning lives. In the long run - they should win - but they will also have to live with this forever.</p>

<p>Nifong was elected by the good folks of Durham - to represent their interests - the city of Durham failed these 3 guys and their families - so they will be held accountable - and it will all come down to the almighty dollar - and they will pay that price at some point.</p>

<p>To me - $30 mil sounds just about right.</p>

<p>

They are asking $30 mil from the City of Durham, which has a $5 mil insurance policy. Citizens will have to come up with the rest.

</p>

<p>So does this mean that individual suits would eventually cost them - the insurance company - a total of $15 mil - 3 individual suits against the city of Durham??</p>

[richs73cas]

<p><a href=“http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296017,00.html[/url]”>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296017,00.html&lt;/a&gt;

The lawyers stressed that the money — about $10 million each for David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann over five years — must be accompanied by legal reforms, the person close to the case told AP.</p>

<p>The attorneys are seeking the creation of ombudsman positions to review complaints of misconduct about North Carolina district attorneys, and they want Durham city officials to lead the lobbying for any legal changes that would require action by the state’s General Assembly, the person said.

Without the reforms, it’s off to court. :)</p>

<p>Bonus!!! follow the link to the story above and see Nifong’s Mug Shot.</p>

[calmom]

<p>

but I find it kind of interesting that these three ex-defendants are apparently not being represented, in connection with their current efforts to obtain damages from the City of Durham, by the lawyers who guided them through their criminal case.

It would be inappropriate and probably unethical for the criminal defense attorneys to take on the civil case. There is a big difference in criminal defense & civil litigation to start with, so expecting a criminal defense attorney to litigate a civil case is kind of like expecting an OBGYN to perform brain surgery - it isn’t done. Secondly, the criminal defense attorneys are direct witnesses to the misconduct of Nifong – it’s usually considered unethical and conflict of interest for an attorney to take a case where his own testimony is material. Finally, because the lawsuit seeks to recover damages for attorney fees, the reasonableness & necessity of the fees charged by the attorneys will be in issue in the case – again, a huge conflict-of-interest. </p>

<p>Presumably the criminal defense attorneys have been paid in full. The purpose of the lawsuit is, among other things, for the the 3 wrongfully accused and their families to be compensated for their out-of-pocket expenses as well as the emotional harm and other damage caused to them by these actions.</p>

[richs73cas]

<p><a href=“http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/bms/07-08budget/iii-02.pdf[/url]”>http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/bms/07-08budget/iii-02.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>With Projected Appropriation’s of $211,411,443 for fiscal 2008/2009
the proposed settlement’s annual installment of $6 million is “only” a 2.8% increase. ;)</p>

<p>About the same amount as last years fund balance surplus that was carried over into 2007/2008 (that was $5,488,902) :)</p>

<p>Yeah a settlement will hurt, but it won’t cripple them.</p>

[epistrophy]

<p>While I appreciate the comments of others as to why these guys might have sought new lawyers at this point, let me just add, as a footnote, that where I practice (a major northern city that has seen plenty of such cases), it is not at all uncommon for a lawyer who successfully represented a defendant in a criminal proceeding relating to a wrongful prosecution or conviction to then continue to represent that person in a subsequent civil suit for monetary damages. It happens all the time.</p>

[richs73cas]

<p>epistrophy - Brendan Sullivan has been an attorney for the defense right along. </p>

<p>From page 302 of “Till Proven Innocent” by Stuart Taylor Jr and KC Johnson</p>

<p>

Along the way Bannon had consulted confidentially with Rob Cary and Chris Manning, both partners at Williams and Connolly, an elite Washington law firm. Its most senior partner, the famed criminal defense lawyer Brendan Sullivan, a friend of Rae and David Evans, had offered the firm’s services for free, on a confidential basis. . . . The big firm retained Hal Deadman, who as former director of the FBI’s DNA lab was one of the world’s leading experts.

No doubt the defense kept Sullivan’s Firms involvement secret so that Nifong couldn’t use it against the boys.
Nifong already had said “Why do you need an attorney if you didn’t do any thing wrong.”
If this ever went to trial, having an expensive Washington firm openly as part of the defense team would have been a public relations liability, with the 49% of Durham voters that voted for Nifong.</p>

<p>Now that there’s no danger of that,
Guess it’s time for Mr Sullivan to get paid :)</p>

<p>When Rae Evan’s said on 60 minutes last January;

“I guess I’d say, with a smile on my face, ‘Mister Nifong, you’ve picked on the wrong families. You’ve picked on the wrong families that you’ve indicted; you’ve picked on the wrong family of the Duke lacrosse team. You’ve picked on the wrong family of Duke University, and you will pay every day for the rest of your life,’” says Rae Evans.

it wasn’t just an idle threat. <a href=“http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/11/60minutes/main2352512_page4.shtml[/url]”>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/11/60minutes/main2352512_page4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[epistrophy]

<p>richs73cas:</p>

<p>Thanks for the info re Williams & Connolly’s earlier involvement - that’s interesting.</p>

<p>I always thought that the decision to go with local lawyers for this criminal case was a shrewd one. In his rape case in Indianapolis, Mike Tyson was represented by a Williams & Connolly star, Vincent Fuller. Many people thought that Fuller, with his East Coast big city style, never connected with the Indiana jury. Tyson, of course, was convicted.</p>

<p>

“Fuller is an exceptionally fine attorney,” says Robert Simels, a New York City lawyer who has represented many athletes. “But he was probably not the right choice to bring into Indianapolis.”

</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,159078,00.html[/url]”>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,159078,00.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[VeryHappy]

<p>I know David Evans is working for Morgan Stanley, and Reade Seligmann is now at Brown. What is Colin Finnerty doing??</p>

[epistrophy]

<p>I’ve heard that Finnerty is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, as a result of being the victim of a wrongful prosecution here, and will never again be able to attend school, much less work.</p>

<p>Hence his desperate need for a cool $10 million from the Durham taxpayers - pronto!</p>