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Nifong Loses Effort to Dismiss Main Ethics Charge
Facing a hailstorm of criticism for pressing sexual assault charges against three men he now agrees were wrongly accused, the Durham County district attorney was before a hearing on Friday where his lawyers argued for dismissal of the most serious ethics charge against him. The charge accuses the prosecutor, Michael B. Nifong, of failing to properly disclose DNA reports to defense lawyers in the Duke lacrosse rape case.A hearing panel ruled that all the ethics charges, including one that Mr. Nifong had made inflammatory public comments, would be heard at a four-day trial in June. Mr. Nifong could face penalties up to disbarment. His appearance here came two days after the North Carolina attorney general, Roy A. Cooper, dismissed sexual offense and kidnapping charges against three former Duke lacrosse players, blaming a false accuser and a rogue prosecutor for a miscarriage of justice. Mr. Coopers office had spent three months reinvestigating the case after Mr. Nifong recused himself to fight the ethics charges. Mr. Nifong apologized on Thursday in a statement, saying, To the extent that I made judgments that ultimately proved to be incorrect, I apologize to the three students that were wrongly accused. On Friday, he said, My statement yesterday was in plain language. Lips pursed, surrounded by reporters and cameras before and after the one-hour preliminary hearing, he declined to comment further. His lawyer, David B. Freedman, said: I dont know how much more you can apologize when you say I apologize to the three players who were wrongly accused. We would hope people would understand that apology by Mr. Nifong. It takes a lot to admit he was wrong. Posted by: Fred 2007-04-17 |
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