Monday, April 24: Comments closed on this post. A defense lawyer wants to see the evidence. Read and discuss the latest news.
Friday, April 21: Comments closed. Read and discuss the latest news on the case.
Thursday, April 20: Looking for pictures of duke stripper?
Update V (4/18 @ 4:32 p.m.): This will be the last update for today, unless something really explosive is revealed.
By the way (TOTALLY off-topic), if you’re in DC this Saturday, come to the Milblog Conference 2006. I’ll be live-blogging, but that’s not why you should come. You’ll get to meet some of the top military bloggers and hear them talk about their experiences as service men and women…and bloggers.
Back to the case. ABC News comments on photos from the night of the alleged rape:
12 a.m.: This is the first picture of the strippers. Students are watching the show, but not grabbing or attempting to touch the women. Bruises are clearly visible on the legs and thighs of the alleged victim.
12:00:40 a.m.: Another picture taken 40 seconds later shows bruises on the accuser’s knees. Her right knee appears to have an open cut.
12:03:57 p.m.: About four minutes after arriving, a picture shows the strippers leaving the room. The photo clearly shows that the alleged victim left behind one of her shoes.
Between 12:10 a.m. and 12:30 a.m.: No photos were taken between this time.
12:30:12 a.m.: The next photo shows the alleged victim on the back porch, carrying what appears to be her purse and a makeup bag. Her clothes are intact.
12:30:47 a.m.: A photo taken 30 seconds later shows the alleged victim on the porch and she appears to smile.
12:31:26 a.m.: But 30 seconds after that, a photo shows the alleged victim stumbling down the back steps of the house.
12:37:58 a.m.: A series of photos are taken, all showing the woman lying on her left side on the back porch, seemingly passed out or asleep. She had visible cuts on her legs and buttocks that did not appear in the previous photos.
The cuts may be from falling. The cuts on her buttocks line up with the edge of a screen door she may have hit on the way down.
12:41 a.m.: The final photo shows the accuser and the second dancer in a black car. The accuser is in the passengers seat.
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Update IV (4/18 @ 1:04 p.m.): Some of the players admitted to using each other’s names at the party, so there appears to be no discrepancy between the search warrant and the accuser’s identification of the alleged rapists. Although…
The DA issued has issued a statement, but it contains nothing we haven’t read elsewhere.
Duke’s president issues a statement.
2:19 p.m.: For the time being, I’ll just link to new information and leave the editorializing for another day. From CNN: “Sources close to the investigation told CNN Tuesday that the defense will present evidence — including ATM receipts and a cab driver — that neither Seligmann, 20, nor Finnerty, 19, were at the team party at the time the alleged rape took place.”
See, I knew I couldn’t do it. I must editorialize. Witness more of the media’s class-envy coverage. This is the real case, my friends. Everything else is filler.
3:50 p.m.: The second stripper speaks.
Interesting article: Duke lacrosse case far more complex than it looks
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Update III (4/18 @ 11:17 a.m.): According to the search warrant, the accuser said three men named Adam, Bret, and Matt raped her, but Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty have been charged with the rape. Hmmm…
ESPN sources ABC News: “Prosecutors have informed defense attorneys that the alleged victim has identified two players with 100 percent certainty and is 90 percent certain on a third player…”
I don’t get it. She named “Adam, Bret and Matt” as the rapists but identified Seligmann, Finnerty, and a third person.
Here’s more fallout: WTOP is reporting that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in DC is considering a move to revoke Collin Finnerty’s community service agreement for assaulting an alleged homosexual because of the Durham indictment.
12:13 p.m.: The Smoking Gun has obtained a copy of the indictment.
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Update II (4/18 @ 6:25 a.m.): The alleged rapists named in the indictment have been arrested. No names yet. Or charges. The indictments are still sealed.
7:08 a.m.: WRAL: “The two men, who attorneys say are sophomore Reade Seligmann and sophomore Collin Finnerty, surrendered to authorities at the Durham County Magistrate’s Office at about 4:55 a.m.”
7:39 a.m.: Charges: “rape, sexual offense and kidnapping”.
Finnerty was recently in court for a simple assault incident that occurred back in November. He reportedly hit a homosexual (“alleged” homosexual?) in the mouth, drawing blood. I’d like to know whether Finnerty’s DNA was indeed connected to the assault accuser. [Note: I assume he had to submit DNA in that case. This is speculation, not fact.] If so, isn’t it strange that his DNA wasn’t connected to the stripper, who he allegedly forcibly raped and beat as she tried to defend herself against him and two others? Curious…
An indictment in itself is damning, no matter how easy it may be to indict someone. We don’t know what evidence the DA has, though I suspect it’s pretty flimsy. But that’s my opinion and will remain so until I see more evidence. Blogger Ed Cone reiterates that we’re still in the dark.
The father of two lacrosse players comes forward.
10:07 p.m.: A commenter-lawyer writes:
The DA had no obligation to present any exculpatory evidence to the grand jury. He could have presented only the following: (1) the alleged victim’s testimony that she was raped and her identification of her attackers and (2) the hospital nurse’s testimony that the alleged victim’s injuries were consistent with rape. These facts would be sufficient for an indictment, which is all the Nifong needs for his re-election campaign.
At trial, however, the jury will have the following exculpatory and impeachment evidence to consider: (1) the absence of any DNA match, (2) photographs of the alleged victim showing bruises before the alleged attack, (3) various inconsistencies in her story, and (4) evidence of the alleged victim’s bad character for honesty and truthfulness (i.e., her prior criminal record). It is highly unlikely in my opinion as a lawyer for the past 25 years that based on this evidence a jury would find guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The only way that Nifong can get a conviction here is if one or more of the boys in the house testifies in support of the alleged victim’s story. Will that happen? Who knows.
Fellow southerner and blogger Mary Katharine Ham recommends a change of venue for the trial. Riehl World View’s comment section is interesting.
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…today, although it could be under seal. Or the case may be carried over until May 1.
At any rate, it’s not over until the grand jury indicts or throws out the case if Mike Nifong sent the case to the grand jury. There’s no confirmation. Now he decides to clam up. 
Developing…
Update (4:19 p.m.): According to CNN, the grand jury issued two indictments under seal.
5:06: The CNN alert is gone. Don’t know what that means. Drudge is still reporting the sealed indictments, and ABC News (also reporting seal indictments) has an exclusive:
ABC News has obtained a tape in which a security guard — who may have been the first person to see the alleged victim of a Duke lacrosse gang rape after the alleged attack — says there were no signs or mention of rape or sexual assault.
ABC News has obtained an audio recording of what is purported to be a private investigator interviewing a security guard at a Kroger grocery store. It was this security guard whose call to 911 brought police to the Kroger parking lot, where they found the woman who claims she was raped by lacrosse team members.
7:47 p.m.: The AP is reporting that two Duke lacrosse players have been indicted. On tax day!
From ABC News:
A grand jury in Durham, N.C. handed up two sealed indictments in the Duke lacrosse rape investigation today.
A sealed indictment does not mean an arrest must be made though it does provide the prosecutor leverage with potential defendants who believe once their names are public their reputations will be destroyed.
The sealed indictments put the attorneys for the accused in a touchy position because they will be told their client has been indicted but not what the charge is and how many counts, making it difficult to defend.
Were the players indicted on charges of rape? Assault? Thought crimes? Believe me, it won’t stay “secret” for long. Until I see more evidence, I’m sticking to my story.
Talk Left: “The prosecutor seems to be milking this for all it’s worth.”
And this from the New York Times:
Ekstrand said that he and other defense lawyers had asked Nifong on Thursday and again today to issue public indictments so that anyone who was charged with a crime could voluntarily surrender. Ekstrand said Nifong refused the request, “so we’d be left in the dark.” He said the situation meant students could be arrested in classrooms or paraded in front of the media. “I can’t imagine any other reason but humiliation.” he said in an interview while the grand jury was in session.
Sounds about right.
Previous posts:
- Is Duke Stripper Channeling Tawana Brawley?
- Fake Rape at Duke: Next Steps
- The ‘Black’ Helen of Troy?
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Nah, it’s not so crazy. This case is unique because there’s race, class (which will always be with us), and allegations of a brutal crime. It generates media coverage because it’s good copy and the whole mess is like some sleazy soap opera. On the other hand, because both the accused and accuser have rights, the process seems strange to people who’re not often exposed to it (not that I am, either, but I’ve studied it a bit).
That’s just the way the adversarial system is set up. It’s the same one that manages to get it right and send the guilty to jail, or get it wrong and allow double murderers to go free. And sadly, sometimes the innocent end up in jail. Still, it’s the best legal system in the world.
LaShawn
I read an interview today (can’t find the link right now) of a NY parent of two of the lacrosse players. Neither boy is implicated ( starting to look like none should be ). Dad was confident no crime took place. He is a NY fireman and was called in on 911 to aid in the rescue effort. Now correct me if I am worng but firemen dont exactly fit the storyline of rich and privledged, now do they?
I agree. I linked to the story this morning. It’s somewhere in the post- “Dad speaks out,” or something like that. – Admin
I hear ya La Shawn,
(some of us know why this happened all happened) but you are right…this is like some nasty soap opera and because we are such an entertainment filled society… it makes for extreme media coverage (one thing is for sure, the media is perverts 
I won’t go where I relly want to go with this whole thing
I like how the second stripper says she wonders about the character of the “people” (the men)…
if that is n’t the pot calling the kettle black…LOL
Unbelievable
more from CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/18/duke.rape/index.html
ok, so in addition to recepits, eye witnesses, and now a time-stamped photo from an ATM security camera, lack of a DNA match, and the myriad of all the other exculpatory evidence, can we all agree that these two players are as innocent as anyone can be?
And since NiFrong was made aware two weeks ago (http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00C16F63E540C738FDDAA0894DE404482)
that Seligmann was not even present at the party (and had to have known he was randomly picking off two antelopes from the herd), can some of the lawyers on this board fill me in as to any possible consequences for the DA? I mean, isn’t there anything that can happen to a DA who knowingly indicts two innocents for his own political gain?
If the indictments were sealed, do we even know what the boys were charged with?
Read over a search warrant affidavit at TSG.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0329061duke3.html
The investigating officer states he has been an officer since 2003. He is now assigned to Criminal Investigations Division and has been involved in numerous investigations. He does not claim any training or experience outside of the Durham City PD.
Just over 2 years on the job, including Academy and rookie training, and is now an investigator. I hope he is working with a senior partner that is just making the new kid do the paperwork.
If this guy is the lead investigator, the lawyers will rip apart every step of his investigation.
No one else has mentioned one good reason the Durham crowd is trying so hard to lynch the Duke players:
Anger over the scene-stealing success of J.J. Reddick.
Everyone has a different tolerance for misery-mine is very low right now. I hope that justice prevails in this case, whoever is guilty of whatever.
I’m more shaken up by the Tel Aviv suicide bombing than I am about what happened at Duke. That looks cold on the page-I’m not cold or uncaring-
As an emergency physician for twenty years I have seen many victims of alleged rape. I have several comments. First, semen is not necessary to link the victim with the attacker. Pubic hair is combed for foreign hairs and skin, nails are scraped and cut for foreign skin, etc. Secondly, as another poster noted, an injury is an injury. There are many ways to sustain vaginal injuries other than non-consensual or forced intercourse. Most rapes don’t reveal any specific injury. Many specialized “rape examine” nurses DO have a victim bias (as do CPS workers).
New ABC article seems that one of the charged players has a pretty convincing alibi
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LegalCenter/story?id=1858806&page=1
Ms. Barber, let me commend you for your unapologetic & unbiased blog. You are a breath of fresh air in a community stifled by “political correctness.” Your call for accountability in today’s society should be heeded, the perennial victimization of minorities is a disservice to minorities.
I graduated from Duke University in 2002. I am livid at the way the school & the Duke community are being portrayed in the media. I have seen non-minority students claim that minorities are marginalized & oppressed at Duke. As a female minority from a low-income family, I could not disagree more. Duke provided me with a spectacular education & wonderful experiences.
As an attorney, I am ashamed of how Mr. Nifong has handled this case. Nifong’s tactic & grandstanding fly in the face of ABA Rules of Ethics & only harm the alleged victim. If the accused are found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, then they should be punished. However, by hamming it up for the media, Mr. Nifong has managed to condemn two possibly innocent young men in the court of public opinion. I can only hope that Nifong’s pandering to a historically disenfranchised community is exposed as the political machination that it is. Also, the lack of DNA evidence after Mr. Nifong’s statements will help the Defense in proving their case & perhaps in changing venue since Nifong has poisoned the jury pool.
I tried to hold my tongue until evidence came to light. At this juncture, I believe that Mr. Nifong, the alleged victim, and all those involved in vilifying Duke University & the accused are opportunistic. The United States judicial system is clear in its stance that the accused is “innocent until proven guilty.” Furthermore, those that are not educated in the nuances of the criminal judicial system need to understand that a Grand Jury indictment does not afford a voice to the defense & that anything & everything is allowed to come in since the stringent rules of evidence are inapplicable.
Again, I have no Trackback but I compiled three posts worth of comments that I liked into one blog entry on my site:
CARRYING LACROSSE
http://networdblog.blogspot.com/2006/04/carrying-lacross-long.html
Message to Kemperman:
Please email me a link to the accusers “employment” site. My email is mbmurphy64@aol.com
This is going to turn out to be a hoax: http://www.nbc17.com/news/8830631/detail.html
There are pictures (obscured of course) of the stripper at that site. I can tell she is not what the Duke boys were expecting. They probably were angry and used slurs on her when she didn’t perform to their liking. I cant see three wealthy white boys attacking her all at the same time. Doesn’t add up
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