Feds Investigating Duke Rape Prosecution?
Federal investigators reportedly are gathering information for a possible civil rights case that could involve, among others, former prosecutor Mike Nifong, whose pursuit of rape charges against former Duke University lacrosse players led to his disbarment.
Attributing the information to unnamed sources, an ABC News television station in North Carolina says the U.S. Attorney’s Office Middle District of North Carolina is “considering whether to investigate” a possible violation of the civil rights of the three defendants in the Duke case by the Durham County District Attorney’s office, which Nifong formerly headed, and city of Durham police.
All charges were dropped against the three defendants in April, after the state attorney general determined there was no factual basis for the rape case and publicly criticized Nifong for his “tragic rush to accuse,” as an ABAJournal.com post discussed at the time.
Since then, Nifong himself has been a defendant in two cases: a legal ethics trial that resulted in his disbarment, and a contempt-of-court hearing in which he was sentenced to, and served, one day in jail. Federal investigators are now reviewing documents and transcripts from both cases to determine whether a civil rights investigation is warranted, according to the television station.
Meanwhile, the city of Durham is reportedly considering a $30 million proposed settlement, as discussed by the Chronicle, a Duke University newspaper, and the Christian Science Monitor. Duke settled with the players earlier, for an undisclosed amount, as another ABAJournal.com post notes.
