Duke DA Answers Critics: Denies Unethical Conduct, Wants Some Charges Dropped
DURHAM, N.C., Feb. 28, 2007— -- Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong has filed his response to allegations by the North Carolina Bar Association that he acted unethically in his handling of the Duke lacrosse team case.
In the document, released Wednesday afternoon, Nifong systematically denied all the charges against him and struck back, calling for many of them to be dismissed.
In the document, which is Nifong's first complete and official response to the bar association's charges, he addresses allegations that he violated any rules of professional conduct. A complaint filed by the North Carolina Bar Association accused Nifong of violating at least a dozen of those rules by allegedly withholding possible exculpatory DNA evidence from the defense, making misleading statements before a judge, and making inappropriate comments about the case in a series of press interviews.
According to the bar association's complaint, Nifong exhibited "conduct that involves dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, as well as conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice."
That complaint triggered a disciplinary process that required Nifong to respond. It also requires him to appear at an ethics trial, currently scheduled for June 2007, during which a three-member panel will decide whether Nifong is guilty of the alleged violations.
If it sees fit, that panel can choose to punish Nifong -- and the punishment could be harsh. Among the range of disciplinary options, the bar could choose to issue Nifong a private admonition, suspend his law license or permanently disbar him. The latter two options mean he would lose his position as the Durham County district attorney, not to mention his retirement pension.
The North Carolina Bar Association, along with defense attorneys for the three indicted Duke lacrosse players, have accused Nifong of withholding potentially exculpatory evidence from DNA tests that compared samples from Duke lacrosse players against samples of evidence taken from the accuser.
