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Duke players file sweeping lawsuit against police and c... - 10/5/2007 12:14:52 PM

cyberdude611

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Reporter: Julia Lewis, Associated Press
Greensboro — Three former Duke lacrosse players falsely accused of rape filed a federal civil lawsuit Friday, seeking an unspecified amount in punitive and compensatory damages, as well as numerous reforms to the way the Durham Police Department handles criminal investigations.

The 155-page complaint – filed against the city of Durham, former District Attorney Mike Nifong, former police Chief Steve Chalmers and several police detectives and officers – calls for the appointment of an independent monitor who would oversee the police department for 10 years and have the power to hire, fire and promote police department personnel, including the chief of police

City spokewoman Beverly Thompson said the city's attorneys will conduct a "full and thorough review" and fight the complaint.

"We understand the complaint assesses claims against the city and its employees that appear to be based on untested and unproven legal theories," Thompson said in a statement. "In light of that, the City Council has directed legal counsel to vigorously defend the city and city employees in court against this lawsuit."

The city has 30 days to respond.

"We look forward to it," said Richard D. Emery, a New York-based civil rights attorney representing Reade Seligmann.

The complaint also seeks changes to the photo identification lineups that helped secure indictments against Seligmann and his teammates, David Evans and Collin Finnerty.

Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann maintain their rights were violated in the yearlong investigation, in which they were indicted, then later declared innocent, of allegations that they raped, sexually assaulted and beat an exotic dancer at a party in March 2006.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1896692/

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RE: Duke players file sweeping lawsuit against police a... - 10/5/2007 12:45:47 PM

DomKen

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These young men do deserve compensation. IIRC at least one had to defer going to grad school due to this. I'm sure others had issues with getting jobs etc..

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RE: Duke players file sweeping lawsuit against police a... - 10/5/2007 3:21:27 PM

Level

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They were screwed, for sure.

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RE: Duke players file sweeping lawsuit against police a... - 10/5/2007 3:32:27 PM

popeye1250

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They sure do!
And then there's the matter of all of those "Perfessers" and others at Duke who signed that petition condemning these three young men.
Before they even had a trial!
They should be fucking ASHAMED of themselves!
I hope they sue those cocksuckers too!
And they refer to themselves as "academics?" I don't think so!
Those guys will probably not have to get degrees now after those lawsuits are finalized.
They'll be very wealthy young men.

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RE: Duke players file sweeping lawsuit against police a... - 10/5/2007 3:43:23 PM

Kana

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Forget the grad school stuff for a minute. Think about the damage that was done to their reputations. Sure they made a bad decision to engage in such behavior while athletes at a high profile university such as Duke, but each one of them is going to walk around with that charge on their record for a long long time all because an overzealous prosecutor out to further his political career. You can't get that back ever. For the rest of their life they get to check that box on an employment application that says have you ever been charged with a felony. Even the quickest background check will reveal these charges in a minute.

Then consider their parents, can you imagine how much money they are out in legal fees. Its got to run into the millions. They deserve compensation for all their attorney fees plus pain and suffering. What if that was your kid and you spent a year worried if he was going to jail for twenty years. I bet the city is just "looking forward" to answering these charges -Bullshit They had to see this coming. The surprise is that the city hadn't tried to settle this out of court.

Flip this around for a moment in two different ways. What would have happened if the parents hadn't had the money they did to hire they lawyers they did. Do yu think someof those kids would be in jail now? I suspect they would be.

The other flip is imagine the outcry if the races were reversed. If the "victim" were a white girl and the accused young black men. There would be rioting in the streets.

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RE: Duke players file sweeping lawsuit against police a... - 10/5/2007 3:56:56 PM

sundownhawk

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Nifong should have been publicly flogged a long time ago.

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RE: Duke players file sweeping lawsuit against police a... - 10/5/2007 4:08:58 PM

FatDomDaddy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: popeye1250

They sure do!
And then there's the matter of all of those "Perfessers" and others at Duke who signed that petition condemning these three young men.
Before they even had a trial!
They should be fucking ASHAMED of themselves!
I hope they sue those cocksuckers too!
And they refer to themselves as "academics?" I don't think so!
Those guys will probably not have to get degrees now after those lawsuits are finalized.
They'll be very wealthy young men.

Actually... They settled with Duke University already and from all indications it was a bundle of cash. They are already very wealthy and so will thier families be for a long long time.

As such... I hope the settlement with Durham County is more creative and forces reform.

As for Mike Nifong...

I hope they hire Fred Goldman as an adviser

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RE: Duke players file sweeping lawsuit against police a... - 10/5/2007 4:55:47 PM

popeye1250

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FatDaddy, they should make that list public.
I didn't know that they settled with Duke already.
As for the employment questionaire on whether one has been "charged" with a felony shouldn't it be "convicted" of a felony instead?
As they say, "you can indict a ham sandwhich."
People have been "charged" with murder only to be ..."un-charged" days later.

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RE: Duke players file sweeping lawsuit against police a... - 10/5/2007 7:42:01 PM

FatDomDaddy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: popeye1250

FatDaddy, they should make that list public.
I didn't know that they settled with Duke already.
As for the employment questionaire on whether one has been "charged" with a felony shouldn't it be "convicted" of a felony instead?
As they say, "you can indict a ham sandwhich."
People have been "charged" with murder only to be ..."un-charged" days later.

Popeye,

Most all employment form ask if you have been convicted of a felony. Some that are more sensitive and for security reasons may ask if a person was ever charged but if they want the employee, the truth of the sitution usually suffices.

In this case it really doen't matter...its not as if these men will be applying or the midnight shift at 7/11. Their lives and their kids and kid's kids lives will be quite well financially and since the Duke settlement was a private University settling with a private party its is really no bodies business but theirs. So I disagree that it should be made public.

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