Duke Lacrosse and Civil Liberties: It's an Ill Wind That Blows No Good

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Maybe something good can be salvaged from this wreckage.

Duke Prosecutor Jailed; Students Seek Settlement

By SHAILA DEWAN
Published: September 8, 2007

As Michael B. Nifong, the disgraced former prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse rape case, reported to jail in Durham, N.C., yesterday to serve 24 hours for criminal contempt, the three students he accused were in talks with the city for a settlement of $30 million and a package of law enforcement changes.

A person familiar with the negotiations confirmed the details of the settlement proposal. If the city refuses, the students are threatening to file a civil rights lawsuit.

The changes requested by the students and their lawyers include oversight of the police department by an independent commission, stricter procedures and videotaping of witness identifications conducted by the police, and the passage of a City Council resolution calling on the state to establish ombudsmen for district attorney’s offices and require the transcription of grand jury proceedings.
....

Barry Scheck and Brendan V. Sullivan Jr., the lawyers representing the three lacrosse players, made the settlement proposal at a meeting Wednesday, where city representatives were shown a copy of a civil rights complaint to be filed next month if no progress has been made on negotiations. On Thursday, members of the City Council were briefed on the meeting.

Barry Scheck is remembered, among other things, for being part of O. J. Simpson's defense team. Brendan Sullivan is known for, in the summer of 1987, at the side of Ollie North, declaring that he was not a potted plant.

[Wiregrass Willie]

1. A big payoff for the shysterhood, that's all n/t