DA Nifong's using only team photos for the accuser to ID her alleged attackers

[astro]

I have to admit I really didn’t think this through when I first heard it several weeks ago afterthe story broke, but after a lawyer commented on how bizarre it was and made the observation

“No matter who she chose it was going to be someone on the team”

It really struck me that there was noway the accuser could be “wrong” in this process. Anyone she chose out of that lineup was a member of the team, and a suspected perpetrator. Will this narrowed photo ID process stand up in court as a valid ID procedure?

Defense Questions Photo ID Of Duke Lacrosse Players

To obtain the identification, Durham police showed the woman photos of the 46 lacrosse team members one at a time, sources said. The woman said she was 100 percent certain that Finnerty and Seligmann were involved and 90 percent certain that a third player was involved.

Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong said Tuesday that he is still collecting evidence in the case and hopes to indict a third player soon.

No other photos were shown to the woman, sources said, and the defense attorneys maintain that police should have included photos of other young, white men in the photo array to make the identifications legitimate.

[kanicbird]

This case is obviously a big sham, the line up is invalid, the DNA evidence, which was take from the team members DON’T match, one of the ‘rapies’ has asked a media outlet how can she capitalize on it, and she has made rape accusations before. I just how this takes the rape shield law down too.

[Cheesesteak]

If I got punched in the face at a bar, went outside, got a cop, and we went back inside where I identified the guy, would that be an improper identification? That’s essentially what this photo lineup is, except with pictures a couple of days later instead of going back to the party that night. Let’s say there wasn’t a set group of people there, you could be reviewing someone’s home video of the party.

When you know the perp was in a particular place at a particular time, and have pictures of people who were there at that time, I don’t think there’s a need for a wide photo lineup. The legal eagles may disagree, but conceptually, I think this piece of the mess is not as bad as the rest.

[Autumn_Almanac]

@Cheesesteak

If I got punched in the face at a bar, went outside, got a cop, and we went back inside where I identified the guy, would that be an improper identification?

In your scenario, if you’re watching the door while talking to the cop, you can be pretty certain that the guilty party is still inside the bar.

My understanding of the Duke case is that people (players and possibly non-players) were entering and leaving the party throughout the night. There’s no guarantee that the guilty party was actually among the choices the alleged victim was given. And I doubt she felt she could answer “none of the above” without destroying her credibility. That’s what’s so problematic.

[Harriet_the_Spry]

Based on local reporting, no one seems to be claiming there were non lacrosse players at the party. So wm–'s point doesn’t seem to be a concern.

The standard lineup would have required the 46 players plus 5 fillers for each suspect, for a total of 276 people in the lineup. That seems a bit excessive to me.

It may not have been wise to deviate from standard procedure like that, but I agree with Cheesesteak’s perception of the situation as a fairly reasonable way of picking the suspect out of a known pool of people who were present. (Not to get all Agatha Christie, but kind of like a locked room mystery novel).

And the accuser seemingly was willing to express uncertainty, since a third suspect hasn’t been clearly identified.

[Autumn_Almanac]

@Harriet the Spry

Based on local reporting, no one seems to be claiming there were non lacrosse players at the party.

I guess I was mistaken. Thanks for setting that straight.

[blueserge]

It troubled me that the accuser was given only team photos from which to make her IDs. On the other hand, an accuser is generally given five “ringer” photos to look at in addition to that of the supects, so you do the math. I thought that swabbing all the LAX team members for DNA (except the sole black player) was overzealous, too. If the case comes to trial, I don’t know how well either procedure will stand up.

Mike Nifong was promoted to the DA post in the spring of 2005 after his boss was appointed to a judgeship. Since then, he has been accused of showing favoritism, needlessly shuffling employees within his office and shaking things up just because he had the authority. (The Democratic primary which he won last week was not a bid for re-election, contrary to media reports.)

I don’t think he’s a bad guy, I just think he got in over his head. He’s very experienced; he’s been in the DA’s office for nearly 28 years. I can’t accept that he would risk jeopardizing a lengthy career by committing political suicide. But nothing prepared him for the national media attention this case received, and I think he spoke too hastily and too vociferously to the accuser’s credibility and proffered theories about the specifics of the attack when he should have stayed mum.

The allegation and investigation was mishandled from the start. The Durham Police Department and Duke University officials did not take the accusations seriously; the entire situation exploded and very few people on either side thought before they spoke publicly. As soon as the accuser was identified as a stripper, her credibility was trashed.

The lacrosse players have been seemingly coddled in some quarters, elsewhere they have all been tarred with the same brush. Ugly divisions of classism, entitlement on the part of DU students; sexism and racism have been split wide open. It is a real mess, and no one has come out looking good.

I live in Chapel Hill, seven miles from the house where the alleged rape occurred. For the first two weeks after the allegations surfaced, news organization helicopters circled my neighborhood every afternoon. Friends who work in downtown Durham had to go around satellite trucks and dodge reporters to get in and out of their offices.

A close friend lived in the house directly behind the LAX house until forced to move a year ago thanks to the continual bad behavior of the DU students living in his neighborhood. He and the other residents of Trinity Park have made repeated calls to the DPD to report numerous incidents of bad behavior including public drunkeness, public urination, vandalism and fistfights—including a particularly nasty one involving a father and son. But no real changes have been made.

Duke University has the most liberal alcohol policy of any school in the Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill). I believe that alcohol fuels much of the bad behavior that goes on at so many college campuses.

I have no dog in this fight; I do think something happened in that house, but I don’t pretend to know what. I know that some college students behave badly and irresponsibly. I know that some women resort to exotic dancing to make quick money for respectable purposes, e.g., paying school tuition and feeding their children. My fervent hope, and that of most members of this community is that the truth will out, and that justice can still prevail.

I apologize for the length of this post.