# Nifong claims unfair treatment by NC bar, subtitled The dog ate my law license **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 16, 2007, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824 "2007-08-16T16:30:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/1 "2007-08-16T16:30:31Z")
[Cry me a river, muthafucker](http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/1704460/). About the only thing worse than a lying, grandstanding sack of shit, is a lying, grandstanding sack of shit who can’t even spell “contrition”, much less display it. Where’s the kiss my ass smiley when you need it? ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/2 "2007-08-16T16:37:32Z")
Wow, I thought you were being hyperbolic with the reference to the dog eating his license, but no – he is literally complaining that his license was not suitable for framing. If I were the Bar, I would tastefully mat and frame his disbarrment notification before mailing it. But I doubt he would recognize the sarcasm. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/3 "2007-08-16T16:45:59Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] I would tastefully mat and frame his disbarrment notification before mailing it. [/QUOTE] Nah, then they’d have to admit that they actually gave the asswipe a license in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/4 "2007-08-16T17:20:28Z")
To be fair, Nifong’s complaint has some small merit. His lying ass should be handed to him by the book, if for no other reason than he can see how a non-lying asshat moron does the job. Lead by example, folks. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/5 "2007-08-16T18:35:56Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] To be fair, Nifong’s complaint has some small merit. His lying ass should be handed to him by the book, if for no other reason than he can see how a non-lying asshat moron does the job. [/QUOTE] How was that not done? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/6 "2007-08-16T18:38:11Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] How was that not done? [/QUOTE] According to the article, the written ruling and the oral ruling didn’t quite match up. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/7 "2007-08-16T18:39:12Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] According to the article, the written ruling and the oral ruling didn’t quite match up. [/QUOTE] But it was corrected. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/8 "2007-08-16T18:40:09Z")
[QUOTE=NurseCarmen] Nah, then they’d have to admit that they actually gave the asswipe a license in the first place. [/QUOTE] The State Bar rep should have retorted, “That same dog that ate the evidence in the Duke case?” What’s so interesting about this case in that, up until the Duke case, Nifong had a long, completely competent, under-the-radar career. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/9 "2007-08-16T18:46:11Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] But it was corrected. [/QUOTE] Well then, there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/10 "2007-08-16T18:55:01Z")
Yeah, If I was doing time in North Carolina on a conviction won by this clown, I would be asking for an investigation of my case. Of course, I would be doing it if I was guilty, or innocent. (Not that there are any guilty folks in prison, you know.) Tris ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/11 "2007-08-16T19:02:45Z")
So, wait. Was he complaining that his law license had been chewed by a puppy when he received it, or was he merely bemoaning the fact that he had himself allowed it subsequently to be so chewed? 'Cause I’ve got this hilarious mental image of somebody smuggling a puppy into the North Carolina Bar Association office that I’d rather not part with, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/12 "2007-08-16T19:22:24Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] What’s so interesting about this case in that, up until the Duke case, Nifong had a long, completely competent, under-the-radar career. [/QUOTE] The five years previous to his appointment as DA were spent in traffic court; I suspect “competence” is relative. Nifong needed to win the election in order to secure a more valuable state pension. Presumably, in his long career he had never had such a motive to commit (potentially) criminal acts. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/13 "2007-08-16T20:06:07Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] The five years previous to his appointment as DA were spent in traffic court; I suspect “competence” is relative. Nifong needed to win the election in order to secure a more valuable state pension. Presumably, in his long career he had never had such a motive to commit (potentially) criminal acts. [/QUOTE] You’re saying more succinctly what I was trying to say. I was just saying that, up until the Duke debacle, while not a shooting star, he was functioning in his given job(s), and not doing anything that attracted much attention. The _New Yorker_ article I read (and bits elsewhere) didn’t specifically mention the pension issue. ---
**Author:** ![Anduril](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Anduril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduril)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/14 "2007-08-16T20:27:39Z")
[QUOTE=Stealth Potato] 'Cause I’ve got this hilarious mental image of somebody smuggling a puppy into the North Carolina Bar Association office that I’d rather not part with, thank you very much. [/QUOTE] That is exactly what happened. Your welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/15 "2007-08-16T20:42:48Z")
[QUOTE=Stealth Potato] So, wait. Was he complaining that his law license had been chewed by a puppy when he received it, or was he merely bemoaning the fact that he had himself allowed it subsequently to be so chewed? 'Cause I’ve got this hilarious mental image of somebody smuggling a puppy into the North Carolina Bar Association office that I’d rather not part with, thank you very much. [/QUOTE] The Smoking Gun has the [original letter](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0815071puppy1.html). Why he felt he needed to mention the puppy, I haven’t the faintest clue. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/16 "2007-08-16T20:58:25Z")
Seems clear to me that Nifong’s puppy did the chewing. As further evidence on behalf of this conclusion, note that Nifong refers to the puppy as a female. Unless he did DNA testing on the chewed license to determine the beast’s sex, it seems unlikely he would know this salient fact unless the puppy was his. Possibly he did do a DNA test but “lost” the results. We may never know, and this seems fundamentally unfair. Personally speaking, none of my licenses has ever been chewed by my puppies, although in one memorable incident Bubba lifted his leg on my only good sport coat (which was hanging on a chair) just before an important job interview. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/17 "2007-08-16T21:05:37Z")
I just read the letter itself. While the puppy chewing is pretty damned funny, I think the worst part of the letter is his whole attitude about how wrongfuly **he’s** been treated. Spare fucking me. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/18 "2007-08-16T21:10:04Z")
[QUOTE=wring] I just read the letter itself. While the puppy chewing is pretty damned funny, I think the worst part of the letter is his whole attitude about how wrongfuly **he’s** been treated. Spare fucking me. [/QUOTE] Especially in light of this, from the linked article : > [@](#): > > Nifong’s letter contradicts statements his lawyer made during the disciplinary hearing. Attorney David Freedman told the panel that Nifong “believes this has been a fair and full hearing of the facts, that he believes disbarment is the appropriate punishment in this case.” ---
**Author:** ![Humble\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/47e85d/32.png) [@Humble\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Humble_Servant)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/19 "2007-08-16T21:22:30Z")
I dunno–I think he was just playing it safe in giving an explanation for why the license he was turning in was mutilated. Didn’t want them to think he defaced it on purpose in disrespect of the order. Same with the reference to the misspelling of the middle name–he doesn’t want them to think he is not actually turning in his own license. No comment on the last paragraph, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824/20 "2007-08-16T21:33:47Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] You’re saying more succinctly what I was trying to say. I was just saying that, up until the Duke debacle, while not a shooting star, he was functioning in his given job(s), and not doing anything that attracted much attention. [/QUOTE] For certain values of ‘function,’ anyway. As a traffic prosecutor, he could function. Hell, _I_ could do _that_ job… What the hell he thought he was doing trying anything more difficult than that, I have no idea… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-claims-unfair-treatment-by-nc-bar-subtitled-the-dog-ate-my-law-license/415824.md?page=2)