# Nifong Does The Hokey Pokey **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 1, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684 "2007-09-01T00:01:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/1 "2007-09-01T00:01:42Z")
Mike Nifong has been sentenced to one day in jail. Not much, agreed, but given how things were looking for the victims of the Duke Hoax a year ago, a bit of a symbolic victory. This should make their civil suit against the City of Durham _et. al._ a bit easier to press. > **[Nifong gets day in jail for criminal contempt in Duke rape case](https://www.espn.com/college-sports/news/story?id=2999217)** > > Mike Nifong, the disgraced former Durham County district attorney, was held in criminal contempt of court Friday for "willfully" making false statements to a judge when pursuing rape charges against three falsely accused Duke lacrosse players. > **[Durham-in-Wonderland](https://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/)** > > Comments and analysis about the Duke/Nifong case (2006-2014). The findings. Judge Smith: > [@](#): > > Findings of fact: > > 1. In capacity as DA, Nifong appeared before Court on 9-22-06, in response to specific inquiries by court, represented that Meehan report included all statements made by Meehan to Nifong regarding all DNA tests. > > 2. Such representations by Nifong were false at the time they were made given existence of multiple unidentified male DNA. > > At time of Nifong statements 9-22, he was aware of Meehan statements. He was aware that Meehan report didn’t contain these statements. And he was aware he hadn’t provided such information to defendants. > > 4.) These items material, exculpatory, and impeachment evidence, to which defendants were entitled. > > In making such statements, Nifong willfully and intentionally made false statements of material fact to the Court. Nifong thereby failed to disclose exculpatory and impeachment evidence. > > This behavior is in violation of NC criminal contempt statutes. Nifong’s act “is willfully contemptuous.” > > Nifong is guilty, announced 5.32. ---
**Author:** ![seenidog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@seenidog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seenidog)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2007, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/2 "2007-09-01T00:54:08Z")
As far as I am concerned, Nifong should serve the same time as those he tried to railroad would have served had he suceeded. One day is not even a slap on the wrist, it is an insult to the justice system. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2007, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/3 "2007-09-01T03:39:01Z")
He will spend around 18 seconds in jail for each week he was hoping the 3 innocent lacrosse players would serve. I’d say he got off a bit too easy for justice to be said to have been done. The closer you look, the worse things in Durham smell. Nifong had a lot of help with his attempted frame job. Duke’s President and a substantial number of faculty covered themselves with dishonor. The NC NAACP’s behavior was contemptible. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/4 "2007-09-02T03:36:18Z")
[QUOTE=Xema] The closer you look, the worse things in Durham smell. Nifong had a lot of help with his attempted frame job. Duke’s President and a substantial number of faculty covered themselves with dishonor. The NC NAACP’s behavior was contemptible. [/QUOTE] The reason Durham smells is because they shut down alll the tobacco warehouses. Curing tobacco smelled amazingly nice, and covered up all the standard inner-city rot and fumes stench quite well. But I’m not quite sure what you’ve got against Broadhead. He stayed as far out of the mess as he could; the Duke faculty (or at least the 88, or however many morons there were) are definitely blameworthy here. ---
**Author:** ![Ring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/5 "2007-09-02T03:49:28Z")
I’m sure this has been asked and answered before, but if I may: Why did he do it? He must have known something like this was going to happen; I mean he was an attorney and a DA for God’s sake. Plus, did the 88, the NAACP, etc apologize? Did anybody apologize? Again I’m sure these questions have been asked before, but some of those threads were so long, I just couldn’t bring myself to undertake them. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/6 "2007-09-02T07:46:43Z")
[QUOTE=Ring] I’m sure this has been asked and answered before, but if I may: Why did he do it? He must have known something like this was going to happen; I mean he was an attorney and a DA for God’s sake. Plus, did the 88, the NAACP, etc apologize? Did anybody apologize? Again I’m sure these questions have been asked before, but some of those threads were so long, I just couldn’t bring myself to undertake them. [/QUOTE] I don’t know specifics about this case, but Nifong had no reason to believe he’d face such punishment. Prosecutors are frequently known for spouting off to the press and mis-characterising very shaky evidence as being convincing proof. This is just about the first case I can recall where the prosecutor actually suffered consequences for it. Not to excuse Nifong, of course. There should have been many more cases brought over prosecutorial misconduct in the past – maybe he would have been more careful. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/7 "2007-09-02T14:09:21Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Prosecutors are frequently known for spouting off to the press and mis-characterising very shaky evidence as being convincing proof. This is just about the first case I can recall where the prosecutor actually suffered consequences for it. Not to excuse Nifong, of course. There should have been many more cases brought over prosecutorial misconduct in the past – maybe he would have been more careful. [/QUOTE] Don’t get me wrong, I think Nifong is a slimeball who deserves more than just one day in jail, and is an embarrassment to prosecutors everwhere. But you’re way off base asserting that “are frequently known for spouting off to the press and mis-characterising very shaky evidence as being convincing proof. This is just about the first case I can recall where the prosecutor actually suffered consequences for it.” Your statments are little more than an inflammatory pile of crap. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/8 "2007-09-02T14:55:48Z")
[QUOTE=Diomedes] But I’m not quite sure what you’ve got against Broadhead. He stayed as far out of the mess as he could; the Duke faculty (or at least the 88, or however many morons there were) are definitely blameworthy here. [/QUOTE] Well, he fired the coach, canceled the season, suspended the innocent players, told Pressler (the coach) “It’s not about the truth anymore,” said that even if they didn’t rape the stripper, “whatever they did was bad enough,” failed to register a complaint when DPD members illegally gained entrance to a Duke dorm in order to illegally question students, and gave a complete free pass to multiple faculty members who violated the code of the Faculty Handbook. That’s what I have against him. Instead of staying out of the mess, shouldn’t he have been an an advocate for Duke students? Or, at the very least, manage not to slander them, and suspend them from school preemptorily? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/9 "2007-09-02T15:18:53Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] Well, he fired the coach, canceled the season, suspended the innocent players, told Pressler (the coach) “It’s not about the truth anymore,” said that even if they didn’t rape the stripper, “whatever they did was bad enough,” failed to register a complaint when DPD members illegally gained entrance to a Duke dorm in order to illegally question students, and gave a complete free pass to multiple faculty members who violated the code of the Faculty Handbook. [/QUOTE] A good list, though it should be noted that “It’s not about the truth anymore” came from the athletic director (but was never repudiated by Brodhead, and no doubt represented his view of the case). It should also be noted that he had very little to say while Nifong was making a mockery of the concept of honest prosecution. This acquiescence by most of those at Duke - and the active support of more than a few - was no doubt part of the reason Nifong went as far as he did. It’s now clear that what he wants is to “move on,” with no further discussion of the case and the deplorable actions of many at Duke and in Durham. In a difficult case where leadership was needed, Brodhead functioned as a pleasant, spineless appeaser. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/10 "2007-09-02T16:13:10Z")
[QUOTE=Hamlet] Don’t get me wrong, I think Nifong is a slimeball who deserves more than just one day in jail, and is an embarrassment to prosecutors everwhere. But you’re way off base asserting that “are frequently known for spouting off to the press and mis-characterising very shaky evidence as being convincing proof. This is just about the first case I can recall where the prosecutor actually suffered consequences for it.” Your statments are little more than an inflammatory pile of crap. [/QUOTE] Well, here are some cites: [Judge throws out threat conviction](http://truthinjustice.org/mark-price3.htm) > [@](#): > > A judge Wednesday threw out an Oshkosh man 's 1995 conviction for threatening to kill disgraced former Winnebago County District Attorney Joseph Paulus after authorities agreed that a prosecutor withheld important evidence and solicited false testimony from a key witness. No penalty against that guy. [Boston Globe – Top judge wants US prosecutor disciplined Says evidence was withheld at trial](http://truthinjustice.org/Auerhahn.htm) > [@](#): > > Bennett L. Gershman, a professor at Pace University Law School in New York who wrote the treatise “Prosecutorial Misconduct,” said, “It’s not often that you see a federal judge going out of his way to recommend an investigation against a federal prosecutor.” > > Gershman said he’s unaware of any cases in which a judge has sought further disciplinary action after the Justice Department has meted out some form of punishment. > > “What it says to me is the judges are getting fed up in cases where prosecutors are violating prosecutorial rules,” Gershman said. This guy got a letter of reprimand – there is a judge pudhing for further punishment. [Wisconsin State Journal – Georgia Thompson Acquitted, Set Free](http://truthinjustice.org/thompson-georgia.htm) I’ve done some threads about this case. Congress is investigating it right now as part of the US Atorney firing scandal. The prosecutor was on a JD firing list before bringing this case, and sometime after bringing this case removed from the list. [Abilene Reporter](http://truthinjustice.org/masonheimer.htm) > [@](#): > > On Wednesday, Judge Barbara Hervey of the criminal appeals court wrote that the two mistrials ‘‘were provoked primarily by the state’s failure to disclose exculpatory evidence with the specific intent to avoid an acquittal at the first proceeding.’’ Here’s a [Minneapolis Tribune](http://truthinjustice.org/crackdown.htm) article about the general subject: > [@](#): > > “We have identified numerous kinds of trial conduct that are improper for prosecutors. … Nevertheless, we continue to see cases in which prosecutors persist in clearly proscribed conduct,” Justice Helen Meyer wrote in September for a 4-3 majority in State vs. Ramey. > [@](#): > > December 24, 2006 > > Crackdown on prosecutor conduct > Minnesota’s high court is targeting trial misconduct by prosecutors. County attorneys are crying foul; defense lawyers are applauding. > > By Paul Gustafson, Star Tribune > Minnesota prosecutors, the people accustomed to dishing out punishment, have found themselves on the receiving end of two recent state Supreme Court decisions that targeted improper closing arguments and other out-of-bounds trial behavior. > > Prosecutors are bristling over the decisions, but many defense lawyers believe the stiff medicine is overdue. > > In one case, the court reversed a gang member’s first-degree murder conviction because of what it called “pervasive” misconduct by the prosecutor, even though the state’s evidence was strong. > > “You wouldn’t know the truth if it hit you in the face, would you, Mr. Mayhorn?” then-Clay County Attorney Lisa Borgen asked the defendant during questioning. The justices said Borgen tried to play on the passions of the jury and misstated the evidence. Borgen has since said she should not have questioned the defendant in that manner. > > In another case the court changed a longstanding legal rule, putting the burden on prosecutors to prove that their misconduct didn’t substantially harm defendants’ rights in some criminal cases. > > “We have identified numerous kinds of trial conduct that are improper for prosecutors. … Nevertheless, we continue to see cases in which prosecutors persist in clearly proscribed conduct,” Justice Helen Meyer wrote in September for a 4-3 majority in State vs. Ramey. > > Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said that she understands that the goal is to do justice, not just win. > > “But this is an adversarial system, and if you tie the hands of the prosecutors when they go into that arena, it doesn’t serve either public safety or justice,” she said. > > Many defense lawyers and legal experts, however, think it’s about time that courts stop warning prosecutors about misconduct and start doing something to stop it. > > “There has to be some kind of remedy, some consequences for behavioral errors that occur over and over again,” said Hennepin County Chief Public Defender Lenny Castro. “I don’t think the new standard is unfair at all.” > > In Minnesota, prosecutors’ misconduct generally involves improper questioning of witnesses and closing arguments, according to prosecutors and defense lawyers. > > Examples are when prosecutors voice their own opinion on the truthfulness of witnesses, appeal to the base emotions of jurors or use facts not introduced in evidence. > > The Minnesota Supreme Court isn’t the only court expressing frustration with the issue. > > In 2003, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the convictions of two men given life sentences for their roles in the murder of a Chicago police officer, citing improper prosecutor trial tactics and arguments. > > It threatened to overturn more cases to reduce the “alarming frequency” of prosecutor misconduct, which it called “a problem that courts across the country have, for the most part, been unable or unwilling to control.” > > Appeals court judges in several states “are starting to wring their hands” trying to find effective ways to discourage prosecutor misconduct, said Peter Joy, a professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. > > Some judges have tried shaming misbehaving prosecutors by naming them in court decisions. But they found that it only enhanced the prosecutors’ reputations among peers, “because it shows they are willing to do what it takes to get the ‘bad guy’ … that they’re willing to get down in the gutter,” Joy said. > > In most states, even when prosecutor misconduct is found, defendants still carry a heavy burden to prove that their constitutional rights were substantially violated, he said. > > Some of the worst examples of misconduct attributed to prosecutors in other states, such as withholding evidence or hiding witnesses from the defense, have not cropped up in Minnesota courtrooms. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/11 "2007-09-02T18:31:38Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] No penalty against that guy… This guy got a letter of reprimand… [/quote] That’s a surprise, court associates getting a pass. Next time you hear a judge bitching about minimum mandatory sentences impeding their judicial discretion, ask yourself why they should have such power in the first place. Nifong, and that piece of shit who started this whole mess, **Crystal Gail Mangum** , should be sentenced to hard time…in the same cell. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/12 "2007-09-02T20:04:05Z")
[QUOTE=Xema] A good list, though it should be noted that “It’s not about the truth anymore” came from the athletic director [/QUOTE] You’re right. Thanks for the correction. It should be noted that Alleva was just given a new deal (5 years?) Apparently, Broadhead is satisfied with his work. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/13 "2007-09-02T20:47:27Z")
[QUOTE=JohnBckWLD] That’s a surprise, court associates getting a pass. Next time you hear a judge bitching about minimum mandatory sentences impeding their judicial discretion, ask yourself why they should have such power in the first place. Nifong, and that piece of shit who started this whole mess, **Crystal Gail Mangum** , should be sentenced to hard time…in the same cell. [/QUOTE] Prosecutors get cover in a lot of cases by one form or another of statutory immunity – which is probably a good thing, given how loser criminals would spend all their time filing charges against prosectors if they didn’t. But this protection assumes the prosecutors are acting in good faith – and not all of them are. Many prosecutors have virtually no one to answer to except the electorate – or to bosses who themselves answer to an electorate. And the general population, surprisingly enough, isn’t terribly interested in protecting the rights of accused criminals. I really can’t recall any previous case where a prosecutor was disbarred for prosecutorial misconduct. Generally the worst that happens is that the case is thrown out on appeal and they get to try it again. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/14 "2007-09-02T22:45:09Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] I really can’t recall any previous case where a prosecutor was disbarred for prosecutorial misconduct. Generally the worst that happens is that the case is thrown out on appeal and they get to try it again. [/QUOTE] Granted, prosecutors are rarely disbarred. Nifong was a particularly egregious case, however. [Cite.](http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/06/state-bar-v-nifong-findings-of-fact-and.html) ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/15 "2007-09-03T00:24:08Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Well, here are some cites: [Judge throws out threat conviction](http://truthinjustice.org/mark-price3.htm) No penalty against that guy. [/QUOTE] I’m sure I don’t have to explain to you the difference between anecdotes and data. The fact is in a vast, vast, vast majority of cases there is no prosecutorial misconduct. When it does occur, it is a horrible travesty and, if there is evidence it was intentionally done, there should be severe punishments. But, despite a problem here or there, you’re still pathetically wrong that prosecutors “known for spouting off to the press and mis-characterising very shaky evidence as being convincing proof.” ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/16 "2007-09-03T01:18:05Z")
[QUOTE=Ring] I’m sure this has been asked and answered before, but if I may: Why did he do it? He must have known something like this was going to happen; I mean he was an attorney and a DA for God’s sake. [/quote] I would propose a few answers to that: First, prosecutors have a lot of power to abuse people without facing any serious consequences. So Nifong was probably used to doing whatever he wanted. Second, Nifong seems to have some serious personality issues. It seems that he is both impulsive and extremely stubborn. So he makes decisions without giving them a lot of thought and then refuses to back down. Further, it appears that he has no conscience or consideration for the rights of others. Basically, it looks like he’s a hard core narcissist. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/17 "2007-09-03T01:32:13Z")
[QUOTE=Hamlet] I’m sure I don’t have to explain to you the difference between anecdotes and data. The fact is in a vast, vast, vast majority of cases there is no prosecutorial misconduct. When it does occur, it is a horrible travesty and, if there is evidence it was intentionally done, there should be severe punishments. But, despite a problem here or there, you’re still pathetically wrong that prosecutors “known for spouting off to the press and mis-characterising very shaky evidence as being convincing proof.” [/QUOTE] I never said “most” or the “majority”, I said “many” and that is correct. Here is [another cite.](http://www.publicintegrity.org/pm/default.aspx) > [@](#): > > Local prosecutors in many of the 2,341 jurisdictions across the nation have stretched, bent or broken rules to win convictions, the Center has found. Since 1970, individual judges and appellate court panels cited prosecutorial misconduct as a factor when dismissing charges, reversing convictions or reducing sentences in over 2,000 cases. In another 500 cases, appellate judges offered opinions—either dissents or concurrences—in which they found the misconduct warranted a reversal. In thousands more, judges labeled prosecutorial behavior inappropriate, but upheld convictions using a doctrine called “harmless error.” > > Misconduct by prosecutors led to the conviction of innocent individuals who were later exonerated. Guilty defendants have also had their convictions overturned and are placed back on the street. In addition, the Center found many prosecutors who were cited multiple times for misconduct. These prosecutors give recidivism—a word usually used to describe those they work to put behind bars—a disturbing new meaning. Here is another quote from that website: > [@](#): > > In January 1999, the Chicago Tribune published a five-part series of articles that found, in the paper’s own words, “nearly 400 cases where prosecutors obtained homicide convictions by committing the most unforgivable kinds of deception. They hid evidence that could have set defendants free. They allowed witnesses to lie. All in defiance of the law. Prosecutors swear to seek the truth but instead many pursue convictions at any cost. The premium is on winning, not justice.” > > The series, reported and written by Maurice Possley and Ken Armstrong, documented 381 cases, going back to 1963, in which courts reversed murder convictions because prosecutors presented evidence they apparently knew to be false, or concealed evidence suggesting innocence, or both. > > Then, in November 1999, the Tribune published another in-depth series by Armstrong and reporter Steve Mills that examined murder cases in which Illinois prosecutors, mostly in Cook County (Chicago), had charged a defendant with a capital crime and asked for the death penalty. The journalists identified 326 reversals attributed in whole or part to the conduct of the prosecutors. Haven’t you heard of “poisoning the jury pool”? Haven’t you heard news reports quoting leaks of confessions and other evidence meant to bias the community against the defendant. It happens somewhere every fuckin’ week. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/18 "2007-09-03T03:27:27Z")
[QUOTE=Ring] Why did he do it? He must have known something like this was going to happen [/QUOTE] The racial furor he helped to whip up allowed Nifong to win his election. Many expected him to drop the prosecution after that was done. But he was in quite deep at that point, and there was lots of speculation that the jury pool was so tainted that, had the trial taken place in Durham, convictions would have been likely even without any evidence of guilt. Had the 3 players been acquitted, it would have been spun as “Their rich daddies hired top lawyers, so the scumbags walk.” > [@](#): > > Plus, did the 88, the NAACP, etc apologize? Did anybody apologize? I think one or possibly 2 of the 88 have apologized; the rest stand defiant. I don’t believe the NC NAACP has apologized, or even conceded that the charges were bogus. Jesse Jackson’s current take is (paraphrased) “No, I won’t apologize - they had a party with strippers, so they have to deal with the consequences of that.” More than a few journalists have apologized for “presumption of guilt” stories. Of course, plenty of others haven’t, most notably a couple from the NY Times. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/19 "2007-09-03T20:33:45Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] I never said “most” or the “majority”, I said “many” and that is correct. [/quote] Here’s what you said: " Prosecutors are frequently known for spouting off to the press and mis-characterising very shaky evidence as being convincing proof." You’ve offered absolutely nothing that even comes close to backing up that statement. Well, except for another assertion that it happens somewhere every fuckin’ week. And, as far as many, do you have any idea how many convictions are obtained in the criminal justice system a year? Let’s use your quoted statement: “Since 1970, individual judges and appellate court panels cited prosecutorial misconduct as a factor when dismissing charges, reversing convictions or reducing sentences in over 2,000 cases.” Just to make things weighted heavily in your favor, we’ll compare those 2,000 cases over 20+ years and compare them to the number of convictions obtained in just one year, which, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics is 1,145,000 (that’s just felonies, I’ll leave out misdemeanors just to make it even more interesting). That’s roughly .1% of cases. Of one year of convictions compared with 20+ years. If you’d like to say 2,000 over 20 is many, have at it. Even one case of true prosecutorial misconduct is too many. But it is an incredibly small percentage of cases. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684/20 "2007-09-03T21:27:00Z")
What I said was correct and I stand by it. Thousands is “many”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nifong-does-the-hokey-pokey/417684.md?page=2)