Lacrosse Lawyers 'Bewildered' By DNA Report

Jun 14, 05:50 PM

Current Headlines: RALEIGH, N.C. _ Attorneys representing three Duke lacrosse players didn't believe what they had found when one of them discovered favorable DNA test results buried in prosecutor Mike Nifong's files.

Testifying Thursday in Nifong's misconduct trial, a lawyer for one of the accused players described how he had locked himself in a conference room for more than 60 hours with a textbook and 1,844 pages of technical documents. The defense team had pried the documents from Nifong and a DNA lab.

Lawyer Bradley Bannon, who is not a DNA expert, found previously undisclosed test results showing that DNA from unknown men had been recovered from Crystal Gail Mangum's body and underwear. Mangum, an exotic dancer, had accused the players of raping her at a team party.

Bannon shared his findings with the other defense lawyers. One by one, they said his findings were interesting but didn't quite believe what he was saying.

"You have to understand we had been in court all summer and fall being told that there wasn't anything that was found," Bannon testified. "We were all bewildered that it hadn't been provided to us before."

Bannon's testimony came on the third day of ethics charges from the State Bar against Nifong, the Durham district attorney. His testimony was a blistering assault on the prosecutor.

The Bar, which licenses and regulates lawyers, says Nifong made improper prejudicial public comments and wrongly withheld DNA evidence favorable to the players. The state attorney general's office this year dropped the charges against the players, declaring them innocent.

A State Bar prosecutor asked Bannon to describe the effect that Nifong's behavior and statements had on the three men falsely accused of rape.

"I cannot count how many times I heard that there is no way the district attorney would have said the things he said in this case unless there was something there. That is why people who still believe something happened at that house that night believe it, because they were told over and over and over again with absolute certainty," Bannon said.

Bannon testified about the defense team's repeated attempts to get complete DNA test results from Nifong.

Time and again, the prosecutor said everything had been turned over.

But the three-member panel sitting in judgment over Nifong knows that the prosecutor did know about the test results and failed to turn them over.

Bannon also testified Thursday about a telephone call in which Nifong berated him over the implication that he had withheld evidence.

In the Oct. 20, 2006, call, Bannon said, Nifong raised his voice. The call came after the lacrosse players' lawyers had sent a letter to Nifong seeking information about the prosecutor's conversation with Mangum, the rape accuser.

"He got upset with me about that letter, and he said that we weren't acting in good faith as lawyers. He wanted to know why we were always accusing him of withholding information and wondered why defense attorneys always accused prosecutors of withholding information," Bannon testified.

"I think he said that every defense attorney he's ever known that comes to his office to work with him always has those thoughts and one would wonder why he would think that people were hiding things from you."

Nifong eventually hung up on Bannon.

A DNA expert testified Wednesday that he told Nifong in April 2006 that tests had found DNA from multiple, unknown men.

Nifong contends that he did not intentionally withhold evidence. One of his attorneys, David Freedman, has said that Nifong always intended to turn over all the test results but that they were left out of the first report because the DNA lab director had privacy concerns.

In statements to judges and reporters, Nifong has said at various times that he intentionally held back the information for privacy concerns, that he didn't know it had been withheld and that it was mistakenly withheld.

Bannon represented David Evans who was accused of rape along with his teammates Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. At least one of the players is expected to testify during the Bar trial.

Seligmann and Finnerty arrived Thursday morning for the trial. Finnerty made no comment, but his father, Kevin Finnerty, did.

"It's certainly better to have the shoe on the other foot," Kevin Finnerty said.

After Bannon's testimony, State Bar prosecutors called to the witness chair Marsha Goodenow, a veteran prosecutor from Charlotte. Goodenow answered a list of questions about the duties and requirements of prosecutors.

In each case, the questions were phrased in general terms but referred to specific actions Nifong took in the lacrosse prosecution.

Nifong has said he did not interview Mangum because he did not want to risk being called as a witness to what she said.

State Bar prosecutor Katherine Jean asked, "If you were prosecuting, would interviewing the victim, or a supposed victim of a crime by a prosecutor in any way, jeopardize the ability for that prosecutor to go forward with a case?"

Goodenow answered: "It wouldn't jeopardize your ability to go forward unless you interviewed a person and found they were not credible and at that point, it would jeopardize your prosecution because you would have a duty to not prosecute."

Jean then read a series of statements to Goodenow that Nifong made to reporters. Goodenow explained why each comment was inappropriate and not allowed by the state's law and ethics rules.

Sitting in judgment of Nifong is a three-member panel of the Bar's Disciplinary Hearing Commission. The panel has the power to levy sanctions against Nifong, including revoking his law license.

The trial is expected to continue into the weekend. Nifong is expected to testify.

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