Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Nifong/Duke lacrosse scandal and the curious silence of the left
I spent ten hours in meetings today, so I was late to the news that the Attorney General of North Carolina dropped all the charges against the Duke lacrosse defendants, and went out of his way to exonerate them. After a year in the crosshairs of an ambitious prosecutor and rejection by the otherwise procedurally-obsessed academic "community" at Duke, somebody in authority finally believed these poor guys (see KC Johnson's "timeline" post for the extended skinny on the case). Michelle Malkin has a comprehensive round-up, including a transcript of the statement (video and other linkage here). Pertinent parts:
On Jan. 13 of this year, I accepted the request of the Durham district attorney to take over three Durham cases. At the time, I promised a fresh and thorough review of the facts and a decision on the best way to proceed. I also said that we would have our eyes wide open to the evidence, but that we would have blinders on for all other distractions. We've done all of these things....
The result of our review and investigation shows clearly that there is insufficient evidence to proceed on any of the charges. Today we are filing notices of dismissal for all charges against Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans.
The result is that these cases are over, and no more criminal proceedings will occur.
We believe that these cases were the result of a tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations. Based on the significant inconsistencies between the evidence and the various accounts given by the accusing witness, we believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges....
The eyewitness identification procedures were faulty and unreliable. No DNA confirms the accuser's story. No other witness confirms her story. Other evidence contradicts her story. She contradicts herself. Next week, we'll be providing a written summary of the important factual findings and some of the specific contradictions that have led us to the conclusion that no attack occurred.
In this case, with the weight of the state behind him, the Durham district attorney pushed forward unchecked. There were many points in the case where caution would have served justice better than bravado. And in the rush to condemn, a community and a state lost the ability to see clearly. Regardless of the reasons this case was pushed forward, the result was wrong. Today, we need to learn from this and keep it from happening again to anybody....
Therefore, I propose a law that the North Carolina Supreme Court have the authority to remove a case from a prosecutor in limited circumstances. This would give the courts a new tool to deal with a prosecutor who needs to step away from a case where justice demands.
This case represents a profound abuse of prosecutorial power, a disingenuous attack by a politician on defendants who were exploitable during an election year. It is precisely the sort of injustice that should ignite outrage across the ideological divide. It is therefore curious that as of 10:30 pm EDT there has been virtually no discussion of today's extraordinary development on the major lefty blogs. Atrios, nothing. AMERICABlog, zippo. Nothing on the front page of Kos, nor at Kevin Drum's blog. Firedoglake: Nada. From Glenn Greenwald, who writes about legal issues all the time, deafening silence. Pandagon, which might be expected to write about a prosecution that threatens to discredit rape victims everywhere, has nothing today. The list goes on and on.
Now, I am not suggesting that there is anything hypocritical or otherwise snark-worthy about the lefty 'sphere's almost total indifference to the Nifong scandal. Almost all bloggers, including me, write quite selectively according to their interests and -- for those of us who work for a living -- free time. The case, though, is about the political application of the police and prosecutorial powers against manifestly innocent people, precisely the sort of thing that gets many lefty bloggers very agitated in the ordinary course. It is curious, therefore, that they are seemingly so removed from this case. Perhaps it is because the Nifong scandal involves various extremely inconvenient truths, including the revelation that women who level the charge of rape are not inherently truthful. Indeed, so powerful was the belief in the accuser's credibility that 88 Duke faculty members signed a petition 'saying “thank you” to campus demonstrators who had distributed a “wanted” poster of the lacrosse players and publicly branded the players “rapists"' (now removed without explanation).
That moment, which has done great damage to Duke's reputation as a serious university, represented the triumph of identity liberalism over the traditional liberal concern for procedural and civil justice. After all, most liberals would ordinarily be upset that an organized mass demonstration would presume the guilt of defendants not yet tried -- it smacks of a lynch mob, and deeply offends their usual respect for due process. Apparently, however, the importance of due process shrinks to the point of vanishing when the accuser is a black woman and the defendants are preppy jocks. Siding with the right demographic is now more important to many activists than the fact and principle of due process.
There is a final, somewhat dispiriting aspect to this. The silence of the left today -- and the similar failure of righty blogs regarding controversies that shatter their assumptions -- exposes the general unwillingness of most bloggers and most blog readers to challenge and test their own most cherished beliefs with intellectual honesty. This is a shame, because bloggers and their readers are in many respects the most engaged participants in our civil society.
19 Comments:
By 
Steve Burri, at
Wed Apr 11, 11:37:00 PM:
I listened to the N.C. A.G.'s statement today. He didn't just drop the charges. As you said, 'went out of his way to exonerate them', he actually called them 'innocent'.
By 
, at
Wed Apr 11, 11:43:00 PM:
Nice entry. Good points and I like the "identity liberalism" vs "traditional liberal". Useful contrast. After all, most Americans would be considered liberals in the classical sense.
By , at
Thu Apr 12, 12:30:00 AM:
Another fruadulent news story from the frenzie of the sharks when they smell blood
By Andrewdb, at
Thu Apr 12, 12:49:00 AM:
It is worth noting how rare it is for a prosecutor to say someone is "innocent" - rather then merely drop the charges or suggest they are "not [provably] guilty"
By Escort81, at
Thu Apr 12, 01:43:00 AM:
Jeffrey Toobin was doing his job as CNN's legal analyst tonight and remarking upon the language of the N.C. A.G. Toobin is a good writer and has previously written a long piece for the New Yorker on the Duke lacrosse case. It was one of the earlier serious articles calling into question the tactics of the DA. I don't think Toobin is out there in Kos land (or Gloria Allred land), but I also don't believe that his legal analyses comport with, say, those of Judge Posner on the center-right. Anderson Cooper asked him to speculate on the consequences for Nifong, and while Toobin said that it would be tough for the 3 players to sue him because of soverign immunity, there is no question that Nifong's hold on his office and his ability to practice law in N.C. are in some jeopardy. There seems to be a good chance that he families of the 3 players will file petitions with the N.C. State Bar Association when Nifong comes up for a disciplinary hearing.
The best part of the Cooper show was the interview with Jesse Jackson, who distanced himself from the idea that he or his organization had been that involved with the Duke case, and acknowledged that he had sought to give the accuser a scholarship so that she would not have to strip to be able to pay for college, something he repeated at least 5 times. He said that the scholarship seemed to be moot since she has now dropped out. He then went on to comment about the Imus matter at Cooper's prompting, and seemed pleased to be able to change the subject.
I agree with TH that it would be nice to see bloggers of all stripes comment on an event that runs counter to their usual take on things. One way of learning is by questioning your own assumptions.
By , at
Thu Apr 12, 03:58:00 AM:
What is worrying to me is the feeling that the clearing of these three would not normally occur were it not for the smart lawyers working for the defence.
Everything was against them from the start. An inflamed community,and hence jury pool. Heck, even their own school administration threw them and any like them (Laccross players) to the wolves.
The appearance of bias or malfeasance, but not normally proovable enough,on the part of the prosecutor
In such circumstances a Prosecutor would have at least been able to extracted a face saving plea bargain, and most lawyers would have rushed to get their cleient to accept the offer. Anything to avoid that jury.
Thank the heavens these three and their families had enough collateral to pay for the defence.
Is Nifong an aberration?
By , at
Thu Apr 12, 07:52:00 AM:
I would point out once again the shoddy journalism at the NYTimes. My how the grey lady sucks these days. How much longer till all credibility is lost? Their coverage of the Duke hoax has been horrendus. Now the the North Carolina AG has proclaimed the hoax for just that, will we see a front page retraction for the regular character assassinations coming out of the times? Doubtfull.
We discussed race baiting yesterday with TH's post on Imus. The Duke story has all of that and more.
Of particular note is the African American Studies department's demands for more funding to avert the Lacross "Social Disaster".
Identity politics at its finest (worst?)
Once again the blogosphere is where we have to go to get reasoned reporting. KC Johnson of the blog http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/ has done a magnificent job on this case.
If any of the board is interested in the nitty gritty Professor Johnson's writings are the best source for info on the case.
By , at
Thu Apr 12, 08:07:00 AM:
There is a final, somewhat dispiriting aspect to this. The silence of the left today -- and the similar failure of righty blogs regarding controversies that shatter their assumptions -- exposes the general unwillingness of most bloggers and most blog readers to challenge and test their own most cherished beliefs with intellectual honesty.
Ain't that the truth, and bravo to you for saying so out loud.
By Christopher Chambers, at
Thu Apr 12, 12:38:00 PM:
Nice try. I feel for those poor boys, smarmy preppies that they are. I was here in DC when one of them was at a hearing for an assault at Georgetown bar (underage wasted and nasty, he was, says Yoda). But hey now I'm being snarky. Sorry--I just have been dealing with white boys like this for the last 30 years, and it's good see some of you commenting on this blog. Nice to see somethings don't change.
The trouble is that we live a in a nation where the girls on the Rutgers team are automatically grouped with the chick who accused these young men, or Tank Johnson, or they're Ron Artest, or they're Snoop Dog. This girl's pathology that's sadly common in these circumstances, and these boys caught the full brunt of it like a rhino check from a midfielder. Nifong clearly showed himself to be a hack and a fool.
But how about the culture and history in that community bespeakes a million other brutal and insouciant episodes for which there as never been an apology. In a way those boys were also victims of their own ancestors. Yeah, i said it. Care to step outside and discuss it further?
Interestingly, the right wing circus on Fox to the radio to blogs in their Duke frenzy, neglected to say that it was big business--y'all's PALS!--who got Imus off MSNBC. he sponsors sh*t-canned it. Not the activists and lefties whining incessantly. Not the ones who you deem so friggin' silent on Duke. Oh we aren't silent. Never were. You just never want to credit us with our views, nor do you listen. Well, this crap didn't gell any backlash. Larry Birkhead got more ink. And the chickens are still coming home...
By Enlighten-NewJersey, at
Thu Apr 12, 01:43:00 PM:
Perhaps the Duke case is unique because the preponderance of evidence has left little wiggle room for contrary opinions. But give it a few days to see whether or not the lefties come up with a "frame" or talking points about the case that helps them keep their assumptions. (Perhaps the commenter above is on the leading edge.) In the meantime, would you care to give us a few examples of near unanimous silence from righty blogs in similar assumption shattering conntroversies?
By skipsailing, at
Thu Apr 12, 03:19:00 PM:
Nice try. I feel for those poor boys, smarmy preppies that they are. I was here in DC when one of them was at a hearing for an assault at Georgetown bar (underage wasted and nasty, he was, says Yoda). But hey now I'm being snarky. Sorry--I just have been dealing with white boys like this for the last 30 years, and it's good see some of you commenting on this blog. Nice to see somethings don't change.
The trouble is that we live a in a nation where the girls on the Rutgers team are automatically grouped with the chick who accused these young men, or Tank Johnson, or they're Ron Artest, or they're Snoop Dog. This girl's pathology that's sadly common in these circumstances, and these boys caught the full brunt of it like a rhino check from a midfielder. Nifong clearly showed himself to be a hack and a fool.
But how about the culture and history in that community bespeakes a million other brutal and insouciant episodes for which there as never been an apology. In a way those boys were also victims of their own ancestors. Yeah, i said it. Care to step outside and discuss it further?
Interestingly, the right wing circus on Fox to the radio to blogs in their Duke frenzy, neglected to say that it was big business--y'all's PALS!--who got Imus off MSNBC. he sponsors sh*t-canned it. Not the activists and lefties whining incessantly. Not the ones who you deem so friggin' silent on Duke. Oh we aren't silent. Never were. You just never want to credit us with our views, nor do you listen. Well, this crap didn't gell any backlash. Larry Birkhead got more ink. And the chickens are still coming home...
By Christopher Chambers, at Thu Apr 12, 12:38:00 PM
It is hard to read the foregoing without shaking the head and sprouting a rueful smile.
this is racism in its purest form. Naked, aggressive racism. It seems quite a shame that the hard work done by so many of us in the sixties has brought us nothing more than an angry Mr Chambers.
Mr Chambers, some here have risen to your defense when others have reacted strongly to some of your more provocative posts. It seems that those who supported you were misguided. Ultimately, it seems, they enabled you and reaped this bizarre string of racial slurs as reward.
On sober reflection I seriously doubt that even you know what you were talking about in your pointless poisonous bit if vituperation.
Take it outside? Over what? Your foolish words?
Forsooth.
By skipsailing, at
Thu Apr 12, 03:22:00 PM:
Oh yes talkleft, just don't post anything there outside the accepted leftie positions.
I did so after a fellow conservative bragged that he'd been banned in short order.
I lasted a few days and I was banned by the owners.
so much for a frank and far reaching exchange of views.
By , at
Thu Apr 12, 05:23:00 PM:
OK, Chambers, I'll bite too.
Culture and History?!
What a bunch of crap. When will it be that black people don't resort to the injustices of the past to rationalize such an aggregious violation of the law, like this one by Nifong. You got full payback when OJ got over for the cold-blooded murder of two white people.
Nifong ran on the black vote for re-election. It's plain as day. And he suppressed the evidence, and fact that this woman is a kook, for so long that these guys have spent a ton in legal defense for the "crime" of hiring a co-ed go-go dancer who turned out to be a demented crack whore.
Yes, there are many sitting in prison for crimes they didn't commit. And many sitting in prison for crimes they did commit. And many who have not been punished for their crimes.
Given that we now have DNA and other science to address some of those ills before they're committed, don't you think we should look beyond the race and call this for what it was and is?
By Cardinalpark, at
Thu Apr 12, 05:39:00 PM:
I think CC needs prozac. You are unintelligible. Slow down. Say fewer things. Try to make a single point.
As for TH's post, I think cognitive dissonance explains a lot. In general the left believes the state should regularly intervene on behalf of the weak, the poor, the meek -- and of course any number of liberal interest groups. A core belief of that crowd is that the state is a more benign actor and better positioned to administer justice.
At the same time, and this is where the cognitive dissonance kicks in, they argue that organs of the state (like the police, for instance) regularly deny justice (or inflict injustice) on members of their interest groups.
In this instance, it got turned upside down. CC's "white boys" (now why isn't that racist Chris?) were hosed by the state, working on behalf of the disenfranchised (a stripper, perhaps a prostitute, an african american female). And you know what?
The left likes that. They are disappointed it wasn't a true story. They wantwed the state to hammer the boys. Oh, you know what, and they're not even that sad the boys got abused wrongfully by the state. Heck, it happens all the time to members of their crowd.
It's the analog of the joy expressed by the left upon OJ's acquittal - despite his obvious guilt.
And SJ, I think the surge is going as John McCain expressed in his speech at VMI yesterday. Go read it.
Casualty counts can't go down, unfortunately. I see you're not good at tautology.
By , at
Thu Apr 12, 05:52:00 PM:
I still cannot get past Duke's role in this. How quickly they folded and in many instances bullied into cancelling a season, firing a coach who had served Duke very well for many years and in some small way, calling into question the priviledge of the average Duke student as if they should be ashamed of that? Especially since everyone of those kids had to work their tails off to get into such a premier institution, irrespective of Mom & Dad's money. The truly unfortunate truth about Duke's decisions is that if the same set of circumstances happened tomorrow the safest bet for Duke would be to act in the same manner. Because the educated liberal elite's would insist on nothing less and the downside of upsetting them is too much to bare at the many cocktail parties they must attend together.
TH you are dead on about the silence of the left, because no one wants to look like a hypocrite when they defend these Duke kids. Because when it happens again they still need to be able to feel just as outraged.
By Country Squire, at
Thu Apr 12, 08:24:00 PM:
TH,
I have had thoughts similar to those you expressed so elequently in this post:
"There is a final, somewhat dispiriting aspect to this. The silence of the left today -- and the similar failure of righty blogs regarding controversies that shatter their assumptions -- exposes the general unwillingness of most bloggers and most blog readers to challenge and test their own most cherished beliefs with intellectual honesty. This is a shame, because bloggers and their readers are in many respects the most engaged participants in our civil society."
May I suggest that this would make a wonderful post of it's own or even series of posts?
By Dawnfire82, at
Thu Apr 12, 08:51:00 PM:
"Yeah, i said it. Care to step outside and discuss it further?"
What, are you going to magically move through the various and sundry connections that make up the Internet and appear, sleeves up, ready to brawl?
You're a caricature in a can. If you're some sort of KKK/Neo-Nazi sock puppet, kudos; you're doing a fine job. If not, you seem to be the kind of person who fuels their recruitment; kudos again, and thank you for your contribution to filling the loyal ranks of The Man.
By Escort81, at
Thu Apr 12, 10:57:00 PM:
"In a way those boys were also victims of their own ancestors."
I am unclear, does this statement refer to the lacrosse players?
What does it mean?
Are each of us responsible for the sins of our fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, etc.?
Do I have to travel to Turkey to apologize for my mother's Hungarian ancestors brutally beating back the Ottoman Empire hundreds of years ago?
No one disputes the historical atrocities committed against the ancestors of 21st century African-Americans (also, the atrocities commited against the native peoples of North America). That was then, this is now. We live in a different society. Of course racism still exists, but it is quickly condemned when it appears in public. Is there really anyone who posts on this blog that would hire a white person over a better qualified person of color?
By , at
Thu Apr 12, 11:49:00 PM:
View from conservative Canada -editorial from National Post, 13 Apr:
Lessons from a witch hunt
