Judge warns lawyers in lacrosse case

DURHAM -- A judge Monday admonished the defense lawyers and prosecutor in the Duke University lacrosse rape case to watch what they say to the news media.

Lawyers are already bound to follow rules of Professional Conduct set by the State Bar, the organization that licenses and regulates lawyers. By ordering the defense team and prosecutor to follow the rule that limits what lawyers can say in an active case, Superior Court Judge Kenneth C. Titus put everyone in the case on notice that the constant news coverage could imperil a fair trial.

"This court takes judicial notice of the extensive pretrial publicity that's been available in all of these cases, including media coverage with statements and information which would normally be prohibited," Titus said. "It is this court's responsibility to ensure that the defendants and the state proceed with the constitutionally guaranteed right to a fair trial by a jury free of partiality, bias or prejudice."

So far, the prosecutor and defense lawyers involved in the investigation into a rape allegation at a lacrosse team spring break party have said much to the news media. It started when Nifong gave more than 50 interviews, many on live national television. Lawyers representing team members responded with news conferences of their own and, later, written motions harshly critical of Nifong and the charges he eventually brought against Dave Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md., Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y., and Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J.

A woman hired to dance at the March party accused the three men of raping her in a bathroom.

Nifong has not granted an interview on the case for months. He left court Monday without speaking to reporters.

After the hearing, Joseph B. Cheshire V, one of Evans' attorneys, said the defense has the right to respond to public statements about the case.

"We have been very careful to abide by the rules," Cheshire told a swarm of reporters outside the courtroom.

The Monday hearing was another in a series of procedural court appearances that would be routine and informal if they were held in any case other than the lacrosse rape investigation. Before court began, Titus held a closed-door meeting with Nifong and the handful of lawyers on the defense side, in which they apparently discussed publicity.

In court, Nifong turned over more evidence to defense lawyers and said he had more to come. Members of the defense team are scheduled to go to Durham police headquarters today to review the investigative files in the case to make sure that Nifong has given up everything investigators have, as the law requires.

Titus refused repeated requests from Kirk Osborn, one of Seligmann's attorneys, to impose a deadline for Nifong to finish handing over evidence. Osborn told the judge he is anxious to argue a motion that he thinks would show his client has an alibi for that night.

Also Monday, lawyers representing lacrosse players who were not indicted tried to get Titus to end Nifong's effort to get school records, such as home addresses and data collected by a campus card reader system.

Nifong told the judge he considers everyone who was at the party a potential witness and he needs a reliable way to find them. The card information could help corroborate what the team members said they did that night. Authorities have said that at least 40 players were at the party.

The lawyers argued that under the law, Nifong should have gotten permission from a judge before going after the information. And if Nifong wants only home addresses, lawyer James "Butch" Williams said, he should pick up the phone, call the lawyers and ask.

Nifong's relationship with some of the lawyers involved in the case has seemed strained over the months, and Monday was no different. While five lawyers argued to keep their unindicted clients' records private, Nifong suggested that some wanted a bigger piece of the lacrosse case.

"It looked sometimes over the course of the last few months that some of these attorneys were almost disappointed that their clients didn't get indicted so they could be a part of this spectacle here in Durham," Nifong told the judge.

Titus said he would decide this week whether to allow Nifong to get the school records. The case would appear in court next during the week of Aug. 21.