Nifong: I'll help Durham heal

The prosecutor says he's not part of the problem in the Duke lacrosse case

DURHAM -- District Attorney Mike Nifong said after a private swearing-in Tuesday that he intends to help Durham heal the wounds of the Duke University lacrosse case.

The prosecutor, who faces ethics charges for his public statements about the sexual assault case against three former lacrosse players, began his four-year term of office in a ceremony closed to avoid reporters.

Nifong answered questions after the ceremony but declined to discuss the lacrosse case or whether he will remain its prosecutor. He said his work as Durham's top law enforcement official will be to help the community recover from the case, which has drawn international attention.

"I don't feel that I'm part of the problem. I feel that I have assisted in revealing the problem," Nifong said. "Durham has some healing to do. And I need to be part of that healing process, and I need to have something to do with how we move forward."

Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson swore in Nifong in a morning ceremony before the courthouse was opened to the public. Hudson said he was not aware of any specific requirement that the oath be taken in the open.

"I'm not sure it violated anything but common sense," Hudson said.

When reporters were allowed inside the courthouse -- at least 10 minutes after Nifong took the oath -- they found the district attorney sitting with his wife and son in a courtroom, waiting to watch a ceremony for District Court judges. Nifong, who has for months refused requests for interviews with local reporters, answered questions for about 10 minutes.

Nifong refused to say whether he would recuse himself in the wake of ethics charges filed last week by the N.C. State Bar. The agency, which regulates and licenses lawyers, charged Nifong with misconduct for his many public comments about the case. Nifong refused to respond Tuesday to a call by the state Conference of District Attorneys for him to step aside from the case.

"If it appears that my presence in an investigation and anything like that is a hindrance, then we can deal with that at that time. I have been elected to do a job, and I intend to do that job," Nifong said. "Part of my job is to constantly re-evaluate everything that's going on in light of the information that I have.

"Because you make a decision based on information that you have on hand at a particular time doesn't mean that you do not revisit that decision later on when other information is available."

Mounting criticism

The criticism of Nifong has built steadily since March when an escort service dancer told police she had been raped and sexually assaulted. But in December, Nifong's critics got louder. A DNA expert hired by the state testified that he and Nifong agreed to leave off a report test results that were favorable to the defense. The accuser told an investigator in Nifong's office that she was no longer sure that she was vaginally raped, and Nifong subsequently dropped the rape charge. An equally serious sexual offense charge and a kidnapping charge remain against the players.

The next scheduled hearing in the lacrosse case is the week of Feb. 5.

Contrasting events

Nifong's swearing-in Tuesday was a much different affair from the jovial, light-hearted ceremony in April 2005 in which former District Attorney Jim Hardin became a judge and Nifong became interim district attorney. That event played out before an overflowing courtroom. The crowd laughed when Hardin jokingly gave Nifong a T-shirt with a bull's-eye on it.

Nifong said he scheduled Tuesday's event before the courthouse opened because he wanted to spare his assistant prosecutors, who were also sworn in Tuesday, the media attention.