Lacrosse case in state hands

First step: 'A fresh and thorough review' of evidence

RALEIGH -- The state attorney general assumed control Saturday of the Duke lacrosse case, a move that puts fresh eyes on the evidence and on the actions of District Attorney Mike Nifong over the past 10 months.

Attorney General Roy Cooper announced his decision in front of a bank of TV cameras and a throng of reporters chronicling another twist in a case that has stirred torrents of anger.

Cooper said that Jim Coman, a former director of the State Bureau of Investigation and head of the attorney general's Special Prosecution Section, and Mary D. Winstead, a prosecutor in that section, will oversee the case.

"Agreeing to accept the prosecution of these cases doesn't guarantee a trial, nor does it guarantee a dismissal," Cooper said. "It simply promises a fresh and thorough review of the facts and a decision on the best way to handle these cases."

In the 10 months since an escort service dancer claimed she was gang-raped at a lacrosse team party, Cooper's office has been flooded with pleas that Nifong be removed from the case.

Under state law, a request for a special prosecutor can come only from a district attorney. Those requests can be made when a case is particularly complex and when there are potential conflicts of interest, such as when a district attorney is being investigated for his handling of the case.

Coman and Winstead face a daunting task. They are charged with reviewing a case that has drawn a firestorm of criticism about the merits of allegations by an accuser, whose story has changed with every telling, and a district attorney whose apparent zeal has raised questions about his integrity and whether he withheld crucial evidence.

"We accept these cases with our eyes wide open to the evidence but with blinders on for all other distractions," Cooper said.

The files, documents and other evidence associated with the sexual assault and kidnapping charges against David Evans, 23, Collin Finnerty, 20, and Reade Seligmann, 20, will be moved from Durham to the special prosecutions division early in the week, Cooper said. Not only will the new prosecutors go over the evidence gathered, they also will interview key witnesses and investigators.

It was too early, Cooper said, to know whether a scheduled Feb. 5 hearing would take place in Durham County. Defense attorneys have asked Judge W. Osmond Smith III to throw out the photo lineup in which the accuser identified the three players, saying the procedure violated police department policies.

"Since we have not been involved in the investigation and prosecution, all of the information will be new to our office," Cooper said. "We're taking a completely new, fresh look."

Cooper said his prosecutors plan to meet with the defense team that has poked holes in Nifong's sexual assault case and has tattered his reputation.

Nifong had been hounded by criticisms that he made prejudicial, inflammatory statements early in the case. He also had been hampered by an accuser who told multiple versions of what happened March 13 and 14, when the lacrosse team hired two escort service dancers to perform at a spring break party.

Strikes against Nifong

Cooper's announcement took place one day after Nifong contacted Coman about turning the case over to special prosecutors. Nifong, a lightning rod for intense, nationwide attacks, recused himself after hiring a lawyer to defend him against misconduct charges filed by the N.C. State Bar, the ethical watchdogs of lawyers in this state.

In recent days, pressure mounted on Nifong to quit the case. First, the State Bar charged him Dec. 28 with ethical violations for early statements he made lambasting the lacrosse players and declaring he believed the allegations. One day later, the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys issued an unprecedented public rebuke of Nifong and asked that he recuse himself.