Nifong case to be heard in June
State Bar panel schedule issued
Published: Thu, Mar. 22, 2007 12:30AM
Modified Thu, Mar. 22, 2007 03:01AM
E-Mail
Print
tool name
closeDURHAM -- District Attorney Mike Nifong is scheduled to go before the N.C. State Bar Disciplinary Hearing Commission on June 12.
F. Lane Williamson, chairman of the commission that will sit as judge in the Nifong case, issued a schedule Wednesday.
The State Bar has charged Nifong, a veteran prosecutor, with violations of ethical and professional conduct over his handling of the case in which three members of the Duke University lacrosse team were accused of sexually assaulting an escort service dancer at a team party.
More Duke Lacrosse Controversy
If convicted, Nifong could lose his law license.
Nifong handed the case over to special prosecutors in the state Attorney General's Office in January, citing a conflict of interest because of the State Bar charges against him.
David Freedman and Dudley Witt, two Winston-Salem lawyers representing Nifong, have asked for dismissal of perhaps the most serious charge -- withholding DNA evidence favorable to the defense and lying about it to court and bar officials.
Katherine E. Jean, Carmen K. Hoyme and Douglas J. Brocker, lawyers representing the bar, argued against such a dismissal. In a brief filed last week, bar attorneys described Nifong's arguments as "semantic hairsplitting."
In his scheduling order, Williamson set several deadlines:
* The bar must submit its expert witness list by April 15.
* Nifong must list whom he will call as expert witnesses by May 1.
* By May 30, the lawyers are to meet for a prehearing conference.
Staff writer Anne Blythe can be reached at 932-8741 or ablythe@newsobserver.com.
Get it all with convenient home delivery of The News & Observer.
The News & Observer is pleased to be able to offer its users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online. However, the interactive nature of the internet makes it impracticable for our staff to monitor each and every posting.
Since The News & Observer does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted on our website. In addition, we remind anyone interested in making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The News and Observer.
If you find a comment offensive, clicking on the exclamation icon will flag the comment for review by the administrators, we are counting on the good judgment of all our readers to help us.
