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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Me no Nifong!!

During the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in April, 1836, when Texans under the command of Sam Houston were routing the Mexican army under Santa Anna, frightened Mexican soldiers threw down their arms and yelled, "Me no Alamo!" Today, prosecutors around the country are paraphrasing that call for mercy with their "Me no Nifong!" claims.

Yet, as I watch Buzz Franklin and his gang of criminals at work, I can see that these are people who actually learned from the Master Himself: Nifong. It was Nifong, after all, who knew that early on, he had no case against any of the Duke University lacrosse players, even going so far as to tell one of his investigators, "We're fu*ked," and then trying to figure how in the world he could make his frame work.

One of the things he did rivaled anything Franklin and Chris "Alberto-Facebook" Arnt, Len "Racist-Misogynist-Homophobe-The Man" Gregor, and Alan "Wannabe" Norton might think of doing. When it became clear that Nifong wanted to indict Reade Seligmann for the alleged rape (that never happened) of Crystal Mangum, Mr. Seligmann's defense desperately tried to get Nifong to look at clear, photographic and digital evidence that Reade was not even at the place where and when the alleged rape was supposed to have occurred.

However, Nifong, claiming he did "not have the time to read fiction," refused even to look at anything that Mr. Seligmann's attorney provided. After Mr. Seligmann was indicted, his attorney, the late Kirk Osborn, posted the material on the Internet (something that openly enraged Nifong, who went on an obscenity-screaming rampage at the Durham County Courthouse). Furthermore, CNN and other news outlets did an interview with Moez Elmostafa, the immigrant African cab driver who had given Reade a ride to the bank, where his digitized photo was taken at an automated teller.

When I saw the interview, I immediately wrote a letter to Bill Thomas, an attorney representing other lacrosse players, and told him that Mr. Elmostafa was in grave danger, and that Nifong would try to trump up charges against him. My instincts were on the mark, unfortunately.

Shortly after the interview, Nifong's investigator, Linwood Wilson (who now faces criminal charges on another matter in Delaware for felony threats against his estranged wife) found that there was an outstanding shoplifting warrant against Mr. Elmostafa. (As would be found out later, the charge was unfounded, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.)

Mr. Elmostafa had given a ride to a woman who, it turned out, had shoplifted some purses from a department store. That Mr. Elmostafa had cooperated with police in helping them arrest the woman apparently had fallen through the evidence cracks. When he was arrested, Nifong's people asked him if he was willing to change his story on giving Mr. Seligmann a ride; he refused, and Nifong had him arrested and charged.

The woman in question by then was out of jail, but Nifong sent Durham police to raid her home, and police found items they believed MIGHT have been stolen. They they charged her with theft, but promised her a great deal: she could be let off the hook IF she would testify that Mr. Elmostafa was her accomplice.

As it turned out, the woman refused to lie (unlike the "officers of the court" who are sworn to tell the truth) and the prosecution's case against Mr. Elmostafa crashed and burned at trial. Even though Durham police officers sat behind Elmostafa, trying to stare him down and intimidate him, the judge ruled him not guilty and Nifong's attempted frame-up fell apart.

What it took was an honest man who refused to lie and another person who was a thief, yet would not commit perjury in order to send an innocent man to jail. The authorities were dishonest and craven but even though they had a lot of power, they could not win. That would not be Nifong's last defeat, and in the end, he destroyed his career and did millions of dollars of damage.

In Tonya Craft's case, it took honest people like Kim Walker, who was pressured and threatened by LMJC officials and Sandra Lamb, yet refused to have her child used as a pawn in Buzz Franklin's Nifongesque scheme to wrongly convict someone. It took teachers from Chickamauga Elementary School who were willing to testify for Ms. Craft, despite opposition from the authorities and their own principal, who clearly was in Nifong's Franklin's camp.

(These same teachers have received what effectively were letters of reprimand in their personnel files. Yes, the letters came from Sandra Lamb, but any letter in one's file is an official document, and legally speaking, it is no different than a reprimand coming from the principal or some other school official.)

The teachers showed courage and integrity. Buzz Franklin and the rest of the LMJC, people who are sworn always to be truthful when operating in a court of law, showed dishonesty, no integrity, and arrogance that told everyone they KNEW they were above the law. To be honest, while I think that arrogance plays a part in all of this along with, well, lack of intelligence, there are other factors, too. (Let's face it; "judge" Brian Outhouse probably got a raise in pay when he became a judge, as he seems not to have the intelligence of a real lawyer.)

First, these are people who have utter contempt for the law. They are like children who are permitted to make up the rules as they go along and have a rich mommy and daddy who enable this misbehavior. In the case of judges and prosecutors in the LMJC, the oversight agencies in Georgia simply refuse to hold any of these people to any kinds of standards of competency, legality, and ethics.

Second, in economic analysis, we say that people tend to self-select themselves into certain occupations, and I think more and more, we are seeing people who both are incompetent AND who love to bully others become prosecutors. Since most people come out of law school with a lot of debt, no one is going to settle for the kind of crappy pay that new assistant district attorneys (ADAs) receive unless there are promises to help pay off the debt AND there are other personal rewards for the prosecutors.

Think about it. Why else would Len Gregor write in a public post:
Going to law school was one of the best choices I ever made. I love being a prosecutor. I love being the man. It was worth the time, effort, and money.
In other words, Gregor is writing that it is all about his ego, which is monstrous. Here is someone who was screaming in a courtroom at women who testified on behalf of Tonya about "boobs" and other body parts, and then was shocked, SHOCKED when the jurors concluded he was a boob himself. What kind of egomaniac would have a picture of himself taken next to a girl who is striking a very sexually-provocative pose, yet literally be screaming that because Tonya was photographed in a tasteful evening dress, she was a "narcissist" and, therefore, a child molester.

(Of course, Gregor also brags about his father being a West Point graduate. I have a colleague who went to West Point and I can tell the readers that he believes that Gregor's dishonesty is even more shameful because at least his father had some pretense of honor; Gregor has none. Notice that he and "Alberto-Facebook" Arnt ran and hid from the media after the trial like scared children, and then went on Channel 9 and outright lied again during their interview while the "reporter" asked them pathetic, softball questions. Yeah, Gregor really is "the man.")

Interestingly, the behavior of Gregor and Arnt before, during and after the trial actually mirrored what we saw from Mike Nifong. There never was a time when Nifong was not lying, and suborning perjury. Likewise, throughout the pretrial proceedings, during the trial, and afterward, the Dishonest Duo lied and lied and lied. Unlike Nifong, Arnt and Gregor work under a Georgia State Bar that refuses to discipline prosecutors no matter how illegal and unethical their behavior.

So, if "Alberto-Facebook," "the Misogynist-Racist-the man," and "Wannabe" declare "me no Nifong," don't believe them. One wonders of they have a shrine to Nifong in the Catoosa County Courthouse, complete with incense and candles. Maybe it is in the "secret room."

20 comments:

kbp said...

Kirk Osborn, a man that is missed, was THE source that turned the public opinion around in the Duke case.

He had ALL the case documents, those which were filed with the court, copied and up for anyone to view at his web site (exception for any sealed or confidential information in exhibits).

That's a hint King!

Doc Ellis 124 said...

Shared

Thank you for writing this

Doc Ellis 124

Anonymous said...

Have you read this, what a joke. The feds have it so backwards. http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-hunting-kansas

KC Sprayberry said...

This took all morning searching for prosecutors sanctioned by the state bar but I finally found the right place to look for something Chris 'Facebook' Arnt can't back away from At least he can't without upsetting his most volatile witness, Sandra Lamb. Seems 'court employees may not provide any party with legal advice (in a civil case). Now, we all remember the quoted statements from Sandra Lamb in the Eric Echols case, that her good friend, attorney Chris Arnt, told her she didn't have to accept the service. http://www.georgiacourts.org/aoc/selfhelp/civil_cases.html this is the link to what little I found that may drop kick one member of the TC persecution team into a disbarment. Even is Ms. Sandra refuses to remember what she actually said, it's recorded for prosperity in the news media. A chink in the armor has appeared! GA prosecutors aren't as tefloned against sanctions as they might think.

Anonymous said...

WAY to go K.C.you are a on a roll. You and Mr Anderson Keep it coming.
WE are going to get them all if we stick together. And I am stuck.

Trish said...

You know what makes me sad in all of this, is that these are people, we are suppose to be able to trust. We are suppose to trust them to go after real criminals and make our world a safer place, because they put real criminals behind bars. However, they have betrayed our trust and now it is hard to believe that anyone they indict, that is without a "smoking gun", has committed a crime. Yet, with so much immunity from prosecution themselves, they will continue in their jobs, when in truth they should be in jail! Even sadder, is that there are people who for whatever reason, still trust these public servants and turn a blind eye to what has happened. Folks, we are the state of Ga., just as we are the government of the United States and it is time we make public servants completely accountable for their actions. The laws need to be changed, so that they don't have immunity, when they unjustly and viciously prosecute innocent people. We also, need to make our presence felt at the polls, please don't sit at home on election days and think your vote doesn't count. It is that kind of attitude that has our county, our state, and our country in the mess it is in today. Yes, your vote and your opinion do count!!

KC Sprayberry said...

Well said, Trish. And I believe two states made their votes count yesterday during primaries, when Tea Party candidates soundly defeated Republicans. The old parties are just coming to realize Americans have grown disgusted with the status quo. Politicians everywhere are searching for ways to keep their jobs. And our governor's race is pitting two professional politicians against each other. However, one shows much more integrity than the other. The AJC ran an article today about Candidate Deal's finances, or the lack of good fiscal judgment he's shown in the past few years, to the point of being on the verge of bankruptcy. It's these same issues that made him resign his congressional seat. Also, Deal's hand in hand with the mess in LMJC, supporting them no matter what they do. Definitely not getting my vote.

Anonymous said...

Amen KC! Deal will get no vote of mine or my family's! He has had way too long in office to accomplish nothing. For some reason, he still won the primary. I don't get it. I don't get how people can continually vote for people who have done absolutely nothing. Not only nothing, but is under an ethics investigation! Holy crap! God help this state & our country.

Anonymous said...

That is why you guys have got to keep posting all the crap on them. Most people do not know all this.So keep it coming...

KC Sprayberry said...

Anon 6:26 - Deal's primary win wasn't clean. Karen Handel and Nathan Deal actually should have a runoff. But she conceded late the next day for unexplained reasons. Sure wish she would have gone the course. I think she could have beaten Deal the second time around. Deal's ethics complaint came out of his risky loans for his daughter and her husband's business. Amazingly enough, from the AJC article, the banks he dealt with allowed him loans in excess of more than twice the value of the homes and business used as collateral. Sure must be nice to get that kind of preferential treatment.

Kaye said...

KC,

Let's also not forget the newly elected Tom Graves, who took Deal's Congressional seat, was elected despite being sued by a bank for obtaining a loan fraudulently, not repaying that loan, and also hiding assets by transferring ownership of property. Only in Georgia....

Kaye said...

KC,
If I recall correctly, Graves was suppose to give a deposition regarding that case, but it was postponed.

Kaye said...

This just posted as breaking news. Judge orders more specifics for Tonya's federal lawsuit.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_184142.asp

Trish said...

I sure hope Tonya's lawyers can get this case filed in a form this judge will allow!!!

As to the governors race. I don't like Deal, but I don't like Barnes either!!! I too wish Handel hadn't given up so easily!!!

Kaye said...

Trish, perhaps you should consider looking at 3rd party candidates. Some polls have Monds, the Libertarian candidate, at 9%. Many people dismiss voting outside of the 2 major parties, considering it a vote wasted since traditionally these candidates don't do well. However, this year, with our unpopular guberatorial choices of Deal or Barnes, could change all that.

Lookout Spy said...

Posted today on the LMJC website:

The LMJC Welcomes Tiffany Norris

Tiffany Norris has joined the DA's office replacing Sam Skelton. She is a graduate of Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law. Welcome to the best circuit northwest of Rome!!!

The only reason that statement has any truth is that it is the ONLY circuit NW of Rome! Who the heck was Sam Skelton, anyway?

Trish said...

Thanks Kaye, will research him!

KC Sprayberry said...

Lookout, obviously Sam Skelton was someone who didn't play by the party line. Or couldn't get a conviction even if the fix was in. Or maybe he decided to jump ship before the rats. Aw, nuts. I never heard of him either. That says a lot since most of LMJC's prosecutors have had their names attached to cases in the local papers at one time or another.

kbp said...

Now Buzz & Gang can worry and wonder IF Sam Skelton is talking to anyone!

Anonymous said...

Remember right after the trial, the LMJC had posted a position for ADA? Now we have the name of the person who jumped ship. Now with a little investigative journalism, maybe someone could speak to Mr. Skelton???? Just an idea. Bill???