The World of Mike Nifong About to Crumble

While the rest of the world looks forward to 2007, I cannot imagine Mike Nifong is opening his arms to ring in the new year. After it was determined that Nifong deliberately withheld DNA evidence from the defense and victim suddenly could not remember if she was actually penetrated; the rape charge was dropped against the 3 Duke players. In a move that shows clearly this is all about Mike Nifong, charges of kidnapping and sexual offense remained. Of course, these charges are solely based on the word of the accuser who has been thoroughly discredited. The right thing to do would have been to drop all charges and apologize. Instead Nifong is going to drop the charges piece-meal in an attempt to cushion the backlash against him.

In addition to his severe mishandling of the case, illegally withholding evidence and slow return to justice; Nifong is now facing ethics charges by the North Carolina Bar. According to AP:

The North Carolina bar filed ethics charges Thursday against the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case, accusing him of saying misleading and inflammatory things to the media about the athletes under suspicion.

The punishment for ethics violations can range from admonishment to disbarment. The complaint could also force District Attorney Mike Nifong off the case by creating a conflict of interest.

The story also gives a short list of examples cited in the charges:

- Nifong referred to the lacrosse players as "a bunch of hooligans."

- He declared: "I am convinced there was a rape, yes, sir."

- He told ESPN: "One would wonder why one needs an attorney if one was not charged and had not done anything wrong."

- He told The New York Times: "I'm disappointed that no one has been enough of a man to come forward. And if they would have spoken up at the time, this may never have happened.

Also, Nifong was dishonest when tests failed to reveal DNA from the players by suggesting they used condoms. Nifong knew, however, that the accuser claimed they did not use condoms. Nifong's reckless behavior was tailored to exact maximum damage on the reputations of the players while helping his re-election bid. After committing to this path, Nifong failed to make it right when the case began to unravel. The ethics charges should be the tip of the iceberg of consequences to fall on Nifong's head. 2007 will not be a fun year for him.