I think it is more serious than previously reported.

McCool said the character witnesses "show the character of the man," but Bayly disagreed in part.

"When he is sober," Bayly said. "Do you think your character witnesses knew your client was using a fake ID to get into bars? People's character changes when they're drunk."

Why does IMHO think so? Mainly because Bloxom, the accuser, testified that Finnerty shouted in his face and called him a fag. IMHO doesn't bother to mention another fact not previously reported: Finnerty never hit anyone! Very sly, IMHO, even for you.

Herndon testified Finnerty punched and kicked him, although he suffered no significant injuries.

Prosecutors said Finnerty instigated an attack on two Georgetown bar patrons in the early morning of Nov. 5. One victim, Jeffrey Bloxsom, testified that Finnerty pushed him, threw fake punches that landed within inches of his face and hurled homophobic epithets.

Superior Court Judge John Bayly said he believed Finnerty was guilty of "menacing" Bloxsom as part of an assault, though it was a friend of Finnerty who admitted punching Bloxsom. Finnerty's two friends admitted criminal responsibility but avoided prosecution under a special program for first-time offenders.

IMHO doesn't bother to mention another fact not previously reported: Finnerty never hit anyone! Very sly, IMHO, even for you.

for a "vicious beating" as imho likes to call it,

His lawyer should have taken a plea to avoid the public spectacle. Another bad tactical move on the part of Finnerty's lawyers, especially since it was being tried to the court and not a jury where he could have hoped for a hold out or two.

This case doesn't say a whole lot for the DC U.S. attorney's office who saw fit to go forward with this case (at Nifong's urging, no doubt)

He never touched Bloxsom. He did punch Herndon. The only question is if Herndon punched him first (Herndon says no, Finnerty says yes).

My source for Nifong talking to the U.S. attorney is what I have read here, I think Photios's previous postings.

I wonder if Finnerty and his parents realize that him being seen with so much as one beer could literally get him killed. He should move to Mexico for the next 6 months.

I'm still working on where the fake mustache came from.

I wonder if Finnerty and his parents realize that him being seen with so much as one beer could literally get him killed. He should move to Mexico for the next 6 months. That's what I would do anyway, find a nice little hacienda by the sea and sit back, brush off my shoulders, grow a mustache and really long hair, and pound cervezas all day.

Oh, and before I sign off for the night, you know why I think Reade Selligman got picked, you know the heavy set one? He got picked because the Durham police, like certain trollish posters on this board, were very very suspicious of the captains leaving Selligman off the list of party attendees. They had a picture of Seligman at the party and their evil genius brains said, "ah, ha," he must be the guilty one. Thus, he got picked.

There is nothing in evidence reviewed by The N&O or filed in court to indicate that Durham police investigated the call made at 12:26 a.m.

And is it only the prosecution that can supoena bank records?

Too bad he was at the Cosmic Cantina.

Finnerty may have been there when Kim arrived and left before the AV got there. Kim got there around 11:00 and it appears the AV didn't arrive until after11:39.

After Finnerty left he went to eat and returned at say 12:30. He would then have been there when Kim arrived & left and not been able to be part of a gang rape.

So what would be the very first opportunity for the defense to walk into court and request that the case be dismissed entirely or in particular, against Seligmann? When does the weight of the new cell phone call and Seligmann's alibis begin to swing his way?

...if you look back at Nifong's public statements on the case, the one thing that really jumps out is his tremendous emphasis on the FA acting in a manner consistent with a traumatic event at Duke hospital. He must have made that point 20 times. This really is the sole basis for him bringing this case as far as I can tell.

The partygoers get nervous about what the women are up to and start slipping money under the door asking them to leave, says Bill Thomas, a lawyer who represents one of the captains. The women go out to the second stripper's car at about 12:20, but the accuser has left her purse behind; she goes back inside to get it, according to Ekstrand. A photo at 12:30 shows the alleged victim standing outside the back door of the house looking down into two bags with what appears to be a smile. She's wearing only her scant red-and-white outfit and one shoe. By the time she realizes she's missing a shoe--a few minutes later--the guys have locked the door to keep her out, say the attorneys.

That quote doesn't state that she ever actually got in the house. I don't read it that way. In any event, Robert's only supports one attempted reentry as does Bissey.

The partygoers get nervous about what the women are up to and start slipping money under the door asking them to leave, says Bill Thomas, a lawyer who represents one of the captains. The women go out to the second stripper's car at about 12:20, but the accuser has left her purse behind; she goes back inside to get it, according to Ekstrand. A photo at 12:30 shows the alleged victim standing outside the back door of the house looking down into two bags with what appears to be a smile. She's wearing only her scant red-and-white outfit and one shoe. By the time she realizes she's missing a shoe--a few minutes later--the guys have locked the door to keep her out, say the attorneys.

Nifong, though, remains confident in the case, according to Durham Mayor Bill Bell.

"It would surprise me if he were not to proceed with the trial," Bell, 64, said. He believes Nifong's support in the city - with a population that is 46 percent white and 44 percent black - is steady.

"I just had a conversation with Mike and he feels strongly about the case," Bell said. "He wants to see it in the court. "

Few who know Nifong well believe he'll be deterred by defense lawyers' public attacks on nearly 2,000 pages of evidence released so far, said Kerry Sutton, a Durham lawyer, who represents a player not accused in the case.

"I spoke with him a couple of days ago, and he is as confident as ever," said Sutton, whose client is Duke lacrosse player Matt Zash, of Massapequa.

BTW, immie, I guess the codefendants didn't have to take the fifth after all.

Cotter said Tuesday's assault conviction was made even more unfortunate by the fact that Finnerty apparently threw only a fake punch at the victim.

After trying unsuccessfully to engage Bloxsom and Herdon in a fistfight, Bonanno said, he and D'Agnes turned to walk away, leaving Finnerty behind. When he looked back, Bonnano said, he saw one of the men hit Finnerty in the back of the head. After rushing to his defense and landing a few blows, he said, they decided to leave.

Finnerty's witnesses may be in a position where they have to take the fifth to avoid incriminating themselves.

I wouldn't underestimate the seriousness of Finnerty's D.C. case. Diversion programs aren't as readily available for crimes against persons. Exceptions can be made for first time offenders. It's too bad that deal went south. I don't think there is a question that he's going to be convicted. Bloxsom has a witness, medical bills that probably document injuries, Finnerty's witnesses may be in a position where they have to take the fifth to avoid incriminating themselves. The question will be the sentence. I would guess he gets probation, but if he screws that up [pretty easy to do if you are an underaged college student who likes to party], he'll go to jail.

Look's like the accuser never got her purse. Here is the search warrant.

The women go out to the second stripper's car at about 12:20, but the accuser has left her purse behind; she goes back inside to get it, according to Ekstrand. A photo at 12:30 shows the alleged victim standing outside the back door of the house looking down into two bags with what appears to be a smile.

Or you could take solace in Judge Bayly's wise observation that no matter how many lawyers and witnesses the defense throws into the mix, a case like this still comes down to one side's word against the other's.

From there, the judge did the right thing: He found the victims more credible and convicted Finnerty on Tuesday. Because in fact, when you pick on a stranger, when you find fun in tormenting the innocent, when you believe it is in any way acceptable to attack another human being, then that incident indeed does open a window onto a larger truth.

Even if no rape occurred in the Duke case, even if that ugly incident was no more than a raucous party at which a bunch of drunken kids verbally abused a hired performer, it sounds like it was entirely within character for these kids and the friend they tried to talk out of trouble in D.C. Superior Court. Sorry, Father, but one incident often does make a gentleman's character.

IMHO, MrP--no comment on the 12:26 call from the accuser to an escort service? You have both gone mysteriously quiet...

The 12:26 a.m. call to the service, Centerfold, lasted one minute, according to a copy of her cell phone bill reviewed by The News & Observer. It is unclear whether the call was a request for another job, a cry for help or something else, or even whether the accuser made the call herself.

I thought their attorneys might advise them to not incriminate themselves in case their deals were revoked for other reasons.

If someone from the agency spoke to her, that would be informative. Other than that, it doesn't tell us much.

BS. You didn't know what you were talking about, and now you are making stuff up again. Stick with teaching.

How is it that none of the news stories posted here mentioned that the two codefendants testified and offered testimony that directly conflicted Bluxom on the fake punches. The USA Today reporter on Greta never mentioned this either.

According to the news report linked in Newport's message posted yesterday at 11:38PM, it wasn't only the two codefendants who testified to that. A third witness, a female Duke student who evidently wasn't involved in the tussle, corroborated their testimony that Finnerty didn't even throw a fake punch.

After trying unsuccessfully to engage Bloxsom and Herdon in a fistfight, Bonanno said, he and D'Agnes turned to walk away, leaving Finnerty behind. When he looked back, Bonnano said, he saw one of the men hit Finnerty in the back of the head. After rushing to his defense and landing a few blows, he said, they decided to leave.

During the bench trial before District Superior Court Judge John H. Bayly Jr., evidence showed that Finnerty never touched the victims in the case and prosecutors agreed that the confrontation was not an anti-bias case, even though Finnerty used anti-gay insults during the incident.

The evidence did not show that Finnerty never touched the victims in the case. There was testimony to the contrary.

Gottlieb passed over the first partial ID quickly and without explanation. The second partial ID--of Dave Evans--led to the accuser saying Evans resembled her attacker, but the person who attacked her had a mustache (which Evans does not). Gottlieb then asked the accuser to give a "percentage-wise" estimate, something that he hadn't asked of the previous partial ID. (The accuser said she was 90% sure.) The third partial ID--of Reade Seligmann--began with the accuser saying "he looked like one of the guys who assaulted me." Then, under follow-up questioning from Gottlieb, the accuser claimed that she was 100% sure.

Can we now all agree, with the existence of the 12:26-7 phone call, that the case is dead?

"Victims", plural? Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Finnery charged only with assaulting one AV, namely, Bloxom? What evidence showed that he hit Bloxom?

During the bench trial before District Superior Court Judge John H. Bayly Jr., evidence showed that Finnerty never touched the victims in the case and prosecutors agreed that the confrontation was not an anti-bias case, even though Finnerty used anti-gay insults during the incident.

Can we now all agree, with the existence of the 12:26-7 phone call, that the case is dead?

Did anyone pick up? If so, who made the call? What did they say? We don't know.

Did anyone pick up? If so, who made the call? What did they say?

Who is supposed to bear the burden of proof? I think you know.

A juror could decide the accuser was calling for help by hitting the last number dialed or last call received, but no one answered or the phone was taken from her and hung up. Maybe Centerfold is #9 on her speed dial.

The prosecution has no burden when it comes to that phone call. They do not have to bring the phone call into evidence.

If the defense wants to, they'd better have something other than the the number was dialed by someone at 12:26

A juror could decide the accuser was calling for help by hitting the last number dialed or last call received, but no one answered or the phone was taken from her and hung up.

No, but the defense presumably will

Who is supposed to bear the burden of proof? I think you know.

And,by the way,has IMHO, or any of his/her fellow Nifongers ever attempted to explain how these very scanty and vulnerable tassles and panties remained untorn and completely unspotted throughout that "horrendous" forty-five minute ordeal?

While we've got your attention, IMHO, would you care to comment on the George Mason article that Newport linked at 1:16PM? Can you explain what legitimate motive Nifong could have had for directing the PD to deviate from the usual and recommended procedures?

Maybe women can hate men so much that they are willing to disbelieve evidence in order to hold onto their hatred.

The phone log from the accuser's cell seriously limits the time she was there from roughly 11:40 to 12:30 when she's outside the house.

What room did the dance occur in? Kim has it in the living room. The photos are in the living room. Affidavits have it in the living room. Wellington says it was in the living room. The AV has it in the master bedroom with the big TV and a couch in it. In her 4/4 lineup testimony she places the show there many times. She says number 11 is in the bedroom drinking and that's where the dance was. All of the players watching the show are in the master bedroom, according to the AV. 34 was in the master bedroom sitting on the couch watching television. He made the broomstick comment, which Gottlieb curiously doesn't follow up on. The broomstick comment was made during the dance. She first says 26 was in the living room, then when Gottlieb repeats that, she changes it to master bedroom. 37 was in the master bedroom yelling whoo! and yeah! 38 was in the master bedroom yelling about "let's see some action". From the 4/4 lineup, the dance was apparently held in a master bedroom with a couch and a big screen TV in it. She's specific that it's the master bedroom and not the living room. She 's specific about what people were doing, what they said, what they wore, etc. She remebers it very well as occuring in the master bedroom and not the living room.

There is a puzzle though about why Nifong didn't stick with the first three she named, and have his DPD allies steer her to them. Could it be that one of the three had an alibi even Nifong couldn't ignore.

It is noteworthy that though he asked other things about the three IDs he accepted, he didn't ask which had been calling himself Adam/Dan, which Bret, and which Matt

The police also refer to deception afoot in the players calling each other by number. This happens every day on every team in America and probably abroad. It is certainly not evidence of anything sinister.

IMHO, you have been quiet today. After having proven that Prof. Coleman was incorrect, I am surprised that you are letting the George Mason article pass without comment.

haven't read it yet. I hope to read it tonight. I've been "Skakeling" today. I've been spoiling you all with my constant attention to Duke lacrosse. I have some administrative duties to take care of at another board. I'll be back.

Gasp. "Administrative duties" on another board? AHHHHH!!! *hair goes white, lets out long, curdling scream*

Upon further review, simple assault under North Carolina law is classed as a type 1 or 2 misdemeanor. Under N.C. Rule of Evidence 609, the simple assault conviction from DC may be used to impeach Finnerty's credibility if he choses to testify.

The prosecution has no burden when it comes to that phone call. They do not have to bring the phone call into evidence. If the defense wants to, they'd better have something other than the the number was dialed by someone at 12:26 - not too impressive. A juror could decide the accuser was calling for help by hitting the last number dialed or last call received, but no one answered or the phone was taken from her and hung up. Maybe Centerfold is #9 on her speed dial.

Since the Durham case is a rape case and not an underaged drinking case, I don't think the relevance of Finnerty's prior drinking is particularly high. Finnerty's prior drinking is character evidence which is not generally admissible. It also does not go to truthfulness so it should not be admissible to impeach his credibility. In short, it shouldn't come in, but you never know.

Sharon, at least it looks like all the Trolls, haters and vilifiers have been driven away by the latest news on the phone call. It was Troll-a-rama for a while.

Isn't it inherently dishonest to have alcohol at a bar when you are underaged, whether you use a false ID or not?

Sharon, at least it looks like all the Trolls, haters and vilifiers have been driven away by the latest news on the phone call. It was Troll-a-rama for a while.

The latest surveys show that anywhere from 75 percent to 85 percent of college students consume alcohol. Apparently we're a nation with an "inherently dishonest" generation.

But drinking alcohol in a bar takes when you are underaged is a special type of character display, is it not, with the attendant risks for the bar-owner, bartender etc.?

Apparently we're a nation with an "inherently dishonest" generation.

But I'm still waiting to hear a pro-prosecution poster address things like the Johnson article you provided.

I would especially like an explanation for why the first "he looks like one of the guys" recognition by the AV (which was almost the exact language she used when shown Seligman's photo) was glossed right over without further inquiry.