Raleigh, N.C.--Members of a North Carolina State Bar disciplinary panel denied a motion filed by the lawyers of embattled District Attorney Mike Nifong to dismiss the most serious ethics charges leveled against him.
The Bar initially filed charges against Nifong Dec. 28, accusing him of making inappropriate statements to the media regarding the players' guilt. The Bar additionally accused Nifong Jan. 24 of withholding possibly exculpatory evidence and then lying about it to court officials.
Nifong's lawyers, Dudley Witt and David Freedman, asked for the dismissal of the charges regarding DNA evidence on the grounds that there is no existing legal standard for what kind of time frame a District Attorney must follow in divulging such evidence.
Witt also said Nifong did eventually turn over the DNA report and the underlying data in what he considered a timely manner. Attorneys for the State Bar present at the hearing denied this claim.
"[The lacrosse players] might have plead guilty never knowing that the DNA evidence was exculpatory evidence," said Katherine Jean, a Bar lawyer. "It wouldn't have happened in this case because they had the means to continue to fight and continue to fight... but it's a scary concept."
Lane Williamson, the chair of the disciplinary panel and who will act as a judge in the case, however, said these matters of legality of Nifong's actions had nothing to do with the relevance of the charges and should be discussed at a later hearing.
"We have reached a consensus that the motion to dismiss will be denied... because it requires us to consider matters outside of the face of the complaint which would be inappropriate for us to do," Williamson said.
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