AP News, January 30th, 2007
A critical hearing in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case has been postponed until May as the new prosecutors continue to study evidence.
Prosecutors from the state attorney general's office met with defense attorneys and the judge for about two hours Tuesday. It was the first meeting between the parties since the state took over the case this month from embattled District Attorney Mike Nifong.
Lawyers said afterward that a planned Feb. 5 hearing where the accuser was expected to appear would be rescheduled for May 7.
"We will use this time to continue reviewing the case files, talking to the many people involved in the cases, and making sure that all discovery requests have been responded to properly," state Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a statement.
Joseph Cheshire, a defense attorney for one of the players accused of attacking a woman hired as a stripper during a lacrosse team party, said he anticipated more meetings with the attorney general's staff.
"We are very hopeful about this case, and where it stands, and where it will go, and at least we know that it will be dealt with professionally," he said.
The accuser had been expected to appear at the hearing next week, and defense attorneys planned to ask Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III to throw out her photo identifications of the defendants.
Legal experts have said without the woman's photo identifications, prosecutors would probably have to dismiss the charges against players Dave Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty.
In December, Nifong dropped charges of rape against the three athletes after the 28-year-old woman changed a key detail of her account of the March 13 party. The players still face charges of sexual offense and kidnapping and have consistently maintained their innocence.
Nifong asked state prosecutors to take over the case after the North Carolina State Bar charged him in December with ethics violations that could lead to his disbarment. Last week, the bar added a new set of charges.
