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Make The State Attorney’s Office Pay

I have been following the Duke lacrosse team rape case since it started. I don’t follow it closely because I believe the guys are getting a bad rap on this one. The dancer is making claims that are contrary to what happened and she has changed her story a number of times. The District Attorney, Mike Nifong used this case to push forward so that he could win reelection. The police have omitted important items and the way things have been handled could result in a lot of “evidence” being thrown out. This is very disturbing because if the police and the DA did not play games, charges might never have been filed based on the accounts of the night.

Instead, we have three guys who had to post $400,000 bond and who are each going to be saddled with legal fees. Attorneys are nor cheap and the longer this case goes on the more money these people will have to fork out. This is a shame because if things were done correctly, these guys might not have been charged and would not be out money (and time).

I think if the case falls apart or gets dismissed then the DA’s office should have to reimburse the players for the money they had to pay, basically so Nifong could get reelected. We need to start making the DAs around the country accountable for what they are doing. If they bring action and it proves incorrect or their negligence causes people to lose money, then they should have to pay it back. “We made a mistake” does not cut it when your negligence costs people time and money.

We have cases like this in Maryland. I voted for Robert Ehrlich and I like the guy but he has incompetent people working in his Department of Transportation. From Secretary Robert Flanagan on down they are unwilling to review cases and do the right thing. The lose important transcripts or taped conversations when they back up the media and then make the person involved go back through the system again because of their screw up. The Motor vehicle Administration in Maryland imposes its will without following the law and will not admit when it makes mistakes such as failing to respond to legal paperwork which lands people in legal trouble.

I will save my rant against Maryland for later but suffice it to say, if you are famous or part of a political family you get a pass from the state. Everyone else gets screwed and they do not care how much it costs you. They should be required to pay that back!

Keeping with Duke, the players have been getting screwed and Nifong should have to pay for allowing it to happen.

Source: The Herald Sun

TEASER: Sydney Ponson use to pitch for the Orioles. He received his third DWI while a member of the team. The police pulled him over and smelled alcohol and he was arrested. I do not know if he failed a field sobriety or not. The police and the state’s attorney were continuing with the case as they would anyone else. The Orioles got an offer for Ponson from another team and the Orioles wanted to get rid of him. About a day after the potential trade was announced, the DWI charges against Ponson were dropped because the state did not have enough evidence. I have been in court as a witness for many DWIs. They have had less evidence on some people than they had against Ponson and those people were convicted. You don’t suppose the lawyer who owns the Orioles made a few calls and it was all taken care of so the DWI would not hold up the trade, now do you? I know a guy who has bee fighting with the MVA for 5 years over a DWI. He has met the probationary requirements but the incompetence of the MVA and the state officials has caused this guy problems and cost him more then $10,000. Now you see why they should have to pay for their incompetence? I will probably write about this in the future. I am waiting to decide until it gets closer to the election in this state. If I write, I want to have an impact on the race for governor.