An investigation by CBS' 60 Minutes "reveal[ed] disturbing facts about the conduct of the police and the district attorney, and raise[d] serious concerns." This process has been used only once before, when the district attorney for New Hanover and Pender counties was removed from office in 1995 for making a racial slur. Mike Nifong's net worth North Carolina is a beautiful and populous city located in Wilmington, North Carolina,United States United States of America. Know what hes doing now Mike Nifong has been jailed for a lacrosse case. In July 2014 there was a call for all the cases Nifong had prosecuted to be reviewed on the basis of his having been shown to ignore due process in some cases including the murder trial against Darryl Howard, who had been convicted in 1995 of a 1991 murder of a woman and her daughter. However, the Bankruptcy Court ultimately held that Nifong was eligible to be a debtor in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case and granted him a bankruptcy discharge on June 4, 2008. [60], On June 15, Nifong took the stand to testify in his own defense. The lawyers added that calls for a federal civil rights investigation into the matter werent out of line. Mike Nifong's wife is Cy Gurney, the details of which he has not shared. See Photos. In the end, the panel concluded that "there is no discipline short of disbarment appropriate in this case given the magnitude of the offenses found. But we are sure that it is not available and his spouses name is not available. Easley Talks About Nifong Resignation", "Nifong will be disbarred for ethics violations", "FindLaw's Supreme Court of North Carolina case and opinions", "Judge Orders GOP District Attorney Removed for Making 'False Representations' After Crime Victims Said He Ignored Their Cases", "District Attorney Greg Newman removed from office; only 3rd removal in NC history", "In North Carolina, An Obscure Law Helps Bring Down DA - Law360", "Statement of Support for Victims in Case Against DA Greg Newman", "Greg Newman - Civil Litigation and Criminal Law Attorney in Asheville, NC", North Carolina General Assembly Senate Bill 118 Information/History (200708 Session), "Nifong admits 'no credible evidence' in Duke lacrosse case", "Duke Prosecutor Jailed; Students Seek Settlement", "Telling Victim From Villain at Duke; 'The Price of Silence' Replays a Wrenching Campus Episode", "State Won't Defend Nifong in Lacrosse Players' Suit", "Nifong files for bankruptcy; city replies to suit", "Duke Lacrosse Players File Federal Lawsuit Against University, City of Durham", "Judge: Duke lacrosse players can pursue lawsuit", "N.C. judge overturns Darryl Howard conviction, finds prosecutor misconduct by Mike Nifong", "Judge vacates murder convictions against Darryl Howard, Durham DA will not appeal", News & Observer: Copy of Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson's order suspending Mike Nifong (PDF), News about Michael B. Nifong, including commentary and archival articles published in, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mike_Nifong&oldid=1106904484, Misconduct against falsely accused players in the, This page was last edited on 27 August 2022, at 02:42. The players sought unspecified damages, and wanted to place the Durham Police Department under court supervision for 10 years, claiming the actions of the police department pose "a substantial risk of irreparable injury to other persons in the City of Durham." We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. On December 22, 2006, Nifong dropped the rape charge (while the sexual assault and kidnapping charges were still being pursued) against the three lacrosse players after Mangum changed her story, saying that she was no longer certain whether she was penetrated vaginally by one or more of the men. This came hours after Easley signed a bill that would allow the governor to remove a district attorney or judge from office if he or she has been disbarred or suspended from practicing law. Nifong is the first sitting district attorney in the history of North Carolina to be disbarred. Mike Nifong, a criminal attorney, was disbarred after the Crystal Magnum case Mike Nifong, a criminal attorney, was disbarred after the Crystal Magnum case and was arrested for his misconduct. He listed assets of almost $244,000 and liabilities of over $180.3 million, virtually all of which derived from six $30 million unsecured nonpriority claims, one for each of the six members of the 200506 Duke lacrosse team suing Nifong, among others. [42], On December 16, 2006, it was revealed that Nifong and DNA lab director Brian Meehan conspired to withhold exculpatory DNA evidence from the final report submitted to the defense team. ", In 2006, Nifong pursued rape, sexual assault, and kidnapping charges made by Crystal Mangum, a local black woman who was working as a call girl and stripper, against Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans, three white members of the Duke University men's lacrosse team. His current employment is unknown. Choking back tears on the witness stand, Durham, N.C., District Attorney Mike Nifong announced his resignation Friday after testifying about missteps he made in the Duke lacrosse rape case. [37], On October 27, 2006, Nifong said in court that neither he nor his assistants had yet discussed the alleged assault with the accuser, saying they had so far left that aspect of the investigation to the police. In July 2014 there was a call for all the cases Nifong had prosecuted to be reviewed on the basis of his having been shown to ignore due process in some cases including the murder trial against Darryl Howard, who had been convicted in 1995 of a 1991 murder of a woman and her daughter. According to Nifong, none of his assistants had discussed the case with her, either. He served as the district attorney for Durham County, North Carolina until he was removed, disbarred and jailed following court findings concerning his conduct in the Duke lacrosse case, primarily his conspiring with the DNA lab director to withhold exculpatory DNA evidence that could have acquitted the defendants. "[63], Committee chair Lane Williamson called the case a "fiasco" and said Nifong's actions involved "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation." He is from NC. [69] Under North Carolina law,[70] this was the first step in a process that allows the chief judge of a county to remove that county's district attorney from office. [55], The State Bar filed a second round of ethics charges on January 24, 2007. At the time of Hardin's swearing-in, negotiations were still under way between Nifong and the special prosecutor, and Hudson was proceeding with the hearing to remove him for good. [3][34][35] In these interviews, Nifong repeatedly said that he was "confident that a rape occurred",[36] calling the players "a bunch of hooligans" whose "daddies could buy them expensive lawyers. [100] Two years later, following a hearing where the state was asked why the convictions should stand, the murder conviction was vacated and Howard released from prison, noting that DNA evidence not presented to the jury would likely have exonerated him. Nifong was strongly criticized for pressing ahead with what appeared to many to be a weak case without any physical evidence. Mike Nifong Height, Weight & Measurements. According to at least one bankruptcy law expert, Nifongs bankruptcy filing is a tacit admission that he does not have the resources to defend himself against the players civil suit, and is trying to protect what assets he is allowed to protect under the law. Previously she had accused him and two others of the alleged rape. The docuseries offers interviews with several individuals connected to the case, starting from defendant Michael to lead prosecutor Jim Hardin and his team. [68], The players' attorneys said on June 18 that their clients were very likely to file a civil suit against Nifong to recover their legal expenses and restore their reputations. Nifong then went on vacation and could not be reached for further comment. As the Duke lacrosse case unfolded, Nifong won the Democratic primary on May 2, 2006 for Durham County District Attorney. He was the district attorney for Durham County, North Carolina (the state's 14th Prosecutorial District) but was removed and disbarred due to court findings concerning his conduct in the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case. Mike Niesing. This was an unusual move for a prosecutor to order. [14], In January 2007, Nifong sent a letter to then-North Carolina Attorney General Roy A. Cooper, asking his office to assume responsibility of the case. Several writers at Slate criticized the prosecution's actions and especially criticized the mainstream media for accepting prosecution claims at face value in spite of countervailing evidence. "[89] This allegation is confirmed by The New York Times,[90] and by an interview with Nifong's campaign manager. Michael Byron Nifong (born September 14, 1950) is a disbarred North Carolina attorney. In December 2006, the North Carolina State Bar filed ethics charges against Nifong for breaking four rules of professional conduct concerning the Duke lacrosse case, including charges of dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation. In June 2007, the North Carolina State Bar Disciplinary Committee unanimously voted to disbar Nifong, leading to the surrender of Nifongs law license and the eventual end of his career as a DA. In light of the fact that Nifong failed to turn over exculpatory evidence to defense lawyers on December 22, 2006, The News & Observer wrote that "to press forward in the [] case, District Attorney Mike Nifong must rely on scanty evidence while deflecting serious questions about whether he broke the law or violated the ethics rules governing prosecutors.". One lawyer asserted that "Nifong's statement is an insult to the legal profession as a whole and is certainly unwarranted by any facts in this case." During the testimony, he apologized to the families of the Duke athletes and stated that he would resign as district attorney. The formal ethics hearing began on June 12 in Raleigh. degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1978. At a trial on October 27, six months after the captures of Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans, Nifong said it had not yet examined the alleged casualty. The defense argued that Mangum had given at least a dozen different accounts of the incident, changing the number of attackers from twenty to three, and modifying the methods by which she was assaulted. More from People Also named in the suit were the lab that handled the DNA work, the city of Durham, the citys former police chief, the deputy police chief, the two police detectives who handled the case and five other police department employees. 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