Duke prosecutor finds himself as defendant in ethics trial

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Mike Nifong, the attorney that brought rape charges against three members of the Duke lacrosse team members is back in court. The sexual assault charges against the lacrosse players were dropped some time ago and the courts have been attacking the prosecutor ever since due to the way he conducted his investigation and court proceedings.

The state bar announced today that they will be adding ethics charges to his case that are being added to the complaint that was filed against Mr. Nifong accusing him of withholding DNA evidence and misleading the court. These charges could lead to his being removed from the state bar.

Nifong's office, who arranged for a private lab to perform DNA tests on the woman's underwear and body which did find genetic material on the items, but none that matched the Lacrosse players, which would basically have ended the case with full acquittals for each player. This information was not released to defense lawyers in a timely fashion and Nifong repeatedly said he'd turned over all evidence that could potentially help the defense.

The trial concerning his ethics is set for May, although it is being said it will be pushed back to June.

At some point these trial attorneys (most overpaid and egotistical) need to realize that they too must adhere to the guidelines of the law or they can find themselves on the other side of the coin, as in Mr. Nifong's case, who is now a defendant in his own trial.