According to this Associated Press report in the New York Times, the North Carolina state bar has filed ethics charges against Mike Nifong, saying that he has violated several ethics rules — in particular the rule against making misleading and inflammatory statements to the media about those accused of a crime.
The bar committee said that it had opened the investigation just two weeks after the rape charges were first made, though it only filed the ethics charges against Nifong on Thursday. In addition to the public-statement charges, Nifong was also charged with dishonesty for certain statements that he knew were misleading based on reports already in his possession.
No hearing date has been set.
3 Comments
Nifong’s actions will set thousands of guilty people free nationwide. Thanks to him prosecutorial misconduct is now expected, plausible and mainstream. Any defense lawyer worth his salt will question prosecutorial motives and sow doubt by pointing to the Duke lacrosse athletes case.
You know, if lawyers would only police themselves and actually take care of the bad ones, people wouldn’t have such a bad opinion of them.
(yes, my tongue is firmly in my cheek)
“prosecutorial misconduct is now expected”
Naw, such is already the expectation, what’s new is the term we can all associate with it, “Being Nifonged”!
…”actually take care of the bad ones”…
yeah that pesky 99% continues to mess up the reputations of the rest!