Thomas Metzloff poses a question: In re: Nifong: We had a case in Durham, we had a prosecutor who was saying lots of things on TV, everyone remembers the quotable quotes. What is the message that’s learned from Nifong?
Michael Cassidy
More lessons not learned than lessons learned. Brady and lying to court, he was going to be disbarred anyway. (Lists the nuances of the rules on what a prosecutor can say.) Because Nifong agreed to waive right to appeal, we didn’t get to reconsider those rules.
Colm Connolly
True believer that 99.9% of USAs and AUSAs do believe that US does not accomplish justice by arrests, it’s whenever justice is done in the courts.
Marhsa Goodenow
The lesson that hasn’t been learned is that a criminal defendant has a right to be tried in the court room, media doesn’t have the right to try a criminal in the public.
Loretta Lynch Hargrove
A former prosecutor, also grew up in Durham (African American), how do you find that balance? Interacting with the press is one of the ways a prosecutor can be accountable to the community, whether elected or not. There seemed to be a stunning lack of clarity on what could and couldn’t be said. Need to find balance.
The media seemed to become part of the story, the media coverage fueled the actions against Nifong.