This kind of thing can never be justified
Ray Gronberg has a story in the Herald Sun this morning that needs to be read.
Apparently Assistant DA Tracey Cline has been on the receiving end of harassing and anonymous phone calls as a result of, perhaps, her involvement in the Duke lacrosse case. The calls are, according to the report, racist in nature.
They're certainly immoral, and i'm going to guess that they're probably illegal. You would think that the DA's office would be able to figure out where they're coming from and prosecute, but that's a different story.
Here's the rub.
Gronberg writes:
The implication is clear. That Cline's possible involvement in this aspect of the lacrosse case can be used to justify harassing her.
That's just wrong. The heart of the matter is whether or not some individuals are engaging in particularly repulsive behavior. Cline's role in the lacrosse case is irrelevant here. The various lawsuits that are working their way through the court system, and the potential electoral campaign should Cline seek the DA office later this year, are appropriate places to discuss her involvement inthe lacrosse case. The racial (and, i'm willing to bet, sexual) harassment merely points out where many of those who think that the lacrosse case represents The Worst And Only Miscarriage Of Justice In The History Of The World™ are actually coming from. And it's an ugly place.
UPDATE: Boy, do the comments ever confirm that idea.
Apparently Assistant DA Tracey Cline has been on the receiving end of harassing and anonymous phone calls as a result of, perhaps, her involvement in the Duke lacrosse case. The calls are, according to the report, racist in nature.
They're certainly immoral, and i'm going to guess that they're probably illegal. You would think that the DA's office would be able to figure out where they're coming from and prosecute, but that's a different story.
Here's the rub.
Gronberg writes:
At the heart of the matter is material taken from the notes of lacrosse case lead detective Ben Himan, and notes and a deposition from Durham police Sgt. Mark Gottlieb.(emphasis added)
They referred to Cline's role in the creation of a non-testimonial order, or NTO, that allowed police to take photographs of and collect DNA evidence from 46 of the 47 members of the Duke lacrosse team.
Cline denied that she had any role in writing the order.
"The record will indicate that David Saacks did it," she said. Saacks is the interim district attorney but was an assistant DA at that time. "I didn't prepare any paperwork on that case. Nothing at all. I've never even seen or laid hands on a non-testimonial order."
She said, "I remember Gottlieb asked me about a non-testimonial order, and I told him I was not available."
But when asked by The Herald-Sun whether she'd asked police to draft the non-testimonial order, Cline responded, "I don't recall."
The implication is clear. That Cline's possible involvement in this aspect of the lacrosse case can be used to justify harassing her.
That's just wrong. The heart of the matter is whether or not some individuals are engaging in particularly repulsive behavior. Cline's role in the lacrosse case is irrelevant here. The various lawsuits that are working their way through the court system, and the potential electoral campaign should Cline seek the DA office later this year, are appropriate places to discuss her involvement inthe lacrosse case. The racial (and, i'm willing to bet, sexual) harassment merely points out where many of those who think that the lacrosse case represents The Worst And Only Miscarriage Of Justice In The History Of The World™ are actually coming from. And it's an ugly place.
UPDATE: Boy, do the comments ever confirm that idea.
Labels: Duke lacrosse, Durham, local media
Since 1949, Durhamites have slept soundly, secure in the knowledge that, in our town, erection can be depended upon. Now, thanks to the power of the internets, we can spread that security all over the world.
29 Comments:
From the contemporaneous notes of Inv. Ben Himan:
3/22/06 1615hrs - with the information that we received in regarding to using different names, different teams, stating that they were on the base ball and track teams and stating that they were grad students and using “alias” and the whole atmosphere of confusion and the exigent circumstances with healing of the wounds of the suspect that the victim possibly scratched I went to assistant district attorney Tracy Cline and spoke to her about our case. She stated that we should do the non-testimonial on the players including upper torso pictures, current mug shots and cheek swabbings.
In short she's lying. If she keeps it up, before the lawsuit is over, a lot worse is going to happen to her than a few assholes calling her on the phone. Former and jailbird DA Mike Nifong needs to have a talk with her.
And it's now funny how Cline and Saacks (the current DA) who signed the NTO are now both disavowing any direct knowledge.
It's the coverup that gets 'em every time.
By
Locomotive Breath, at 10:44 AM
Completely irrelevant to people leaving racially (and probably sexually) harassing messages on her answering machine at work.
But i wouldn't expect you to understand that point.
Oh, by the way, thanks for commenting on something that was not related to Duke lacrosse. i didn't think you had it in you.
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Barry, at 10:49 AM
Not irrelevant. If she's lying about her role in the Duke lacrosse case then her creditability is shot. How do we know she's not lying about the phone calls in an attempt to generate sympathy and portray herself as a victim and divert attention from her culpability?
Well, ADA Cline is an ADA. If there something legally actionable in the phone calls then she is in the ideal position to take action and do it. If there is not then she should shut up because that's part of being in public life.
(I'm sure you'd celebrate some of the deranged phone calls that come into the Whitehouse switchboard. I'll bet they're far worse than what she's getting.)
Cline publicly sat silently by (and probably was applauding privately) while Mike Nifong whipped up racial animus to try and win his election. Get back to me when people are rallying and holding rallies on her front lawn with signs like "Castrate", "Give her measure for measure", "Sunday - time to confess", and "Get a conscience not a lawyer". Where was she then?
Live by the sword, die by the sword. Maybe she should have spoken up while there was still time.
And we're still waiting for someone to do something about Asley Cannon's sexual harassment complaint. Maybe Cline could do something about that.
http://www.newsobserver.com/145/story/506921.html
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Locomotive Breath, at 11:46 AM
Do we know that there were real threats? If so, have the police investigated them?
By the way, the lacrosse players and their families received death threats and other harassment. Did you ever speak out against those threats?
I would like to see some proof that Cline actually was harassed. After all, here is someone who was going to claim in a court of law that David Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty raped Crystal Mangum. She was going to tell the jury to discount all timelines that proved her wrong, and to discount ALL of the DNA results.
In other words, she was going to knowingly present a false case, which is a crime. If she has receiving threatening emails and calls, that is wrong and whoever has done such a thing should be punished.
However, given that we have heard nothing but lies coming from the Durham DA's office, I would like to hear more than just the word of Tracey Cline.
By
Anonymous, at 11:54 AM
Why wouldn't an ADA prosecute?
Leaving such messages is against the law.
I will doubt that such messages were left until I hear that an investigation is under way into who left them and a case is prosecuted.
DPD sent several cars out immediately to investigate racist comments reported by Kim Roberts, so we know they take such crimes very seriously.
We know from the Duke case that DPD is adept at tracing phone calls and e-mails as well.
LTC8K6
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Anonymous, at 11:54 AM
These Durhamites never learn. Still taking as gospel the word of a DA office which was lead by a criminal. A DA office which willingly particpated in the attempted frameup of 3 innocent lacrosse players. As pointed out DA Cline's lack of recall is conveniently at odds with Himan's and is designed to put her in the least culpable legal position for voters who may care about their constitutional rights.
But one has to wonder why Mr Erection so gullibly swallows this latest round of stories coming from the DAs office.
By
Anonymous, at 12:59 PM
That's Mr. Dependable to you.
Hey, if Cline's lying about this, i'm going to go out on a limb and say it'll cost her the election.
How's that Floyd Lee Brown fundraiser coming along, LieStoppers?
What's that you say? You're too busy fighting injustice?
Yeah, right.
By
Barry, at 1:04 PM
If Cline cannot handle the heat get out of the fucking kitchen. Not that I believe she is receiving an endless amount of threatening messages. The best the corrupt city employee can come up with is black ass etc. Is that racist? She is black and I am assuming that she has an ass. Maybe not a moral compass but definitely an ass she has.
Glad to see there are still left wing hatred filled individuals in Durham that buy any load of crap coming out of downtown Durham as long as it fits their illusionary view of the world.
It is mental midgets filled with envy like Ragin that make me look forward to all of Durham's taxes going up to pay for the hatred exposed from the racist and left wing nut cases that populate Durham.
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Anonymous, at 2:00 PM
Regarding only the ability of an ADA to prosecute the phone calls:
Only if they occur within her jurisdiction, and only after an investigation. Otherwise she's no more capable than a normal person.
By
Unknown, at 2:05 PM
TR - you're my bestest commenter ever. Even better than LocomotiveBreath.
Will you go out with me?
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Barry, at 2:20 PM
Speaking of Locomotive Breath, I'm still waiting with bated breath to hear her full disclosure on whether or not she's associated with anyone who stands to financially benefit from the lacrosse suits.
Come on, not that hard. Yes or no, you don't have to say who, how, or which case. It's the only ethical thing to do...
By
Unknown, at 3:52 PM
Just wanted to clarify. I don't know who that "Bill Anderson" is, this is actually the first time I've ever even tried to send a message to ANY blog.
But want everyone to know that This Bill Anderson, the one who lives in Duke Park, little shit with the big mustash, regular at lots of community functions, is NOT the same one who posted that comment about Cline.
Bill "the real one" Anderson
By
Anonymous, at 8:32 PM
Bill, the real one, as I said when I met you in Watts Grocery: "Ah, the GOOD Bill Anderson."
By
Anonymous, at 8:56 PM
Bill Anderson
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Anonymous, at 7:18 AM
The best the corrupt city employee can come up with is black ass etc. Is that racist? She is black and I am assuming that she has an ass. Maybe not a moral compass but definitely an ass she has.
Oh good lord. Don't be disingenuous. It's an insult and you know it.
By
Anonymous, at 8:17 AM
Or this guy, maybe?
oh, never mind, i see they're the same person.
another asshole who can't see past the tip of his nose, who thinks that everyone who disagrees with him is a "leftist", and, oh, never mind. i really don't have the time.
bill - if that's really you who commented, thanks for stopping by. You bring a certain je nes sais qua to the proceedings.
By
Barry, at 8:34 AM
another asshole who can't see past the tip of his nose, who thinks that everyone who disagrees with him is a "leftist", and, oh, never mind. i really don't have the time.
I am curious. What makes me an "asshole" here? Is it that I believe that those who are given state-sanctioned monopolies on violence and coercion actually hold to some level of truth and decency? Why is that a wrong position? I believe that if George Bush is to be held to that standard (as well he should -- something he has NOT done), then an ADA and police officers should be held to such standards, too.
Most of the people who were the most vociferous accusers here were and are leftists. The "potbangers" and the faculty members who attacked the lacrosse players and anxiously believed the lies against them to a person were leftists. Why is it wrong to point out that fact?
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Anonymous, at 12:06 PM
the NY times is leftist? Every person who participated in protests outside of 610 N. Buchanan was a leftist?
You state that's a fact.
Quite frankly, i don't think you have a clue what a leftist, but it's a fancy word that you can toss around that carries a whiff of the pejorative and puffs up your petty sense of being the "good American."
Good Christ, i bet you think that John Edwards is a leftist.
In my mind, that makes you an asshole.
By
Barry, at 12:10 PM
I think I get it. I point out that the participants outside of 610 Buchanan -- the "potbangers" -- are all identified with organizations that declare themselves to be on the "left" of the political spectrum.
I am not a right-winger or a conservative, but I have been following the political left for about 40 years and am quite familiar with the positions of people on the left and right. In the Duke case, the leftists immediately declared their solidarity with Crystal Mangum, and the more incomprehensible the stories, the more they were to be believed.
There is a Marxist blog by Yolanda Carrington that still declares the Duke 3 to have raped Crystal. Are you saying that Marxists are not "leftists"?
Also, you will have to forgive me for being mistaken. I had thought this was a blog in which people could discuss things intelligently. But calling people "assholes" because they believe that the Duke "rape" case was a fraud is not exactly the epitome of intelligent discourse.
You strike me as a very angry young man who simply cannot stomach anyone who might disagree with him.
By the way, I think that John Edwards describes himself as a "populist" or "progressive." In other words, he is for a form of mob rule in which a mob gets what it wants.
By
Anonymous, at 12:47 PM
Barry---at least he calls you "a very angry YOUNG man." Maybe young enough for the con man retirement plan to work out after all!
By
Anonymous, at 3:13 PM
you know, for such an enlightened and tolerant guy, i sure get pissed off pretty easy.
i guess it has something to do with seeing my country totally fucked over by a bunch of scoundrels for most of my adult life.
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Barry, at 3:31 PM
Does any person doubt that the overwhelming majority that were wanting to lynch the innocent LAX players would not describe themselves as left of center?
The group that describes itself as tolerant and caring were the ones wanting to railroad innocent people. It just so happens that these "tolerant" people are not so tolerant unless you fit a particular "victim" class.
You people, along with the racist blacks at the NCCU lynch forum, exposed your "tolerant" hatred for the world to see so suck it up and move along.
Duke Park? That is not liberal enough. Why not move over here with me in Trinity Park.
By
Anonymous, at 3:38 PM
i don't think the word lynch means what you think it means.
and i can't afford Trinity Park.
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Barry, at 3:49 PM
and since when does "left of center" = "leftist"?
only among the ignorant.
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Barry, at 3:51 PM
Ok far left of center. Does that help? Do you think the fools and hate fest participants were right wing religious zealots? I know some of my lovely "tolerant" neighbors that organized and were involved with this "get rich whitey male" with our cooking utensils hate parade and they are left wing nut cases that live in a delusional world.
These same people preach the standard mantra but live in a 99% white upper middle class neighborhood. What a bunch of hypocrites.
Sorry you cannot afford TP. We definitely need more envious hate filled individuals. Being a white male capitalist I feel such love from the current residents.
By
Anonymous, at 5:14 PM
Perhaps you should think about moving to Coeur d'Alene? I understand that Dianne Feinstein is considered a Marxist there.
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Barry, at 8:29 PM
Gotta love it. The H-S calls up Cline in re: the NTO (I asked the reporter, he confirmed), she tosses in a few whines about mean messages left in her vmail box, and that becomes the story?
All of 4 lines in the article.
The story here is Cline's involvement in DukeLAX. The upcoming depos are going to be very interesting. Look for more folks from PD14 to be added as defendants.
BTW, Coeur d'Alene is beautiful country, as is most of Idaho.
By
Anonymous, at 3:31 AM
"i don't think the word lynch means what you think it means."
Inconceivable! ;>)
'Lynch' certainly isn't confined to persons of the black persuasion (nor hanging, ftm).
By
Anonymous, at 3:41 AM
Thanks Yank. Love your great slamming posts over at the bat cave. You and a couple of other posters are the only reason I look forward to checking out that hate filled sight. Keep putting those delusional nut jobs in their place.
Tell Cash Michaels TrinityRez says hello. He just loves me.
I want to see word for word what was left on this "too soft", not too ethical since that is not a requirement for Durham politics, asst. DA.
Once again if black ass is the best she has got then boo fucking hoo.
By
Anonymous, at 9:16 AM
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