Sorry folks, this is not CSI Durham. So don’t expect cases being solved after examining a bug under a microscope to determine the time of death or decoding DNA from a flake of dandruff. We simply lack the technology used to solve crimes like those popular television shows.
We do have a system that forces local law enforcement to send evidence to a state lab to get stacked on the bottom of evidence coming from departments across the state. It’s a system bond to blunder. Evidence gets lost, it takes far too long to process and local law enforcement has no control over how the evidence is handled.
The SBI forensic lab is in the center of discussions involving the handling of a number of high profile cases in Durham County. Tracey Cline, Durham’s district attorney, was slammed in a two part series in the News & Observer for the way she handles evidence. J. Andrew Curliss, staff writer for the N&O, made a compelling case of prosecutor misconduct in a number of cases handled by Cline. http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/09/05/1462653/misstatements-in-court-questions.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1fx5wNIib)
In the case of David Yearwood, SBI forensic test showed no fluid, no finger prints and no DNA that connected Yearwood to the rape of his 12-year-old neighbor. Cline claimed those tests were inconclusive or that he failed to ejaculate. The case is under review, but, according to the N&O article, officials have not been able to find the evidence.
On yesterday, an SBI agent was questioned in connection to his testimony in the Michael Peterson murder case. Peterson, a Durham novelist, former columnist for the Herald-Sun and candidate for Mayor, was found guilty of the murder of his wife, Kathleen Peterson, in 2001. Duane Deaver, an SBI agent, was labeled as having a strong pro-prosecution bias at yesterday’s hearing.
Deaver testified in Peterson’s 2003 trial. He had analyzed bloodstains and testified that it was his judgment that Kathleen Peterson was murdered by her husband. The former director of Connecticut’s Forensic lab testified that he was troubled by documents in Deaver’s personnel file indicating a pro prosecution leaning.
"If an individual has a strong prosecution bias, they can't be objective, they have a horse in the race," said Timothy Palmbach. "The expert coming into a courtroom shouldn't care about the results, whether it's guilt or innocence."
Palmbach also testified that Deaver’s work in the case failed to apply the basic rules governing high school science. He said Deaver’s didn’t document his work, failed to explain his methodology and didn’t test every possible and competing hypothesis. He noted that Deaver failed to conduct an experiment to test the possibility that the bloodstream pattern could have come from an accidental fall.
Earlier in the week, Carl Fox, Superior Court Judge, ruled that Orlando Hudson could preside over the hearing. Cline has claimed that Hudson, who is Durham’s top judge, has directed a conspiracy to punish her for failing to dismiss a murder case.
“Judge Hudson has been a judge for 20 years and these two cases aren’t a blip on the screen,” Fox said in court. “He’s handled thousands and thousands of cases…this is dismissed.”
Cline had filed three motions in the cases of Peterson, Yearwood and Michael Dorman. Dorman’s murder charge was thrown out by Hudson earlier this year. Cline withdrew her motion on the Dorman case after Fox noted it is currently in the NC Court of Appeals.
Now Hudson, who allowed the testimony of Deaver’s in the original trial, has to determine if he would have allowed him to serve as an expert witness if he had the information presented at the recent hearing.
Isn’t this better than TV? The spat between Hudson and Cline exposes the intriguing management of the judicial process. For one, the evidence isn’t always evidence. For another, the SBI Lab can’t be trusted as a tool to uncover the truth “beyond reasonable doubt.” Then there’s that sticky question of personal bull shit
This lunacy between Cline and Hudson goes deeper, at least it seems that way, than what is happening in that court of law. Cline’s attempt to remove Hudson from those three cases appears to be about a personal beef between two powerful people who hold the lives of others in their hands. She claims he is out to punish her. Fox ruled a lack of evidence to substantiate her claim. Can someone say stick up for your brother?
There is a missing piece to this puzzle. Who sent the tip to the News & Observer? Who leaked the information that landed Cline on the front page in a series of articles that revealed her management of the DA office? Could it be that Cline thinks Hudson is behind this hack job? If he is, and I’m not saying he’s guilty, doesn’t that give credence to her claim that ole dude is out to get her?
No, this is not CSI Durham. This is better than prime time TV.
Tune in for the next episode.
Carl W. Kenney II is an award winning columnist and novelist. He is committed to engaging readers into a meaningful discussion related to matters that impact faith and society. He grapples with pondering the impact faith has on public space while seeking to understand how public space both hinders and enhances the walk of faith.
Showing posts with label Orlando Hudson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Orlando Hudson. Show all posts
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Spill the Beans Marvin!
I hope Marvin Austin spills the beans. The former UNC football standout and second-round pick of the New York Giants has threatened to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth after a judge denied Michael McAdoo the right to play football at UNC.
“I’m so heated right now…justice will prevail…even if I have to spill the beans,” Austin wrote on his Twitter account, @anchormanaustin, the night of Judge Orlando Hudson ruling. The Durham Superior Court Judge denied McAdoo’s request for an injunction against the NCAA and UNC that would have restored his eligibility.
McAdoo, a defensive end who played two years for the Tar Heels, was declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA after an investigation that uncovered academic fraud and the receipt of improper benefits among players. Austin was one of the players connected to the scandal that may have cost the team serious contention for a national championship. A record nine players were drafted in Aprils NFL draft, which tied for most draftees among one school. Many of those players were declared ineligible to play during the season that had fans drooling.
Austin claims McAdoo was “misled, misused and ostracized from the program,” and described administrators at UNC as “cowardly.” I would love to see Austin make those same comments as a witness. Who better to talk about the whirlwind of events that wrecked a promising season for the Tar Heels?
It was Austin’s comments on Twitter that began that rollercoaster ride that continues to cast a shadow over the UNC football program. In June, the NCAA delivered a 42-page Notice of Allegations to Chancellor Holden Thorp that offered nine major violations, including six related to former assistant coach John Blake or Jennifer Wiley, the tutor responsible for getting McAdoo in trouble with the NCAA.
“Same reasons that others got suspended and are able to play for because I know exactly the details in each case and its no way that this young…Man should have his dream snatched from him like the NCAA has done,” he writes. “I can tell you so many stories that would be mind boggling in comparison.” Say more Marvin. Spill those beans!
I wish he would tell the truth, on stand, about the leadership at UNC. He comes close to opening that can. “I wish the administration stood…And stop the cowardly acts when they are in front of the NCAA and tell them what you told us,” I wonder what Austin and other players were told. I wonder if we will ever get a chance to hear what athletes are told when schools are under the haunting glare of NCAA investigators. Hmm, I marvel at the possibilities.
Judge Hudson’s ruling means McAdoo, who would have started this coming season, cannot play at any NCAA level. He has been stripped of his right to play, and, ultimately, deprived his right to prove his merit as a future NFL draftee. The good news is Robert Orr, a former North Carolina Supreme Court judge, and Durham attorney Noah H. Huffstetler have just begun their fight against the NCAA and UNC. This one could go all the way to the US Supreme Court.
In the meantime, McAdoo can’t play which exposes the gross hypocrisy surrounding the way the NCAA rules the lives of college athletes. The lack of due process and consistent decisions renders the NCAA a laughingstock among those who believe in the American judicial process.
Putting Austin and other athletes on the witness stand may be what’s needed to restore standing to the NCAA sanctioning body. The way the NCAA ruled in the McAdoo case can best be described with the image of putting his name in a hat. The NCAA just grabbed the sentence du jour. They destroyed the life of a young man who made a bad mistake and confessed his role in what appears to be an issue within the administration. Put another way, McAdoo played by the rules given him as an athlete while the university uses him as the goat to be slaughtered.
Spill the beans Marvin. While you’re at it, get some other players to step forward with their can of beans.
“I’m so heated right now…justice will prevail…even if I have to spill the beans,” Austin wrote on his Twitter account, @anchormanaustin, the night of Judge Orlando Hudson ruling. The Durham Superior Court Judge denied McAdoo’s request for an injunction against the NCAA and UNC that would have restored his eligibility.
McAdoo, a defensive end who played two years for the Tar Heels, was declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA after an investigation that uncovered academic fraud and the receipt of improper benefits among players. Austin was one of the players connected to the scandal that may have cost the team serious contention for a national championship. A record nine players were drafted in Aprils NFL draft, which tied for most draftees among one school. Many of those players were declared ineligible to play during the season that had fans drooling.
Austin claims McAdoo was “misled, misused and ostracized from the program,” and described administrators at UNC as “cowardly.” I would love to see Austin make those same comments as a witness. Who better to talk about the whirlwind of events that wrecked a promising season for the Tar Heels?
It was Austin’s comments on Twitter that began that rollercoaster ride that continues to cast a shadow over the UNC football program. In June, the NCAA delivered a 42-page Notice of Allegations to Chancellor Holden Thorp that offered nine major violations, including six related to former assistant coach John Blake or Jennifer Wiley, the tutor responsible for getting McAdoo in trouble with the NCAA.
“Same reasons that others got suspended and are able to play for because I know exactly the details in each case and its no way that this young…Man should have his dream snatched from him like the NCAA has done,” he writes. “I can tell you so many stories that would be mind boggling in comparison.” Say more Marvin. Spill those beans!
I wish he would tell the truth, on stand, about the leadership at UNC. He comes close to opening that can. “I wish the administration stood…And stop the cowardly acts when they are in front of the NCAA and tell them what you told us,” I wonder what Austin and other players were told. I wonder if we will ever get a chance to hear what athletes are told when schools are under the haunting glare of NCAA investigators. Hmm, I marvel at the possibilities.
Judge Hudson’s ruling means McAdoo, who would have started this coming season, cannot play at any NCAA level. He has been stripped of his right to play, and, ultimately, deprived his right to prove his merit as a future NFL draftee. The good news is Robert Orr, a former North Carolina Supreme Court judge, and Durham attorney Noah H. Huffstetler have just begun their fight against the NCAA and UNC. This one could go all the way to the US Supreme Court.
In the meantime, McAdoo can’t play which exposes the gross hypocrisy surrounding the way the NCAA rules the lives of college athletes. The lack of due process and consistent decisions renders the NCAA a laughingstock among those who believe in the American judicial process.
Putting Austin and other athletes on the witness stand may be what’s needed to restore standing to the NCAA sanctioning body. The way the NCAA ruled in the McAdoo case can best be described with the image of putting his name in a hat. The NCAA just grabbed the sentence du jour. They destroyed the life of a young man who made a bad mistake and confessed his role in what appears to be an issue within the administration. Put another way, McAdoo played by the rules given him as an athlete while the university uses him as the goat to be slaughtered.
Spill the beans Marvin. While you’re at it, get some other players to step forward with their can of beans.
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