Nifong Could Face 2nd Bar Complaint

RALEIGH, N.C. — The former prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse case could face another complaint from the North Carolina Bar.

Last month, the bar filed an ethics complaint against Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong for his pretrial comments regarding the case in which three lacrosse players face charges of kidnapping and sexual assault on an exotic dancer hired for an off-campus  team party. The complaint says the district attorney's conduct was dishonest and deceitful.

The committee that handles complaints meets again Thursday. The bar won't confirm or deny whether it is looking into another complaint, but some observers say there is reason.

They say Nifong broke other professional conduct rules by failing to turn over exculpatory evidence, which works to a defendant's benefit rather than a prosecutor's, to defense attorneys in a timely manner.

The evidence in question is test results in which no DNA from any lacrosse player was found on the accuser.

After a December hearing, Nifong insisted he did nothing wrong.

"There was no attempt to hide anything," he said, adding that defense attorneys only had to ask for the evidence.

Nifong's pretrial hearing regarding last month's ethics complaint is next week. A bar trial is set for May.