Career Over

Durham County, North Carolina District Attorney Mike Nifong can kiss his career goodbye at this point. When your fellow prosecutors turn on you, you are pretty well toast.

Dec. 29, 2006 — In yet another moral blow to Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys called for the prosecutor to step down from the Duke lacrosse case.

The group, which represents district attorneys from across North Carolina, said in a statement that "it is in the interest of justice and the effective administration of criminal justice that Mr. Nifong immediately withdraw and recuse himself from the prosecution."

"It's extraordinarily unusual and it means a great deal," said Joshua Marquis, a district attorney in Clatsop County, Ore.

The district attorney group also called for the case to be reassigned and handed over to "another prosecutorial authority."

It won't make up for the lives he has ruined, of course. But the politically-driven witch hunt after the three lacrosse players is about over with now. Expect a complete dismissal of all remaining charges very shortly. Don't expect all the people who drove it, including the media, to actually apologize, however.