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Lawyers criticize ID in Duke lacrosse case

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 15, 2006

RALEIGH, N.C.

A woman who said she was raped at a party thrown by Duke's lacrosse team misidentified her alleged attackers in a photo lineup that was "an incoherent mass of contradiction and error," defense lawyers argued in court papers filed Thursday.

Attorneys for the three indicted players filed a motion asking a judge to bar prosecutors from using the photo lineup at their clients' trial and prevent the accuser from identifying the players from the witness stand.

Duke University law professor James E. Coleman Jr. said the case would be "effectively dismissed" if the court finds the lineup inadmissible.

In Thursday's motion, the defense highlights what it says are holes in the accuser's story.

Among the details cited are examples of how the accuser's story changed in the hours and days after the party; that she has a history of bipolar disorder; that she identified two people as having attended the party who were not there; and that she identified four attackers during the April photo lineup.

ST. GEORGE, UTAH

Polygamist leader pleads not guilty

A polygamist church leader accused of forcing a 14-year-old girl to marry and have sex with an older cousin in 2001 was ordered Thursday to stand trial.

Warren Jeffs, 51, pleaded not guilty Thursday in state district court to two counts of rape by accomplice.

The leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could face up to life in prison if convicted. A trial was set for April 23.

Prosecutors said the girl had no choice but to obey Jeffs, whose influence over his followers has been described as extraordinary.

The girl "expressed her disdain, reluctance, opposition and total dislike of sexual relations," Judge James Shumate said.

Jeffs was charged with two counts because prosecutors have said they believe they can prove at least two instances of sex.

WILLINGBORO, N.J.

Powder scare shakes up N.J. school

An elementary school was evacuated, a teacher sent to the hospital and hundreds of students quarantined Thursday after the woman opened an envelope containing white powder that was later found not to be hazardous, authorities said.

The teacher reported some skin irritation on her hands and forearms, authorities said. She drove to her family doctor, who told her to go to the hospital.

A hazardous materials team tested the powder and determined it was not a hazardous substance, said David Wyche, spokesman for the Burlington County Board of Freeholders.

Authorities did not immediately know what the substance was or who sent it, officials said.

The 425 students at Garfield East Elementary School were quarantined in buses for several hours before being driven to an administration building, where parents picked them up.

Virtua Memorial Hospital released the teacher after she tested negative for anthrax and smallpox, said Dr. Stephen Kolesk, chief operating officer.

ATLANTA

Board: School system can keep Potter books

The Georgia Board of Education voted Thursday to uphold a local School Board's decision to leave Harry Potter books on library shelves despite a mother's objections.

Board members voted without discussion to back the Gwinnett County School Board's decision to deny Laura Mallory's request to remove the bestselling books.

Mallory, who has three children in elementary school, sought to ban the books from Gwinnett schools, saying the fiction series is an attempt to indoctrinate children in witchcraft.

Gwinnett school officials have said the books are good tools to encourage children to read. Banning all books with references to witchcraft would mean classics such as Macbeth and Cinderella would have to go, they said.

MOUNT HOOD, ORE.

WEATHER HAMPERS SEARCH FOR CLIMBERS

Rescue workers searching for three lost climbers on Oregon's highest peak confronted stormy weather again Thursday and planned to search lower elevations in hopes that some climbers had managed to descend that far.

An attempt on Mount Hood to use small, unmanned planes carrying devices that can detect body heat was stymied when lenses fogged up. The flights reached about 500 feet above a camp at 6,000 feet where rescuers have set up a staging area.

Forecasters said rescuers' next shot would probably be Saturday.

Kelly James, 48, of Dallas, Brian Hall of Dallas and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke of New York set out a week ago for a two-day climb to the summit.

James' wife, Karen, said the families of the three men remained confident.

[Last modified December 15, 2006, 00:58:48]