“Unethical to his core.” That’s how KC Johnson described Durham DA Mike Nifong after reading his response to allegations in his disciplinary proceeding before the NC State Bar. Let’s add incompetent to the list, too. Boiled down, his defense is: “I was too incompetent to know what the law required of me or prohibited me from doing.” How many times have we heard that an ignorance of the law is no excuse. Usually it’s from people like Nifong. You know, people who are supposed to uphold the laws. Here’s what he said in his response to the NC State Bar on page 49 of his response:
In the event it is determined that the defendant violated any Rule of Professional Conduct as alleged in the Amended Complaint, which defendant specifically denies, defendant’s violations of any of the Rules of Professional Conduct was not the result of his intentional conduct. Rather, any violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct was the result of the defendant’s mistaken belief that any actions taken by him as alleged in the Amended Complaint was not prohibited by the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct.
Tell me why, again, this man should remain Durham’s district attorney?
