Jean now turns toward rules regarding prosecutors dealing with the news media.
Goodenow reviewed info on the Finnerty, Evans and Seligmann cases for the Bar prosecutors, at their request.
Jean: Who usually runs the investigation before anyone is charged? Goodenow: The police department.
Jean: Would interviewing an accuser necessarily jeopardize a case? Goodenow: Only if you found that she was lying and your case fell apart.
Jean: Would interviewing an accuser of a crime put you in danger of being a witness later? Goodenow: No. For example you can take a police officer with you and record it so they can be called. Says never has her interviewing an accuser kept her from prosecuting a crime. Says it would be unlikely that she would prosecute a case in which there is no other evidence but an accuser’s word and that the accuser had given several conflicting accounts of the crime.
Nifong’s lawyer didn’t like her use of what “a fair prosecutor would do.” His objection was overruled.
Jean: Why wouldn’t a DA allow a defendant come in to offer information? Goodenow: If they came with an attorney, she sees no problem.
Now discussing the PowerPoint presentation of 46 photographs shown to Mangum. Goodenow said she has learned that Mangum was told they were all lacrosse players. Says this procedure does not comply with state procedures on lineups and photo IDs. The first rule is that you don’t tell the person that the suspect is in the lineup. In fact, you tell them that they may or may not be there. You also have to use fillers that vaguely match the description the accuser gave of the assailant. The danger of not following these rules is that you could get a wrongful identification.
