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Duke's Legal Team Goes 0-2

By Mark

Duke just can't seem to get out of its own way when it comes to the lacrosse case. It seems to always make the wrong choice each and every time. Today, the mighty Blue Devils legal team went 0-2 in court, losing hearings in cases brought by former lacrosse coach Mike Pressler and the 38 non-indicted players on the lacrosse team.

First, let's talk about the completely misguided attempt by the University and the City of Durham to shut down a blog maintained by the players to discuss the progress of their case against Duke and the City. The lawyers for Duke and the City asked a federal judge to shut down the site, Dukelawsuit.com, and to sanction the lawyers for the players for violating the North Carolina Code of Professional Responsibility. In a hearing held today, Chief District Court Judge James A. Beaty, Jr. rightly declined to do so.

Meanwhile, back in Durham Superior Court, Judge Howard Manning ruled that Mike Pressler could continue his claims against Duke and University spokesman John Burness. He found that the settlement agreement reached between the university and Pressler nullified any obligation that Pressler had to submit to arbitration.

While these were procedural rulings and don't address the merits of the cases, let's just hope that they are a sign of things to come. Maybe this is an indication that Duke's attorneys will fare no better in this morass than their clients performed. In that case, justice may finally be served.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on April 16, 2008 (boomark / email).