DURHAM, N.C.-
The district attorney prosecuting three Duke lacrosse players accused of rape asked a judge Wednesday to compel defense lawyers to tell him whether they hired a pollster to test the mood of potential jurors.
District Attorney Mike Nifong said the questioning should stop immediately, even if the defense lawyers aren’t funding the telephone surveys.
The players were indicted on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense after a woman hired as a stripper at a team party said she was attacked March 13. Defense attorneys have strongly proclaimed their clients’ innocence.
Nifong said his wife, Cy Gurney, received a call Sept. 11 from a company hired to gauge attitudes in the community, including several questions about the Duke lacrosse case, according to court records.
Gurney said she was asked how likely she would be to believe a stripper who said she was raped and whether she believed Durham investigators conducted an unfair lineup of suspects in the case, according to her sworn statement.
In his motion, Nifong says the survey was conducted by Central Research Services Inc., a research firm with offices in New York.
The company did not immediately respond to a telephone call from The Associated Press Wednesday.
Lawyers for the three players responded by saying that the polling, which is finished, was legitimate and necessary in light of prejudicial public comments made about the case by Nifong.
“(The) polling was necessary to determine the extent and nature of that prejudice and other issues related to the defendants’ jury trial rights,” defense lawyers wrote in a response.
Lawyers on both sides in high-profile cases frequently use surveys, focus groups and consultants to fine-tune courtroom strategies and jury selection.
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