RALEIGH, N.C. — A court Monday dismissed the bulk of a federal lawsuit filed by former Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of raping a stripper.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rejected all claims for damages filed under federal law against the City of Durham and its police department. The three-judge panel in Richmond, Va., left intact claims under North Carolina law that Durham officials violated the players’ constitutional rights and claims that two police detectives engaged in malicious prosecution.
David F. Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann faced felony charges in 2006 after a mentally ill woman hired as a stripper at an off-campus team party claimed she had been gang raped.
The case, which featured a Black woman making salacious accusations against White athletes at one of the nation’s top colleges, garnered international media attention and heightened long-standing tensions in Durham about race, class and privilege.
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper later declared the players innocent and dismissed all charges, criticizing what he called a “tragic rush to accuse” by Durham police and prosecutors.
Former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong was later disbarred after it was determined he broke more than two dozen rules of professional conduct. He later declared personal bankruptcy, citing his potential multimillion-dollar liability from civil suits related to the case.
The three lacrosse players also sued Duke University over its handling of the rape allegations, reaching an undisclosed financial settlement in 2007.
