Justice in Durham
Mike Nifong has filed for bankruptcy, buried under $180 million worth of civil claims brought by the young men whose lives he attempted to ruin for political gain.
I’m not sure how much good it will do him. Last I checked, liability for willful and malicious torts is not dischargeable in bankruptcy 11 USC 532(a)(6). And Nifong’s conduct in the Duke Rape Case was about as malicious as I can imagine.
But even assuming that Nifong could put together some argument that his actions were merely negligent, he doesn’t have the money to mount a defense and make that argument. His bankruptcy schedules show a house worth $235,000 but secured debt over $302,000, from which I infer that his mortgage is more than the value of his house, so he doesn’t have any equity to borrow against to pay his lawyers. Probably his bankruptcy lawyer has some angle that I’m not seeing, but Nifong declaring bankruptcy mystifies me.