Sports In the Courts Blog : New York Attorneys & Lawyers Specializing in Sports Law & Legal Analysis

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Just like with the Yankees in baseball and Notre Dame in football, the mere mention of the word “Duke” elicits either a love or hate reaction from most sports fans. However, back in 2006, when the news of the Duke lacrosse alleged rape first broke, it garnered national media attention, and at that point if you were neutral in your feelings towards Duke, you definitely formed an opinion. In my case, graduating from the University of Maryland, there was a preconceived hatred of Duke as soon as you stepped on campus. The Duke lacrosse case has been revisited in recent days, not for any legal action being taken against the lacrosse players but rather Crystal Mangum, the accuser in the alleged rape case, was indicted on murder charges. While prosecutors declined to press charges for the false accusations made by Ms. Mangum against the lacrosse players, she has still had her fair share of legal troubles since the night of the alleged rape. In fact, last year, Ms. Mangum was convicted on misdemeanor charges after setting a fire that nearly burnt down her home with her three children inside. Recently, Ms. Mangum was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder and two counts of larceny. She has been in jail since April 3, when police charged her with assault in the stabbing death of 46-year-old Reginald Daye, her boyfriend. Mr. Daye died after nearly two weeks at a hospital. In North Carolina, the penalty for first-degree murder is either death or life in prison without the possibility of parole, and larceny is broken up into different categories depending on the amount of property taken. Generally, larceny of goods valued at more than $1,000 is a Class H felony punishable by up to 4-8 months in prison for a first time offender. If the amount of goods in question is valued at less than $1,000, you are facing Class I misdemeanor charges which are punishable by up to 1 year in jail. Lastly, if the goods stolen are taken directly from someone, or are a firearm or explosive, the charge is a felony regardless of the value.