Judge suspends Duke rape DA immediately

DURHAM, N.C. --A judge suspended District Attorney Mike Nifong immediately Tuesday instead of allowing the prosecutor disbarred for his handling of the Duke lacrosse rape case to work for another month.

The sheriff immediately stripped Nifong of his badge and the keys to his office.

There is probable cause to believe that Nifong "has engaged in willful misconduct in office and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, which brings the office into disrepute," Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson wrote in his order.

Durham County Sheriff Worth Hill went to Nifong's house with a deputy to serve the order Tuesday morning.

"We took his keys and his badge that gave him access to the building," Hill said. "We'll make arrangements to help him get his personal belongings later."

Candy Clark, Nifong's legal assistant, said the one case he was handling was being reassigned.

Later Tuesday, lawmakers unanimously gave key approval to legislation that would direct Gov. Mike Easley to immediately remove Nifong from office.

Even with the Legislature's action, Nifong still holds his job. The North Carolina State Bar must issue its disbarment order in writing and Nifong must make clear that he doesn't plan to appeal. Nifong has 30 days to do so, and a courts spokesman was unsure Tuesday whether his resignation letter would serve as that notice.

Nifong had sent a letter to Easley and Hudson, saying he would leave office on July 13. The governor had said he would immediately remove Nifong if he could.

There was no word on whom Easley will chose to replace Nifong, who has worked in the district attorney's office since 1978 and was appointed prosecutor in 2005.

Nifong was disbarred Saturday for breaking more than two dozen rules of professional conduct in his handling of the Duke case, in which three lacrosse players were falsely accused of rape last year. A disciplinary committee concluded that Nifong had lied to the court, made inflammatory statements about the three indicted players and their teammates, and withheld critical DNA evidence from defense attorneys.

On Monday, Duke University announced it had reached an undisclosed financial settlement with the three former lacrosse players, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans. Duke suspended them after they were charged, canceled the team's season and forced their coach to resign.

The players' families racked up millions of dollars of legal bills in their defense, and appear likely to file a lawsuit against Nifong.

Dick Ellis, a spokesman for the state Administrative Office of the Courts, said Nifong will still be eligible for his full retirement benefits -- a pension and health care -- that he accrued while working as a state employee for nearly 30 years.

But because he served fewer than five years as district attorney, he is not vested in a more lucrative retirement system for judges, prosecutors and the director of the courts office.

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Associated Press writer Margaret Lillard in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.