Prosecutorial overreach in the Duke case flipped the usual racial asymmetry of justice outcomes

Evidence

In the wake of considerable national attention that included threats of violence to critics of the fraternity and the lacrosse team, it turned out that the charges were fabricated (though it never became clear exactly what humiliating conduct might actually have occurred at the party). The white district attorney was found to have rushed to prosecution, suppressing counter-evidence in his effort probably to support his upcoming re-election bid. He was stripped not only of his position but also of his law license, and the three accused young men, all white, were exonerated. — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race, 421

Categorization

• XREF: The Duke case sits in tension with the surrounding black-victim cases in this chapter — a useful contrast case showing how racialized prosecution cuts both ways while leaving the structural asymmetry intact.