It was just over ten years ago that the Duke lacrosse case finally dragged its weary way across the finish line. That case was a storm petrel, flying before the thunder. We should have watched its course more carefully, because it was about to become a paradigm of what was to follow. First there was first an accusation -- that a black woman had been raped by more than 20 white men at a party. After changing her story a few times -- maybe it was only five men; or two -- the accuser finally settled on three. The police investigated, but kept no records. That should have been a clue -- not to the case, but to where our justice system was headed. Officers normally carry notebooks or pads on which they write down pertinent information. For the Duke case, the officers involved kept no notes at all (aside from the single exception of a couple of flimsy pages, with two or three scribbles).

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