Nifong found in contempt

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome, FILE)

The disgraced former district attorney in the Duke lacrosse rape case has been held in criminal contempt for lying to a judge.

Mike Nifong, the former district attorney in  Durham County,  was sentenced to a day in jail by Superior Court Judge  W. Osmond Smith on Friday for willfully making false statements while pursuing rape charges against three falsely-accused players on the Duke lacrosse team.

Smith said Nifong lied to the court in September when he insisted he had given defense attorneys all results from a critical DNA test.

Nifong, who has already been stripped of his law license and resigned from his post, had faced up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Read more about the case here.

-- John Marshall