Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe DURHAM, N.C., Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Mike Nifong, the embattled North Carolina district attorney prosecuting three Duke University Lacrosse players, was sworn in to a new term in private Tuesday. The ceremony was scheduled for 8 a.m., half an hour before the Durham County Courthouse opened for business, the Raleigh News & Observer reported. Reporters were kept waiting on the steps outside by deputies who said the doors would not be unlocked until the normal time. Advertisement Nifong, a longtime assistant district attorney, was appointed district attorney in 2005 by Gov. Mike Easley and elected to the position in November. He gained notoriety when he charged the three lacrosse players with raping an exotic dancer the team had hired for a party. Nifong's handling of the case has come under fire. Last week the State Bar accused him of violating ethical standards in his public statements. His office recently dropped the rape charges, saying the victim could not be sure she had been penetrated, but three young men remain charged with lesser crimes.
