Duke Case: The Defense Team

"Nifong is up against a formidable defense team" - Newsweek

For Defendant David Evans: Joseph B. Cheshire V. and Bradley Bannon

Joseph B. Cheshire V was born on May 19, 1947, in Raleigh, N. C. He attended public schools in Raleigh and then spent six years studying at Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts graduating in 1966. Thereafter, he attended and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an AB in History. Following graduation from undergraduate school, he attended law school at Wake Forest University and earned his J.D degree in 1973. At Wake Forest he was the founding Chief Justice of Wake Forest’s moot court program. While in law school, Mr. Cheshire was commissioned a lieutenant in the United States Army and served both in an active duty and then reserve officer capacity after graduation from law school.

Upon being licensed to practice law in October 1973, Mr. Cheshire became the fifth straight Joseph Blount Cheshire to practice law in the courts of North Carolina....see: Joseph B. Cheshire V - Cheshire Parker

Attorney Stuart Egerton, Wilmington, NC, wrote:

Joe Cheshire V has the utmost and highest respect of lawyers in this state, both for his extraordinary professional talent as a trial lawyer and for his extraordinary personna as a warm, honest, humorous sort who looks after his clients’ best interests every step of the way — and by I mean that he’s going to get to “truth and justice” with his client in the corniest, most old fashion sense of the word.

Born in Queens, New York, in 1970, Brad Bannon grew up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and attended the University of South Carolina at Columbia. After graduating with a degree in English in May 1993, Brad began to study law at Campbell University in August 1994. In December 1995, during his second year of law school, he joined the firm as a research assistant and clerk to founding partner Joseph B. Cheshire V. During law school, Brad earned the Book Award in Eighth Amendment Death Penalty Litigation and was selected to represent the school in regional and national trial and appellate advocacy competitions.

After graduating from Campbell and being admitted to practice law in North Carolina in 1997, he remained at the firm as an attorney in the criminal law section.....see: Brad Bannon - Cheshire Parker

For Defendant Collin Finnerty: Wade M. Smith, William J. Cotter, and Doug Kingbery

Wade M. Smith was born in 1937 in Albemarle, North Carolina. He attended the public schools, graduating in 1956 and was awarded a Morehead Scholarship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UNC he excelled in academics and athletics, serving as one of the captains of the football team and winning many honors as an athlete, including membership on the Academic All Atlantic Coast Conference Team. He also was awarded membership in the University's highest honorary, The Golden Fleece. Mr. Smith has maintained his connection with the university, serving as President of the Alumni Association in 1985. In 1989 UNC awarded him its Distinguished Service Medal.

After completing his undergraduate work and earning an A.B. in English, Mr. Smith attended the University of North Carolina Law School, graduating in 1963 with a J.D. Degree....see: Wade M. Smith - Tharrington Smith

In over forty years of practicing law, Smith has tried dozens of cases before juries in federal and state courts across NC. Many of those cases have become a part of the storied traditions of NC trial advocacy. In '73 Smith was elected to the NC House of Representatives; he was reelected in '75. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since its inception.

William J. Cotter was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on November 5, 1947. He served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1972. He rose to the rank of Captain and served in the artillery with the 82nd Airborne, 1st. Cavalry, and 1st. Infantry Divison. He graduated from East Carolina University in 1976 with a B.S. Mr. Cotter attended Duke University Law School, graduating in 1979 with a J.D. Degree. Mr. Cotter was admitted to practice law in 1979. He specializes in criminal law, domestic relations, traffic violations, and family law....see William J. Cotter P.A.


A native of California, Doug Kingsbery earned his A.B. degree cum laude from Duke University in 1977 and his J.D. from Duke University in 1980.

Mr. Kingsbery's litigation practice includes trial and appellate work in all areas of civil, criminal and administrative law. His civil practice includes trials as well as varioius forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution in a variety of commercial, business and other civil disputes. As a criminal practitioner, Mr. Kingsbery is an accomplished trial lawyer. He has tried and won criminal jury trials in federal court and in several different counties across the State, and has served as the Chair of the North Carolina State Bar's Criminal Law Specialty Committee. Mr. Kingsbery's administrative practice includes representation of attorneys before the North Carolina State Bar, physicians before the North Carolina Board of Medical Examiners, and various professionals before other professional licensing boards....see Douglas E. Kingsbery - Tharrington Smith

For Defendant Reade Seligmann: J. Kirk Osborn & Ernest L. "Buddy" Conner, Jr.

J. Kirk Osborn was a three-year letterman in football at the University of Colorado, where he received a B.S. degree in 1965. He has an M.S. degree from Colorado State University in 1967. He attended law school at the University of North Carolina and earned is J.D. degree in 1974. Mr. Osborn was admitted to practice law in North Carolina in 1974. He took a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1994. Mr. Osborn is a board certified specialist in criminal law. He is also a member of the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.....see J. Kirk Osborn


Ernest L. "Buddy" Conner, Jr. is a life-long Democrat. He works at Dixon, Doub, Conner & Foster, PLLC, in Greenville, NC. Mr. Conner worked with Kirk Osborn on the Drew Edward Planten case. Planten, 35, hanged himself in January while awaiting a capital murder trial.