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Key Dates in the Duke Case

2:01 PM EDT, April 11, 2007

March 13, 2006: Co-captains of the Duke University lacrosse team throw a party at an off-campus house, hiring two exotic dancers for a reported $800 to perform.

March 14, 2006: One of the dancers tells police that she was held captive in a bathroom, beaten and raped by three lacrosse players.

March 2006: In a series of media interviews and public appearances, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong says he will prosecute the case personally. He refers to the alleged assailants as "a bunch of hooligans" and says DNA evidence will show "precisely who was involved".

March 23, 2006: In accordance with a court order, 45 of the 46 Duke lacrosse team members provide DNA samples and have their pictures taken. Only the sole black player on the team is exempted, since the accuser said all her attackers were white.

March 28, 2006: The lacrosse team's season is suspended by the Duke University president.

March 30, 2006: Details of the alleged rape and beating are made public. The woman accuses three players of holding her in a bathroom while they sexually assaulted her. On the same day, two Duke lacrosse team members post a statement on GoDuke.com saying: "We also stated unequivocally that any allegation that a sexual assault or rape occurred is totally and transparently false. The DNA results will demonstrate that these allegations are absolutely false."

April 3, 2006: Nifong stops granting interviews about the case.

April 5, 2006: Lacrosse Coach Mike Pressler is forced to resign, and Duke President Richard Brodhead cancels the entire season.

April 10, 2006: DNA results fail to link any of the lacrosse players to the case.

April 17, 2006: Despite the lack of DNA evidence, lacrosse players Collin Finnerty, of Garden City, and Reade Seligmann, of Essex Fells, N.J., are indicted by a Durham grand jury. The next day, they are both arrested and charged with rape, sexual offense and kidnapping; the two are released on $400,000 bond. Both are suspended from the university.

May 2, 2006: Nifong wins the Democratic primary in the Durham district attorney race, besting a well-known rival, virtually assuring an election victory in November..

May 15, 2006: One day after graduating from Duke, a third lacrosse player, David Evans of Bethesda, Md., is indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree forcible rape, sexual offense and kidnapping.

June 10, 2006: Court documents cast new doubts on the truthfulness of the accuser. A succession of other documents in subsequent months, along with statements made by the second dancer, continue to undermine the accuser's credibility.

Dec.14, 2006: Defense lawyers say in court documents that a Durham Police photo lineup that led to the accuser's identification of the three charged players was flawed and unconstitutional.

Dec. 22, 2006: Rape charges are dropped against the three, after the accuser changes her version of events and now says she cannot be sure she was raped. The other charges of kidnapping and sexual offense remain.

Dec. 28, 2006: The North Carolina Bar Association accuses Nifong of professional misconduct for his numerous public statements on the case. Later, they add charges, saying he had failed to immediately turn over to the defense DNA evidence that failed to tie any players to the woman.

Jan. 2, 2007: Duke University and its lacrosse team offer to reinstate Finnerty and Seligmann, but Finnerty's father says his son wants to first legally establish his innocence before considering whether to re-enroll. Seligmann's family has declined to say whether he will re-enroll.

Jan. 12, 2007: Nifong says he wants to step aside in the case, asking the state attorney general's office to name special prosecutors to handle it. The case is transferred the next day.

Feb. 24, 2007: Restored to competitive play for the new season, the Duke lacrosse team defeats Dartmouth in its opening game.

Compiled by staff writer Joseph Mallia.