FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Civil rights attorney Gloria Allred is taking aim at the Broward County state attorney's office for its handling of drug and rape cases.
Allred held a news conference Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, along with Erica Berg, who accused former Miami Hurricanes and NFL star Michael Irvin of rape. The state attorney's office declined to file charges.
Allred told reporters that she is sending a letter to Broward County's state attorney, urging him to change his office's policy on whether or not to prosecute rape cases. She claims an urgent change is needed and believes that the current policy is likely to prevent some women from reporting rapes in the future.
She also believes the current policy discriminates against women.
Prosecutors said in a closeout memo that Berg had alcohol, cocaine, Xanax and Ecstasy in her system and provided inconsistent statements. Prosecutors said there was "not a reasonable likelihood of conviction."
"So, the state makes reference to the victim's inconsistent statements, yet they fail to include the many inconsistent statements of Michael Irvin," Allred said.
Allred said she has an issue with the details released in the closeout memorandum, including the drug use.
"Ordinarily, a prosecutor's office would say, 'We don't find sufficient evidence,' but they don't go into the kind of detail that I just described," she said. "The most obvious and egregious example was the inclusion of Ms. Berg's medical condition and the details of her toxicology screening."
Allred said she fears that the actions of the state attorney's office releasing private information might prevent other victims from coming forward in the future.
Irvin said after the state attorney's office's decision that the "devastating" allegation cost him millions of dollars.
Berg appeared with Allred but did not speak.