Judge suspends North Carolina District Attorney

January 31, 2012

Durham, North Carolina: Judge Robert H. Hobgood, of North Carolina's 9th Judicial District, suspended Durham District Attorney Tracey Cline for her attacks on Judge Orlando F. Hudson, Jr. of the 14th Judicial District. The suspension occurred on January 27, 2012, when Judge Hobgood determined that Cline's actions were "prejudicial to the administration of justice". He ordered a hearing for Feb. 13, which will decide whether or not Cline may remain in office. In the meantime, the Governor will appoint an interim district attorney.

The spat between Cline and Judge Hudson has gone on for a few months. One of Cline's allegations against Hudson accused him of deciding a case before it was over. However, the document used to support this accusation was found to have been time-stamped by a faulty clock. Cline went on to request Hudson's removal from all criminal cases in Durham. She wrote that his conduct displayed, "moral turpitude, dishonesty and corruption." She also claims that Hudson retaliated by dismissing two murder charges against Derrick Allen, who was accused of murdering a 2-year-old girl in 1998. Cline explained that the Judge privately encouraged her to drop the charges and, when she refused, he dismissed the case--partly due to the failure of Cline and the other prosecutors to exchange information with the other party as required in a criminal case. Cline says her procedures were correct. She also accused Hudson of teaming up with the News & Observer to smear her.

Judge Hobgood wrote that, after the dismissal of the Allen case, "signals began to appear that Tracey E. Cline was losing her ability to exercise professional restraint and civility toward Judge Hudson." The ruling arose from an affidavit filed by lawyer Kerry Sutton last week which claimed that Cline's actions against Hudson were harming her office's professional reputation.