A judge in Durham has removed District Attorney Tracey Cline from office. Jessica Jones of WUNC reports on the ruling.
It’s the second time a Durham DA has been removed from that post in the past five years.
After two days of testimony, Judge Robert Hobgood ruled that Cline's conduct over the last three months brought her office into disrepute. He suspended her in late January, after she accused Durham County's senior judge, Orlando Hudson, of misconduct.
Hudson had ruled against Cline in dismissing two murder cases in 2010. Cline later filed lengthy filings saying Hudson engaged in dishonesty and corruption. Other judges ruled those charges were unfounded.
Tracey Cline is the second district attorney in Durham to lose the post. Mike Nifong was stripped of his law license in 2007 over ethics violations in the Duke lacrosse case.
Interim attorneys headed the office until Cline was first elected in 2008. She was re-elected without opposition two years later.