DISTRICT ATTORNEY ELECTION-Durham Co

As a resident of Durham County, I truly have a vested interest in the outcome of this race. The two announced candidates have vastly different approaches to everything from victim's rights to prosecutorial styles to families of victims to prosecutorial decision making processes. Whomever wins this election will mold and shape the Durham County DAs Office for the next four years. This is a position that decides many things - what cases are prosecuted, how they are prosecuted, when they are prosecuted, etc. That said, cases currently under investigation, "cold cases," as well as future cases will all feel a profound impact from the results of this election. While I have to believe that anyone in the position of District Attorney is focused on crime and it's victims, it's HOW they approach and execute their position that differentiates one person from the next. And again, the current candidates, Mike Nifong and Freda Black, offer two distinct personalities and styles.

Yesterday was the first day of official candidacy filing for the May primary. This will indeed be a hotly contested race in Durham County this year, and, promises to certainly be lively as well, as evidenced by: (excerpt. link to full article follows)


Durham filings begin with potshot in DA's race

[font='Times New Roman',serif]By Gregory Phillips and John Stevenson, The Herald-Sun
February 14, 2006 12:46 am [/font]
DURHAM -- The 2006 election filing season opened Monday with a potshot at his opponent from Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, who was the first person in the state to register his candidacy with the N.C. Board of Elections.

Numerous others also filed on Monday to run for positions ranging from judgeships to sheriff to seats in the Legislature.

Nifong verbally took on lawyer Freda Black, who will file today to run for district attorney, over a campaign flier that says Black was "lead prosecutor" in Michael Peterson's nationally televised 2003 murder trial. Peterson was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing his wife, Nortel Networks executive Kathleen Peterson.

"She was not the lead prosecutor," said Nifong. "The lead prosecutor was Jim Hardin. Any assertion to the contrary is flatly false. There is only one lead prosecutor in any trial. Freda was the second-chair prosecutor."

Black said it was all a mistake.

She said the flier was produced by Campaign Connections of Raleigh, and she had nothing to do with it.

"I've never seen it," Black added. "They did it on my behalf, but I did not approve the language. It is true that I was not the lead prosecutor."

Brad Dixon of Campaign Connections said there was no deliberate attempt to mislead the public.

Rather, he said the flier was produced by "excited and energetic volunteers" who accidentally got carried away with their rhetoric.

Nifong received his undergraduate degree from UNC in 1971 and his law degree from the same school in 1978. He became an assistant district attorney in Durham in 1979 and took over as chief last year when his predecessor, Jim Hardin Jr., the lead prosecutor in Peterson's trial, was appointed to a Superior Court judgeship.

Nifong said he didn't deliberately set out Monday to be the first person to file with the state Board of Elections. Instead, he said he arrived at the board 90 minutes early because he didn't want to get stuck in a crowd after the agency opened for filings at noon.

But it was "kind of cool" to be first, Nifong added.

"It's a statement that I'm committed to doing this job," he said. "Maybe, with any luck, I'll also be first in the hearts of Durham voters."

http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-701419.html

Should be an interesting Spring...

Awe man, I hope this doesn't end up being a mud slinging competition, that is something The People don't need from their Government.

This is turning out to be very interesting.

Any word if anyone else filed for DA's Office besides Nifong and Black?

In everything I have ever seen on Freda Black, she had never claimed to be the "lead prosecutor."

I hate mud slinging and I hope this campaign on both sides is done with the extreme care as whomever wins will have to be an advocate for the People and nothing gets under the skin of voters more than mud slingers.

I came across a few things today regarding the DA's Race. Seems they are both trying to get their messages out to the voters.

Freda Black has another Newsletter: http://www.fredablack.com/images/pic/Newsletter2.pdf

I also noticed an interesting thing called "Day to Day" by Michael Nifong on his website:

http://mikenifong.com/daytoday.php

I don't know, but watching from the sidelines, it looks like Nifong may be threatened by his female competition....jmo. It appears this race might get pretty ugly. It's a shame, because nobody needs that.

LTUlegal said:

I don't know, but watching from the sidelines, it looks like Nifong may be threatened by his female competition....jmo. It appears this race might get pretty ugly. It's a shame, because nobody needs that.

Click to expand...

And to think that there is a possibility that prosecuting crimes may take a "back seat" to the campaign:furious:

Freda Black made her run for the office of Durham County District Attorney official on Tuesday - (excerpts. link to full article follows)


3 Assembly candidates among filings

[font='Times New Roman',serif]BY GREGORY PHILLIPS AND JOHN STEVENSON, The Herald-Sun
February 15, 2006 12:43 am [/font]

DURHAM --...lawyer Freda Black filed to run for district attorney and two candidates filed for seats on the county school board....

In filing for the D.A.'s seat, Black claimed she was firm but fair and had the right stuff to make the city safer.
Black's filing came a day after that of her only opponent so far: Mike Nifong, who was an assistant prosecutor for years and took over the top slot 10 months ago when former District Attorney Jim Hardin Jr. became a judge.

Black held a short news conference on Tuesday, during which Valentine's Day candies were passed out to guests, and the candidate was loudly applauded by a group of middle-aged women in cheerleading outfits: Durham's Senior Divas.

"Criminals must not rule Durham," said Black.

Without elaborating on how she intended to do it, Black pledged to help build "a community-changing coalition. Together, we will make Durham safer for all of us," she said.

Black is a 1985 graduate of law school at Campbell University and daughter of former state legislator Fred Bowman.

Now in private practice, she was an assistant district attorney in Durham for 14 years. In what was probably her most well-known case, she helped win a nationally televised 2003 trial in which novelist Michael Peterson was convicted of killing his wife, Nortel Networks executive Kathleen Peterson.

But Black suddenly resigned in April 2005, shortly after Nifong became chief prosecutor.

According to Black, her departure was not voluntary and came at Nifong's instigation.

"He handed me a letter of resignation and told me my services were no longer needed," she said last year. "I signed the letter and packed my boxes."

Black said Nifong didn't explain why he was dismissing her, and she didn't ask.

"I loved being an assistant DA," she added. "It was such a satisfying and rewarding experience for me. It wouldn't have been my preference to leave because I enjoyed my job so much. On the other hand, I would not want to work for someone who didn't want me to work for him."

Nifong has repeatedly declined to comment, saying the situation was a private personnel matter.


http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-701877.html

"Nifong has repeatedly declined to comment, saying the situation was a private personnel matter.."


:doh: UGH we're just waiting for :behindbar and I am hoping that this campaigning does not interfere with seeking Justice for Janet Marie Chrisitiansen.

Again, whomever wins, they should have their best working on this case when the time comes and I am seriously hoping that the handling of this case is a priority as opposed to worrying about private personnel or private personal matters.

Updated Information - This is About the Current District Attorney - his Bio

http://www.ncdistrictattorney.org/mikenifong/your_district_attorney.htm

About Freda Black:

http://www.fredablack.com/about.php

So, interestingly enough, a THIRD Democratic candidate for DA will be filing today it seems.... (link to full article follows)




3rd candidate for Durham DA likely to file today

[font='Times New Roman',serif]By John Stevenson, The Herald-Sun
February 21, 2006 11:54 pm [/font]

DURHAM -- Durham lawyer Keith Bishop confirmed Tuesday that he will run for district attorney this year, sparking the first three-way contest for the chief prosecutor's job in decades.......

....Bishop, a 1992 graduate of law school at N.C. Central University, said he expected to register his candidacy with the state Board of Elections today. Nifong and Black filed last week.
All three candidates are Democrats.

Previously, Bishop had said he intended to run for a District Court judgeship in Durham.

"But I've been calculating, analyzing and reviewing, and I think running for DA is the better choice," he said Tuesday. "The odds are more in my favor. I prefer to go against two others rather than five."........

......Several court observers predicted Tuesday that Bishop, who is black, might have a decent shot at becoming district attorney if the primary vote divided along racial lines -- with [Mike] Nifong and [Freda] Black splitting the white electorate and Bishop raking in most of the community's black ballots.

Unless a Republican prospect emerged, any Democratic candidate who gathered at least 40 percent of the primary vote would automatically become Durham's next district attorney.

Bishop said that, if elected, he hoped to bring change to the chief prosecutor's office.

"That's the most important thing," he added. "We need a fresh new perspective. We're going to bring law and order to this town. We will bring new competency to the prosecution of serious crimes. If we have a coherent approach to crime and address it head-on, I think we can root it out."


http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-704579.html

What is a district court judgeship? Is this guy really wanting to be the DA or does he just want to be something - anything - and figures that the DA election is his best shot? I'm not sure I'm reading this right. :waitasec:

Wouldn't that be something if neither Nifong nor Black won. I wonder how much time and money will have been wasted in that case. Unfortunately, the little bit we've heard from this 3rd candidate sounds like rhetoric too: "We're going to bring law and order to this town."

You know, since I'm not a resident of Durham and so my opinion means basically nothing, I just hope that whomever wins, finally goes after the perp, puts this case before a judge and jury, and gets the slime who committed this crime in jail, where they belong. It would be sad to know if this case was put on the back burner because of an election.

Bishop still has not filed for DA
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham\4-705011.html


Feb 22, 2006 : 9:55 pm ET


DURHAM -- Durham lawyer Keith Bishop did not file Wednesday to run for district attorney, even though he had said a day earlier that he expected to do so.

However, the filing period remains open until Feb. 28 at noon.


Other candidates in the district attorney's race are Mike Nifong, who was appointed to the position last year after his predecessor became a judge, and Freda Black, a longtime assistant prosecutor now in private practice

The race is on!

The deadline to file for the Durham County District Attorney election was February 28th. Three Democratic candidates filed for the election:

Mike Nifong
Freda Black
Keith Bishop

As all three candidates are Democrats, the May primary will decide the next District Attorney IF the top vote-getter wins 40% or more of the vote...if not, then there will be a runoff election. (If there were only two same party candidates in the race, the one with the most votes would automatically move on to the general election ballot in November.) Regardless, one candidate will end up on the ballot, unopposed, for the November general election.

With Bishop entering the DA race, another interesting dynamic is possibly formed. Quite often in local Durham races, election results divide along racial lines. It's unfortunate that this happens I think, but the reality is what it is.... Bishop is African American, whereas Nifong and Black are both white.

The May primary looms large now that the filing period is past - I expect we'll see things start to really heat up with these candidates in coming weeks!

These are excerpts from a recent article in the News and Observer (link to full article follows):

Three vying in DA's contest
Durham lawyer to make a run

Benjamin Niolet, Staff Writer
As election filing comes to a close, a third candidate has entered the race for district attorney, possibly complicating what was already sure to be a contentious campaign.

Durham lawyer Keith A. Bishop filed his intention to run as a Democrat for the district's top prosecutor job Monday. Bishop, a lawyer with 14 years of experience mostly in civil work, said he had considered running for a District Court judgeship, but he decided his talents could best be used as a prosecutor.

He joins former Durham prosecutor Freda Black and current District Attorney Mike Nifong........in what most expect to be a hard-fought race for the Democratic slot on the November ballot.

So far, no Republican has filed for the office (SES NOTE: No Republican candidate filed.), so the primary in May could be the whole game. With two candidates in the race, the one with the most votes would have moved to the general election ballot. With three candidates, the top vote-getter must win more than 40 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.

Three candidates in the race also could elevate the importance of endorsements from political groups such as the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, said Irving Joyner, an N.C. Central University law professor. White voters in Durham, Joyner said, will likely split their votes between Black and Nifong, the two front-runners. Bishop is black.

"Within the African-American community, none of the three running are widely known," Joyner said. "African-Americans, in large part, rely on what the Durham Committee decides." .........

Brad Dixon, a campaign spokesman for Black, said: "The African-American community wants the same thing that everyone wants ... a safe community. Only an experienced prosecutor can provide that. That candidate is Freda Black."

Bishop also downplayed the significance of race, saying his campaign is about change. Both of his opponents were long-serving assistant prosecutors in the office. "We need change in Durham," Bishop said. "It's been running years under the same regime, and it just seems as if things are getting a little bit worse."


http://www.newsobserver.com/145/story/412488.html

Well, may the best man or woman win, as long as they work VERY HARD to make sure the Murderer (you know you are The Rave) get's locked up FOREVER and ever and Justice is served for Janet Marie Christiansen, her unborn child, Kaiden and the family and friends of Janet Marie.

exactly.........

..i don't live in the area, but i would hope that those who do ,fight hard to see that this case is the FIRST one that the new D.A. works hard on............

I sent an email to Freda Black and Mike Nifong asking for their thoughts on the Janet Abaroa murder case, and whether they would "lean" on law enforcement to devote more resources to the case. I'll summarize their responses when I receive them. Maybe by pitting these two candidates against each other, we can make a campaign issue out of Janet's murder, and the lack of progress in the investigation.

For the first 6 months or so, I was inclined to let LE take their time to build a credible, air-tight case. That's why I was a lurker and didn't participate in this forum. But after 9 months and no charges, I'm convinced that LE has run into a major road block. IMO, LE is 99% sure who did it, but can't find conclusive, unassailable evidence to produce in court. That said, if LE is continuing to work the case and gather evidence, then I say let the road to justice be slow and scenic. We'll get there. But if they've run out of ideas and are starting to wind the investigation down, then it's time to devote more time/money/people to the case and squeeze the evidentiary lemons they've got into some sort of murder case. If LE can't get a slam-dunk, they might as well try for a three-pointer rather than simply giving up.

good for you...........

..i began a thread on the freda message forum mid february,( thanks for the link SES.) there have been no additional responses, but i thought i'd get it out there..

http://www.fredablack.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=1&sid=8e04aefd96db8532de53c43665005068

..residing in canada i don't have a vested interest in 'the winner'..........i only hope that the new D.A. will pour resources into this case and arrest /charge raven......umm, i mean the MURDERER , soon.

http://www.wral.com/news/7588156/detail.html



Durham D.A. Candidate Defends Professional, Criminal Records

POSTED: 5:14 pm EST March 1, 2006
UPDATED: 2:05 pm EST March 2, 2006
DURHAM, N.C. -- After 14 years of handling civil and criminal cases in Durham, Keith Bishop wants to become the Bull City's next district attorney. <li>
Discussion: Should People With Criminal Histories Be Allowed To Run For Public Office? Bishop faces two better-known candidates in the race: current District Attorney Mike Nifong, who was promoted to the position last year, and former Assistant District Attorney Freda Black, who helped prosecute high-profile cases, such as the Michael Peterson murder trial, before leaving for private practice."I've managed a private practice and I will bring that management and greater efficiency to the office," Bishop said.

But as he calls for change, WRAL asked Bishop to explain his professional and criminal records.The North Carolina State Bar censured him in 2001 after finding he constantly interrupted and stonewalled the defense during a civil case."Any of those issues are just a reflection of my diligence," Bishop said.In 1997, an assault with a deadly weapon warrant was never served. Bishop called it a misunderstanding with his former law partner.

And the candidate never served any time after he was arrested for resisting an officer and failing to stop in 1998.

Bishop said Duke University police pursued him after he took pictures of a client in the hospital."I was trying to get to the Durham Police Department to save the evidence," he said.But Bishop does not think his records would hurt his credibility as district attorney."Absolutely not," he said. "What it shows, again, is my vigor and diligence."

With three district attorney candidates on the ballot, the question for Durham voters is whose background matters most.WRAL checked public records of Nifong and Black, but found no criminal charges or disciplinary action by the state bar.

Candidates with a criminal history, however, are not uncommon in Durham. Just last year, several mayoral candidates had troubled pasts: Vincent Brown spent time in prison for forgery; Jackie Wagstaff pleaded guilty to similar charges. And candidate Joe Williams served time for assault. Brown eventually dropped out; Wagstaff and Williams lost.Durham City Council candidate John Best, who also ran last year, has a driving while impaired conviction; he also lost his bid for re-election.Reporter: Cullen Browder
Photographer: Gil Hollingsworth
Web Editor: Kelly Gardner

Why isn't this case being brought to justice? Is it because the current DA doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to bring it forward?

Is it because LE doesn't have enough evidence, which, imo they do? What gives?????

I'm tired of this. It's time something is done!

..there's now a new thread regarding janet's murder on the freda black for DA message board:

The murder of Janet Abaroa - unsolved after 10 months

http://www.fredablack.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20

comments include:

......................"If elected to be the District Attorney for Durham County, you will have the clout to "lean" on law enforcement agencies to devote resources to the investigation of specific crimes (selective investigation). What are your thoughts on the Janet Abaroa case? Are you satisfied with the progress that law enforcement has made? Will you make the Janet Abaroa case a high priority, or allow it to become a cold case?

I'm sending a similar email to Mike Nifong, asking for his thoughts on the case. There has been a lot of Durham coverage on Janet Abaroa's murder, so I would expect it to come up as an issue in the campaign. "

......................"I worked with both of the Abaroas, Janet was a sweet heart and Raven was one of the biggest assholes I ever came across. Besides, ripping off the company, being a mormon he was having sex with half our call center and he didn't keep it under wraps by any means. So he gets fired, she quits out of shame, about to be evicted, trying to raise a child and he finds out they are expecting again...and she ends up dead.

Typical Durham justice, he is skiing in Utah right now."

........................."I looked around and I found a website called http://www.websleuths.com that has a lot of information about the case. I didn't join but you can read without joining.

I also found a website for this girl http://www.tearsforjanet.com

OMG - it's a real shame."


..i urge anyone who resides in NC, and has a vested interest in your new DA , to check out the boards there and let your opinions be known........