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Published: 2007-06-21 10:07:00
Updated: 2007-06-21 19:58:42

Hardin: 'We're Going to Learn and Move Forward'


Jim Hardin
Jim Hardin
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Durham County's interim district attorney said Thursday afternoon that he will evaluate the office, its staff and its procedures, but that his main goal is to restore integrity.

"I made it very plain and very clear (to the office's staff) that every decision we make is essentially going to be based on one thing: Do the right thing for the right reason, do it in an ethical way and a legal and efficient way," Hardin said. "We're going to do that from start to finish."

A familiar face in Durham, Hardin, 50, served as Durham County's top prosecutor for 11 years before being appointed to a Superior Court judgeship in April 2005. He resigned from that post, at the request of Gov. Mike Easley, to replace former head prosecutor Mike Nifong, who was disbarred on Saturday and suspended Tuesday.

"Y'all have been reporting for a year about the dysfunction of this office," Hardin told reporters. "I'm going to do my best to assess that for him (Easley) and report back."

Nifong said Monday he would resign July 13, but Durham Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson issued a suspension order the next day, saying that having Nifong remain in office could cause problems with court cases.

Hardin refused to speak about Nifong and the Duke lacrosse case.

"What is in the past is in the past," Hardin said. "We're going to learn from this and move forward in representing the people of Durham County in an ethical and legal way in everything we do."

Hudson swore in Hardin about 9:30 a.m. Thursday at Asheville's Grove Park Inn, where the two were attending a Superior Court judges conference.

Upon administering the oath of office, Nifong was no longer the district attorney, Dick Ellis, spokesman for the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, said.

Defense attorney Mark Edwards said Hardin will bring a sense of normalcy back to the district attorney's office after more than a year of tremendous pressure caused by Nifong's prosecution and handling of the Duke lacrosse case.

Nifong's presence, Edwards said, also made it difficult for defense attorneys to do their jobs.

"He was the person who you had to go and talk to," Edwards said. "You would go as far as you could with the assistants, and then, if they had made their final plea offers and they told you that was the best they could do, you had to go talk to Mike, and it got very awkward toward the end."

Easley appointed Hardin on Wednesday to "take stock of the office, the personnel and its practices" until he can appoint a new district attorney to serve out the term, which ends in 2008.

That search for a replacement is expected to take nearly two months, at which time Hardin is expected to return to the bench.

Meanwhile Thursday, Nifong's wife, Cy Gurney, was seen at the Durham Courthouse, where she was cleaning out her husband's belongings. Earlier this week, Durham County Sheriff Worth Hill took Nifong's keys and his access card to the building when Hill served Nifong at his home with Hudson's suspension order.


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No agenda, just the facts about Hardin. Unfortunately, our state has some pretty obtuse laws that harm the judicial process in fairness, or should I say, allow for abuse of those given the authority and power to seek the truth.

No record whatsoever for Grand Jury proceedings. GJ used to an extreme to get indictments instead of going before a judge, on record, with evidence, in a probable cause hearing.

DA's setting court dates and judges, illegal in 46 states. Just look at the record of what judge Hardin used during his years as DA. How many judges were available? Many more than one.

Now if Hardin is tasked, as Easley states, with getting the office back to being a trustworthy process, some people need to be let go. Linwood Wilson for one, and a serious review of Tracey Cline would be called for as well.

I didn't get the impression at his presser that Hardin took that seriously when he considered it "ancient history".

Looks like someone here has an agenda about Hardin.

He is going to be in the position 2 months. Would you prefer him or Nifong? Lighten up and let him do his job. And until there is something to complain about, just relax.

I am sure someone knew Nifong too. It looks like knowing someone does not mean much. It's their actions while in office that matters!

Hardin is a great guy and the right one to fill in right now. I know him personally because my kids go to the same HS as his. We talk everytime we see each other. Lolly, vett, historian, milky and others had some very funny posts. Thanks for the laughs.

I believe Hardin will get things going in the right direction. It will be interesting to see what the new DA does with the office. Will everyone stay or will some be let go? Only time will tell.

In fact milky, Hardin has a reputation of judge shopping for cases, while not an offense in NC, it is in 46 other states. Then again, NC is not very up to speed on judicial process, look at the Grand Jury process where there is absolutely no records kept, no transcript under seal even.

May 19, 1999

Durham DA gets 'judge-shopping' reputation

Author: JOHN SULLIVAN; STAFF WRITER

Edition: Final Section: News Page: A1

Index Terms: Jim Hardin Orlando HUDSON Durham judicial

Estimated printed pages: 5

Article Text: "Judge-shopping is legal in North Carolina, the only state in the country where district attorneys decide when and where a case goes to trial."

(snip) "Jim Hardin doesn't put himself at a disadvantage," HUDSON said. "I don't know of any official that puts his office at a disadvantage. I think the DA has a lot of power, and when the legislature leaves scheduling in the hands of the DAs, you have sanctioned judge-shopping." (snip)

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