3 Lawyers Say They Want Nifong's Old Job

The three have been or are still members of the Durham district attorney's office and worked for Nifong before he was disbarred for his handling of the Duke lacrosse rape case.

Tracey Cline is chief assistant district attorney, and Mitchell Garrell is an assistant district attorney. Freda Black was an assistant prosecutor until Nifong dismissed her two years ago.

All three plan to run for Nifong's old job next year. Steve Monks, a lawyer who ran a write-in campaign against Nifong in 2006, said he might run if he's not elected to the City Council in the meantime.

Nifong was appointed to the post in April 2005 and elected to the job last year. He resigned in the furor over the Duke lacrosse case, in which three athletes were falsely accused of raping an exotic dancer during an off-campus party.

Gov. Mike Easley appointed Chief Assistant District Attorney David Saacks, a 15-year veteran of the office, to serve as interim district attorney until the 2008 election. Saacks, who lives in Wake County, has said he does not intend to run for the position.