Freda Black to Run Again for Durham D.A.

Durham, N.C. — The former Durham assistant district attorney who lost her job when Mike Nifong dismissed her says she will announce next month that she's running a second time for district attorney.

Freda Black, who was assistant prosecutor from 1991 to 2005, said Wednesday she will hold a news conference Feb. 1 at the Durham County courthouse to announce she's running for the position.

Nifong dismissed Black in 2005; he then defeated her in the May 2006 Democratic primary.

Nifong has since been disbarred for more than two dozen violations of the North Carolina State Bar's rules of professional conduct for his handling of the Duke University lacrosse case. He filed for bankruptcy this week.

David Saacks, whom Gov. Mike Easley appointed in September, is interim district attorney until the 2008 election. He has said he does not intend to run for the position, and he is ineligible because he lives in Wake County.

Black is best known for prosecuting Michael Peterson, the novelist serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife, Kathleen. The case received extensive media attention and has been the subject of a six-hour documentary and a made-for-TV movie.

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Any elected DA will be a political liability. They are an elected official, and have to play the political game in order to keep their jobs. Same with the Sherif and any other elected positiion (mayor, school board, clerk of court, etc).

chfdcpt
January 17, 2008 2:29 p.m.

I didn't like Nifong either , but we shouldn't like her because she isn't Nifong. What are her credentials? The last thing Durham needs is another liability serving as the DA. I saw her on 48 Hours on CBS, where she was grand-tanding the whole time during the Michael Peterson case. She reminded me alot of Nancy Grace. Grace is great for entertainment, but would be awful in the reality of the justice system; especially in Durham. My two cents.

KevinUNC97
January 17, 2008 12:43 p.m.

Durham had the chance to vote for her earlier and didn't bother to do it. I guess we'll find out if the population has gotten any smarter since then.