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Timeline: Durham DA Tracey Cline's case
Durham County District Attorney Tracey Cline's allegations of judicial corruption have earned her a suspension from her job and the suspicion of fellow lawyers.
Posted — UpdatedNOV. 15, 2011
In dismissing a murder charge against a Mebane man who carried human remains in his backpack, Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson sharply criticizes Durham County District Attorney Tracey Cline, Durham police and state investigators.
NOV. 18, 2011
Cline accuses Hudson of corruption and asks that he be barred from hearing criminal cases in the county.
NOV. 23, 2011
Cline files a motion requesting that Hudson not be allowed to preside over a Dec. 5 hearing as to whether novelist and former Durham mayoral candidate Mike Peterson should be granted a new murder trial.
DEC. 5, 2011
Superior Court Judge Carl Fox says none of the evidence Cline presented demonstrated bias against her and declines remove Hudson from Peterson's case.
JAN. 9, 2012
Cline files a motion requesting that Hudson recuse himself from presiding over the case of Clint Edward Pollard, who is accused of molesting a boy.
JAN. 13, 2012
Superior Court Judge Henry Hight rules that Cline showed no evidence of Hudson's bias against her office and dismisses the motion that he be removed from Pollard's case.
JAN. 18, 2012
In eight pages of examples, Pollard's defense attorney, Kerry Sutton, lays out why she thinks Cline has "brought the office of the Durham County District Attorney and the entire Durham County justice system into disrepute."
JAN. 27, 2012
Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood orders Cline suspended without pay.
FEB. 20, 2012
Sutton presents evidence to Hobgood from Cline's motions and testimony by Durham-area lawyers to support her claim that Cline has undermined confidence in the district attorney's office.
FEB. 24-27, 2012
Cline testifies in her defense. She said Hudson's false allegations that she withheld or destroyed evidence in two murder trials and his repeated and unnecessary changes to the criminal court docket left her with no choice but to challenge him in the motions.
MARCH 2, 2012
Hobgood orders Cline removed from office, saying he found "clear, cogent and convincing evidence" during a four-day inquiry that she had "brought the office of the Durham County District Attorney and the entire Durham County justice system into disrepute."
MAY 25, 2012
The North Carolina State Bar files a complaint against Cline, seeking discipline against her for her comments against Hudson.
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