Local News

Former Durham DA's disciplinary hearing postponed

A disciplinary hearing for former Durham County District Attorney Tracey Cline will be postponed until after a state Court of Appeals rules on her dismissal, according to North Carolina State Bar court filings.

Posted 2012-09-06T21:30:39+00:00 - Updated 2012-09-06T21:33:57+00:00

Durham County District Attorney Tracey Cline listens to arguments on Feb. 29, 2012, at the conclusion of a judicial inquiry into whether she should be removed from office for publicly criticizing a judge.

Cline was removed from office in March after she repeatedly accused Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson of being corrupt and biased against her. Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood found that her allegations against Hudson were unfounded, and that they had damaged the Durham County justice system.

The state bar scheduled a disciplinary hearing for Oct. 1-5 to rule on a complaint against Cline, which alleges that she committed five violations of rules requiring lawyers to be honest and trustworthy.

It's not clear what punishment Cline might face.

She had previously requested a delay for her disciplinary hearing until her appeal is decided, but that request was denied last month.

It wasn't clear why the new request was granted over the last one, but court filings state that the state bar found "good cause to continue the hearing."