Cooper's pick for SBI lab declined job

Three weeks ago, Attorney General Roy Cooper called a news conference to announce that he had hired an interim director for the troubled crime lab at the State Bureau of Investigation.

Eight days later, that director, former Chief Judge Gerald Arnold of the N.C. Court of Appeals, declined the job.

On Wednesday, Arnold confirmed that he had changed his mind.

"The time frame for me was not right. I wish it had been," Arnold said in an interview. "It just didn't work out."

Arnold said he declined the job because of time constraints, not because of any difference of opinion over how to do the job."It wasn't that they said I couldn't do this, I couldn't do that," he said. "I think I would have done whatever I wanted to do."

Arnold's decision leaves the lab without a director during a turbulent period when its credibility is under scrutiny.

A recent audit that found that SBI lab analysts withheld or misreported the results of blood tests in at least 229 cases. That audit, by two retired FBI supervisors, focused on evidence withheld from prosecutors and defense attorneys.

A series in The News & Observer in August showed agents cutting corners and crafting experiments and testimony to fit the theories of prosecutors. The problems extend beyond the blood tests to the analysis of firearms, DNA and bloodstain patterns.

Cooper and his staff did not divulge the news that Arnold was not going to serve as interim lab director, even after a request Friday by The News & Observer about his status.

Cooper and SBI Director Greg McLeod declined to be interviewed Wednesday about how Arnold's job fell through.

But McLeod can expect such questions during a legislative hearing today, according to State Rep. Rick Glazier, co-chairman of the Joint Select Committee on the Preservation of Biological Evidence, which this month took up the role of SBI oversight until the General Assembly returns in January.

"It is a position that needs to be filled quickly by the right person, even on an interim basis," said Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat. "I will certainly be asking questions about it Thursday, and hopefully, Greg McLeod will have some answers for us."

Management team

Cooper's office said the lab is being run by a management team that meets frequently with McLeod.

On Sept. 8, Cooper announced that he had hired Arnold as interim lab director while a national search for a permanent director was under way. Cooper said Arnold would make sure that the lab provides test results that are accurate and properly reported.

"It is critical that Judge Arnold take a good thorough look," Cooper said that day. "If problems are found, they will be fixed."

On Sept. 16, Arnold informed McLeod in a letter that he would not be taking the job, citing the day-to-day time requirements.

On Sept. 24, The News & Observer requested a copy of the SBI's contract with Arnold. The N&O also asked whether Arnold had started work, and if not, what day he would start. The response from Noelle Talley, Cooper's spokeswoman: "I will check on this and get back to you."

Cooper's office made no response until after Arnold confirmed that he had turned down the job.