Durham District Attorney Tracey Cline has a problem with facts. She races by them like a reckless driver through a red light.
That's brought her trouble with judges and was the foundation of our recent series, "Twisted Truth: A Prosecutor Under Fire."
The series grew out of our reporting on the case of Derrick Allen.
Allen spent 12 years in jail for sexual assault and the death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter.
Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson removed the charges in December. In March, the judge said Durham prosecutors and the State Bureau of Investigation had violated the law by withholding key evidence from Allen.
Hudson faulted the prosecutors, including Cline, saying they "intentionally failed to disclose" information that would have been favorable to Allen and did not comply with a judge's orders to provide information to Allen. Cline, who was an assistant district attorney when Allen was prosecuted, became district attorney in 2009.
Hudson "did not mean to say I had done anything that was wrong," Cline told us in March. "I just talked with him."
Hudson, in an interview, did not agree. "Tracey is still responsible," he said.
After the Allen case, we decided to dig deeper.
We reported on the case of Frankie Washington, who was convicted in 2007 in a West Durham home invasion. Cline had not submitted evidence to the state crime lab for more than three years.
His conviction was thrown out by the state Court of Appeals, which cast doubt on whether Washington committed the crime. "Assistant District Attorney Cline testified that it can take 'years' for the SBI to fully test an item," the court said. "This assertion, however, is simply unsupported by the evidence of record."
After the series was completed Sept. 6, Cline let us know she did not like it, although she did not offer any specific criticism. She said she would put her specific points in writing. As of Friday, I still had not received an email or letter from her.
Cline held her own meeting Wednesday to complain about our stories. I went to hear what she had to say.
In our story about Washington, we reported that, in an unusual move, Cline was asked to testify before the jury.
The defense had complained about the delay in testing. Cline repeated what she had told a judge in a previous hearing: She said the state crime lab was responsible for the long delays.
At her meeting this week, Cline chastised us for getting it wrong. The story "says I testified in front of a jury," Cline said. "Never happened."
The trial transcript shows otherwise. On page 598, the jury enters the courtroom. On page 604, Cline is sworn in and begins her testimony. On page 605, the defense lawyer says to Cline, "Tell the jury what happened." On page 609, the jury is excused to the jury room.
Didn't happen?
We got it right.
The series was based on judges' rulings and orders, court transcripts, court documents and on-the-record interviews. At Cline's request, we posted at newsobserver .com e-mail exchanges between her and The N&O, and audio from two interviews with her.
Cline apparently believes that if you wave your arms and yell loud enough, people will believe you. In her 45-minute rant Wednesday night, she made several other misstatements. We will publish more about this soon.
Cline is an effective orator who feels great compassion for victims. But in communicating in broad strokes, she pays little attention to detail, as if it doesn't matter. She has her story, and she's sticking to it, the facts be damned.
Cline says she would never lie in court. Let's give her the benefit of the doubt and say her memory has failed her from time to time, as it apparently did Wednesday night.
But in the end, she's the district attorney for Durham. She is an officer of the court. She is responsible for what she says. The facts matter, regardless of how fast Tracey Cline speeds past them.
Get the biggest news in your email or cellphone as it's happening. Sign up for breaking news alerts.
Richard Morgan looks at old photos of himself from when he weighed 265 pounds and sometimes cries. 
Bob Morrison didn't want to return to Haiti. His previous visit five years ago did not end well. 
In Sunday's profile about our Tar Heel of the Year, education reporter Jane Stancill writes that the honoree has "serious credentials and the exuberance of a schoolgirl." 
Robert Willett, a veteran photojournalist at The News & Observer, was cooking dinner for his wife and two daughters recently when he heard from Scott Sharpe, our director of photography. 
Tony Debo, a former WTVD sports reporter and anchor, survived a helicopter crash nearly 20 years ago after a Friday night high school football game in Wilmington. 
When Chapel Hill police officers handcuffed and detained a News & Observer reporter last weekend, their actions were rare for the Triangle - and unnecessary. 
