cliddy@newsobserver.com
Durham District Attorney Tracey Cline listens Monday as Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood responds to her argument for subpoenaing The News & Observer. Cline, the suspended Durham District Attorney is involved in a special inquiry that could cost her the elected position she has held since 2009.
Tracey Cline, suspended district attorney in Durham County, is seeking another delay in a hearing to determine whether she should be removed from her post
Cline's attorneys are seeking a delay saying that Cline was sick with pneumonia and despite efforts to retain an attorney, she had difficulty finding anyone without a professional conflict and availability to take the case.
Cline hired James Van Camp and two other attorneys from his firm late Wednesday. Van Camp has asked for a hearing Friday to rule on his request to continue.
Cline's attorneys say the delay is critical "because this case is both unique and special, and because of the dramatic, personal tensions inherent to allegations set forth in the Affidavit, an unnecessary and expedient hearing can only risk Ms. Cline being merely prepared to offer a mercurial defense based on emotional rather than a calm, rational defense based on facts."
On Monday, Cline was given an extension of time to prepare for the hearing because she was ill and had not hired an attorney. The hearing was set to start Monday, Feb. 20.
Judge Robert Hobgood has yet to decide whether he will grant another delay.
Cline, who took office in 2008, has been under fire for weeks after she took aim at chief Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, saying that he is biased against her. Cline has tried and failed twice before to remove Hudson from criminal cases in Durham; she has attacked Hudson, saying he has the "reprobate mind of a monarch."
Her assault on Hudson could now cost Cline her job. Kerry Sutton, a Durham lawyer, petitioned a judge to remove Cline, saying that her behavior was "prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the office into disrepute." Sutton, who has hired Fairview lawyer Stephen Lindsay to help with her case against Cline, has said Cline's language contains "venom."
Cline asserts that Hudson and a reporter and editors from The News & Observer conspired against her to report "Twisted Truth," a series of articles published last September that showed Cline had withheld exculpatory evidence from defendants and had made misstatements in court. Hudson and the newspaper have disputed Cline's claims.
Attorneys for the newspaper as well as lawyers and a judge Cline subpoenaed are asking Hobgood to throw out those subpoenas.
A hearing is set for Friday at 3 p.m. to determine whether the hearing will be delayed.
