DURHAM - In a county that saw its last district attorney's name transformed into a verb meaning "to railroad or unjustly prosecute for political gain," voters hope to give a thorough vetting of the candidates seeking the top prosecutor's job.

No Republicans seem to want the post, so the Democratic primary May 6 is the race that counts.

Trouble is, the four Democrats vying for the office are competing for attention amid the presidential primary din.

"The district attorney's is the most powerful position in Durham County," said Jackie Brown, a political insider who has worked many campaigns in Durham. "One of my concerns is that people are paying too much attention to the presidential races and not enough to the local races that are going to play a part in their lives every day."

The district attorney's job, which comes with a base pay of $116,112, is open two years sooner than it should have been because Mike Nifong, the last elected prosecutor, was tossed from office with more than two years left in his four-year term.

In the summer of 2007, Nifong was stripped of his law license for his misconduct in the Duke lacrosse case -- hence the Urban Dictionary addition of "nifonged," the verb for being unjustly prosecuted.

David Saacks, a veteran prosecutor in the Durham office, was appointed by the governor this past fall to be district attorney until the November election. Because Saacks is a Wake County resident with no plans to move to Durham, he cannot seek the elected post.

Durham has four choices.

* Keith Bishop, 45, an unsuccessful 2006 candidate and a lawyer in private practice. He was censured by the State Bar in 2001 for making improper "speaking objections" during a deposition and instructing his client not to answer properly posed questions.

* Freda Black, 46, a former assistant district attorney who drew national attention in 2003 for helping prosecute novelist Mike Peterson for the murder of his wife. Black was forced out of the Durham office in 2005 by Nifong, and narrowly lost to him in the 2006 Democratic primary.

* Tracey Cline, 45, the chief assistant district attorney and a hard-ine prosecutor who has tried to distance herself from her former boss.

* Mitchell Garrell, 52, an assistant district attorney for 13 years who opposes the death penalty and says he would not prosecute any capital cases.

Several key issues have emerged in the campaign -- the backlog of cases, the public's perception that violent suspects are out committing more crimes while awaiting trial, capital punishment, gang problems and the lacrosse case hangover.

Cline and Garrell, the two candidates who worked for Nifong, have had to deal with questions about the Duke lacrosse case during the campaign.

Cline maintains that she had no involvement in the case, although defense lawyers for the exonerated players and testimony from State Bar disciplinary proceedings against Nifong challenge that.

In the bar hearings, investigator Benjamin Himan testified that Cline provided advice to him and another investigator on how to draw up an order for DNA testing of 46 players.

Cline says her role was limited to offering broad advice on the procedure, a task she routinely performs as the office's lead prosecutor of sexual assault cases.

Cline also disputes claims that as a member of Nifong's inner circle, she reviewed the lacrosse case and advised her boss.

But Raleigh lawyer Joseph B. Cheshire V, a member of the lacrosse defense team, has a different perspective.

"Defense attorneys in the case were told by Mr. Nifong and others in the office that he was conferring with [Cline] on the case and if the case were tried she would try it with him," Cheshire said.

In Durham and elsewhere, Nifong critics have questioned why Garrell, Cline and other prosecutors did not expose Nifong's misconduct.

Cline and Garrell have said they were busy prosecuting cases, focusing on their own work.

The lacrosse case, all the candidates say, is history.

True enough, says James Coleman, a Duke University law professor and Nifong critic. The question is what the candidates have learned from that history.

"I hope they will be honest with the public about what's happening in the criminal justice system and they will not hide behind this pretense of infallibility," Coleman said.

Bishop and Garrell are opposed to the death penalty and if elected, they say, would not proceed with any capital cases. Such a public stance would be unprecedented in North Carolina, according to Peg Dorer, director of the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys.

Black has sought the death penalty in Durham.

Cline said her stance on prosecuting capital cases was complicated, that she worried about the disproportionate number of African-Americans on death row but also thought it was a prosecutor's job to follow the law.

As Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama grab the limelight during the days before the primary, Durham residents are ready for the district attorney candidates to make their case.

"I think the Durham citizens are ready for an administration over there that is responsive to the community," said Jeremy Collins, 27, chairman of the Young Democrats in Durham County and campaign director for the N.C. Coalition For A Moratorium. "Folks have not forgotten about Nifong. Durham should be looking for a district attorney who is open and honest with the citizens."

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