Assistant district attorney Tracey Cline, is under scrutiny for questionable conduct.

Durham, North Carolina - The final witness in the trial of Frankie Washington was his prosecutor, Tracey Cline.

Cline had pursued charges against Washington for more than four years, accusing the handyman of burglary, robbery, kidnapping, assault and an attempted sex offense in a frightening West Durham home invasion.

At the trial in late February 2007, Cline was in the witness box, an unusual spot for a longtime assistant district attorney. Washington's attorney, preparing for an appeal, wanted to question her about forensic tests on the evidence - a winter hat, a bandana, a pistol-grip shotgun and a stolen purse.

Crucial testing of the purse and the hat had taken years, delaying Washington's trial. The attorney, Lawrence Campbell, had complained for years about those delays. Now, he wanted Cline to tell the jury what happened.

Cline repeated what she had told a judge in a previous hearing: The state crime lab was responsible for the long delays.

But records tell a different story. Cline had not submitted the evidence to the lab for more than three years. It was Cline's job to ensure that the evidence, along with a judge's order to test it, were sent to the lab.

When the evidence was finally tested, none of it matched Washington.

In her quest to convict those accused of serious crimes, Cline has misstated facts to judges in other cases, a News & Observer investigation shows. She has not provided evidence favorable to defendants, as is required under the U.S. Constitution, state law and ethics rules that govern lawyers.

Cline's conduct is under scrutiny for similar behavior in at least five cases other than Washington's that are in various stages of the courts, according to documents and interviews.

Last month, Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, the senior resident judge in Durham, dismissed a murder charge against Michael C. Dorman II of Mebane after ruling that the prosecution by Cline violated the man's rights. The evidence in the case, a partial skeleton, had been destroyed before the defense could examine it. His ruling is on hold while Clinea appeals.

Prosecutors have a special role in the legal system. They are bound by rules and guidelines that prohibit misrepresentation and that say they should pursue evidence even if it will "damage the prosecutor's case or aid the accused."

Court decisions and state law emphasize that prosecutors must provide defendants with important evidence that helps their case.


Look for related links on the right of Parts 1, 2 & 3.

Part 1:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/09/04/1459697/clines-courtroom-actions-lead.html
Part 2:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/09/05/1462653/misstatements-in-court-questions.html
Part3:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/09/06/1464407/protests-about-cline-include-secret.html