Orange-Chatham district attorney to retire. This person wants to replace him in 2022.
Orange-Chatham District Attorney Jim Woodall plans to retire when his term expires in 2022, he announced this week.
A potential successor launched his election campaign Wednesday.
Woodall announced Monday that he would not seek a fifth term, according to a Twitter post from Assistant District Attorney Jeff Nieman.
“He’s a great mentor and quite simply one of the best trial lawyers NC has ever known,” Nieman said in the tweet.
Yesterday my boss, District Attorney James R. Woodall, Jr., announced he’ll retire at the end of his current term (2022). He’s a great mentor and quite simply one of the best trial lawyers NC has ever known. Jim, thank you for all you’ve done for this community and state! pic.twitter.com/nutn7hFXMa
— Jeff Nieman (@JeffNiemanNC) March 2, 2021
Woodall, a Hillsborough resident, was appointed interim district attorney for N.C. District 18 in 2005 and was first elected to the office in 2006. He was a private attorney handling civil and criminal cases until he started at the Orange-Chatham District Attorney’s Office in 1990.
He has headed up several high-profile cases over the years, including the 2008 murder of UNC student body president Eve Carson, the 2014 murder of UNC professor Feng Liu, and the 2015 triple-fatal driving while impaired case against UNC student Chandler Kania.
Woodall also has led and worked with law enforcement, court officials and community members to implement a number of criminal justice reforms, including policies that help immigrant drivers caught without a driver’s license, bail reform and pre-arrest diversion programs.
On Wednesday, Nieman announced that he will run for Woodall’s seat in the 2022 election. The Orange County native lives in Chapel Hill and has been assistant district attorney for 15 years.
He is running, Neiman said in a news release, “to create positive change in the criminal justice system” and build “a model of community-oriented justice.”
