August/September 2020 Newsletter
The Durham County District Attorney’s Office newsletter highlights the work staff do in and out of the courthouse.
In The Community
Court Personnel, Local Officials & Law Enforcement Join Racial Equity Training
Over 150 people, including DA’s Office staff, attended a virtual, court-wide racial equity training on September 29 and 30. The training was coordinated by District Attorney Satana Deberry, Superior Court Judge Josephine Kerr Davis, and the Vera Institute, a national criminal justice policy and research nonprofit. The training included participants from across Durham’s criminal justice system — including law enforcement, judges, attorneys and administrative staff — as well as local officials and community representatives.
Expert speakers presented on action steps criminal justice stakeholders can take to address racial disparities, the history of racism in America, implicit racial bias and strategies to mitigate it, and the history of Durham’s Black community.
DA Deberry Gives Court Cost Testimony to Civil Rights Commission
DA Deberry discussed the impact of court fines and fees during a meeting of the North Carolina Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The Committee has been holding public meetings to collect input about the impact of court costs on individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, and national origin. The Committee will incorporate the testimony gathered into recommendations for the full Commission. DA Deberry talked about the many court costs in North Carolina that “can trap people in cycles of debt and court involvement that have a ripple effect on their families.” She also discussed efforts by the DEAR Program — in which the DA’s Office is a partner — to waive more than $1.5 million in unpaid court debt preventing over 6,000 residents from restoring their driving privileges.
DA’s Office Discusses Justice Reforms with State Racial Equity Task Force
DA Deberry and Assistant District Attorney Danny Spiegel have shared input during multiple meetings of the Task Force on Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, which was established by Governor Roy Cooper recently to recommend reforms to North Carolina’s criminal justice system. DA Deberry spoke about the benefits of restorative justice and how the DA’s Office is using it in lieu of or in conjunction with criminal prosecution (watch video of her remarks here). ADA Spiegel has presented on a partnership with researchers at Duke’s Wilson Center for Science and Justice to study bond and plea decisions in the DA’s Office. He also discussed procedures in the Office to ensure evidence favorable to defendants, including certain police misconduct, is disclosed in accordance with constitutional obligations.
DA Deberry Joins DCABP Forum
DA Deberry joined the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People on August 25 for a virtual panel discussion titled “How to Stay Safe During an Encounter with Law Enforcement and the Criminal Legal System.” DA Deberry discussed the role of the district attorney and how the court process works from the point of person being taken into custody to case resolution. Durham Police Chief C.J. Davis, Sheriff Clarence Birkhead and Chief Public Defender Dawn Baxton also discussed their roles in the legal system.
ADA Montgomery-Blinn Discusses Restorative Justice
Assistant District Attorney Kendra Montgomery-Blinn participated in a virtual panel discussion about restorative justice hosted by court and government officials in Orange and Chatham counites. Restorative justice is a victim-centered process in which the victim, the responsible party and the community come together to understand what happened and create “a repair agreement” to hold the responsible party accountable and repair the harm caused. The DA’s Office refers cases of all types to community groups for restorative justice.
ADA Montgomery-Blinn spoke about a case she handled in 2018 regarded as the first felony in North Carolina to go through a formal restorative justice process, how restorative justice differs from the traditional court process, and how the DA’s Office under DA Deberry has expanded its use of restorative justice to resolve cases in a way that helps crime victims to heal and offenders to be held accountable.
DA’s Office Shares COVID-19 FAQs for Crime Victims
During COVID-19, court operations have been modified to limit the number of people who must come to the courthouse and reduce crowding in courtrooms. In order to help crime victims navigate these new procedures and be prepared for any visits they must make to the courthouse, the DA’s Office shared frequently asked questions about the courts during COVID-19. The FAQs can be found here.
In The Office
ADA Spain Named Juvenile Team Lead
Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Spain was named the lead prosecutor for the Juvenile Team in late August. ADA Spain has a range of experience with cases involving young people. She previously represented juvenile clients in the UNC School of Law Juvenile Justice Clinic and later taught the clinic. Since joining the DA’s Office in 2019, she has focused on prosecuting crimes against children.
ADA Spain takes over the role from the previous team lead, Beth Hopkins Thomas, who recently joined North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services as executive director.
ADA Grine Participates in Stanford Leadership Program
Assistant District Attorney Alyson Grine was selected from more than 300 applicants across the country to participate in a leadership development program for prosecutors hosted by the Stanford Graduate School of Business. The 11-week pilot program is a partnership between R Street, Vera Institute, For the People, Fair and Just Prosecution, Public Rights Project, Prosecutor Impact, Right on Crime and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). The curriculum covers topics including social justice, cognitive biases and management skills. According to CZI, “the goal of the program is to develop and support emerging leaders who are committed to forging a new path in the practice of prosecution and redressing inequities in the criminal justice system.”
Victim Service Coordinator D’Asia Sanders Joins DA’s Office
D’Asia Sanders joined the Drug and Property Crimes Team as a victim service coordinator on September 21. She is a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in human development and family studies, with a minor in psychology. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling at Winston-Salem State University. Prior to joining the DA’s Office, she interned as a victim advocate with Guardian Ad Litem in Lexington.
Special Victims Unit Trained on Sexual Assault Exam Process
Staff in the DA’s Office Special Victims Unit participated in a virtual training on the sexual assault medical exam process, presented by Kat Ariano, Duke University Health System SANE Program Manager. The in-depth training covered the role of sexual assault nurse examiners, the steps of the exam process and common terminology. The program helped staff understand what sexual assault evidence kits contain, how trauma can shape a survivor’s behavior and memories, and how they should interact with survivors who may be experiencing post-traumatic stress during the court process.
In The Courts
ADA Ingram Secures Plea in March Arcade Shooting
Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Ingram secured a conviction in a shooting outside the Boxcar Bar + Arcade in downtown Durham in March. The defendant pled guilty on September 8 to assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon for shooting at four individuals, including one who suffered a fractured wrist, following an altercation at the bar. As part of his sentence, the defendant was ordered not to return to the bar and to surrender any weapons to be destroyed by law enforcement — a step the DA’s Office routinely takes in cases involving guns and/or domestic violence to ensure that weapons are not returned to a defendant.
ADA Ramoin Secures Plea in 2018 Stabbing
Assistant District Attorney Carolee Ramoin secured a conviction in a 2018 case in which the defendant stabbed a neighbor with whom he had an ongoing dispute. ADA Ramoin stated in court on September 2 that the neighbor was walking away from an argument when the defendant stabbed him with a screwdriver, causing a collapsed lung. The defendant pled guilty to assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.
ADA Montgomery-Blinn Closes Restorative Justice Case
In September, ADA Montgomery-Blinn closed a case involving an assault between two brothers. The case had been going through a restorative justice process since ADA Montgomery-Blinn and defense attorney Julian Hall made a referral to RJ Durham in January.
At the end of this process, the brothers reached a repair agreement stating that the brother who caused the harm would spend time viewing and contemplating photos of his brother’s injuries, write an apology letter, and complete a cognitive behavioral intervention course. In some cases, successful completion of restorative justice is considered as a mitigating factor in a guilty plea, in others it results in charges being dismissed or not being filed in the first place. In this case, the State dismissed the charges upon successful completion of the repair agreement. The DA’s Office is working with community groups to expand the use of restorative justice in Durham’s court system.
In The News
DA Deberry and a town hall the DA’s Office held in January were featured in a short film released in August by Chicken & Egg Pictures, in partnership with Mother Jones. In the film, DA Deberry discusses her approach to prosecution and the need to reform a criminal justice system that disproportionately impacts low-wealth people and people of color. The film also captures parts of the town hall in which DA Deberry discussed gun violence and committed to holding quarterly informational sessions for the families of homicide victims. The first session was held virtually in July.
Alongside the film release, DA Deberry was also featured in an episode of the Mother Jones podcast about progressive prosecution. Listen to the episode, or read DA Deberry’s interview here.
ABC11 covered efforts by the DA’s Office to keep cases involving violent crime on track toward resolution as court operations are reduced due to COVID-19. From the article:
“Serious, violent crimes are always the priority of this Office and COVID-19 has not changed that. The DA’s Office is still in court every day working on these cases. While we are currently unable to hold jury trials, our support staff continue to process evidence in pending violent crime cases and our prosecutors continue to negotiate and secure pleas.”
Along with other Black women district attorneys, DA Deberry co-authored an op-ed in Politico with 11 ideas for prosecutorial reform. The op-ed highlights a pretrial release policy implemented by the Durham DA’s Office in 2019 to reduce the use of cash bail and pretrial detention for cases that do not involve violence.
