The last weeks of 2011 were rough on District Attorney Tracey Cline, who set off a furor in late November by seeking to have senior Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson barred from hearing criminal cases in Durham and charging Hudson with "moral turpitude, dishonesty and corruption."

Then, the News & Observer found she had presented false information to another Superior Court Judge, Jim Hardin, in an attempt to get confidential prison documents.

After a hearing Dec. 5, Superior Court Judge Carl Fox dismissed Cline's motions to remove Hudson, calling her evidence "woefully inadequate." Subsequently, the State Bar began an inquiry into Cline's own conduct in criminal cases.

Hardin publicly rebuked Cline after she withdrew her request for the prison records, warning her to stick to facts in the future. She then failed in attempts to deny convicted murderer Michael Peterson a new trial. The judge who granted the retrial? Orlando Hudson.

In December the state Court of Appeals found no error in Cline's prosecution of a man convicted last year in a 2006 contract killing. Angel Richardson's lawyers had tried to overturn his conviction, arguing that a statement revealing that someone else claimed the killing had surfaced only during the trial - but should have been provided sooner to allow for proper investigation.

The Richardson case was one of several highlighted in the News & Observer's series, "Twisted Truth, " though specific conduct by Cline in the Richardson case was not as major of an issue as in other cases.