Submitted by admin on Mon, 2007-03-26 08:00. ::
DURHAM -- It would take most people two or three lifetimes to cover as much professional turf as Durham native Willis Whichard has spanned in one.
At 66, he has been a practicing lawyer, a member of both houses of the state Legislature and a judge on each of the state's two highest courts: the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
"I have put some limits on what I intend to do now," Whichard said in an interview last week. "I came here primarily as a resource to the other lawyers. I don't mind going to court to argue motions and appeals, but I don't want to get back into the high stress of actually trying cases."
Those sentiments haven't stopped Whichard from plunging elbow deep into some heavy-duty work: arbitrating a $30-million contract case against the city of Greensboro and representing the city of Asheville in a dispute with the state.
"Each of my endeavors had its rewards and punishments," he mused. "But if I could go back and live life over again and pursue only one of those endeavors, it would be the Supreme Court. It's a place where you can make contributions that will endure. Every now and then, you find yourself writing for the ages."
While there, he authored a majority decision that still draws praise from some and condemnation from others. The 1996 ruling holds that municipalities can use taxpayer-funded incentives to lure new businesses to town.
Whichard wrote the decision in response to a challenge from Winston-Salem lawyer William Maready, who argued that spending public money to attract private companies violated the state Constitution.
Whichard also ventured a guess about the controversial Duke lacrosse case, in which three young men face charges of sexually assaulting an exotic dancer during an off-campus party a year ago this month.
"My guess is that it's going to come to a head probably in the next few days," he said. "It's been a bizarre case. I think it will be good for everybody if it's over soon."
The case now is in the hands of special prosecutors from the state Attorney General's Office, who took it over from District Attorney Mike Nifong in January after Nifong was accused by the N.C. State Bar of mishandling it.
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