Durham lawyer Kerry Sutton, who represented novelist Mike Peterson and an unindicted Duke lacrosse player, was named to the Governor's Crime Commission Thursday.

Sutton, who unsuccessfully ran for a District Court judgeship last year, is a member of the executive committee of the administration of justice committee for the N.C. Bar Association. She is also active in the N.C. Association of Women Attorneys.

She represented Peterson, the novelist convicted of murdering his wife, in a civil lawsuit filed by his wife's daughter that was settled last year for more than $35 million, though Sutton said at the time that Peterson has no money to pay.

During the Duke lacrosse debacle in 2006, she represented a team captain who was not charged. Sutton was criticized by bloggers for making complimentary comments about then-District Attorney Mike Nifong's election that year.

The 42 members of the crime commission advise the governor on improving the justice system, protecting individual rights and promoting public safety.

The N.C. Association of Women Attorneys has endorsed Suzanne Reynolds.

The statewide nonpartisan group makes judicial endorsements based on skill, legal experience and support for women's rights.

"The NCAWA has used its voice — distinctive and distinguished — to improve the lives of women in the legal profession and of women from all walks of life," Reynolds said in a statement. 

Reynolds is running for the state Supreme Court against incumbent justice Bob Edmunds.

She has previously been endorsed by the N.C. Association of Educators, the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers and the state chapter of the AFL-CIO.