Durham lawyer joins crime commission

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.