STATUE STALWART: TWITTER AND A SENSE OF INDIGNATION PROPEL A DURHAM LAWYER INTO THE SPOTLIGHT.
Author | Macmillan, Mike |
Greg Doucette rolls up to a 2 p.m. meeting right on time, straddling two parking places with his burnt orange "hot lava" 2016 Toyota RAV4 SE. That's no problem on this early April afternoon: Thanks to the COVID-19 virus, there are four cars in a lot that could easily hold 50.
It gives the impression that the Durham attorney is planning for a quick getaway, which may be the case. He's angered more than a few people for his effort to reclaim a $2.5 million settlement paid by the University of North Carolina System to the Sons of Confederate Veterans for the controversial Silent Sam monument, which sat in a prominent UNC Chapel Hill site for more than a century. He mentions a hearing at the Chatham County courthouse in February where he represented an anti-Confederate protestor charged with misdemeanors related to the Silent Sam ruckus. As he returned to his car, a member of the veterans' group parked his vehicle to block Doucette's exit. The lawyer reached for his 9mm pistol, unsure what would happen next. Fortunately, another driver in the line backed up, giving him a wrk around.
Such is Doucette's life these days, a curious mix of pro bono social justice work, lots of Twitter rants and a legal practice built mostly around small business disputes and defending low-level drug offenders. The commerce side is slow as the courts have been mostly closed. But the Silent Sam controversy rolls on, fueled by various decisions by the UNC System Board of Governors.
Doucette, 39, rents an office in the former Durham public library on East Main Street, next to First Presbyterian Church. It's a remnant of an older Durham, set back from the street and built in a diminutive Greek revival style with six Ionic columns supporting a modest portico. Going in, you expect to find languidly turning ceiling fans and lawyers lolling around in seersucker suits. Atticus Finch would be right at home.
Doucette has a space in the front. He takes a seat behind his desk. To his right is a round conference table heaped with folders. The walls are covered with photos, diplomas and awards.
A native of Norfolk, Va., Doucette enrolled as an undergraduate at N.C. State University in 1998. Two years later, he ran out of money and dropped out. He was homeless for a time, sleeping in his car and spending some nights in the N.C. State library. He loaded trucks for UPS and eventually landed a job as an administrative assistant at the state bar. In 2005, he went back to school and...
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