Q&A WITH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY

DURHAM -- Even after nearly eight years as the Durham County district
attorney, Jim Hardin Jr. seems to me somewhat enigmatic. He doesn't open up
much.

This two-part Gaspo interview offers more about the man and the way he
thinks as he goes about the vital job of top prosecutor.

Q: Do you ever stay awake nights wondering if your office got the wrong guy?

A: I've had sleepless nights wondering whether we uncovered the truth.
Using the law to find truth is our mandate. I believe that to my core.

Q: Do you have enough money to handle the number of suspected criminals
coming through here?

A: Absolutely not. It's like putting a Band-Aid on an artery wound.

Q: Why do you like this job?

A: I'm doing exactly what I've wanted to do since I was at Carrington
Junior High School. But let's be clear; I don't jump for joy or get great
pleasure every time we send someone to prison. But what we do is essential
to the well-being of the community.

Q: Do you wonder where all this crime comes from? Any common threads?

A: Poverty, the breakdown of the family, moral decay, not recognizing there
are consequences for actions, and a lack of education.

Q: What's your biggest complaint about the system?

A: Not enough resources, especially when it comes to serving victims, their
rights and needs. That always troubles me. There isn't swift accountability
in dealing with perpetrators.

Q: Should we legalize drugs?

A: Philosophically, I don't believe we should. But the ways we go about the
drug war make it one we're doomed to lose. We need to spend a lot more time
and money on treatment.

Q: Do you view yourself as a politician?

A: No. I don't view this as a political job.

Q: When will you run for higher political office?

A: I don't have any idea.

Q: What would your best friend say about you that we might find surprising?

A: That I have a sense of humor.

Q: And you?

A: I got a thrill out of jumping out of airplanes.

Q: Did you know that within the courthouse halls many women consider you a
hunk. Handsome, I mean.

A: That's embarrassing. I didn't know.

Q: Who's your favorite and least favorite judge?

A: (Laugh) I'd have to say they're all dead or retired.

Q: What do some judges do that you don't like?

A: One of the central components of fairness is consistency. It's extremely
difficult to anticipate how our individual judges will react.

Q: Some say you're very concerned with image and popularity. You suggest
you're not. Who's right?

A: I got over being concerned about popularity in high school.

Q: You seem very controlled, restrained. Is that a military thing? A: It's
one of the advantages I bring to the office.

Q: Is being married to a public figure hard for your wife?

A: I do not consciously take problems in the office home. And because we've
had to endure some things we thought were unjust, it's probably made our
relationship stronger.

Q: Are you easy to read?

A: If I like you, I like you. If I don't, you know it.

Q: You suffered the terrible loss of several siblings in a fire when you
were young. How has that affected what you value?

A: There's a profound sense of guilt that I survived. But that also drives
and motivates me to succeed.

On Wednesday, some of Jim Hardin's controversies, opinions on others in his
orbit, and a personal look at how he lives and leads.