DRUG SEARCH PROMPTED N.C. OFFICIAL'S RESIGNATION

Kennedy Left Office After Question Raised, But Says He Never Used Cocaine

RALEIGH - North Carolina's top courts administrator resigned last
month after state Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr. confronted him
about suspected use of cocaine at work.

John Kennedy resigned July 23, a day after a drug-detecting dog found
what Lake said authorities believed was a trace amount of cocaine
inside his desk.

Lake said Kennedy did not dispute the finding when confronted and
agreed to resign as director of the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Kennedy, who has not been charged with a crime, denied using cocaine
at work or anywhere else.

Asked by The News & Observer of Raleigh on Monday whether he used
cocaine at his office, Kennedy said: "I would say no. I think that's
an outrageous statement."

When asked whether he had ever used cocaine, he said, "No."

Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison told The News & Observer only that
the search of Kennedy's office turned up something suspicious, but
that the discovery was not enough to lead to a criminal charge. Wake
County District Attorney Colon Willoughby said his office lacked
sufficient evidence to launch a criminal investigation of Kennedy.

Lake told The Charlotte Observer in a phone interview late Tuesday he
asked for the investigation after hearing reports of drug use.

"I got some reports that there were indications of cocaine use," he
said. "In fairness to all concerned, I had it reported to law
enforcement. They investigated and found some basis."

Lake said he then asked for Kennedy's resignation and that he readily
gave it. Lake said he kept the allegations against Kennedy private
because he believed they were a confidential personnel issue.

"I had to make sure that I was in compliance with the personnel act,"
he told The Charlotte Observer. "That's the basic reason for the delay."

But after The News & Observer inquired about the allegation, Lake and
AOC general counsel Tom Andrews decided that state law allowed Lake to
disclose the facts to protect the integrity and public reputation of
the courts.

"Pursuant to that statute, I have in my discretion determined that my
disclosure of this information is essential to maintaining the
integrity of the AOC and of our court system," Lake said in a
memorandum he made public on Tuesday.

Lake and Kennedy had said Kennedy resigned for personal reasons,
including his desire to pursue other interests and to play trombone in
a jazz band.

Lake was not present for the search of Kennedy's offices but told The
Associated Press he understood that the drug-detecting dog "showed
interest of (a) trace amount" of cocaine.

"I was satisfied from the information I had from several sources that
there was a problem," Lake added.

Lake said he does not believe that the operation of the Administrative
Office of the Courts had been harmed.

Kennedy earned $107,527 a year running an agency with more than 400
employees and a budget of more than $360 million. The agency provides
the state courts in all 100 counties with personnel, funding, legal
research and purchasing.

The agency's director reports to the chief justice of the state
Supreme Court, who heads North Carolina's judicial branch.

When Kennedy's predecessor, Robert Hobgood, resigned in 2001, Lake
said of the job, "It's a very, very stressful position, but a critical
position, one of the most critical in all of state
government."

Lake said two agency employees last month reported to him that they
saw Kennedy hide things on his desk when they walked into his office
on four occasions.

Asked Tuesday whether he knew of any reason why a drug dog would be
summoned to his office, Kennedy said: "They may have thought they saw
something. They may have thought they saw something that was one thing
when it was something else."

Lake praised Kennedy's professional accomplishments.

"John Kennedy was a very good director," he said. "He made a number of
very significant improvements during his tenure at AOC that advanced
the courts."

Before becoming the AOC director, Kennedy was the senior deputy
director and former Wake County clerk of court. A Raleigh native,
Kennedy graduated from Broughton High School in 1972. He earned a
history degree and a law degree from UNC Chapel Hill. He practiced law
from 1980 to 1983 before becoming a magistrate in Wake County.

Staff writer Howie Paul Hartnett contributed to this article.