It looks authentic to me too. The shooting occurred in 1993, but I can't find anything in those few Google results that says when the trial occured. Stephens was appointed special Superior Court Judge in 1994 before being elected in 1995. You did a great job putting two and two together.
Here's a snippet from a tribute to the judge who presided over it.
http://www.thetimesnews.com/power_brokers/jb_allen.php
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Though the Stager case drew national attention, Allen said the Michael Seagroves manslaughter trial was his most extraordinary experience. Durham was in an uproar after a white man shot and killed a black teenager who broke into his garage. Seagroves said he was protecting his family. Allen and most everyone else involved in the trial faced death threats.
“It ended up the jury hung up, which was the best thing that could have happened to Durham,” Allen said. “You could just feel the emotions in the courtroom down there, the hatred.”
As soon as the trial ended, the Durham County sheriff and an SBI agent escorted Allen to the county line. North Carolina legislators later passed a “defense of habitation” law in response to the case.
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In other news, Greta has an email from one of the indicted players coming up.
Wow, good minds think alike, LOL!