Replies

Coman gets it right
The News & Observer
August 9, 1996
Estimated printed pages: 2

James Coman, director of the State Bureau of Investigation, is a tough former prosecutor who's come up against many an investigation in which he would have liked more latitude in pursuit of bad guys. But Coman understands clearly that ethical standards of law enforcement often demand restraint even when restraint is inconvenient.

How clearly he understands is evident in a comment he made to The News & Observer in the wake of an embarrassing case of investigatory excess on the part of the state's Alcohol Law Enforcement agents. Investigating "adult businesses" in Jacksonville, agents paid for sex acts and watched as women performed sex acts on each other. The investigation resulted in charges against 16 women, and the owner of the businesses for which they worked may, according to an attorney involved in the case , face tax-evasion charges himself.
But Coman, who does not supervise ALE, was not pleased. "There is," he said, "an ethical and a moral code that you cannot allow your officers to go beyond or compromise." He suggested that agents could have infiltrated the offending businesses without being permitted to go to the extent they did.

(snip)

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Easley reassigns SBI chief
The News & Observer
September 10, 1999
Author: WADE RAWLINS; STAFF WRITER
Estimated printed pages: 3

Attorney General Mike Easley on Thursday reassigned his outspoken State Bureau of Investigation director, James Coman, to lead a new division within the Department of Justice.
Coman, who has headed the SBI since 1993, will rejoin the attorney general's office Oct. 1 in a lower-profile job as senior deputy attorney general. He will head the new law enforcement and prosecutions division and serve as the chief contact with district attorneys and local law enforcement agencies.

"The problem with a lawyer like Jim Coman is that you need him everywhere," Easley said in announcing the change.

(snip)

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JIM COMAN IS PRAISED FOR HIS VICTIM ADVOCACY
Greensboro News & Record
October 17, 1999
Estimated printed pages: 1

This is in response to the News & Record Oct. 10 report on the fact that Jim Coman, SBI director since February 1993, is moving to a new division in the Department of Justice. He was lauded for always ''doing the right thing.''

I want to add that he has made a major contribution to victims of crime during the past years. When he served as chief prosecutor for the Guilford district attorney's office, he was a friend of the Victim Advocate Program of Family and Children's Service of Greater Greensboro, now known as Family Service of the Piedmont. He assisted with the training of volunteer crisis line workers who would be responding to victims. He also did an outstanding job of prosecuting sexual assault cases.
Coman has been actively involved with the North Carolina Victim Assistance Network since its inception in 1984, having served as president of the board of directors. He has played a major role in leading the Network to become an active voice for crime victims throughout the state. In 1994 he received the Network Award, the highest recognition NC-VAN bestows on one of its members. I believe his efforts have stemmed from a real concern for crime victims and those who are working to balance thescales of justice. Jane Cauthen Greensboro

The writer is a director of NC-VAN.