RALEIGH, N.C. — Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman says she will not seek reelection to the office she has held for over 10 years.

“It has been a tremendous honor to represent the citizens of our county,” she said in a statement, “But I believe it is time to find new ways to serve the community and give others the opportunity to bring a new energy and vision to the critical role of Wake County District Attorney.”

Her term ends in December 2026. Freeman, a Democrat, was first elected to the office in 2014 and was the county’s first female district attorney.

As the top prosecutor in the state’s largest county, she has overseen high-profile cases.

Her office in January decided not to move forward with 180 DWI cases involving two North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers after she said their credibility had come into question. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is looking into how the troopers handled an October crash in Raleigh in which the driver was killed. 

She also led an investigation into the campaign of a fellow Democrat, Gov. Josh Stein, who at the time was state attorney general. The case involved political libel law in the 2020 campaign in which Stein faced Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill. Freeman dropped the investigation in 2023 after an appeals court ruled the law likely was unconstitutional.

Freeman also investigated the use of state vehicles by then-Treasurer Dale Folwell, a Republican. That inquiry ended in January with no charges filed. 

She was part of an effort to change the bail system in Wake County, serving on a committee looking at ways to reduce the number of people held in jail awaiting trial. In April 2023, the committee’s recommendations to lower some bail amounts and other reforms were adopted. 

Her office oversees a team of 40 lawyers.

Freeman previously was Wake’s clerk of court for eight years.