Asheville-raised lawyer David Freedman, who became one of the state’s most prominent attorneys, including a stint representing now-removed District Attorney Greg Newman, died Sept. 3 from COVID-19 complications, according to friends and family.
His was a breakthrough case, as he had been vaccinated.
The state is seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases as well as a positivity rate of nearly 13.7%, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Freedman, 64, had lived and worked in Winston-Salem for most of his life after graduating from UNC Chapel Hill and the university’s law school in 1982, according to his longtime friend, Rabbi Mark Cohn of Temple Emanuel in Winston-Salem.
Cohn said Freedman was “double vaccinated” and that his family wants people to know that he was vaccinated against the deadly coronavirus, but that “this is one of those awful stories, of not just a breakthrough case, but one that proved fatal and just leaves us all with our heads shaking.”
Freedman leaves behind his wife, Libby, four grown children, a brother, and a sister who still lives in Asheville.
During his nearly 40-year career as an attorney, Freedman represented “the powerful and the powerless in courtrooms across North Carolina and beyond,” according to his obituary.
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He was also known primarily as a doting father with a deep love for his family, a deeply religious man, who had served as president of Temple Emanuel for years, helping guide the congregation along with Cohn, and a towering presence who also brought a sense of calm to all situations.
“As president (of the temple) just as in his law career, David had this remarkable way of de-escalating any situation, of handling different personalities with great kindness and compassion and strength, but from a very good place and a very warm heart and spirit,” Cohn said.
Freedman made headlines this year in Western North Carolina for representing former District Attorney Greg Newman during his removal hearing in April in Henderson County Superior Court. He was not successful.
Newman had been the top criminal prosecutor for Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties for eight years until a group of outraged residents filed a court petition to have him removed from office due to claims he refused to prosecute cases of alleged murder, alleged child rape and other serious crimes.
After a three-day hearing, Superior Court Judge Robert C. Ervin issued his order April 27, permanently removing Newman from elected office, finding he had engaged in “willful misconduct in office” and “conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the office into disrepute,” under N.C. General Statute 7A-66.This was the first time a district attorney had been removed from office in Western North Carolina outside of an election, and the third time in North Carolina history.
Freedman also made national headlines when he unsuccessfully defended District Attorney Mike Nifong, who was disbarred in 2007 after the N.C. State Bar found him guilty of multiple ethics violations in his handling of the notorious Duke lacrosse investigation, and then he resigned as district attorney.
“He won cases, praise and respect for his fierce loyalty to his clients, his skill as a litigator, his ethical conduct and professional integrity, and his talent for negotiating resolutions that provided fairness and justice,” according to his obituary.
Freedman was most recently a partner in the law firm of Freedman, Thompson, Witt, Ceberio & Byrd. He was named the state's best criminal defense attorney in 2006 by Business North Carolina magazine.
He was a past president of the Forsyth County Bar Association, lectured frequently before law groups on legal ethics, and had taught criminal procedure and trial practice as an adjunct professor at Wake Forest University School of Law.
Cohn said Freedman loved the mountains and often returned to visit Asheville.
“To say that his death is a loss is just a huge understatement,” Cohn said.
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