HILLSBOROUGH — When Jeff Nieman was 5 years old, he was a star on the soccer pitch.
His father, John, said Jeff was typically the team’s top goal-scorer, but recalled games when he’d brush back praises and accolades from family and friends until he was assured a teammate — a boy named Dennis — was safe and sound.
Dennis, Jeff’s youngest and smallest soccer teammate, often was dropped off at games without family members to see him play.
“Where’s Dennis?” Jeff would say, according to his dad. And it wasn’t until Jeff was assured that Dennis was OK, and in good hands, that he felt comfortable enough to celebrate the team’s win or his own star performance.
It was that sense of fairness and equality — shared by John Nieman about his son — that helped earn Jeff the role as the next District Attorney for Chatham and Orange counties.
In front of a packed Orange County Courthouse in Hillsborough on Monday, Nieman was sworn into office by Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour. Nieman is just the fourth District Attorney to represent Chatham and Orange since the district split from Alamance County 40 years ago.
He replaces longtime DA Jim Woodall. Woodall had served as the district attorney for Prosecutorial Dist. 18, which encompasses all of Orange and Chatham counties, since 2005. He’d previously served as the district’s assistant district attorney for 17 years, and in the spring of 2021 alerted the judicial district’s bar about his decision not to seek re-election in 2022.
In the last May’s Democratic primary election, then-assistant DA Nieman was elected over his fellow assistant DA, Kayley Taber, with 53.7% of the vote in Chatham County and 60% of the vote overall. He didn’t face a Republican challenger in November.
Nieman has worked in the Dist. 18 office since 2006, when he interned there. In 2012 he helped create the Outreach Court in Orange County, which helps address the needs of those experiencing homelessness who have been charged with a crime by connecting them to community resources instead of jail. He also set up a driver’s license restoration program in 2009 to help address the issue of poverty in the criminal justice system by helping those convicted of traffic crimes pay their tickets if they’re in a vulnerable position. With the help of Woodall, Nieman advocated for the Driver’s License Restoration Act, which was enacted in 2015 by the N.C. General Assembly.
On Monday, Nieman vowed to continue working toward a more equitable and just system for all residents of his district.
“Everyone believes we need to have a fair criminal justice system,” he told the News + Record. “What seems to be the consensus is that there’s nobody who has a greater ability to move the criminal justice system in the more positive, progressive, equitable direction than the DA.”
Nieman acknowledged that the district, which stretches from Chapel Hill to Siler City, includes people with varying socioeconomic status, backgrounds and worldviews, but he vowed to serve everyone in the district, as he promised through his campaign for office.
“We went to every corner of Chatham and Orange counties,” Nieman said. “We need to meet people where they are over the course of this service.”
The new DA said he would be meeting with attorneys in both counties to lay the groundwork for the term and let them know they have his respect and support.
The retiring Woodall said he and Nieman have been outlining the transition process since May’s election. Nieman has been proactive in his approach to helping staff and fellow assistant DAs with the transition of power, Woodall said, adding that there’s a bigger difference than most realize between assistant DA and being at the helm.
“Jeff’s ready for it but I think he’s going to be surprised that he has to make the final decision on so many different things,” Woodall said. “It’s everything from office policy to big cases and policies for the whole district.”
Woodall said while there will be an adjustment period, he predicts Nieman will be the “best district attorney” the district has ever had. He thinks Nieman’s devotion to justice and the region will earn him multiple terms in office.
Along with being Jeff’s father, John Nieman is also the chief public defender in Guilford County. He said his son has always had pride in this area. When Jeff was a senior in high school, his father got a job in Guilford County, but Jeff refused to leave the place he fell in love with: Chapel Hill. He would go on to graduate from UNC and serve as the student body president for two terms.
The passion for the area is especially important because of the people working in the DA’s office, Woodall said. Many of the current DA staff have been in the office for a decade or more, which the outgoing DA said he believes is part of what makes this district special.
“It’s a different world out there now than when I entered this office 32 years ago,” Woodall said. “Prosecution is viewed in a different lens than it ever was before. There’s a lot more criticism. Jeff’s ready for it.”
As he addressed those who attended his swearing-in ceremony on Monday afternoon, Nieman said he understood the power and responsibility that came with the office of the DA. He said he recognized that his decisions may draw criticism, or that the actions of others may place blame on his shoulders, but he would always be proud to hold the office for the people of his community.
“Never in any job have I had as much power to do the right thing,” Nieman said. “This isn’t about self-aggrandizement, it’s about responsibility. I take that responsibility seriously and I will do my best every day to make you proud.”
Correction: A previous version of this article stated Jeff Nieman won the November election with 53.7% of the vote. That number was only from the voters in Chatham. The district also encompasses Orange County. Overall, Nieman won with 60% of the total vote. The story has been updated to reflect this information. The News + Record apologizes for this error.
Reporter Ben Rappaport can be reached at brappaport@chathamnr.com or on Twitter @b_rappaport.