Page 14 - NC Triangle Vol 7 No 1

As a prosecutor, Cummings handled high pro le cases such as the 2011 trial of Brad Cooper and the 2012 retrial of Jason Young, both accused of murdering their wives in 2006.
“Cummings brought an understated court- room style short on bombast that still carried the weight of the crime,” wrote the Raleigh News & Observer upon his retirement.
Howard Cummings is a native of Kinston, NC. He graduated from NC State with a Bach- elor of Science in civil engineering and earned his Juris Doctor as a member of the ‘guinea pig’ class at Campbell College School of Law— now Campbell University Law School. Cum- mings started as a prosecutor in Pitt County and spent three years there before going into private practice for seven years. His practice encompassed a broad array of civil and crimi- nal matters.
Upon his retirement from the DA’s o ce in 2018, Governor Roy Cooper bestowed upon Cummings the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, in recognition of his decades of service to North Carolina.
HOWARD CUMMINGS
Cummings said his desire to practice with arrington Smith was born of his experience as a prosecutor in cases against Wade Smith. “His approach when he came in the DA’s of- ce was totally di erent from the approach of most of the other attorneys who came into our o ce. I learned from him that you get more coming in light and humble at the front end than you do coming in with blazing guns. at just doesn’t work very well,” said Cum- mings.
“I feel like my experience in the district at- torney’s o ce will serve me well to be able to help people with serious problems,” said Cummings. “I know the thought process of investigators and prosecutors as they develop a strategy, as they build their case. I’m very much looking forward to helping the accused, to helping people, without regard to what they are charged with.”
THARRINGTON SMITH
150 Fayetteville St., Suite 1800 Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 821-4711 www.tharringtonsmith.com