Gov. Mike Easley told law students at New York University last month that choosing Mike Nifong as Durham district attorney was one of the poorest appointments of his career.
Easley picked Nifong to fill a vacancy in 2005 under the condition that he would not run for re-election.
"I almost un-appointed him when he decided to run," Easley said.
The governor's Jan. 22 speech addressed public service, The Raleigh News and Observer reported Saturday.
Easley addressed his appointment of the district attorney after an audience member asked him to rate Nifong's performance in the investigation of sexual assault allegations against three members of the 2005-2006 men's lacrosse team.
The governor said Nifong had done a poor job. "You don't need me to tell you that," he added.
Nifong faces ethics charges from the North Carolina State Bar stemming from his alleged misconduct in the case.
Last month, shortly after a second round of ethics charges were made public, Nifong asked the state attorney general to remove him from the case.
Easley criticized Nifong for his pre-trial statements, in which the State Bar alleges that Nifong heightened the public condemnation of the accused.
"That's how all this mess got started," the governor said. "He challenged the defense lawyers by talking about the case, calling the kids 'hooligans.'" Easley added that the defense lawyers were forced to speak to the media after Nifong convinced the public of the defendants' guilt.
"Then it's on," he said. "All the rules are out the window, then you have chaos, and that's why those rules are so important, and that's what you got in this case.... It looks bad for North Carolina. It looks bad for the DA's office. It looks bad for the criminal justice system in general."
Duke Professor of Law Tom Metzloff said that Easley's remarks will have no impact on the prosecution of the case.
"It's certainly professionally embarrassing for Nifong," he said. "I'm not sure it's legally relevant to any issue. It's more about public perception."
The Associated Press contributed to the reporting of this story.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.