there's nothing easy about this case. >> reporter: christine muma was before the state bar with some of the men she has helped exonerate over the years close by for support. muma the director of the north carolina center on actual innocence faced accusations for her conduct in the case which exonerated joseph sledge, a man who spent 37 years in prison commit. we talked with sledge today. >> like she -- she done robbed the bank or something. >> reporter: muma took a water bottle from the home of a family member of another suspect in the sledge case. without that woman's consent. and tested it for dna. >> the defendant by the actions in which she engaged used methods that violated the legal rights of a third person. >> reporter: her defense repeatedly talked about how she asked the da's office for eight months for dna testing. and it never happened. >> she's there for joseph sledge. is there any evidence that she wasn't there for joseph sledge? >> reporter: the state bar found muma in violation of the witnesses' privacy. but didn't find her in violation of four other accusations includi

carolina lawyer who defends the wrongly accused just wrapped up closing arguments in the case christine muma is director of the north carolina center on actual innocence, accused of violating the rules of wednesday she testified before the north carolina state bar. about a year ago she helped free joseph sledge, who served 40 years from prison for a double murder he didn't commit. she's accused of taking a water bottle from the home of a family member of another subject in the case and tested it for dna without getting consent. >> the district attorney stressed the importance of finding the true perpetrator. >> if she's not allowed to continue her work the world is going to be a worse place. >> in terms of punishment she could be disbarred. attorneys who said say what she did was in fact reasonable. >>> a convict accused of orchestrating a kidnapping plot from behind bars wants charges against him dropped. kevin melton is one of self people charged in the 20* 14 kidnapping of frank jansen, later rescued by the fbi in atlanta. his daughter, an assistant wake county da previously prosecuted me

yesterday christine muma, center on actual innocence took the stand in her own defense. she's accused of violating the rules of professional conduct, about a year ago she helped free joseph sledge, the man who served nearly 40 years in prison for a double murder he did not commit. she's now accused of taking a water bottle from the home of a family member of another suspect in that same case and testing it for dna without having consent. >> the district attorney stressing the importance of identifying the true perpetrator. >> she's not allowed to continue her work? the world is going to be a worse place. >> in terms of a punishment she could be disbarred but attorneys who testified yesterday say what she did was reasonable. the case is expected to last through tomorrow. >>> here we go again, republican presidential hopefuls will go toe-to-toe in their first debate of 2016. who made the list? who is planning to boycott? the mexican government intercepts a series of text what they reveal. >>> welcome back. we didn't win the big jackpot but someone in california, tennessee

yesterday christine muma, director of the north carolina drear on actual innocence took the stand in her own defense. accused of violating rules of professional conduct, about a year ago she helped free joseph sledge, who served nearly 40 years in prison for a double murder he didn't commit. she's accused of taking a water bottle from the home of a family member of another suspect in that same case and testing it for dna. >> the district attorney was stressing the importance of identifying the true perpetrators. >> if she's not allowed to continue her work the world is going to be a worse place. >> in terms of punishment she could be disbarred but attorneys who testified yesterday say what she did was reasonable. the case is expected to last through tomorrow. >>> time now 5:37. thank you for joining us. coming up, republican presidential hopefuls will go toe to to in in their first debate of 2016. who made the list? who is planning to boycott. >> the mexican government intercepts a series of text famous actress. it's a taste so bold, yet so smooth, it could only be called, black silk

yesterday christine muma took the stand in her own defense. accused of taking a dna sample without having consent. that evidence was used to help free joseph sledge, a man who served nearly 40 years in prison for a double murder he didn't commit. muma could be disbarred if she's convicted. the case is expected to last through tomorrow. >>> taking a live look outside on this balmy thursday morning, meteorologist alyssa corfont >>> welcome back. happy thursday, the airport is aflow as the sun continues to rise. currently 30 raleigh. clayton at 27, roanoke rapids reporting 29 degrees. our high today in the mid-50s. well above yesterday. the 50s hang around for friday but there will be a good chance of rain in the afternoon. most of us dry by saturday. let's check with traffic. still looking at the accident on spring forest road at the intersection of 401. if you're heading in this direction stay i really, really, really, really like you >>> 8:00 on "today." could this lip balm be doing more harm than good? a popular brand under fire this morning.