SOURCE: wisTV.com
by Bryce Mursch

A lawyer arguing a drunken driving case at the Wake County Courthouse died of an apparent heart attack.

Authorities say Tom Farris died Thursday morning despite efforts to resuscitate him in the courtroom.

The courthouse doesn't have a defibrillator. Wake County officials set aside money to buy defibrillators last June, but spent the past ten months doing a study to assess the county's need for them in the courthouse and other buildings.

A county spokesman says four to ten defibrillators should be in the courthouse by June. That's when the county's fiscal year ends.

A friend and fellow lawyer says Farris, who practices in Wilson, had a history of heart problems.