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OJD Week in Review: Feb. 19-23

This week we’ve got plenty of important news to share, with updates on Raise the Age, a new podcast, and job and training opportunities.

JJAC Comes Back for Thirds

On February 20, the Juvenile Jurisdiction Advisory Committee (JJAC) met at the N.C. Division of Adult Corrections and Juvenile Justice for its third meeting since its creation.

JJAC

Co-chair Bill D. Davis called the meeting to order, greeting the members of the Committee and others in attendance, before approving the minutes of the previous meeting held in January, and moving onto the new business.

Heather Taraska, Assistant District Attorney of Mecklenberg County, presented the Legislative Revisions and Legal Issues Subcommittee recommendations.  The subcommittee first reported on the mandate in SB257 that the JJAC consider whether certain offenses allegedly committed by 16- and 17-year-olds should be excluded from juvenile jurisdiction once the law goes into effect.  Those offenses can be found under Section 16D.4(rr).  The subcommittee recommended that these offenses not be excluded from juvenile jurisdiction, arguing the impracticality of expecting law enforcement to determine whether juveniles should be charged in the juvenile or criminal system based on certain offenses.  Michelle Hall, Executive Director of the N.C. Sentencing and Advisory Commission, offered statistical data from a five-year period to point out that most felony convictions for certain offenses have actually been accompanied by other charges for juveniles.  The full Committee then voted and approved the subcommittee’s recommendations to include items in Section 16D.4.(rr) (1) through Section 16D.4.(rr)(10) in juvenile jurisdiction and amend the language of this section to read “Any H, I, or misdemeanor offense requiring registration as a sex offender pursuant to Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes.”

Following this vote William Lassiter, Deputy Secretary of Juvenile Justice with the Department of Public Safety, presented on behalf of the Housing of Transfers Subcommittee.  The subcommittee’s recommendations included accommodating any child under the age of 18 exclusively in approved juvenile facilities prior to trial, more resources and training of transportation staff, and establishing a unified video conferencing system to allow communications between juvenile detention, adult detention facilities, and the courts.  There were some concerns voiced from the Committee about privacy between juveniles and their defense counsel in regards to the video conferencing recommendation and preparing juveniles to transition into the adult system if they are held in custody on their 18th birthday.  After suggestions were offered to address some of the issues members had with the recommendations in future discussions, the Committee passed these recommendations.

Juvenile Defender Eric Zogry also brought a recommendation to the Committee to fund an additional assistant juvenile defender position for the Office of the Juvenile Defender.  Zogry explained the position would help with training, delivery of services, and technical support needs upon implementation.  The Committee gave approval for the position.

Lassiter returned to offer the proposal for the final report due on March 1 to the Legislature.  The report is to include the approved recommendations from JJAC, timelines for potential stakeholder forums and community meetings, potential issues projected for the future, and milestones and progress to-date.  Implementation dates and funding requests for various aspects of the Raise the Age plan are also to be included.

Finally, Brad D. Fowler, Research, Policy, and Planning Officer of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), and Judge Marion R. Warren, Director of AOC, presented AOC’s requests for funding, which included additional judgeships, assistant district attorneys, district attorney legal assistants, and deputy clerks for several different districts.  With a request to amend the language to the recommendations clarifying the methodology for determining the needs and acknowledging more resources may be needed after implementation, the Committee approved this as well.

The Committee adjourned the meeting and confirmed its next meeting for May 22.

Job/Fellowship Opportunities

The UNC School of Government is seeking a tenure-track full-time permanent assistant professor of juvenile justice and criminal law.  The selected candidate for this position will be expected “to write for, advise, plan courses for, and teach” public officials, including judges, magistrates, law enforcement, prosecutors and defenders.  Applications will remain open until the position is filled.  The expected starting date for the new hire will be July 1.  Please find the full details for the position and how to apply here.

The National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) is now accepting applications for its 2018-19 Youth Justice Leadership Institute.  This is an annual year-long fellowship program that selects 10 people of color working as professionals in the juvenile justice field to participate in a curriculum to develop their leadership and advocacy skills.  The fellowship can be completed with the fellows’ current employment, so those selected will not have to leave their jobs to participate in the Institute.  The fellowship will include two fully financed retreats, mentoring and frequent distance learning opportunities.  NJJN will be hosting two informational webinars, one on Mar. 8 and another on Apr. 2.  To register for one of these webinars, please visit here.  Applications for the Institute (found here) must be submitted by Apr. 23.

Heard About the New Juvenile Defender Manual?


We’ve updated our SoundCloud page with a new podcast!  In this segment, OJD Communications and Office Manager Marcus Thompson sits down for a Q&A with

Assistant Appellate Defender David Andrews to discuss Andrews’ work on the updated juvenile defender manual.  Andrews not only talks about his experience co-writing the manual with Professor John Rubin, but also shares thoughts on Gault, Raise the Age, and some other important cases.  You can listen to the new podcast here, and as usual, we’d like to thank our friends at the Administrative Office of the Courts who have graciously assisted us with these recordings.

Events Around the Community

The North Carolina Bar Association Juvenile Justice and Children’s Rights Section will be holding a council meeting on March 22, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.  A networking reception will be held directly after the meeting at Whiskey Kitchen on 201 W. Martin St. and appetizers and a cash bar will be provided.  All section members and attorneys who could be members are welcome to attend and may RSVP here.

Training Reminders & Webinars

The National Institute of Justice will be hosting a webinar titled “Using Brief Interventions to Prevent Teen Dating Violence” on Feb. 26, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (EST).  The webinar will feature several researchers, policy advocates, and practitioners discussing methods to reduce teen dating violence in high-risk populations.  You can register for the webinar here.

Clean Slate Clearinghouse will be hosting a webinar on Feb. 28 titled “Juvenile Record Clearance — 2017 Legislative Reforms”  This webinar will focus on various state reforms to juvenile record clearance laws and will feature multiple state advocates.  To register for this webinar, please visit here.

yoda training

Registration is open for Higher-Level Felony Defense, Part I.  This training will take place April 9-10 and will offer 9.0 CLE credit hours.  Topics will include working with investigators and experts, building rapport with clients, investigation and discovery, the theory of defense, and third-party records.  Space is limited for only 36 participants, so please hurry if you are interested in participating!  Members of public defender offices should get approval from the Chief Public Defender to register and contractors and privately assigned counsel must receive a fellowship from IDS Director Tom Maher.  For more information on registration, the agenda, and hotel information please visit here.

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform(CJJR) is accepting applications for its Youth in Custody Certificate Program, to be held June 11–15, 2018, at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.  This training is designed for juvenile justice system leaders and partners working to improve outcomes for youth in post-adjudication custody.  The curriculum covers critical areas, including culture change and leadership, addressing racial and ethnic disparities, family engagement, assessment, case planning, facility-based education and treatment services, and reentry planning and support.  Upon approval of a Capstone Project Proposal initiating or building on local reform efforts, participants receive an Executive Certificate from Georgetown University and join the CJJR Fellows Network of more than 850 individuals.  Applications will be accepted until March 2.

New Resource

This week we’ve added a new document from the Department of Adult Corrections and Juvenile Justice to our Raise the Age page, located under the “Information for Defenders” tab. This presentation from Deputy Secretary William Lassiter presents points on the history, the implementation plan, and the vision for what Raise the Age will do for N.C.  This document also offers suggestions to reduce recidivism, youth psychological development research, and other data.

That’s all there is to share this week.  Please be sure to check out our Facebook page and Twitter feed, and don’t be afraid to reach out if you would like to discuss something in the juvenile defense realm either through our podcast or on our blog.  We will be sharing more news you can use and other information here every week so be sure to check back again often!

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