Happy First Friday! This week in addition to our new tip and training reminders, we want to bring attention to a blog post about Raise the Age from the School of Government and a new addition to our sidebar here on the website (if you haven’t already noticed!).
Also, for those juvenile defense attorneys who are currently not on our listserv, please contact Marcus Thompson so that you can be added and get all of the latest updates on our resources, upcoming training, and more!
Tip of the Week – Why Separate Probable Cause and Adjudicatory Hearings?
A probable cause hearing determines whether there is probable cause to believe that the offense charged has been committed, and that the juvenile charged committed it. But what if the court finds probable cause for a lesser offense? The court must hold a separate adjudicatory hearing. Why? Probable cause hearings and adjudicatory hearings have separate burdens of proof, are governed by different rules of evidence, and result in different legal outcomes. Note that this rule also applies to transfer hearings when the court decides not to transfer a juvenile to superior court.
Call to Action!
North Carolina is in need of dedicated defenders today! With the expected increase of juvenile defense cases following the full implementation of Raise the Age, North Carolina’s juvenile defender community will be in need of quality juvenile defense attorneys. We want to encourage attorneys with a passion for protecting our most vulnerable populations, whether you possess decades of experience or you’ve been practicing for just over five years, to consider specializing now. We also want attorneys fresh out of law school and those currently in law school to plan to take the specialization exam later in their career. For details on specializing in North Carolina, please check out the link here (links also available on the sidebar). Applications for the specialization exam with the N.C. State Bar should be open between May and July this year. For additional resources and information about specializing, please check out the National Juvenile Defender Center’s page here.
From Around the Community
From the “On the Civil Side” blog, Jacqui Greene has published a new post regarding Raise the Age. In this blog, Greene breaks down the recommendations from the Juvenile Jurisdiction Advisory Committee’s latest report. Please take a moment to read her post here.
Training
Registration for the “2019 Regional Training for Indigent Defense: Special Issues in Felony Cases” is now open to IDS contract attorneys and to privately assigned counsel representing indigent clients. The training will focus on special issues in felony cases and include a two hour session on gangs. The Regional Training will be held on Thursday, March 21 at the East Carolina Heart Institute (ECHI) at ECU, located at 115 Heart Drive, Greenville, NC 27834. The training will take place in the Conference Room beginning at 12:45 p.m. Free parking is available in the visitor lots adjacent to ECHI as well as the Family Medicine building next door. Refreshments will be provided. To register and to find additional program information, visit their course page here. The registration deadline for the Regional Training is 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 18. The registration fee is $95.00, which includes materials, CLE credit, and snacks. The training will offer 3.0 hours of general CLE credit. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact Program Attorney, Austine Long at along@sog.unc.edu or 919.962.9594 or Program Manager, Tanya Jisa at jisa@sog.unc.edu or 919.843.8981.
On March 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., the UNC School of Government (SOG) will be hosting the first North Carolina Criminal Justice Summit in the the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Carolina Club. The Summit will be lead by SOG’s own Professor of Public Law and Government Jessica Smith and will feature national and state experts with broad-ranging ideological perspectives who will discuss key issues capturing attention in North Carolina and around the nation, including bail reform, overcriminalization, and barriers to re-entry, such as fines and fees, the criminal record, and collateral consequences. Join the conversation as they explore how these issues impact justice, public safety and economic prosperity in North Carolina, and whether there is common ground to address them. This event will be free to attend, lunch will be provided, and it offers 5 hours of CJE and free CLE credit. Attendees are responsible for their travel expenses, including a $14 event parking fee. For those arriving the night before, state rate and discounted rooms at local hotels will be available. For more details, please visit here.
This concludes the news for the final week of February. Please check us out on OJD’s Twitter and Facebook for posts throughout the week.
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