Hello again and welcome to another Friday! This week we’ve got a new tip, a new training announcement, some news from around the juvenile defense community that may be of interest, and some deadline reminders.
We also released our 2018 Year in Review earlier this week. Please take a moment to check it out here if you haven’t had a chance to read about some of our accomplishments from this past year and plans going forward into 2019.
Tip of the Week – Immigration Consultations
Did you know that IDS has made immigration consultants available to all defenders who have been appointed indigent clients? That means all of your juvenile clients! This may be especially helpful to determine if your client may be eligible for some type of immigration relief since s/he is a juvenile. Simply go to the IDS website to access the form here. You may want to print out the printable version and put it in your case file to fill out when you meet your client and then upload the information when you get back to the office.
From Around the Community
From the On the Civil Side blog, Jacqui Greene has posted a new piece titled “
Mental Health Evaluations Required Prior to Delinquency Dispositions“. In this blog post, Greene examines In re E.M., the recent case from the Court of Appeals which applies an old statute that requires district courts to refer juveniles who have been adjudicated delinquent prior to disposition to the area mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services director for interdisciplinary evaluation if any evidence of mental illness is presented. Greene explores how much evidence of mental health issues is needed, how to locate the local management entity who would need to provide the evaluation, what happens if a juvenile has already received a mental health evaluation, and the implications of the Court’s decision. You can read the full post here.
On Feb. 11 at 12:30 p.m., Duke Law School Professor Brandon L. Garrett and the Duke Criminal Law Society will be presenting and releasing their newest study, “Juvenile Life Without Parole in North Carolina”. Garrett was awarded a grant from the Charles Koch Foundation to study evidence to inform criminal justice policy. Through his research, Garrett prepared a report and will be sharing his findings with all attorneys working on juvenile cases at this event. For further information, please direct questions to Callie Thomas.
Job Opportunities
The deadline for applications for the Office of Indigent Defense Services (IDS)‘ Regional Defender position is Sunday, Jan. 27. The ideal candidate will have the ability to provide oversight to professionals, have knowledge of General Statutes, case law and responsibilities of contractors, and have skills in representing indigent defendants, problem solving, and relationship building. IDS prefers applicants with some teaching/supervisory experience and a minimum of five years of experience with criminal defense work representing indigent clients. You can apply and see more on this opportunity here.
On Dec. 1, Indigent Defense Services issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in Caswell, Person, Alamance, Orange, and Chatham counties. The current contracts for adult noncapital criminal cases at the trial level and per session court cases in those districts will expire on May 31 and renew on June 1. The RFP (RFP #16-0002R) seeks services for adult noncapital criminal cases at the trial level, juvenile delinquency, abuse/neglect/dependency and termination of parental rights, and treatment courts. Please note that the RFP will not seek offers for potentially capital cases at the trial level, direct appeals or post-conviction cases. Also, the juvenile delinquency RFP will only include Caswell, Alamance, and Person counties. The deadline for electronic offers is Feb. 15. To access the RFP, please check here.
Training
The Office of the Juvenile Defender will be hosting a Juvenile Court Basics CLE on Feb. 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Cumberland County Courthouse. Assistant Juvenile Defender Kim Howes will be discussing the role of counsel, how to communicate with juvenile clients, dispositions, capacity, appeals, and so much more. Questions and concerns are welcome. Three general CLE credit hours are currently pending for this training. Please contact Marcus Thompson by email or call 919-890-1650 if you have questions.
Save the date! The 2019 Regional Training for Indigent Defense: Special Issues in Complex Felony Cases will be held on March 21 at the East Carolina Heart Institute at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. The training will focus on topics relevant to criminal law practitioners and is open to IDS contract attorneys and privately assigned counsel. Participants will receive three general CLE credit hours. Registration should open later this month.
That wraps it up for now. Check out OJD’s Twitter and Facebook for posts throughout the week and we will share more here on next Friday.
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