Happy Friday Readers! Another beautiful Friday in the books but it’s a bit cold in Raleigh. Where did spring go so fast? Well, at least there’s things like tea to keep us warm while we wrap up the week for you.
First! A Tip!
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. OJD also held a CLE on this topic and can share this with verified Defense counsel.
Resources & Community Events
The NACDL had an overwhelming turn out to their Race + Criminal Justice Webinar so they have decided to offer Part 2! They will take a deep dive into how past criminal convictions can impact an individual’s ability to participate in certain industries, e.g. the legal profession, the cannabis industry, and other entrepreneurial opportunities. To register for this webinar, please click here. (This is NOT a CLE).
SOG + IDS 2021 Spring Public Defender Conference
The 2021 Virtual Spring Public Defender Attorney & Investigator Conference is open and available at https://www.sog.unc.edu/courses/spring-public-defender-attorney-and-investigator-conference offered remotely May 12-14, 2021 on the Zoom meeting platform. This conference is cosponsored by the School of Government and the Office of Indigent Defense Services and offers 13 hours of attorney CLE credit and qualifies for NC State Bar criminal law specialization credit. This conference will also offer at least one hour of ethics, mental health/ substance abuse, and technology credit. The SOG has submitted a total of 7 credit hours to the North Carolina Protective Services Board for approval of the investigator sessions and they will have their own training tracks Wednesday & Friday.
Schedule:
Day 1 Wednesday, May 12, from 9:50am to 4:30pm. Attorney and Investigator Tracks
Day 2 Thursday, May 13, from 9:30am to 4:00pm. Misdemeanor, Felony, and Juvenile Tracks
Day 3 Friday, May 14, from 9:00am to 12:00pm. Attorney and Investigator Tracks
Participants: The Virtual Spring Public Defender Attorney & Investigator Conference is open to IDS employees, private assigned counsel, and contract attorneys who are handling indigent criminal and delinquency cases in the North Carolina state courts. Fee: The registration fee for IDS employees—public defenders, appellate defenders, capital defenders, special counsel, and IDS legal staff—is $0.
CLE Credit:The 2021 Virtual Spring Public Defender Attorney & Investigator Conference offers 13 hours of continuing legal education credit, which we will report to the State Bar on your behalf. A link to the recordings will be emailed to all participants once available, and participants will have 2 weeks to view them for CLE credit. If you are unable to view the entire program, either live or via recording, you will need to complete a partial credit form. If you do not submit a partial CLE form, we will report the full 13 hours on your behalf. While you may re-watch all the sessions for content purposes, we will only report a max of 13 hours to the State Bar.
Again, you can get more information and register by clicking here: https://www.sog.unc.edu/courses/spring-public-defender-attorney-and-investigator-conference
Reminder: PAC Fee App & New Juvenile Rates
The Office of the Juvenile Defender has been notified of an increasing number of errors on fee applications for delinquency matters. In order that all fee applications can be processed, and payments issued in a timely manner, please read the following MEMO & view the Juvenile Rates Chart.