Happy Friday Readers! We hope you had a great holiday filled with rest, family, and good food. Trust us when we say, OJD is just getting back in the swing of things after our holiday too. This week, we have a great Ethics tip and a couple of resources to share. Let's get to it.
Tip of the Week: Keeping up with Social Media in Juvenile Proceedings
“Rule 1.1 requires lawyers to provide competent representation to clients. Comment [8] to the rule specifically states that a lawyer ‘should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with the technology relevant to the lawyer’s practice.’ ‘Relevant technology’ includes social media. As stated in an opinion of the New Hampshire Bar Association, N. H. Bar Ass’n Op. 2012-13/05, ‘counsel has a general duty to be aware of social media as a source of potentially useful information in litigation, to be competent to obtain that information directly or through an agent, and to know how to make effective use of that information in litigation.’” (NC Rules of Professional Conduct, 2014 Formal Ethics Opinion 5, emphasis added)
As Assistant Juvenile Defender Burcu Hensely says, "For frontline defenders, this means we must become familiar with the digital devices and the social media platforms that make up the world our clients are living in. So much of the interaction and communications that our clients are having are through devices, text messages, snaps, photos, emojis, and acronyms, that if we don’t have a basic understanding of these platforms, we cannot be effective in our representation of these youth."
Resources to Remember:
The OJD Training calendar will be your go-to space to locate upcoming virtual training hosted by OJD. They will include a brief description and link to register. Bookmark this page and check back soon as we update with our plans for the year!
The Gault Center is a national organization promoting and advocating for justice for all youth and striving for excellence in youth defense. They regularly hold webinars, training, and provide quality resources to help defenders do their best
Are you a new defender and need access to our Defender Portal or to join the Juvenile Defense list serv? Please email LaTobia for more information.
OJD has a wealth of knowledge in the office and across the state. From helping you locate experts, to consultations and court observations, we have resources plenty. Don't hesitate to give us a call or send an email. We're here to help and do everything we can to make your 2023 year in court a success.
SAVE THE DATE! Gault on the Quarter
Gault On The Quarter, an interactive drop-in for the youth defender community to discuss new topics is BACK. Please join The Gault Center for another 1-hour interactive discussion on the pros and cons of virtual hearings.
In preparation for our next session, please send The Gault Center your pros and cons arguments on virtual hearings. What do you love? What makes you cringe? How are they beneficial/detrimental to your client? Responses can be sent directly to Kirstin Evans kevans@defendyouthrights.org and/or Kristina Kersey kkersey@defendyouthrights.org
The second Gault on the Quarter will be Thursday, January 26th at 3:00 PM EST via the zoom link below
15: overview on the topic
15: case law/ legislation /policy
15: discussion
15: next steps
Topic: QOTQ_Virtual Hearings
Time: Jan 26, 2023 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 852 1124 9067
Passcode: 823087