Friday is here! Today is day one of the Gault Center Youth Defender Leadership Summit and OJD is logged into Zoom to gain new ways to help our state's youth and those who work so hard to advocate for change. This week, we're sharing a tip and a reminder, Burcu's 6 questions & gearing up for our next Forum!
Tip of the Week
Suppression motions aren’t often used in the District Court setting (outside DWI cases), however juvenile court offers many opportunities for suppression. The juvenile code outlines the procedure for filing a motion to suppress (§7B-2408.5) and it may be made either in writing before the adjudicatory hearing or orally during the hearing. Consider whether or not your client’s statement or identifications may be subject to suppression. Remember – “in custody” is an objective test! The test is whether a “reasonable juvenile” in the position of the respondent would believe him/herself to be in custody OR that s/he had been deprived of freedom of action in some significant way and is not based on the subjective intent of the interrogator or the perception of the person under questioning. That means if your client is in the principal’s office and the SRO is standing in front of the door, would your client feel free to leave?
6 Questions in (NOT REALLY) 60 Seconds with Burcu Hensley
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Presented by: Dr. Sean Knuth
Join OJD as we learn about juvenile capacity evaluations from Dr. Sean Knuth. Dr. Knuth is an experienced psychologist and is currently in private practice in Charlotte, North Carolina. His practice primarily consists of forensic mental health assessments, either ex parte or as ordered by family, juvenile, or criminal courts. Dr. Knuth will teach defenders about juvenile capacity evaluations. He will specifically teach defenders about using psychologists appropriately for their cases. In particular, he will focus on what juvenile capacity evaluations should contain and what they should look like. Join OJD as we learn about the basics of juvenile capacity evaluations and how to use them to better represent our clients.