Happy Friday Readers! Fall is (almost) here and football season is back in full swing. This week we have a brand new tip, an announcement or two, and additional resources to share with you.
We would like to take a moment and acknowledge how difficult last week was for our community, attorneys and public alike. Please know that OJD is thinking of New Hanover and Forsyth County as they handle and deal with the unprecedented incidents that have occurred.
Tip of the Week - Can You Minimize Publicity Involving Your Client?
(Please click the link below to read the full tip)
When an incident allegedly involving a juvenile is reported in the media, what is the impact on our client? Did the media source name the juvenile? What about possible negative inferences about the facts, even if your client isn’t identified? And what as juvenile defenders can we do to minimize the impact on our clients?
A question that arises is whether media may reveal the name of an alleged juvenile. In the U.S. Supreme Court case Smith v. Daily Mail Pub. Co., 443 U.S. 97 (1979), the Court ruled that a state law prohibiting and punishing publication of an alleged charged juvenile violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. So many states, including North Carolina, do not have a prohibition against publicizing juvenile information. However many news organizations have taken the position not to reveal names or identifying information of juveniles, unless they have been transferred to Superior Court.
This tip is continued in the link below:
Recordings available until September 13th: Juvenile Defender Conference
From the UNC School of Government:
Thank you to all who attended the live sessions of the 2021 Juvenile Defender Conference on the Zoom. For those of you who were not able to attend live on either of the sessions for the conference, you can now access the recording of the session at: https://vimeo.com/showcase/8774736
You will be prompted for a password in order to access the recordings. If you do require the password, please reach out to LaTobia Avent at OJD or Kate Jennings at the School of Government.
OJD Staff Updates:
Austine Long, OJD Project Attorney, hit the ground running, assessing the situation and executing a plan. She established relationships with federal grant administration, local participating agencies, and all the individuals involved in the grant process. Ms. Long not only managed and completed tasks stated in the original grant proposal (juvenile defense system evaluations, defender, and other stakeholder training) she brought new innovations to the grant, such as the creation of a series of informative “quick guides” for defenders, and web-based trainings. Additionally, she engaged in much of this work during the pandemic, constantly adjusting to the unknowns of the public health emergency. Perhaps most importantly, the innovations and resources Ms. Long brought to the office will now be ongoing projects and resources.
Kim Howes, Assistant Juvenile Defender since 2015, will be leaving her full-time position to transition to part-time status, working delinquency cases as privately assigned counsel and contracting with our office to engage in special projects, training, and policy work. Kim was also an intern with our office in 2008 and 2010. Kim has been a critical part of OJD and has created or contributed to most of the projects and policy development of the office since her arrival, especially by being the first Assistant Juvenile Defender to provide direct representation services. Kim was a “go to” expert for our office, developing strong relationships with attorneys in the field and frequently supporting “returning customers.” Kim became Juvenile Training Immersion Program (JTIP) certified through the National Juvenile Defender Center and developed and presented at numerous trainings.
OJD thanks both Austine Long and Kim Howes for their extraordinary work with the office, the insight, their passion, the laughs, and the way they catapulted the work of OJD to new heights, ensuring juvenile delinquency work continues to excel.