On June 26, 2025, H612 was signed by the Governor and became S.L. 2025-16. This session law makes significant amendments to the laws addressing juvenile abuse, neglect, and dependency (A/N/D) and the oversight provided by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) over county departments of social services (DSS). The session law also affects termination of parental rights, adoptions of minors, permanent no contact orders, felony child abuse, and criminal history checks for applicants for city and county jobs that involve working with children. Finally, this session law enacts a guardianship assistance program for certain children who were in DSS custody when guardianship was ordered. The various sections of this significant 32-page session law have different effective dates, with some sections effective on June 26, 2025 and others not effective until as late as April 1, 2026. This blog only summarizes the changes that are effective now. Continue Reading
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Findings Required in Delinquency Dispositional Orders
Dispositional orders in delinquency cases must contain “appropriate findings of fact and conclusions of law.” G.S. 7B-2512(a). What constitutes appropriate findings of fact is a question that North Carolina appellate courts have repeatedly addressed. This blog explains the requirement for findings in delinquency dispositional orders and provides examples of findings that the North Carolina Court of Appeals has found to be sufficient. Continue Reading
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From the Mountains to the Sea: The NC Vacation Rental Act and Short-Term Rentals
As a native North Carolinian, I feel pretty strongly that North Carolina is the best state in the country, and based on tourism statistics, everyone else in the country wants to know what makes us so special. In 2024, North Carolina was the fifth most visited state for domestic travel and direct visitor spending added $36.7 billion to our economy. All of those visitors need somewhere to stay, and many of them choose short-term rental options on internet platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO. But what happens when problems arise? What is the remedy for property owners who think they are renting their residential property to a nice couple through VRBO for a quiet weekend away, only to learn the couple decided to host a house party with thirty of their closest friends? What happens when a traveling nurse books an Airbnb for three months for work and refuses to leave? This post will explore how the law addresses these situations, and some areas that remain unclear.
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Adult Protection Multidisciplinary Team Workshop: Apply Now!
If you’re working to protect vulnerable adults in your community, you know how important it is to have the right people at the table to provide effective and efficient solutions. That’s why we’re bringing together adult protection multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) from across North Carolina for a hands-on workshop at the School of Government on September 29–30, 2025, focused on forming and strengthening MDTs.
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Introducing a New Flow Chart for Adult Protective Services Court Proceedings
Navigating the legal requirements applicable to adult protective services (APS) court proceedings can be challenging, given the expedited nature of the cases, the different types of orders the court may issue, and the varying legal standards and timelines that apply to each order. The urgent and often emergency-driven nature of APS cases adds further complexity to the process. That’s why we developed a new resource designed to assist county department of social services (DSS) directors, social workers, and attorneys—along with court officials and other professionals involved in APS —better understand the essential steps in a court proceeding to obtain an order for APS protective and emergency services.
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When can you file a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss?
When a party is sued, they often want to make the lawsuit go away. One of the most common ways of attempting to get rid of a lawsuit is a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under North Carolina Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). A recent case from the North Carolina Court of Appeals illustrates how this procedural tool works and provides a lens to examine a tension within the rule. In Legal Impact for Chickens v. Case Farms, LLC, ___ N.C. App. ___, COA24-673, (May 21, 2025), a poultry producer filed a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss the complaint of an animal rights group. At the same time, it answered the allegations in the animal rights group’s lawsuit.
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Surrender, Return, and Disposal of Firearms in Civil Domestic Violence Cases
This post was written by Brittany Bromell. She can be contacted at bwilliams@sog.unc.edu.
North Carolina General Statute 50B-3.1 provides that, under certain circumstances, a person who is subject to a DVPO must be ordered to surrender to the sheriff “all firearms, machine guns, ammunition, permits to purchase firearms, and permits to carry concealed firearms that are in the care, custody, possession, ownership, or control of the defendant.”
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New Research on Juvenile Interventions and Reoffending
I recently had the opportunity to watch a webinar on the latest research about how protective factors and strength-based services impact reoffending among justice-involved youth. The webinar focused on the second brief (Impacts on Long-Term Youth Reoffending) from the Youth Protective Factors Study (hereinafter the Study). The Study offers interesting findings related to the way risk and protective factors work (or, spoiler alert, don’t work) to reduce reoffending. This research can help practitioners focus limited resources on system responses and interventions most likely to promote public safety. Continue Reading
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What Does it Mean for a Criminal Case if the Defendant is Legally Incompetent and Has a Court-Appointed Guardian?
Derek was twenty years old when he suffered a stroke. He lost and then subsequently regained his ability to speak and to perform simple tasks; however, he cannot manage important matters like his medical care and finances. Derek’s mom, Greta, successfully petitioned under G.S. Chapter 35A to have her son adjudicated incompetent and was appointed as Derek’s guardian.
Recently, Derek was at a store and put candy he had not paid for in his pocket. When an employee intervened, Derek pushed the employee and ran home with the candy. Criminal charges were filed, and Derek was appointed counsel. This post explores difficult questions that arise when a criminal defendant is adjudicated incompetent and has a court-appointed guardian, including the effect those circumstances have on criminal case decisions, client confidentiality, and the allocation of authority between the attorney and client.
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Eviction Edition: Landlord Duties, Self-Help Eviction, and Retaliatory Eviction in Recent Case Law
The enactment of the Residential Rental Agreements Act of 1977, the Landlord Eviction Remedies Act of 1981, and the Retaliatory Eviction Act of 1979 provided expanded rights and protections for residential tenants. As a result, all residential tenants have the right to fit and habitable housing, and they cannot be evicted without the judicial process of summary ejectment. The law also protects tenants from eviction in retaliation for lawfully asserting their rights to fit and habitable housing, but that law is subject to a number of exceptions. The North Carolina appellate courts have issued recent opinions that address these tenants’ rights statutes. This post will explore these statutes by reviewing the details of this recent precedent.
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