An adjudicatory hearing in an abuse, neglect, or dependency action is “a judicial process designed to adjudicate the existence or nonexistence of any of the conditions alleged in the petition.” G.S. 7B-802. The conditions refer to whether the juvenile is abused, neglected, or dependent. Because of the statutory language of G.S. 7B-802, the general rule created by the appellate courts is that post-petition evidence is not considered at an adjudicatory hearing. However, the court of appeals has stated this rule is “not absolute.” In re V.B., 239 N.C. App. 340, 344 (2015). In the last several years, the court of appeals has carved out 3 exceptions to the rule that allow for post-petition evidence: (1) a neglect adjudication when there is a long period of separation between the child and parent before the petition is filed, (2) dependency adjudications, and (3) evidence of fixed and ongoing circumstances, such as paternity and mental illness. In November 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court in In re L.N.H., 382 N.C. 536 (2022) addressed one of those exceptions, the dependency adjudication exception, and determined the court of appeals exception was error. So, what is the rule regarding post-petition evidence? It’s a little murky now. Continue Reading
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School Threat Assessment
The current news seems to be full of reports of threats against schools. A search of the WRAL website for stories on school threats reveals at least five discrete stories on threats against North Carolina schools in May alone. How can schools and law enforcement be prepared to respond to, and perhaps even prevent, threats against student safety? The National Threat Assessment Center of the United States Secret Service (NTAC) has been researching that topic for over 20 years. The results are consistent. Schools that have an effective threat assessment structure in place, casting a wide net to effectively identify youth along a continuum of need and offering a range of responses, are best positioned to address threats and prevent school violence. Continue Reading
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Equitable Distribution: QDROs, DROs, and a statute of limitations
In this earlier post, I wrote about whether the 10-year statute of limitations for initiating an action on a judgment bars the entry of a QDRO if the request for the QDRO is made more than 10 years following entry of the equitable distribution judgment. https://civil.sog.unc.edu/so-someone-forgot-to-draft-that-qdro-now-what/
The court of appeals recently answered this question, holding that the entry of a QDRO, or a DRO as discussed further below, is a procedural method of effectuating and completing a judgment rather than a substantive mechanism for enforcement of a judgment. Therefore, a request for the court to enter the order is not an action on a judgment and is not barred by the statute of limitations.
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Is NC’s Disorderly Conduct at Schools Statute Unconstitutionally Vague?
***This post was written by my colleague Phil Dixon. You can contact Phil at dixon@sog.unc.edu
I started wondering about that question after reading last month’s decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Carolina Youth Action Project v. Wilson, 60 F.4th 770 (4th Cir. 2023) (summarized here). There, the court struck down two South Carolina state laws aimed in large part at regulating conduct and speech in and around schools. The laws at issue there are similar to our version of disorderly conduct by disrupting schools. This post examines the holding of Carolina Youth Action Project and its potential implications for North Carolina law.
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Determining Disposition Level in Delinquency Cases
Determination of the correct disposition level available in a delinquency case requires a four-step process.
- Identify the offense for which disposition is being entered (hereinafter referred to as the “disposition offense”).
- Identify the offense classification for the disposition offense.
- Calculate the juvenile’s delinquency history level.
- Use the disposition chart to identify the corresponding level or levels for the case.
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How Can a Party Show Authorship of a Social Media Post or Other Electronic Communication?
Suppose that a defendant is charged with possessing fentanyl with the intent to sell it. The state’s evidence includes a Facebook direct message, purportedly from the defendant to an informant, saying “just got some China Girl, you want any?” An officer took a photograph of the direct message as it appeared on the informant’s smartphone, and everyone is satisfied that the photograph fairly and accurately depicts the message. But the defendant objects to the introduction of the message on the grounds that there’s no way to be sure that he wrote it. How might the state respond?
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What happens when a party fails to disclose an expert witness?
Back in 2015, my former colleague Ann Anderson, wrote about legislation amending provisions in Rule 26(b)(4) dealing with expert witnesses in this post https://civil.sog.unc.edu/north-carolinas-expert-witness-discovery-rule-changes-and-clarifications/.
S.L. 2015-153, in an effort “to provide openness and avoid unfair tactical advantage in the presentation of a case at trial,” amended Rule 26 to require a party to disclose the identity of an expert witness that it may use at trial, regardless of whether the other party requested disclosure through discovery.
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Is There a Deadline for Ordering a Disposition in a Delinquency Case?
The short answer is no. There is no specific legal requirement to enter a disposition in a delinquency matter in a certain period of time. At the same time, the law does provide some context on moving efficiently to disposition, including the ability, in certain circumstances, to appeal an adjudication before a disposition has been entered. This blog explains that context. Continue Reading
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Proposed Federal Rule Change Seeks to Increase Support for Relative and Nonrelative Kinship Foster Placements
The federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is proposing regulatory changes that could have a significant impact on the placement of children removed from their parents due to suspected abuse, neglect, or dependency. This post discusses the proposed changes and the reasons supporting them and highlights the importance of relatives and nonrelative kin in juvenile abuse, neglect, dependency (A/N/D) proceedings.
(Note that while the proposal refers generally to Title IV-E agencies, this post refers specifically to the Department of Social Services (DSS), the petitioner in North Carolina A/N/D matters. Additionally, this post cites to the ACF’s proposal but omits internal citations within the proposal. See the proposal if you are interested in the research and other sources cited to by the ACF.)
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What Happens When the Tenant Raises the Issue of Rent Abatement?
Rent abatement is a remedy available to tenants when landlords fail to provide them with a fit and habitable property. Some things to consider when the court is faced with a tenant seeking rent abatement are how the claim can be asserted, what evidence the tenant is required to produce, and how damages are calculated. Read on for more information about how magistrates and judges can navigate rent abatement claims.
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