Articles in the Uncategorized category - Page 5 of 8

This is the last blog post of 2021 and a goodbye to another year of transitions. COVID is still with us, requiring us to be flexible and ever changing as […]

This post was written by UNC School of Government faculty member Tom Thornburg.   Following years of discussion and drafts, a formal Rules of Conduct for Magistrates was promulgated by […]

An attorney who represents a department of social services (DSS) in North Carolina faces a variety of unique ethical challenges when it comes to client representation. Who is the attorney’s client? How should the attorney report malfeasance within the agency? A number of factors make these determinations particularly challenging in North Carolina.

The UNC School of Government’s Public Defense Education group is excited to announce a new series of practice guides, The First Seven Days, by Timothy Heinle, Civil Defender Educator. The guides offer practical tips and strategies for respondent’s attorneys in various civil proceedings to use during the first several days of representation. The ideas suggested in the guides are designed to help busy attorneys hit the ground running in ways that reduce stress for the attorney and improve representation for the client.

The first entry in the series is The First Seven Days as a Guardian ad Litem in an Incompetency Proceeding. It includes ideas on creating files, client outreach, investigation tools, report writing, and more. Guardian ad litem attorneys in Chapter 35A proceedings can obtain the guide in three ways.

Chief Justice Paul Newby issued an order on Friday, effective today, extending emergency directives currently in place for an additional thirty days to in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. […]

Today is the annual GiveUNC day. This year is also the School’s 90th Anniversary! Although the faces have changed over time and the name of our School (from Institute of […]

Chief Justice Paul Newby issued an order on Friday, effective today, extending emergency directives currently in place for an additional thirty days to in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Tomorrow marks […]

The UNC School of Government seeks to hire a tenure-track faculty member who will specialize in the procedural law that governs civil court actions and the practical aspects of conducting civil trials […]

For those who know me, I have been referring to 2020 as the lost year. We have lost so much – lives, family time, social gatherings, routines, and our general […]

How does the appointment of counsel to represent juveniles with cases that are transferred to superior court for trial as adults work? This can be a confusing question to answer given that the legal authority for the appointment of counsel changes at the time of transfer, there are important immediate legal issues following transfer, and there are so many different ways in which indigent defense services are provided across North Carolina. This blog will (1) identify the law that governs appointment of counsel when cases are in juvenile court and following transfer, (2) share recently released guidance from the N.C. Office of Indigent Defense Services (IDS) regarding appointment of counsel in matters that are transferred, and (3) suggest a procedure that could be followed to ensure that the rights of juveniles regarding appeals of transfer orders and conditions of pretrial release are ensured.