Does the law that makes personally identifiable arrest information a public record apply to the arrest of a person who is 16-or 17-years-old and charged with a Class A – E felony? This is the most common question I have received since the law of juvenile jurisdiction changed on December 1, 2024. Beginning with offenses committed on that date, Class A – E felonies committed at ages 16 and 17 fall under original criminal jurisdiction. G.S. 7B-1501(7)b.2. That means that these cases are now criminal cases from their inception. At the same time, the youth involved fall under the definition of juvenile in the Juvenile Code. G.S. 7B-1501(17). This leaves many people wondering which law applies—the public records law about law enforcement arrest records or the Juvenile Code provisions about the confidential nature of law enforcement records and files concerning juveniles? Continue Reading
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NC Supreme Court Opinion Clarifies and Changes Findings Required in A/N/D Orders
On December 13, 2024, the NC Supreme Court published In re L.L., an appeal of a permanency planning order (PPO) that awarded custody to a non-parent. In the PPO, the court awarded permanent custody to the child’s foster parents rather than the child’s maternal grandfather. In achieving this permanent plan, the court eliminated reunification with the child’s mother as a permanent plan. The issues for appeal focused on whether the trial court made the necessary statutory findings for placement with a non-relative and for eliminating reunification as a permanent plan. The Court of Appeals held the required findings were not made. See 291 N.C. App. 402 (2023) (unpublished). The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and addressed what findings are required for both non-relative placement and the elimination of reunification as a permanent plan. The answer may surprise you and will have an impact on court orders moving forward. Continue Reading
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N.C. Supreme Court Clarifies When and How to Preserve Parents’ Constitutionally Protected Rights for an A/N/D Appeal
Five-year-old Katy* has experienced a lot in her young life. As a baby in her mother’s care, Katy was exposed to substance use and domestic violence, leading to a county department of social services (DSS) petition alleging Katy was neglected. DSS and Katy’s parents established a safety plan for her to live with her father. Katy was later adjudicated neglected. At initial disposition, the trial court was asked for the first time to consider removing Katy from her father, who was not the subject of allegations in the petition, based on concerns over his criminal history. The trial court agreed with DSS, granting temporary custody of Katy to paternal relatives. In re K.C., __ N.C. __ (Dec. 13, 2024).
The initial disposition order included that both of Katy’s parents acted inconsistent with their constitutional rights as parents. Sl.Op. at 5. The father appealed, arguing that the court erred by drawing this conclusion without receiving evidence and without discussion from any party on the issue. Applying a de novo review of this conclusion of law, a divided Court of Appeals panel agreed, vacated the disposition order, and remanded the case for further proceedings. Id. Our Supreme Court granted DSS’ petition for discretionary review and raised the issue of whether the father had preserved the constitutional claims for appeal – which the Court held he had not. Sl.Op. 6-7. Read on to learn what it means for parents and their attorneys.
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New Resource: Creating Release of Information Forms for the Disclosure of Health, Mental Health, Social Services, and Substance Use Disorder Information with Client Consent
Many of the confidentiality laws that apply to North Carolina’s social services agencies, mental health facilities, healthcare providers, local health departments, and substance use disorder treatment providers permit disclosure of confidential information with client or patient consent. However, these confidentiality laws and regulations use different terms, create different restrictions, provide different exceptions to those restrictions, and apply to different types of information or different entities. These differences make it challenging to draft a single form by which a client may authorize multiple agencies or organizations to share confidential information about that client with each other.
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Legislative Roundup: Recent Changes Affecting Small Claims, Summary Ejectment, Magistrates, and Real Property Crimes
The end of the year is always a good time to look back and reflect. The close of 2024 offers an opportunity to examine recent legislative developments affecting small claims procedure, summary ejectment, magistrate nominations, and real property crimes. The amendments and enactments discussed in this post are currently effective.
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Initial Disposition and the Responsibility of DSS to Provide Reunification Efforts in A/N/D Cases
When children are removed from their home through a court order in an abuse, neglect, or dependency (A/N/D) action, a county department of social services (DSS) is required to provide reasonable efforts for reunification. See G.S. 7B-507(a)(2); 7B-903(a3). “Reasonable efforts” are defined in part as “[t]he diligent use of preventive or reunification services by a department of social services when a juvenile’s remaining at home or returning home is consistent with achieving a safe, permanent home for the juvenile within a reasonable period of time” G.S. 7B-101(18). “Return home or reunification” is defined as the “[p]lacement of the juvenile in the home of either parent or placement of the juvenile in the home of a guardian or custodian from whose home the child was removed by court order.” G.S. 7B-101(18c). This means reasonable efforts for reunification (sometimes referred to as “reunification efforts”) must occur for both parents and if there is a guardian or custodian from whom the child was removed, that guardian or custodian as well. However, the Juvenile Code (G.S. Chapter 7B) authorizes the court to relieve DSS of the obligation to provide reasonable efforts for reunification. When the court may enter such an order is limited to an initial dispositional hearing or a permanency planning hearing. The findings a court must make before relieving DSS of making reasonable efforts for reunification differs at initial disposition and permanency planning. Compare G.S. 7B-901(c) with 7B-906.2(b); see In re T.W., 250 N.C. App. 68 (2016). What is required at initial disposition? Our appellate courts have provided some guidance. Continue Reading
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Considerations When Processing Arrests of 16- and 17-year-olds Under Criminal Jurisdiction
When Session Law (S.L.) 2024-17 takes effect next Sunday, December 1, cases in which a Class A – E felony offense is alleged to have been committed at age 16 or 17 will originate under criminal jurisdiction. This means that the juveniles involved in these cases will be processed as defendants in criminal proceedings and not under the procedure for initiating a juvenile delinquency proceeding. At first blush, it may seem that this change will bring local procedure back to what it was before most offenses committed at ages 16 and 17 were brought under original juvenile jurisdiction (with the implementation of the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act in 2019). However, since 2019, both federal and state law changed in ways that shifted the landscape of arrest processing and confinement of minors. This blog explores these changes and their impact on implementation of S.L. 2024-17. Continue Reading
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Equitable Distribution: trial court can consider a Rule 60(b) motion during an appeal; stipulation in pre-trial order revokes a revocable Trust
In Wenninger v. Wenninger, decided May 7, 2024, the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that an equitable distribution judgment was void for lack of a necessary party because the parties in the equitable distribution proceeding stipulated in a pre-trial order that certain items of property were held in a revocable Trust and further stipulated that some of the property held by the Trust was marital property. The court of appeals held that the Trust was a necessary party, even though the trial court refused to distribute the items in the Trust because they were not owned by either party.
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The 2024 Adult Protection Multidisciplinary Team Booster Shot Series: Key Takeaways
*This post was written by Adult Protection Network Director Kristy Preston.
Earlier this year, the UNC School of Government’s Adult Protection Network held six training events known as the “2024 Adult Protection Multidisciplinary Team Booster Shot Series” in regional locations across North Carolina including Transylvania, Alexander, Guilford, Robeson, Onslow, and Beaufort counties. The series aimed to foster collaboration, share resources, and address common challenges faced by adult protection multidisciplinary teams (MDTs). An MDT is a group of professionals in a geographic region who commit to working together toward a common goal. An adult protection MDT works to find ways to prevent and respond to adult abuse, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, self-neglect and caretaker neglect, and exploitation, including financial exploitation.
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After the Storm: Summary Ejectment and Assistance Programs in North Carolina
Hurricane Helene caused historic flooding in Western North Carolina, destroying or damaging approximately 126,000 residential properties. Many of those properties were occupied by tenants who now find themselves in unfit or uninhabitable properties. The owners of affected rental properties face the difficulty and expense of either rebuilding or making major repairs to return the properties to a fit and habitable condition. In addition to housing issues, many tenants have been left unemployed either temporarily or permanently due to damage or destruction of businesses. Loss of employment leads to difficulty paying rent which in turn affects the landlord’s ability to pay the mortgage. This cycle sometimes results in actions for “summary ejectment,” the legal term for “eviction” in North Carolina. This post will explore key issues in summary ejectment in the aftermath of a natural disaster and potential sources of assistance.
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