Today is GiveUNC, the University’s annual day of giving. As Dean Mike Smith is set to step down as Dean at the end of this year, today we are celebrating his 30 years of leadership at the School. The message below invites you to honor his service and legacy with a gift supporting the Mike R. Smith Dean’s Greatest Needs Fund which will provide unrestricted funds that will allow the School to support and address current needs and issues facing North Carolina. The importance of today is less about the amount raised and more about the number of donors – a testament to the value of the School and what we do.
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GiveUNC
Today is GiveUNC, the University’s annual day of giving. As Dean Mike Smith is set to step down as Dean at the end of this year, today we are celebrating his 30 years of leadership at the School. The message below invites you to honor his service and legacy with a gift supporting the Mike R. Smith Dean’s Greatest Needs Fund which will provide unrestricted funds that will allow the School to support and address current needs and issues facing North Carolina. The importance of today is less about the amount raised and more about the number of donors – a testament to the value of the School and what we do.
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Structuring Individualized Delinquency Dispositions
The Juvenile Code requires the court to select the most appropriate disposition for the delinquent juvenile. G.S. 7B-2501(c). Under this statute, the disposition must be designed to protect the public and to meet the needs and best interests of the juvenile based on offense severity, the need for accountability, the importance of protecting public safety, the juvenile’s degree of culpability, and the rehabilitative and treatment needs of the juvenile. There are many different statutory pathways available to the court to structure individualized dispositions targeted to meet the needs of the juvenile and reduce their risk of reoffending. This post explores some of those options, with an emphasis on alternatives outside of standard terms and conditions for probation or placement in out-of-home settings. Continue Reading
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The New Clerks’ Manual Website is Here!
I’m excited to announce the launch of two major things today.
First, the new North Carolina Clerk of Superior Court Manual Series website is now available at www.sog.unc.edu/clerksmanual.
We took the old clerks’ manual and gave it a complete make-over in response to feedback we received from clerks of superior court. It is no longer a printable PDF volume but now is an online manual series, featuring the following eight manuals organized by subject matter:
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Rule 4(j1), service by publication, and the “due diligence” requirement: What’s email got to do with service of process?
Appropriate service of process is one of the necessary elements for personal jurisdiction—meaning the documents used to initiate a civil lawsuit, a summons and complaint, must be served on the defendant in a manner that allows the court to exercise authority over her. Any judgment entered without service of process is void unless a defendant makes a general appearance in a case or otherwise waives objection to the lack of appropriate service. For that reason, issues with service of process can result in a judgment being set aside.
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Updated Abuse, Neglect, Dependency – TPR Manual and “Candyland” Are Ready!
It is with great joy and enthusiasm that I am announcing these two updated resources for those of you who work in the area of child welfare.
- Abuse, Neglect, Dependency, and Termination of Parental Rights Proceedings in North Carolina (Feb. 2022), otherwise known as “the A/N/D Manual” or “the Manual.”
This February 2022 edition of the Manual is now available on the SOG website, here. This edition replaces the 2019 edition. As those of you who work in this area know, the law is constantly changing either because of legislative changes or appellate opinions interpreting the law. The pace of the changes applying to this legal area is reflected by the fact that this edition was supposed to be a 2021 edition but because of North Carolina Supreme Court opinions published on February 11, 2022, it became the February 2022 edition. This February 2022 edition is current through February 15, 2022 for both appellate opinions issued by the North Carolina appellate courts (most of which are published) as well as legislative changes made through that date. The changes are so significant that you should not rely on any earlier editions of the Manual.
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Parents and Drugs: Takeaways from S.L. 2021-100 and 132, and a Recent U.S. Dept. of Justice Investigation
On October 1, 2021, two laws went into effect that pertain to parents who test positive for controlled substances while involved in juvenile abuse, neglect, or dependency (A/N/D) proceedings. Together, the laws
- dictate what happens to a parent’s court ordered visits following a positive test,
- clarify that participation in Medication-Assisted Treatment is not a violation of an order prohibiting substance use, and
- implicitly acknowledge that parents who may use drugs still have roles to play.
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Court of Appeals Finds No Constitutional Violations Related to Pre-Raise the Age Prosecution in Criminal Court
Were the constitutional rights of defendants who were prosecuted as adults in criminal court for offenses that they committed at ages 16 or 17, and prior to December 1, 2019, violated because the jurisdictional changes under raise the age were not retroactive? The North Carolina Court of Appeals does not think so. The decision in State v. Garrett, 2021-NCCOA-591, answers this question. Continue Reading
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Equitable Distribution: Classification of Student Loans as Marital Debt
Marital debt is debt incurred during the marriage by either or both spouses for the joint benefit of the parties. Huguelet v. Huguelet, 113 N.C. App. 533 (1994). The party asking that the debt be classified as marital has the burden of proving the value of the debt on the date of separation and that the debt was incurred during the marriage for the joint benefit of the parties. Miller v. Miller, 97 N.C. App. 77 (1990).
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Single Transactions and Protective Arrangements: A New Tool in Guardianship Proceedings and a Lot for GALs to Consider
Effective for all incompetency and guardianship proceedings filed after October 1, 2021, S.L. 2021-53 (S 50) created a new statute, G.S. 35A-1121, that enables clerks to authorize a single transaction or protective arrangement—without appointing a guardian. I have received a lot of consults on the new law since it passed. It is not intended to be a magic wand. The law is a tool—one that may prove effective when used in the right situations. To make sure their clients remain protected, GALs need to understand what the law is and is not.