Jurisdictional Traps in Appeals from Administrative Decisions (June 16, 2026)
Joseph Laizure
When a person is aggrieved by an agency action, they have the right to seek relief. Following the proper procedure to obtain that relief can be complicated.
Deceased Parties and Possession of Real Property (June 10, 2026)
Melanie Crenshaw and Catherine Wilson
“I see dead people.” Readers may recall the 1999 film, The Sixth Sense, because of its shocking conclusion that Bruce Willis’s character was in fact one of the dead people […]
The Front Door of the Delinquency System: Intake and Evaluation (May 26, 2026)
Jacquelyn Greene
One of the unique aspects of juvenile delinquency procedure is the intake and evaluation process. This mandatory process precedes commencement of a delinquency court action and determines if an initial […]
The Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act: requirements when a servicemember requests a stay (or a continuance) (May 19, 2026)
Cheryl Howell
In this post from 2015, https://civil.sog.unc.edu/servicemembers-civil-relief-act-applies-to-family-cases-too/, I wrote about the first appellate opinion in North Carolina to address the requirements of the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act, now codified at 50 […]
Juvenile Abuse, Neglect, Dependency Reporting: Rights, Protections, and Division and/or Prosecutor Review (May 4, 2026)
Sara DePasquale
Like every other state, North Carolina has a mandatory reporting law for child abuse and neglect. North Carolina’s law requires any person or institution with cause to suspect a child […]
Appointment of Counsel in First-Degree Murder Cases When the Accused is Age 13 – 17 (April 28, 2026)
Jacquelyn Greene
In late March The Office of Indigent Defense Services (IDS) instituted a new process for the appointment and payment of counsel for cases in which a juvenile between the ages of 13 and 17 is charged with first-degree murder or murder where the degree is undesignated. The process, called the Juvenile First-Degree Murder Roster (JFDM Roster) is operated by the Office of the Juvenile Defender (OJD). For the 27 counties currently participating in the program, there is a new process for appointment of counsel in these cases.
Communication Between a Guardian ad Litem in Incompetency and Guardianship Proceedings and Respondent’s Next of Kin (April 23, 2026)
Timothy Heinle
Meet Mike. Following a recent stroke, Mike is allegedly no longer able to make and communicate important decisions about himself, his family, or his property. Mike’s wife has filed a […]
Artificial Intelligence, Local Orders, and the Courts (April 16, 2026)
Shea Denning
A few years ago, T-shirts and coffee mugs with the phrase “Please do not confuse your Google search with my law degree,” were making the rounds. What simpler times those […]
It is time again to review the North Carolina Child Support Guidelines (April 15, 2026)
Cheryl Howell
N.C. Gen. Stat. 50-13.4 requires the North Carolina Conference of Chief District Court Judges to prescribe uniform statewide presumptive guidelines for determining the child support obligations of parents, and it […]
Rule 5 Service: What Practitioners Need to Know (April 14, 2026)
Joseph Laizure
North Carolina has launched eCourts in all 100 counties and the North Carolina Business Court. Related changes to the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure and General Rules of Practice […]