Recent blog posts - 23 of 69

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.

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 […]

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.

Begin reading this post by standing up. Remain standing if you have worked in a position that has required you to interact directly and regularly with members of the public […]

A new Juvenile Law Bulletin, Transfer of Juvenile Delinquency Cases to Superior Court, is now available. Transfer is the procedure used to move a case that begins as a delinquency matter under the original jurisdiction of the juvenile court to criminal court for trial as an adult. The Bulletin outlines when transfer is allowed, and sometimes required; the varying procedures to use to transfer a case based on age at offense and the offense charged; procedure to follow once transfer is ordered; the remand process; place of confinement; and issues related to the appeal process. This blog provides some highlights of the information in the Bulletin.

Perhaps it is not surprising that juveniles who experience abuse, neglect, or dependency have a higher risk of suffering from mental health issues. These children have experienced trauma, and when […]

Consider the situation where a grandparent or other nonparent files a custody action against a parent. The complaint includes allegations regarding the relationship between the nonparent and the child and […]

It is a new year, and there are new rules for determining the term of office for a district court judge appointed to fill a vacancy. First, some background. Judicial vacancies […]

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 […]

Suppose mother files an action for custody when North Carolina is the home state of the child and mother and father both reside in North Carolina. Temporary orders are entered […]