This entry was contributed by Cheryl Howell on September 18, 2019 at 1:50 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
From today’s Newsletter of the National Center for State Courts:
New guide from the National Center for State Courts helps court leaders put together teams to aid those with mental illness
Delivering on the promise of justice for all is easier said than done, but it can be that much more difficult helping litigants who suffer from mental illness.
This entry was contributed by Cheryl Howell on September 16, 2019 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Civil Practice.
My colleague Ann Anderson previously wrote about minor settlements in a blog post which may be found here.
From Ann’s post: “Although [unemancipated] minors generally are legally incapable of binding themselves to contracts, the law allows a minor’s claims to be resolved through a settlement agreement. The settlement, however, is not enforceableagainst the minor unless it has first beeninvestigated and approved by the court. Sigmund Sternberger Found., Inc. v. Tannenbaum, 273 N.C. 658, 677 (1968); Ballard v. Hunter, 12 N.C. App. 613, 619 (1971) … The purpose of the court’s review is to protect the interests of the minor. The investigation must focus on the minor’s welfare and fairness to the minor under the circumstances. SeeRedwine v. Clodfelter, 226 N.C. 366, 370 (1946) (minor’s welfare is the “guiding star”); Reynolds v. Reynolds, 208 N.C. 578, 631−32 (1935) (affirming “fair, just, and equitable” settlement).”
I’m writing today about a seemingly simple question: When a tenant lives in one county and rental property is located in a different county, where should a summary ejectment action be filed? Obviously, most summary ejectment actions involve a tenant who resides ON the rental property, but this is not always the situation. Sometimes, tenants have vacated residential rental property and moved to a new county. Also, in non-residential leases, tenants quite often live in a different county. After researching and thinking about this issue at considerable length, I’ve come to a new and different understanding of the law relevant to this question, which I want to share with you today.
Session Law 2019-186, enacted on August 1, 2019, put the finishing touches on the new law that will raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction in North Carolina beginning on December 1, 2019. The modifications include clarification on which offense will remain outside of juvenile court jurisdiction, an expanded timeline for probable cause hearings in some instances, and a new option to remand some cases that have been transferred to superior court back to district court for juvenile processing. If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed or confused by raise the age, fear not. A raise the age workshop is coming to an area near you this fall. Stick with me to the end of this blog and you will find links to get to the registration page. Continue Reading
This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on August 23, 2019 at 6:41 pm and is filed under Family Law.
A legitimation is a special proceeding that is heard in the superior court (by the clerk, unless a transfer to superior court is required by G.S. 1-301.2(b)). G.S. 49-10; 12.1(a). The purpose of the proceeding to is to address the status of a child who is born out of wedlock and have him or her declared the legitimate child of the mother and father. See id. It also imposes on the mother and father all the rights, privileges, and obligations of a parent to the child and entitles the child and parent to inherit by succession. G.S. 49-11. The sole issue before the court is whether the putative father who initiated the proceeding is the biological father of the child. In re Papathanassiou, 195 N.C. App. 278 (2009). If so, a legitimation order is entered. After the order of legitimation is entered, the clerk must send a certified copy to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics (Vital Records). G.S. 49-12.1(e); -13.
The North Carolina Juvenile Code (G.S. Chapter 7B) establishes the substantive law for abuse, neglect, dependency (A/N/D) and termination of parental rights (TPR) actions and also sets forth specific procedures. Although A/N/D and TPR cases are civil proceedings, many of the juvenile procedures differ from the general rules that apply to civil actions. One of the procedural differences applies to the district court’s jurisdiction in the underlying action when an appeal is pending. Continue Reading
Have you ever been deeply enmeshed in a project, thought it was done, and when you returned with fresh eyes realized that you missed something important? That has happened for me when, for example, I painted the walls of my son’s bedroom only to walk in the next day with fresh eyes and realize that I should have painted the trim as well. And then it happened again as I was working on a chapter in the forthcoming Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act Implementation Guide and realized that there is an amendment contained in the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act (JJRA), that will take effect on December 1, 2019, that changes one piece of the recently released Juvenile Law Bulletin, Delinquency and DSS Custody without Abuse, Neglect, or Dependency: How Does that Work?. The change limits the court’s authority to order DSS custody as a component of a delinquency disposition, allowing this disposition only for juveniles under the age of 18. This limiting language creates a clear age boundary for an initial order of disposition to DSS custody in a delinquency case. However, questions remain regarding the capacity for a juvenile to remain in DSS custody pursuant to a delinquency dispositional order after turning 18. Continue Reading
The Court of Appeals has issued two very recent opinions that remind us that parties may not be sanctioned without proper notice. The party must have notice not only of the fact that sanctions are on the table but also of the specific basis for those sanctions.
In both cases, the defendant was given a severe sanction that effectively decided the issue of liability in the plaintiffs’ favor. In neither case did the Court of Appeals suggest that the sanctions themselves were out of proportion to the conduct. The sanctions were reversed because due process demands a degree of notice not provided in either situation. Continue Reading
This entry was contributed by Cheryl Howell on July 10, 2019 at 2:07 pm and is filed under Family Law.
The website for the Universal Life Church has a banner on the homepage stating “Get Ordained Online, Officiate a Wedding”. That banner is located beside a link titled “Get Ordained Instantly” by supplying your name and an email address. Another link on the homepage takes the reader to a page specifically addressing “NC Wedding Laws” that clearly states that North Carolina law recognizes “ULC ordination”. Unfortunate for the people hoping to perform wedding ceremonies in NC and for the couples who use these persons to officiate their weddings, North Carolina law actually strongly indicates that marriages performed by persons with no credential of ordination other than a certificate from the Universal Life Church are invalid.