The capacity to transfer a juvenile matter to superior court as a result of the return of an indictment was added to the Juvenile Code as part of the law changes that raised the age of juvenile court jurisdiction. S.L. 2017-57 §16D.4.(e) as amended by S.L. 2019-186 §8.a. Never before had the indictment process been connected to delinquency matters in juvenile court. This new structure requires a finding in the juvenile matter after an indictment has been returned. It raises a range of questions about procedure and confidentiality. This post will review when indictment can be used to trigger the transfer process, highlight what is known and not known about the procedure that must accompany the new use of indictment in delinquency matters, and address the question of confidentiality of an indictment that is used to form the basis of a judicial finding in juvenile court. Continue Reading
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2019 Statutory Amendments to Adoption Laws
During the 2019 legislative session, various changes were made to the laws impacting adoptions in North Carolina. Last week, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a Joint Resolution (Resolution 2020-1) adjourning the long session of the 2019 Regular Session and designating the start of the short session as April 28, 2020. This post summarizes the amendments impacting adoption proceedings that were made during the long session, all of which are currently in effect. Continue Reading
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A new civil defender educator at the SOG: Welcome, Tim Heinle
From School of Government faculty member John Rubin:
I want to kick off 2020 by welcoming Tim Heinle to the School of Government. It is his first week on the job as our new Civil Defender Educator. Here he is in his new office at the School. You can reach him at 919.962.9594 or heinle@sog.unc.edu. Tim will assist defenders in the diverse and challenging practice areas that make up civil indigent defense in North Carolina, including abuse, neglect, and dependency cases, guardianship, and child support contempt proceedings.
Continue ReadingNew SOG Bulletin! Human Trafficking of Minors and Young Adults: What Local Governments Need to Know
My colleague, Margaret Henderson, and I are excited to announce a new SOG resource – Human Trafficking of Minors and Young Adults: What Local Governments Need to Know. Youth are particularly vulnerable to traffickers. County and municipal staff in many departments have either spontaneous or deliberate interactions with youth that provide opportunities to lessen those vulnerabilities, identify indicators of trafficking, and intervene when appropriate. Download the bulletin on the School of Government’s website, here.
This 36-page bulletin is organized into three parts. Continue Reading
Resolve to Make Better Decisions in 2020!
Over the last several months, I’ve been working with one of my colleagues to create a Judicial College course for magistrates on decision-making. Working on this has really brought home to me that making decisions is pretty much what judicial officials get paid to do! So far, it looks like the course will be close to equally divided between (1) how to make a legally sound decision, and (2) how to control factors that might get in the way of that. This blog post is about the latter.
Raise the Age Tips and Resources for Law Enforcement
North Carolina sits four days away from implementation of the most significant change to juvenile court jurisdiction since the inception of the juvenile delinquency system 100 years ago. Beginning on December 1, 2019, most offenses alleged to have been committed by 16- and 17-year-olds will begin under juvenile jurisdiction. G.S. 7B-1501(7)b, G.S. 7B-1604(b). This change will shift the procedures that law enforcement must follow when processing 16- and 17-year-olds for these now juvenile offenses from criminal procedures to juvenile procedures. The good news, as Jeff Ledford, Chief of Police in Shelby, N.C., put it—if an officer knows how to take a 13-year-old into custody today, that officer knows how to take a 16- or 17-year-old into custody on December 1st. This blog provides three key tips for law enforcement to follow and links to a short training video and job aid developed specifically for law enforcement training on raise the age. Continue Reading
Where are We Now: The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act
As I noted in a prior blog post, the US Congress restored the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) without expiration on June 23, 2018. The PTFA has been in effect, expired, and restored at various points over the past decade. During one period after the PTFA expired, the NC General Assembly passed a law (S.L. 2015-178) to provide somewhat similar (but not exact, more on that below) protections for tenants of foreclosed property under state law. Most recently, the NC General Assembly took action to repeal that law in light of the permanent restoration of the PTFA. See S.L. 2019-53 and S.L. 2019-243. This blog post tracks where we’ve been and where the law currently stands related to the PTFA and power of sale foreclosures under G.S. Chapter 45 in NC.
Continue ReadingBIG NEWS: S.L. 2019-245 Creates a New Universal Mandated Reporting Law for Child Victims of Crimes and Changes the Definition of “Caretaker”
This post was amended October 3, 2023 to reflect a new statutory exemption for reporting.
An Act to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and to Strengthen and Modernize Sexual Assault Laws, S.L. 2019-245 (S199) enacts and amends various laws related to crimes;* amends some civil and criminal statutes of limitations; requires mandatory training for school personnel addressing child sex abuse and trafficking; amends the definition of “caretaker” as it relates to child abuse, neglect, or dependency; and creates a new universal mandatory reporting law for child victims of certain crimes.
Small Claims Appeals in Summary Ejectment Cases
In Small Claims Land there are so many questions about appeals for trial de novo that I could write a book – if only I knew the answers. Ba-dum-bum-CHING! In light of my limited mastery of a mysterious topic, a blog post seems like a better idea than a book. Today I’m going to talk about five possible endings in district court when a summary ejectment case is appealed. Certainly, there are more than five, so this list is not exhaustive. My hope is that at least one of them will be informative for you.
Equitable Distribution: significant legislative amendments regarding retirement accounts and other forms of deferred compensation
North Carolina S.L. 2019-172 (H 469) made substantial revisions to GS 50-20.1 governing the classification, valuation and distribution of pension, retirement and deferred compensation benefits. The changes apply to distributions made on or after October 1, 2019.
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