Each year the School of Government publishes new and revised pattern jury instructions for civil, criminal, and motor vehicle negligence cases. Those instructions are created and compiled by the North Carolina Conference of Superior Court Judges Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions. The 2023 updates are available for free download here. Among this year’s changes are new civil instructions related to breach of fiduciary duty and new and revised criminal instructions for the arson offenses created by S.L. 2022-8 and for the changes to organized retail theft crimes enacted by S.L. 2022-30.
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Is it present income? Lump sum payments and child support
In Klein v. Klien, filed October 3, 2023, husband argued on appeal that the trial court erred in failing to include in the calculation of wife’s income for the purpose of setting child support amounts she received when she withdrew funds from a retirement account. Wife testified that she “cashed in an annuity in order to pay off some of [her] bills and credit card debt that [she] had as mostly legal fees and some other purchases.” She withdrew the funds in 2020. The child support hearing was held in June 2021.
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2023 Child Welfare Legislative Changes
As the 2023 Legislative Session continues, many session laws that amend child welfare statutes, including abuse, neglect, dependency; termination of parental rights (TPR); adoption of a minor; and foster care licensing became effective on various dates. Some of these changes are significant. Some session laws focus on specific statutory changes involving an individual juvenile or family; other session laws make changes to state systems. Continue Reading
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Changes Coming to Delinquency Procedure: Transfer and Mental Health Evaluations
Session Law 2023-114 includes many provisions that change the law governing delinquency cases. This is the first in a three-part series of blogs detailing those changes. It covers the changes to the laws that govern transfer of cases to superior court for trial as an adult and the mandate to assess mental health needs before disposition through the comprehensive clinical assessment (CCA) and care review processes. All of the S.L. 2023-114 changes described in this blog will apply to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2023. Continue Reading
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Issues with Assistance Animals in Summary Ejectment Cases
Both federal and North Carolina fair housing laws make it unlawful for a housing provider to refuse to make a reasonable accommodation that a person with a disability may need to have an equal opportunity to enjoy and use a dwelling. (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq., G.S. Ch. 41A.) On January 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued FHEO Notice: 2020-01, hereinafter the “Assistance Animal Notice,” to provide guidance about how to assess a request to have an assistance animal in rental housing as a reasonable accommodation under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). The Assistance Animal Notice was a response to the rising number of complaints about the denial of reasonable accommodations for assistance animals and concerns about individuals with disabilities wasting their money on so-called “certificates” for assistance animals sold by websites that are not providing health care services by legitimate, licensed health care professionals to the individuals.
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S.L. 2023-106: Parents’ Rights, Who Is a Parent, and Juvenile Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Cases
This blog was updated on October 3, 2023 to incorporate amendments made by the 2023 Appropriations Act (S.L. 2023-134). The changes are in italics.
On August 16th, the legislature used an override of the Governor’s veto to pass S.L. 2023-106 (S49), a law enumerating the rights of parents regarding their children’s education, health care, and mental health needs. But in addressing a parent’s rights, the law contains some exceptions when the child is alleged to be abused, neglected, or dependent. Notably, the new law defines “parent” as “any person with legal custody of a child, including a natural or adoptive parent or legal guardian.” In cases where a department of social services (DSS) has filed a petition alleging a juvenile is abused, neglected, or dependent, DSS may obtain custody of the juvenile, or the court may ultimately award legal custody or guardianship to a person who is not the juvenile’s parent. As a result, the new law impacts abuse, neglect, and dependency cases. This post discusses the new law as it relates to abuse, neglect, and dependency cases only and is not a comprehensive discussion of the new law generally. Continue Reading
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We Are Sad But Ok, Thank You for Checking On Us
Yesterday was a very difficult day here at UNC Chapel Hill. One of the faculty members in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Zijie Yan, was killed on campus. It was an active shooter situation where the sirens went off, Alert Carolina texts and emails were sent, a large police presence was on campus, and we were on lockdown. Doors were locked and people were isolated in their offices behind their desks for hours. Students were locked down as well. And, yes, we had a large class on site with over 100 local government officials in attendance. Campus was closed but not. It was quiet. Then it was filled with students and employees leaving lock down locations. Today, campus is closed and it will be again tomorrow.
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What’s the Status of North Carolina’s Minor’s Consent Law After S.L. 2023-106?
This post is written by my colleague, Kirsten Leloudis, and is cross-posted on the School’s Coates Canons Blog.
On August 16, 2023, Session Law (S.L.) 2023-106 was passed after a legislative override of the Governor’s veto. Part 1 of the session law establishes a “Parent’s Bill of Rights,” Part 2 outlines new requirements related to parents’ involvement in their child’s education, and Part 3- the focus of this blog post- codifies standards for obtaining parental consent for treatment of minors. Since the law’s passage, many have asked: “What’s the status of North Carolina’s minor’s consent law, G.S. 90-21.5(a), in light of the new requirements in S.L. 2023-106, Part 3 addressing parents’ rights?” Let’s discuss! Continue Reading
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Juvenile Code Does Not Authorize Transfer Based on Consent
One of the more common questions I receive about the transfer of a case from juvenile jurisdiction to the jurisdiction of the superior court for trial as an adult is whether transfer can be ordered based on consent of the juvenile. The issue seems to cross my desk when a juvenile has some charges pending in criminal court and there are unrelated felony charges pending under juvenile jurisdiction. The short answer is no. The statutory structure that governs transfer does not allow for ordering transfer based on consent. Why? Continue Reading
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A New Resource on Expert Witnesses in Juvenile A/N/D and TPR Proceedings
When you think about admitting expert testimony, do any of these questions come to mind?
- How does a witness get qualified to be an expert?
- How certain does an expert need to be to offer an opinion?
- What can an expert testify about (or not)? Causes of physical injuries? The credibility and characteristics of allegedly abused children?
Or maybe you have a physical reaction to words and phrases like Daubert, reliable principles and methods, or scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge.
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