OJD 2024 Western Youth Defender Forum Recap
Last Friday, OJD had the absolute pleasure of hosting the 2024 Western Youth Defender Forum in Concord, NC at the Cabarrus County Courthouse. This year, our Youth Defender…
From Delinquency Petition to DSS Custody: Placing a Child in DSS Custody Through Delinquency Court
As defenders, it is difficult to find your client in a situation where consideration is given to placement in the custody of the county department of social services.…
Meet OJD’s 2024 Summer Externs Kaylee Market and Aleisha Santos
We are very excited to welcome 2 amazing externs this year! We'd love to introduce Aleisha Santos and Kaylee Market to our defender community this summer. They are…
Addressing Secondary Trauma and Other Mental Health Implications on Youth Defenders in North Carolina
This May we are celebrating the National Mental Health Month with the purpose of raising awareness of behavioral health issues reducing the stigma that has always been around…
OJD Case Law Corner Vol. 14
Happy Friday, Defenders! Welcome back to Case Law Corner. If you noticed that it’s been a little longer than usual since our last case law update, then you…
Women’s History Month Spotlight: Tonza D. Ruffin
Last month, the United States celebrated the National Black History Month forcing attention to the contributions of African Americans to the country. To honor black leaders in our…
A Walk into a Juvenile Detention Center in North Carolina as an Assistant Juvenile Defender
"If you've never been inside, you should mentally prepare yourself," my boss said. "It can be very uncomfortable." I had been in a detention center many times before;…
Youth Assessment & Screening Instrument (YASI)
The Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is implementing a new screening tool (YASI) to replace the current risk and needs assessment. The stated purpose of this new assessment…
Racial Disparity in Juvenile Justice: Insights from OJD’s Recent CLE Training
Last week, on February 9, 2024, Director of Children’s Defense Michelle Duprey with Chief Public Defender Woodrena Baker-Harrell and Assistant Public Defender Lyana Hunter joined us for a…
Upcoming OJD Virtual CLE Training Series
Defenders! OJD’s 2024 Virtual Series is up and running. We wanted to take this opportunity to remind you about our monthly trainings and forecast some upcoming topics. Each…