From A Lawyer’s View: OJD Out In the Field – Coming Soon to a Courthouse Near You
In recent months, you may have seen staff from our office lurking in your courtrooms, wrangling attorneys to talk, and having secret conversations with other court stakeholders.What is going on? Is this a secret conspiracy??!!No, actually it’s just OJD business as usual. Well, what used to be usual before 2020. You see, we firmly believe that the only way to get to know what’s going on in delinquency court is to actually go to court to see what’s happening. In fact, since OJD started in 2005,
From a Lawyer’s View: OJD Youth Defender Forums 2022
Defenders!Thank you all for making our first round of Youth Defender Forums a huge success! From East to West, we had such a great time meeting each one of you, learning about juvenile court in your area, and providing updates in juvenile delinquency law. The Youth Defender Forums exist to both help foster the youth defender community and to provide quality juvenile defense education statewide. We want to come to you and make sure our trainings are targeted towards your needs. We learned somethi
Week In Review: September 19-23
Happy Friday and Hello Fall! This week OJD was able to take a beat and finish planning our Central Defender Forum in Asheboro. Are you a defense attorney looking to attend? Registration closes TODAY at 5PM! There’s no tip today but we do have a really fun video celebrating LaTobia’s 3 year anniversary! Let’s take a look: 6 Questions in (Not Really) 60 Seconds with LaTobia Avent, Communications & Office ManagerRegistration for our Central Youth Defender Forum ENDS TODAY! The Central Youth Defende
From a Lawyer’s View: Gold Mine: Ethics Compliance Resource
On Wednesday, we presented Part II of our Digital Evidence Series where we talked about social media and the various platforms our clients are using. We are so fortunate to have LaTobia Avent, communications manager and social media guru as part of our team here at OJD. She is always willing and eager to help us learn about this topic that’s so near and dear to her, and that’s really good news for defenders representing the young clients that live – exist! – in this digital world.I know we hear
When Your Career Careens into Realty – A Juvenile Defender’s Thoughts This Father’s Day
Most of you know me as the state Juvenile Defender, but I also have two teenage daughters, a rising junior and a freshman respectively. Both have a pretty good understanding of my day job. I get questions like “what happens if I get stopped by the police” or “why didn’t that person go to jail”? And both have shown or displayed interest in what I do: my oldest is taking an advanced “Law and Justice” class next year (!) and my youngest doesn’t miss an opportunity to call out injustices she see
From a Lawyer’s View: What If My 13-, 14- or 15-Year-Old Client Gets Indicted?
When Raise the Age (RTA) was passed, it created a new procedure in juvenile court. A 16- or 17-year-old charged with a Class A through G offense can be indicted by a grand jury after a petition is filed, and then transferred by a district court judge to superior court. However, this law does not extend to 13-, 14-, or 15-year-olds who are charged with the same offenses and transfer is being sought. The law governing 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds is found under N.C.G.S. 7B-2200, while the law gove
White Paper on the Science of Late Adolescence: A Guide for Judges, Attorneys, and Policy Makers
My high schooler is currently working on a Civics Literacy project in which she is tasked with creating a summary of candidates running for office and including relevant information about their platforms. Citing her resources for the information is important – she knows that if the information purports to “come from her own brain,” the credibility of the underlying information is shaky at best, but if the information comes from a reputable resource, then the likelihood that the information is re
Week in Review: February 14-18
Happy Friday! We started the week filled with celebrating love that somehow transitioned to stuffed with work and chocolates, how does that happen? Either way, OJD was busy in the office keeping the engine going and sharing knowledge along the way. Tip of the Week – Discovery The Juvenile Code has similar discovery rules to those followed in adult criminal court. Though Juvenile Court is in District Court, most jurisdictions understand that discovery transfer is a practice for both misdemeanors
From A Lawyer’s View: A Trip Down Juvenile History, by Burcu Hensley
The holidays are always a great time to listen to stories of the past and reflect on personal and family history. It’s a great way to learn about oneself through the stories of where we came from and why we are the way we are. The same principle holds true at the Office of the Juvenile Defender – stories from the past and our history, as a nation, as a state, and as juvenile defenders – help to remind us of our purpose and mission. While the majority of the current staff at OJD are relatively ne
From a Lawyer’s View: Secure Custody & Documentation
Written by Starr Ward, Attorney at LawWe all get the early morning phone call to come to court for a secured custody hearing for a juvenile that got picked up overnight or over the weekend. These hearings are usually done quickly and we, as the defense attorney, are usually playing a game of catch-up to review the petitions and to figure out what happened and how we can get our client released from secured custody. Recently, I have had several cases where the paperwork on the charging petition