From a Lawyer’s View: Youthful Offenders – What to Do When Clients Want to Be Transferred
Who are youthful offenders? In the jurisdiction where I practice, we refer to 16-17 year-old clients who are subject to potential mandatory transfer to superior court as youthful offenders. This age group has its own special needs and challenges. One challenge is when your client either refuses an offer that will allow him/her to stay in juvenile court and/or requests transfer to superior court. We know from science that adolescent brains are not fully developed until approximately between the a
Week in Review: March 1-5
Happy March Readers! Can you believe we are 3 months into 2021 already? How is time flying so fast!? Well with each new month comes new opportunities and OJD is always here to help however we can. Let’s get you to your weekend with your Week in Review, Tip & some recaps! Appeals Tip of the Week: Courtesy of David Andrews, Office of the Appellate Defender Suppression motions and contested adjudicatory hearings – If the suppression motion is denied, object when the evidence is admitted at the adj
Week in Review: Feb 22-26
Happy Friday Readers! We’ve conquered the last week of February and ready to start new challenges on Monday, March 1, right? Right! A Monday and first of the month? Please! Just a little humor to get us going but as always, here’s to your week in review. 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 misd
Week in Review: Feb 15-19
Happy Friday Readers! We finally made it to the weekend, how good does it feel? Not to keep you waiting, let’s get right to it. Tip of the Week – Before You Plea Talk to your client about the impacts of an adjudication. While not as public as adult criminal convictions, juvenile adjudications may impact the following: immigration status, educational placement, housing conditions, eligibility to play sports, placement on a sex offender registry (in N.C. or other states) and others. Always cons
Week in Review: Feb 8-12
Happy Friday Readers! We hope your week was productive with plenty of moments to catch your breath too. Couple of announcements for you this week, along with a new (and free) OJD CLE! Tip of the Week! Where Can I Find the Law on RTA? If you want to see the Session Laws which include the Raise the Age changes, see: Senate Bill 413: 2019 Session Amendments to the RTA Bill (Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act) Senate Bill 257: The final bill budget for Session Law 2017; info pertaining to the Juv
Week in Review: Feb 1-5
Happy Friday Readers! February is the shortest month in our calendar but what some like to call, “the real start to the new year, January is a test run.” February also brings Black History Month and we have some great shares coming your way this month, so keep an eye out on our socials! ANNOUCEMENT In a a week or two, OJD will be undergoing a bit of a makeover. Our website is getting a whole new look and feel to better fit the needs of a growing and changing audience. Please bear with us du
Week in Review: Jan 25-29
Happy Friday Readers!! It feels like January is taking forever to move on into February but hey! We’ll take it. This week was pretty quiet so let’s recap some of what happened. Tip of The Week Suppression motions aren’t often used in the District Court setting (outside DWI cases), however juvenile court offers many opportunities for suppression. The juvenile code outlines the procedure for filing a motion to suppress (§7B-2408.5) and it may be made either in writing before the adjudicatory heari
From A Lawyer’s View: The Kitchen Sink
Over the past several months, attorneys at the Office of the Juvenile Defender, the Wake County Public Defender’s Office, and my office (the Office of the Appellate Defender) have been strategizing on how to challenge automatic transfer from juvenile court to superior court. One other attorney – Katie Kerr – served as both scribe and generator-of-ideas. Katie helped move this process along and deserves a great deal of credit for pulling us over the finish line. The finish line, of course, are
Week in Review: Jan 11-15
Happy Friday Readers! We have another blog for you, filled with resources and upcoming events AND an OJD sponsored CLE. So get settled in and let’s get started. TIP OF THE WEEK – RTA EDITION How Will Secure Custody Hearings Be Different for 16 and 17 Year Olds? Currently, review of secure custody hearings are held every 10 days after the initial secure custody hearing. For 16 and 17 year old’s charged with a Class A through G offense, review of secure custody hearings are held every 30 days afte
Youth Assessment & Screening Instrument (YASI)
Youth Assessment & Screening Instrument (YASI) by Kim Howes, Assistant Juvenile Defender 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 is to better measure the risk of recidivism and to help develop an appropriate case plan to best suit the needs of the youth who is placed on probation. You can access the presentation from DJJ here. The assessment addresses nine doma