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"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; I had visited with many clients over the years I have been defending children. We walked into the lobby and were greeted by two female detention officers, each dressed in black. They had kind faces, but each had a pair of handcuffs clipped to their utility belts. The lobby was surrounded in mirrored glass like those of the police i

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 domains: basic needs, physical health, school, family, aggression, peers, attitudes, free tim

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 virtual Continuing Legal Education (CLE) training to discuss racial disparity in juvenile justice and how to address it in court. The focus of this training was discussing the prevalent issue of racial disparity within the juvenile justice system in North Carolina and formulating strategies to address it effect

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 month, OJD hosts a webinar on a pertinent youth justice issues. The virtual trainings are usually held on the second Friday of every month at 1pm. However, you may find some held on an alternate Friday because of holidays or other office needs. Many of the topics for our virtual series come from you, defenders all throughout

Our appellate courts have been quiet this past month on delinquency matters, which makes for a great opportunity to highlight noteworthy cases coming out of other states. This month, I’d like to highlight a recent and groundbreaking opinion out of Massachusetts: Commonwealth v. Mattis, 493 Mass. 216, 223, 224 N.E.3d 410 (2024). The case has been followed and remarked upon by many, including an article titled “Massachusetts Reminds Youth Defense Attorneys to Consider State Constitutions: By holdi

Among the frequently used dispositional alternatives in juvenile court is the imposition of restitution. The Court’s ability to order restitution is covered by N.C.G.S. 7B-2506(4) and 7B-2506(22). The amount of restitution the Court can order is determined by the youth’s delinquency history level with Level 1 capped at $500.00 and Level 2 allowing restitution over $500.00. While this is the information most defenders are familiar with, this is an over-simplified version of the statutory requirem

As I hope you know, OJD is on a mission to recruit attorneys to represent 13 through 17-year-olds charged with first degree murder and facing life without parole. We thank those who have already applied! But if you’re on the fence about applying, we thought we’d give you ten reasons to consider joining us: 1. You get paid the same as in capital cases – $100 an hour. 2. We won’t overload you, there’s not that many cases per year – data indicates less than 100 juveniles in participating counties

As we reflect on this year at the NC Office of the Juvenile Defender, we recognize our commitment to advocating for young lives remains unwavering. From legal victories to community outreach, 2023 has been a year of resilience and progress. We extend our gratitude to our dedicated team, partners, and youth advocates who share in our mission to support youth defenders in the challenging field of juvenile justice.We look forward to new projects, collaborations, and impactful Continuing Legal Educa

Thank you for making OJD’s 2023 Youth Defender Forums a great success! In our second year of doing these regional forums, we trained in new places, met more attorneys, and taught defenders statewide about important and emerging topics in youth defense. As we start planning for our 2024 forums, we couldn’t let this year end without a sending a big thank you to you, the youth defender community for your support, involvement, and role in making these Youth Defender Forums successful!This year, we h

OJD has several resources available on the website regarding collateral consequences of adjudications in juvenile court. This topic has been frequently addressed and discussed in webinars and other trainings. Included in these resources is information regarding the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. It has been a source of constant frustration for defenders in juvenile delinquency court that youth adjudicated of any felony were excluded/banned from participation in school sanctione