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Join us this Friday, May 12, at 1:00 pm as Juvenile Justice and the Office of the Juvenile Defender discuss the barriers to placement faced by youth in the delinquency system. Click here to register for this CLE

OJD is excited to announce the dates for our upcoming regional Youth Defender Forums! We had such a great time last year meeting defenders in each region, discussing updates to youth defense, and learning more about the things you are seeing in court. This year, we will have day long trainings in the Western, Central, and Eastern regions of our state that focus on Defending Youth Charged with Violent Offenses. We will bring speakers to each region to talk about some of the important concerns, to

Happy Friday, readers! It’s been quiet in the appellate courts in the juvenile delinquency world, and with no new cases to update on, it’s been a little quiet in the Case Law Corner as well. Time to break the silence!Recently, I had the privilege of a glimpse into the preparation of a case for oral argument. Heidi Reiner, Assistant Appellate Defender at the Office of the Appellate Defender, was preparing for oral argument in a Cumberland County Delinquency appeal, In re: J.U., 2021-NCCOA-323, an

Let’s say my client has been charged with a felony, is eligible for transfer or YDC and the ADA has made competing offers: enter an admission in juvenile court and be committed to YDC or transfer to Superior Court and admit a less serious felony with slightly less active time. (Counsel should remember that community commitment is an available option under NCGS §7B-2513(e). This option would allow a youth to receive a Level III disposition but reside outside of YDC.) Leaving aside, for now, the c

Q: What is “Gault Center South”?A: Gault Center South (formerly known as the Southern Juvenile Defender Center) is the southern regional arm of the Gault Center (formerly known as the National Juvenile Defender Center). Gault Center South (GCS) brings together eight southern states and Puerto Rico to collaborate on work pertinent to youth defense. Its regional board is made up of youth defenders from each state who meet monthly to discuss relevant topics, policy issues, and practice ideas impact

Happy Friday, readers! Today’s blog post is less written content, and more audio/visual content – over 6 hours of video on our new JFDM Training Playlist! The videos are segmented and browsable by speaker/topic, or let the whole playlist run through, beginning to end, to review what we learned at our Juvenile First Degree Murder Training in March. Enjoy! Click Here to Access the Full Playlist with All Six Videos on the OJD Defender Portal(Email us if you need the password!)

Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend, and lots of fun, food, and family time (or "me" time, if that’s what you need!). See you all next week!

When a child is charged with a criminal offense through a juvenile petition and placed in secure custody, the statute is silent regarding credit for time served awaiting adjudication and disposition. However, caselaw provides that youth adjudicated and disposed in juvenile court are not entitled to credit for time served in secure custody. See In re D.L.H., 364 N.C. 214 (2010). In re D.L.H. dealt specifically with a youth who was detained following adjudication and pending disposition on a misd

When a journey ends, it’s always so bittersweet but also exciting to see what comes next. I have happily spent the last three and a half years learning about the juvenile justice system on a state and national level, witnessed court and visited with youth, sat on panels, trained attorneys, and created materials that I hope will continue to guide new and existing juvenile defenders for a good long time. I got to see the start of Raise the Age which was right before Covid, which was super fun (ins

OJD is hosting our First Degree Murder training today which means, we’re seeing the fruits of weeks worth of planning! If you’re joining us, thank you so much for coming and for others… don’t worry, we’ll be doing this again! So today, take a break! We’ll see you next week for our Week in Review.