Who We Are
Eric J. Zogry
Eric was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1992. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1996 and was admitted to the North Carolina State Bar in 1997. After working for the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission and the Research Division of the Administrative Office of the Courts, Eric joined the staff of the Public Defender’s Office in Greensboro in February 1999. As an assistant public defender, Eric practiced exclusively in juvenile delinquency court and involuntary commitment court.
Eric was appointed state Juvenile Defender by the Indigent Defense Services Commission in November 2004 and has served since then. The mission of the Office of the Juvenile Defender is to provide services and support to defense attorneys, to evaluate and improve the system of representation, to elevate the stature of juvenile delinquency representation, and to work with other juvenile justice actors to promote positive change in the juvenile justice system. Eric served as Director of the Southern Juvenile Defender Center from September 2010 through September 2014, providing resources and support for juvenile defenders in seven southeastern states.
In 2013 Eric was among the first class board certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a specialist in criminal law- juvenile delinquency. Eric received the Robert E. Shepard Award for Excellence in Juvenile Defense from the National Juvenile Defender Center in October 2013. He was recognized as a Defender of Justice by the North Carolina Justice Center in 2018 and the North Carolina Bar Association Juvenile Justice Section Children’s Champion in 2019. Eric lives in Raleigh with his wife Becky and two daughters Rachel and Camille.
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Terri Johnson
Terri is a lifelong resident of Iredell County, North Carolina. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Duke University in 2000. She received her Juris Doctor degree from UNC Chapel Hill School of Law in 2003, and was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 2003.
Since 2003, she has been in private practice as an associate and partner in small firms and then as a solo practitioner. Her practice areas included criminal law, family law and juvenile law and has focused on juvenile law as a contract attorney in delinquency court in both Iredell and Alexander counties.
She will continue to represent juveniles in Iredell and Alexander County as she joins the Juvenile Defender’s Office as an assistant defender for the Western District of North Carolina. She currently resides in Statesville, North Carolina and enjoys spending time with her family, reading and photography.
Yolanda Fair
Yolanda received her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Tufts University in 2009. In 2013, she obtained her Juris Doctor for the University of North Carolina School of Law and was admitted to the North Carolina State Bar. She currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina.
Prior to joining OJD, Yolanda was an Assistant Public Defender with the Buncombe County Public Defender’s Office for over eight years. During her time there, she represented youth in delinquency court and adults in criminal matters in both district and superior courts. Yolanda is a skilled trial attorney and advocate, having tried many jury cases to verdict as well as many bench trials. She is a passionate advocate for those who are marginalized in our society and loves being able to give youth a voice throughout the legal process. She is committed to addressing racial disparities and equity in the justice system and is a member of the North Carolina Racial Equity Network. She has spoken about efforts to address racial disparities in the legal system and has led local efforts to address race in the criminal justice system.
Her interest in youth justice and advocacy started with her participation in the UNC Youth Justice Clinic. She is motivated to help and assist attorneys throughout the state provide the best possible representation for their young clients. In 2016, she received the Laurette of the Year Award from OpenDoors Asheville, a nonprofit that seeks to provide educational opportunities to youth, for her advocacy of youth in juvenile court. In 2017, she received the James E. Williams award from the Public Defender Association of NC for her efforts to bring education and trainings about racial equity to Buncombe County.
Outside of work, Yolanda also enjoys volunteering in her community. She serves as a co-chair for the Buncombe County Safety and Justice Challenge Racial Equity Workgroup and serves on local non-profits boards that have an emphasis on providing services to youth in the community.
History & Strategic Plan
The Office of the Juvenile Defender (OJD) developed out of a study issued in October 2003 that explored the quality of representation in juvenile delinquency court in North Carolina. As a result, a recommendation of the Indigent Defense Services (IDS) Juvenile Committee was the creation of the Juvenile Defender of North Carolina position. The office opened in January 2005.
What We Do
Provide services and support to juvenile defense attorneys. Either alone or in conjunction with various partners, OJD organizes and presents numerous statewide, regional, and local trainings including introductory, intermediate, and advanced topics. We have also worked with the UNC School of Government to develop a practical manual for juvenile defense counsel. The Manual includes an overview of statutory law, practice suggestions, and model forms and motions. We also maintain a clearing house of juvenile delinquency related material. OJD assists legal counsel by providing information to individual questions or ongoing consultation, for cases pending in delinquency or adult trial court, or on appeal. Additionally, a Juvenile Defender listserv has been created to allow juvenile defense counsel to discuss case problems, systemic issues and other relevant topics quickly, a private Defender Forum for conversation and community building, and a Defender Portal for access to motions and forms.
Evaluate the current system of representation. Since our inception, OJD has visited most of counties in NC to observe court, speak with court officials, and make recommendations to IDS as needed to improve the quality of juvenile defense representation. OJD has worked with public defender offices to start or strengthen juvenile delinquency practice. In an effort to strengthen juvenile defense representation, our office recommends, as needed, entering into contracts with local counsel to represent juveniles. Currently there are contracts in twelve counties in the state. OJD has worked with IDS to create the juvenile requirements of the Uniform Indigent Appointment Plan. OJD has also explored other dimensions of representation such as education rights and post-dispositional advocacy.
Elevate the stature of juvenile delinquency representation. In an effort to bring attention to the need for quality defense counsel in delinquency proceedings, OJD regularly presents our initiatives to various justice groups and adds a defense counsel voice to numerous boards and committees. OJD also works to inspire aspiring attorneys to consider juvenile defense representation as a career by guest lecturing at several of the law schools and hosting legal interns and externs. OJD worked closely with the North Carolina State Bar to make Juvenile Delinquency Law a sub-specialty of the Criminal Law Specialty in 2012 and continues to assist in the development of the specialty.
Work with juvenile justice advocates to promote positive change in the juvenile justice system. OJD has partnered with numerous advocacy groups including but not limited to the NC Bar Association Juvenile Justice and Children’s Rights Section, the Governor’s Crime Commission, NC Child and the ACLU, to address critical juvenile justice issues such as Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice and raising the age of jurisdiction in delinquency court.
Current Initiatives
OJD hopes to continue its mission by pursuing several new initiatives as requested by our defense attorneys and state legislature. Our office is dedicated to continuing to explore representation of juveniles committed to youth development centers, improving representation of special populations of youth and researching issues related to juvenile appellate cases.
Our 2020-2021 initiatives include: Developing practical use documents and deliverables for attorney use during court proceedings, quick tip videos that explain new legislative law or information regarding juvenile delinquency, providing defenders with a space to build within their community and with colleagues, and present new training topics that are relevant to the current trends observed in juvenile cases.
Strategic Plan
Take a moment to read over how OJD and the Juvenile Justice System has grown since our inception.
ABA North Carolina Assessment – This assessment conducted by the American Bar Association (ABA), The National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC), and the Southern Juvenile Defender Center (SJDC), that established the need for and led to the creation of the Office of the Juvenile Defender.
Report of the Juvenile Committee of the IDS Commission 2004– This is the report in which the Juvenile Committee makes the recommendation for the creation of the Office of the Juvenile Defender.
A Look Back, A Vision For the Future– The Office compiled its strategic report in 2013 looking at the progress of Juvenile Defense in North Carolina and the work left to be accomplished. This is a brief summary of the findings of the report.
Strategic Report– The full report is included in this link, for a more thorough description of the process and the results of the project.