The UNC School of Government will be hosting a FREE one-hour webinar on self-defense law on May 15, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. Registration is available here. See below for a summary of the topic and additional details about the webinar.
The law of self-defense in North Carolina received a jolt from State v. McLymore, 380 N.C. 185 (2022), where the North Carolina Supreme Court held that the only way to claim perfect self-defense is by invoking the statutory right created by G.S. 14-51.3. The Court went on to say, however, that to the extent the statute does not address an aspect of the law of self-defense, the common law remains intact. This webinar examines the basic principles of self-defense in North Carolina under four headings: (1) aggressor status, (2) degree of force, (3) proportional response, and (4) reclaiming the privilege. It aims to place McLymore in the broader context of the common law, so that practitioners will know what aspects of the law are “supplanted” by the statutory right of self-defense, what aspects are still governed by the common law, and what aspects remain unsettled to be determined by future caselaw.
The course is intended primarily for North Carolina prosecutors, but it may also be of interest to others (judges, advocates) who deal frequently with legal issues arising from claims of self-defense.
The webinar will offer 1.0 hours of general CLE credit, pending approval from the NC State Bar. There is no registration fee for this course. Pre-registration is required, however, and the registration deadline is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 10, 2024.