Latest posts in category Uncategorized on North Carolina Criminal Law Blog

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department held a press conference this week saying that the department is increasing its efforts to prevent groups of people from riding bicycles, dirt bikes, and ATVs recklessly and aggressively in the Uptown area.  Officers have arrested nearly 30 people over the past two years for crimes associated with the reckless riding and Captain Bret Balamucki said that there has been a recent increase in violence by the groups.  Keep reading for more news. 

Comprehensive clinical assessments (CCA’s) are frequently completed—and sometimes required—prior to ordering a disposition in a delinquency matter. G.S. 7B-2502(a2). You can find more information about when the statutory requirement is triggered in a previous blog.  CCA’s contain information about the juvenile’s mental health and they may also contain information about substance use disorder treatment. These kinds of information are covered by federal confidentiality laws that are not specifically addressed by the Juvenile Code. While the federal laws generally prohibit disclosure absent a valid patient authorization, courts can order disclosure after following the required procedure and making certain findings. The North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) recently released new and revised forms that are structured to provide the court access to CCA’s while complying with the requirements of federal confidentiality laws. This post explains why and how to use the new and revised forms.

We wish we were singing Hello Dolly but, as you may have heard, Dolly Whiteside, longtime Chief Special Counsel with the Office of Indigent Defense Services (IDS) retired on March 31 after FORTY-THREE YEARS of public service. In her work, Dolly focused primarily on civil commitment, incompetency, and guardianship matters. She has been a tireless advocate, not only for the people whose lives are at stake in those proceedings, but also for the hardworking and dedicated attorneys who represent them. Dolly has been a valued partner to our Public Defense Education team at the School of Government, always willing to lend her expertise and insight when answering legal questions and collaborating on countless educational programs over the years. We will miss her tremendously. Dolly, enjoy retirement—you have more than earned it—but please come back and say Hello.

As sad as we are to see Dolly go, we are equally excited about the appointment of Chad Perry as Chief Special Counsel at IDS. Chad spent close to a decade working as an assistant public defender in Durham County, where he represented clients charged with misdemeanors and felonies as well as clients in civil commitment and youth drug treatment courts. Chad also served as an attorney with the Office of the Inspector General and with the Social Security Administration’s Appeals Council. Most recently, Chad represented respondents in commitment hearings in Wake County for the Office of Special Counsel.

CBS 17 reports that members of the Raleigh Fire and Police departments gathered in downtown Raleigh on Tuesday prior to a city council meeting to protest and call for the city to pay them higher wages.  The City Council was set to consider a 2 percent pay increase for city employees, but those gathered at the protest noted that the cost of living in and around Raleigh has risen more than 2 percent in recent years and that wages weren’t competitive relative to other opportunities.  The CBS 17 report says that vacancies at the police department are at an all-time high, with a vacancy rate around 20%.

This week the United States Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.  Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the court when she takes Justice Breyer’s place at the end of the current term, and will be the only current member with experience as a public defender.  Three Republicans joined all Senate democrats to confirm Jackson with a vote of 53 to 47.  Keep reading for more news.

We recently updated our Measuring Justice Dashboard with a new metric on court non-appearance. As with all Dashboard metrics, you can explore the data at the state and county level. Here’s a quick summary of what you’ll see on the Dashboard’s new metric. But if you want to get right to it, click here to access the Dashboard directly.

On Tuesday, President Biden signed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act into law, bipartisan legislation that amends 18 U.SC. § 249 by expressly making lynching a federal hate crime.  A Time article explains that the bill will allow criminal prosecutions in situations where a group of people conspire to commit a hate crime which results in death or serious bodily injury.  The NewsHour aired a lengthy segment this week on the new law and the history of racial violence in the United States.  The bill passed the Senate unanimously and was opposed by only three members of the House of Representatives.  Keep reading for more news.

Today is GiveUNC, the University’s annual day of giving. As Dean Mike Smith is set to step down as Dean at the end of this year, today we are celebrating […]

This week the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the United States Supreme Court.  Jackson currently sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and her prior experience, following graduation from Harvard Law School where she was an editor of the law review, includes serving as vice chair of the United States Sentencing Commission and working as a federal public defender.  Judge Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court if she is confirmed.

The Juvenile Code requires the court to select the most appropriate disposition for the delinquent juvenile. G.S. 7B-2501(c). Under this statute, the disposition must be designed to protect the public and to meet the needs and best interests of the juvenile based on offense severity, the need for accountability, the importance of protecting public safety, the juvenile’s degree of culpability, and the rehabilitative and treatment needs of the juvenile. There are many different statutory pathways available to the court to structure individualized dispositions targeted to meet the needs of the juvenile and reduce their risk of reoffending. This post explores some of those options, with an emphasis on alternatives outside of standard terms and conditions for probation or placement in out-of-home settings.