Last week I had the pleasure of hosting around 40 attorneys for the second part of a new course, Higher Level Felony Defense. The first part, held in early 2018, focused primarily on preparing a case for trial. We also included a deep dive into jury selection. This second part focused on common issues in serious felony cases as well on sentencing advocacy. As a new program, I’m sure it will evolve, but I thought the first iteration was promising and wanted to talk briefly about the program and our goals. Why the New Course? The Office of Indigent Defense Services and the Indigent Defense Education team here at the SOG identified a need to provide more training on high-level felony defense, and this training was the brainchild of our effort to meet that need. Consider the structure of our existing trainings. For attorneys new to criminal defense in North Carolina (or just wanting a refresher), we offer the Misdemeanor Defender course each fall. Then, for attorneys transitioning from district to superior court, we offer the Felony Defender program. The Felony Defender course is offered each February—and this year’s course is coming right up Feb. 20-22. [If you’re interested in attending, check out the agenda for this year’s program here or go ahead and register here.] Our week-long trial school is each summer and offers participants the opportunity to bring a real case to prepare for trial. Other organizations do a great job of providing trainings on capital and noncapital murder [...]
Faculty Coordinators
