Courses

Presiding Over DWI Cases: What Magistrates and District Court Judges Need to Know

This course is offered through the North Carolina Judicial College. This course is intended for magistrates and district court judges who want to learn more about the physiology of alcohol and drugs, the incidence and investigation of impaired driving, and the law of impaired driving. The first two days of the course are for magistrates and...

October 28, 2025

UNC School of Government
Chapel Hill,NC

There are additional offerings of this course available.

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Juvenile Delinquency

This course will cover law and procedure that governs juvenile delinqency cases, from pre-petition to post-disposition. Content will also include the connection between trauma and juvenile justice system involvement, the role of the juvenile court counselor, types of dispositional alternatives, and the collateral consequences of a delinquency...

Orientation for New District Court Judges

This course provides training and orientation for new District Court judges. Participants focus on conducting criminal, civil, and juvenile court, including issues of ethics, and various substantive legal topics.

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Understanding Substance Use Disorder for District Court Judges

This course is offered through the North Carolina Judicial College. This is a basic introduction to substance abuse in the courts. The course covers why judges need to know about substance abuse and the nature of substance use and the science behind it. It also addresses the opioid epidemic, treatment and services, and confidentiality laws. It...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Judicial Decision-Making for Judges

This two-day North Carolina Judicial College seminar will explore the process of decision-making by district and superior court judges. Topics covered will include the law of judicial discretion, procedural fairness, and neuroscience and judging. Participants will have the opportunity to consider decision-making in the context of practical case...

February 26, 2026

UNC School of Government
Chapel Hill,NC

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Child Development for Judges

This three-day course, offered by the North Carolina Judicial College, is designed for North Carolina district court judges who hear abuse, neglect, and dependency; delinquency and undisciplined; or child custody cases. The objective of the course is to allow participants to learn about child development in a small-group, interactive setting....

March 9, 2026

UNC School of Government
Chapel Hill,NC

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Dispositions in Juvenile Justice

This course will explore how to use the dispositional alternatives in a delinquency case to effectively disrupt patterns of repeat offending among youth. Participants will learn about the risk, needs, and responsivity principle; best practices in probation supervision; and evidence-based interventions. The class will also include a hands-on...

April 21, 2026

UNC School of Government
Chapel Hill, NC

There are additional offerings of this course available.

A Closer Look at Termination of Parental Rights

This new 2-day course focuses exclusively on termination of parental rights proceedings, both when there is and is not an underlying abuse, neglect, or dependency proceeding. The course will highlight procedural and substantive issues that often present in termination of parental rights cases and requirements for the court orders that are...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Sentencing Seminar

This seminar is conducted in conjunction with a UNC-Chapel Hill law school seminar on North Carolina sentencing practices. It focuses on the discretionary aspects of sentencing, using a case/discussion format. Previous cases provided by judges and prosecutors are presented, and participants have the opportunity to consider how they would have...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

What Life is Like in Delinquency Out-of-Home Settings

Central Tour

This one-day course is offered by the North Carolina Judicial College and provides District Court Judges with the opportunity to visit out-of-home settings used in delinquency matters. The course is required for advanced certification in juvenile justice (judges are only required to attend one offering). Due to the nature of...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Advanced Sentencing: Probation

There are over 80,000 people on probation in North Carolina. As a result, probationary sentences and probation violations are a big part of the daily work of the state court system. This one-day program is designed to help judges manage that workload by crafting probationary sentences that are lawful and effective in achieving...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Orientation for New Chief District Court Judges

This course is offered for judges who are new to the position of chief district court judges. Both new chief district court and senior resident superior court judges meet together for part of the program, and separately for other portions. The program covers a variety of topics related to administration of the court, including the role of the...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Correctional Facilities Tour - East

This program is designed to give court officials a better understanding of how their judgments are administered by the Division of Adult Correction. Participants tour correctional facilities in eastern North Carolina gaining a firsthand view of the typical places to which they sentence criminal defendants. Each stop includes time for relevant...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Advanced Family Law for District Court Judges

This North Carolina Judicial College course is intended for judges with some experience trying equitable distribution cases. The objective of this course is to allow participants to discuss equitable distribution cases in a small-group, interactive setting. To make this possible, attendance will be limited, and we may not be able to accept all...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Online

Correctional Facilities Tour—West

This program is designed to give court officials a better understanding of how their judgments are administered by the Division of Adult Correction. Participants tour correctional facilities in western North Carolina gaining a firsthand view of the typical places to which they sentence criminal defendants. Each stop includes time for relevant...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Juvenile Capacity to Proceed

This one-day, in-person class will provide detailed instruction on the new standard and procedures for juvenile determinations of capacity to proceed. Session Law 2023-114 established a new legal standard that governs whether a juvenile has capacity to proceed in a delinquency matter and created new procedures regarding capacity determination...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Advanced Juvenile Law: Delinquency and Mental Health

This North Carolina Judicial College course is intended for judges with experience presiding over juvenile delinquency proceedings. This class will provide an overview of the requirement in G.S. 7B-2502(c), to refer juveniles to an area mental health director for evaluation and mobilizing resources in order to inform certain delinquency...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Online

Raise the Age Workshop

This course will cover the legal requirements of the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act, often referred to as “Raise the Age.” Topics will include new requirements for processing offenses alleged to have been committed by juveniles at age 16 and 17 from first encounter with law enforcement through transfer to superior court or juvenile...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Online

Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

This 3.5 day Judicial College course focuses on the Indian Child Welfare Act, a federal law enacted in 1978 that applies to all abuse, neglect, dependency; termination of parental rights; and adoption actions. A small group of district court judges will have the opportunity to travel to Cherokee, North Carolina to learn about ICWA and Cherokee...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Chief District Court Judges Leadership Training

These courses are offered through the North Carolina Judicial College. They are designed to develop the leadership skills chief district court judges need in their administrative and supervisory roles. Each year we will offer a course on a particular aspect of leadership, such as communication, team building, strategic planning, case management...