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...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Finance Officer Certification Exams

Beginning in 2021, we will no longer be offering the certification exams in January.

The North Carolina Government Finance Officers Association sponsors the NC Finance Officers' Certification Program. This program is designed to enhance the public finance profession in North Carolina.

To be eligible for...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Determining Military Service Status in Power of Sale Foreclosure Proceedings Before the Clerk

The session will provide participants with an overview of the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and the North Carolina Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The balance of the session will focus on these two laws as they apply in Chapter 45 power of sale foreclosure proceedings before the clerk, including what evidence the clerk should look...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Municipal and County Administration

Due to the impact of Helene on our participants and their friends and families,
we will delay the start of the MCA program until November.
See below for current program dates as we have canceled October and scheduled additional dates November and December.

The application period for the virtual...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Implementing the Standard Allowance for American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds

The live session was held on April 11, 2022. To register for the on demand version, click HERE and you will gain access to the recording and materials.

US Treasury issued the Final Rule implementing the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund program of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP/CSLFRF) on January 6, 2022....

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Higher-Level Felony Defense

This program is for attorneys interested in handling higher-level felony cases at the trial level. Topics will include preparing for serious felony cases, eyewitness identifications, habitual felons, self-defense, client relations and rapport, sentencing law and advocacy, and mitigation investigation. The program consists of a mix of lectures...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

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

These one-day courses are offered by the North Carolina Judicial College. Each course will provide District Court Judges the opportunity to visit out-of-home settings used in delinquency matters. Due to the nature of the program, each tour date will be limited to five judges. Please apply to the tour location closest to your district, if...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Meaningful Consideration of Less Restrictive Alternatives to Guardianship Under Session Law 2023-124

Recent changes to North Carolina’s guardianship laws make clear that an adult or emancipated minor does not lack capacity (and is therefore not incompetent) if a less restrictive alternative to guardianship enables them to manage their affairs and make and communicate important decisions about themselves and their property. This webinar will...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Resolving Public Disputes: Workshop I

Workshop I: Conflict Assessment and Negotiation Skills

This workshop is part one of a three-course sequence to improve individual negotiation skills and responses to conflict, as well as strengthening group facilitation, collaboration, and problem-solving abilities. Participants can take any of the three workshops; there are no...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Judicial Decision-Making for Magistrates

This seminar will offer an intensive exploration of judicial decision-making by magistrates: how those decisions are made, how they should be made according to the law, and how they often fall short of that ideal due to the impact of real life. Our focus will be on improving participants’ abilities to make legal decisions correctly...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

The Clerk's Initial Estate Intake

This session will cover topics that frequently arise at the outset of the administration of an estate, including legal information vs. legal advice, determining questions related to venue, confirmation of date and fact of death, determining whether there is a will, decedent’s family history, and opening and inventorying safe deposit boxes.

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Introduction to Program Evaluation

This online workshop is for local governments, providing a broad overview of program evaluation through six key stages and facilitated by the School of Government's Dr. Maureen Berner.

Note: This course fulfills the evaluation requirement for the CLGBO Certification.

Stages Covered:

How Evaluation Works for Organizations...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Child Welfare 101: A Course for New Social Services Attorneys

This three-day course will address the laws and procedures applicable to abuse, neglect, dependency, and termination of parental rights proceedings. The course will start with a basic overview and drill down to each stage of a case, starting with a report of a child’...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

LELA 201 Top 10 Primer: Municipal Zoning Authority: How Jim Crow Era Laws & Policies Shaped NC’s Cities and Towns

This is a free online course from 10:00 - 11:15 AM. Please register ahead of time to access the Zoom link.

Barely a generation after the Founding Fathers developed our Constitution, America faced a schism that shaped the development of North Carolina’s cities and towns for generations - through post-Civil War Reconstruction, two World...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Responding to Citizen Incivility: Managerial and Legal Strategies

This webinar will be held May 23, 2024 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.

Citizen incivility, when citizens behave abusively towards local government employees, is pervasive across local governments in North Carolina and across the U.S. In School of Government survey data, 57 percent of local government employees indicate being yelled at...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Fundamentals of Property Tax Collection

This course focuses on law and practice governing the collection of county and municipal property taxes. It is designed to help new tax office employees learn the basics of tax collection while also providing a refresher for tax office veterans.

Future offerings of this course:

September 24-26, 2024 (Fully In-person) February...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Foreclosure Hearings for Clerks of Superior Court

This course is offered through the North Carolina Judicial College. The course is intended for both clerks and assistant clerks of superior court and will cover issues that arise with foreclosure hearings.

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Forensic Evidence for Superior Court and District Court Judges

This course is offered through the North Carolina Judicial College. The course is intended for both Superior Court and District Court Judges and will cover issues that arise with forensic evidence.

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Indigent Defenders in Civil Proceedings Webinar

The webinar, presented by School of Government faculty Timothy Heinle, will cover (i) lay witness fact and opinion testimony, (ii) expert witness qualifications, including grounds for tendering and challenging the admission of a witness as an expert, and (iii) permissible expert testimony in proceedings involving children. The webinar will be...

There are additional offerings of this course available.

Equity Training Series for Superior Court Judges

The first of three sessions of the Superior Court Judges' Racial Equity Series will be the Racial Inequity in the Criminal Justice System held on August 21 from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. This three-hour program will take a data-driven approach to examining racial inequity in charging and sentencing as well as the public perception of the...