Publications

North Carolina Pattern Jury Instructions are sample jury instructions organized in separate volumes by legal topic (Criminal, Civil, Motor Vehicle). Judges use the instructions when conducting trials and share them with juries to guide them in reaching verdicts. The instructions are created and compiled by the Pattern Jury Instruction Committee, made up of trial judges who are assisted...

A single lawsuit can take years to resolve and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but local governments cannot avoid them altogether. A Guide to Civil Litigation for Non-Attorneys in Local Government provides a brief, accessible overview that demystifies and explains the various phases of this daunting process for employees and public officials in local government...

Consolidated Human Services Boards in North Carolina is a guide for individuals who serve on the governing boards of consolidated human services agencies across the state, giving them information they need to conduct their work lawfully and effectively. It is intended for both appointed consolidated human services boards and any elected board of county commissioners that serves as the...

North Carolina Crimes: A Guidebook on the Elements of Crime is a treatise on North Carolina substantive criminal law. Originally written for law enforcement officers, it has evolved over nearly half a century into an important reference source for sheriffs, probation officers, magistrates, prosecutors, public defenders, defense lawyers, and judges...

Every department of social services (DSS) in North Carolina is responsible for receiving and evaluating reports of alleged abuse, neglect, or exploitation of disabled adults. These reports and the evaluations that follow them often involve highly sensitive information about vulnerable adults. A DSS must synthesize many state and federal confidentiality requirements when dealing with a request...

Arrest Warrant and Indictment Forms is all about criminal pleadings. Most of the manual consists of forms that may be used to draft valid criminal pleadings. The forms are intended to be straightforward, but readers are more likely to use the forms successfully if they have a grasp of the basic legal principles that apply to criminal pleadings. How much detail are...

Given the limited judicial supervision of trusts, a common question arises: when is the trustee required to perform the actions required of court-appointed fiduciaries? Specifically, when must a trustee qualify, post a bond, and file an inventory and regular accounts with the court? This flow chart aims to assist court officials, legal practitioners, and others in determining when these...

The North Carolina Trial Judges' Bench Book, District Court, Family Law, 2024 is a comprehensive legal reference created for North Carolina district court judges. The 2024 edition provides summaries of North Carolina law governing family law cases routinely heard in district court, with statutory and case law updated through October 15, 2024. Because of its size, the print edition is published...

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was America’s first major worker protection law, and it remains one of the most important safeguards for employees to this day. Since the late 1930s, the FLSA has mandated that employers pay employees at least the federal minimum wage and pay a premium rate of one-and-one-half times an employee’s regular rate of pay for every hour over forty hours logged by...

As its name suggests, a quasi-judicial decision is like a court decision because it requires the deciding board to use its judgment in applying general law to a particular land use situation while ensuring the constitutional due process rights of the parties. The Quasi-Judicial Handbook provides guidance to the boards in North Carolina that make these...

The North Carolina Sentencing Handbook is a step-by-step guide to the sentencing of felonies, misdemeanors, and impaired driving offenses in North Carolina. The 2025 edition of the book includes the felony and misdemeanor sentencing grids that apply under Structured Sentencing and a table that shows the different sentencing levels for driving while impaired (DWI) offenses. Other topics...

This primer illustrates the flow of child abuse, neglect, and dependency cases in North Carolina. A case starts with a mandated report of suspected abuse, neglect, or dependency and ends with the termination of the district court’s jurisdiction over an abuse, neglect, or dependency proceeding.

There are many different stages and outcomes; some involve court action, and some do not....

The following charts were included in earlier editions of the North Carolina Sentencing Handbook. For preservation purposes, they have been converted into this archival PDF.