View this manual, a reference in the School's Indigent Defense Manual Series, free of charge at defendermanuals.sog.unc.edu.

The North Carolina Civil Commitment Manual is designed to assist the attorney representing a respondent or minor in civil commitment proceedings. It reviews North Carolina mental health and substance abuse laws pertaining to inpatient and outpatient commitments and admissions. It analyzes in depth the relevant statutes in Chapter 122C of the North Carolina General Statutes and applicable case law. It also discusses the collateral consequences resulting from commitment and the special provisions on commitment of respondents involved with the criminal justice system. Although the manual’s focus is on commitments and admissions requiring judicial review, and thus on proceedings requiring the appointment of counsel, the manual is a clear, usable resource for anyone who works in this challenging area of law.

A key statutory exception to the rule against enforcing contractual attorney fee provisions is found in Section 6-21.2 of the North Carolina General Statutes, which allows enforcement of attorney fee provisions in notes, conditional sale contracts, and “other evidence of indebtedness” under certain circumstances. Since 1967, this statute has been the main statutory exception applicable to fee provisions in contracts and the subject of much case law. In June 2011, the North Carolina General Assembly added another major exception by creating G.S. 6-21.6, which authorizes courts to enforce reciprocal attorney fee provisions in business contracts. This bulletin discusses the law surrounding the existing statute and introduces new G.S. 6-21.6.