Public Defense Education

The Public Defense Education program offers a variety of on-demand courses taught by experienced faculty, legal professionals, and other practitioners. Courses are available for purchase for CLE credit, or you can view content at no cost if CLE credit is not required. 

The School will report your credit to the North Carolina State Bar and pay the required fees on your behalf. Reporting will occur every 15 days. If you have questions regarding reporting, please contact clecoordinator@sog.unc.edu.

Please note that courses are not eligible for CJE credit.

For more information, please contact Monica Yelverton, Associate Director of Programs and Services at myelverton@sog.unc.edu.

RECENT CONTENT

• Appeals Essentials for Trial Lawyers (1.0 hour general credit) 

• Confrontation Clause Basics and Beyond (0.75 hour general credit)

• Recovery Courts: An Overview for Defenders (1.0 hour general credit) 

• Hearing from a Child: In-and-out-of-court statements from juveniles in AND proceedings Webinar (1.5 hour general credit)

• 2025 Summer Criminal Law Webinar (1.5 hour general credit)

• Commencement and Reviewing Pleadings in TPR (1.0 hour general credit)

• Post-TPR Responsibilities (1.0 hour general credit)

• Seven Steps to Avoid TPR (1.0 hour general credit)

ABUSE, NEGLECT, and DEPENDENCY

• An Overview of Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Proceedings (1.0 hour general credit) 

• Bonding and the Importance of In-Person Visits (1.0 hour general credit) 

• Child/Family Evaluations: What Parent Attorneys Need to Know (1.0 hour general credit) 

• Evidence Issues in Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Proceedings (1.0 hour general credit) 

• Evaluating and Challenging Pleadings (1.0 hour general credit) 

• Hearing Advocacy and Preserving Issues for Appeal (1.0 hour general credit) 

• Motions and Discovery (1.0 hour general credit) 

• Substance Use and Testing (1.5 hour general credit) 

• The First Seven Days: Parent Defender (1.0 hour general credit) 

• What's Trending on the Horizon: Parental Caselaw Trends and Issues to Look For (1.0 hour general credit)  

• Your Client is More Than a Piece of Paper (Telling your client’s story through direct examination) (.75 hour general credit)

CIVIL COMMITMENT

• IVC Appeals: Passing the Baton from Trial to Appellate Counsel (1.0 hour general credit)

• Nuts, Bolts, and Effective Representation (1.0 hour general credit)

• Psychiatric Illness and Civil Commitment (1.5 hour general credit) 

• Strategies for Working Effectively with Clients Facing Civil Commitment (1.5 hour general credit)

CRIMINAL LAW

            Updates

• Cannabis and NC Law Update (.75 hour general credit) 

• Expunction Update (.50 hour general credit)

• What's Trending on the Horizon: Criminal Caselaw Trends and Issues to Look For; Oct. 29, 2020 (1.0 hour general credit) 

• 2024 Winter Criminal Law Webinar (1.5 hour general credit)

• 2025 Current Developments in Criminal Law (1.5 hour general credit)

            General

• Basics of Driving While Impaired (2.0 hours general credit)

• Bringing the Magic of Story to the Courtroom (1.0 hour general credit) 

• COVID-19 Legal Issues and Strategies (1.0 hour general credit)

• Crimmigration (1.0 hour general credit)

• Direct Examination (.50 hour general credit)

• Discovery and Investigation in Felony Cases (1.25 hour general credit)

• Driving Records and Getting Your Client Back on the Road (1.0 hour general credit)

• Evidence Refresher (.50 hour general credit) 

• Felony Case Preparation-What's Different in Superior Court (.75 hour general credit) 

• First Amendment Defenses in Criminal Cases (1.0 hour general credit)

• Habitual Felons (.75 hour general credit)

• Introducing Evidence (1.0 hour general credit)

• Jury Selection Strategies (1.0 hour general credit)

• Litigating IAC Claims (1.0 hour general credit)  

• Litigating Stops and Frisks (1.0 hour general credit)

• Mitigation Investigation Basics (.75 hour general credit)

• Object Anyway: Litigating Batson in North Carolina Trials (1.0 hour general credit)

• Preserving the Record (1.0 hour general credit)

• Pretrial Release Strategies and Update (.75 hour general credit)

• Problems with Pleadings (.75 hour general credit)

• The LCFE Program - Nuts and Bolts (0.75 hour general credit)

            Capacity             

• Capacity and Commitment (0.75 hour general credit) 

• Considerations in Capacity Evaluations (0.75 hour general credit)

• Review of Capacity Restoration (1.0 hour general credit)
  

            Forensics        

• Autopsy of a Crime Lab: Exposing the Flaws in Forensics (2.25 hours general credit) 

• DNA 101 (1.0 hour of general credit)  

• Identifying and Challenging Digital Surveillance (1.0 hour technology credit) 

           Sentencing and Probation

• Basics of Driving While Impaired (2.0 hours general credit)

• Mitigation Investigation Basics (.75 hour general credit)

• Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity Hearings (.50 hour general credit) 

• Relief from Financial Obligations in NC Criminal Cases (.75 hour general credit) 

• Restorative Justice (1.0 hour ethics credit) 

• Storytelling and Visual Aids at Sentencing (.75 hour general credit)

• The Law of Sentencing Serious Felonies (1.25 hour general credit)

 ETHICS

GUARDIANSHIP

• Determining Competency in Difficult Cases (1.0 hour general credit) 

• Single Protective Arrangements and Single Transactions (1.25 hour general credit)

• The First Seven Days: Guardian ad Litem (1.0 hour general credit) 

• The GAL’s Role in Identifying and Responding to Adult Abuse (1.0 hour general credit) 

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

• Case Planning – Using Discovery to Get What You Want (1.00 hour general credit) 

• Confession Suppression: What to do with Juvenile Statements (1.00 hour general credit)  

• Juveniles, Mental Health, and the Justice System (1.0 hour general credit)

• Representing Older Juveniles in Juvenile & Superior Court (1.00 hour general credit) 

• Updates to Juvenile Law and Defense (2.5 hour general credit)

• Why Can’t I Just Go Home? Placements, Denials, and Alternatives (1.0 hour general credit)

 TECHNOLOGY

• Identifying and Challenging Digital Surveillance (1.0 hour)  

Be sure to bookmark this page and check back periodically to find online webinars, virtual CLEs, and tutorials. 

For all questions regarding refunds, please refer to the School of Government's Cancellation and Refund Policy.