LAW 758 Guardian Ad Litem Clinic
In this clinic, students will work under the supervision of a faculty member to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in appeals of juvenile matters in the North Carolina Court of Appeals and North Carolina Supreme Court, assigned to the clinic by the Guardian Ad Litem Appellate Counsel for the state. It is anticipated that one or two cases will be assigned each semester. Enrollment is limited to 6 students per semester. Classroom sessions will include instruction on relevant North Carolina statutory and case law related to abused and neglected children and the appellate rules of North Carolina generally and specific to juvenile cases. The faculty will also meet with students outside of the classroom to discuss the case, formulate strategies and issues to pursue on the appeal, formulate a research strategy, outline arguments for the brief, review drafts of the brief and finalize the brief before submission to the appellate court. In handling an appeal, the members of the class will do many or all of the following: review trial transcripts and juvenile records; review and settle the record on appeal; respond to appellate motions and writs; draft and file Guardian ad Litem Appellee Briefs; fulfill statutory mandates to provide and promote the best interests of juveniles in appellate proceedings; provide a voice for abused and neglected children in North Carolina; and help achieve safety and permanency in a child's life. Students will work enough hours each week to satisfy the requirements for the number of credit hours awarded for the course. While students will learn some substantive and procedural law specific to juvenile matters, the primary learning objective of the course is for students to develop and hone their analytical, legal writing, legal research and advocacy skills.This course is graded on a Pass/Fail basis. All clinical courses at the law school are subject to a "no drop" policy. This means that after the course registration period has closed, students will be permitted to drop a clinical course only with the permission of the clinical faculty.
Prerequisite
Professional Responsibility is a prerequisite to the course, and Child Protection and the Law, Children and the Legal System and similar courses focused on children's are recommended as a pre- or co- requisite. Students must be eligible for NC State Bar Limited Practice Certification.