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  Upcoming Virtual Programs

CLE: Immigration 101 for Non-Immigration Attorneys: Myths & Facts | Thurs. Jan. 21, 2021, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

CLE: NCAJ Skills Academy | Discovery & Evidence for Criminal Practitioners | Fri. Jan. 22, 2021, 8:55 AM - 4:30 PM

CLE: NCAJ Skills Academy | Discovery & Evidence for Civil Practitioners | Fri. Jan. 22, 2021, 8:55 AM - 4:45 PM

Member Webinar: Diversity & Inclusion Member Program: Immigration Consequences of Criminal Offenses on DACA Eligibility | Tues. Jan. 26, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

CLE: Criminal Masters 2021: Attacking Racial Injustice in Criminal Prosecutions | Fri. Jan. 29, 2021, 8:55 AM - 4:15 PM

CLE: Employment Law 2021 | Fri. Feb. 5, 2021, 8:55 AM - 4:30 PM

CLE: Litigating Around Landmines: Your "Do This - Not That" Guide to Handling Personal Injury Cases in 2021 | Fri. Feb. 12, 2021, 8:55 AM - 4:30 PM

CLE: Ethics Hot Issues 2021 | Wed. Feb. 17, 2021, 8:55 AM - 12:15 PM

CLE: Mastering Complex Issues in North Carolina DWI Cases | Fri. Feb. 19, 2021, 8:55 AM - 4:30 PM

CLE: Discovery in Family Law Cases | Fri. Feb. 19, 2021, 8:55 AM - 4:15 PM

CLE: Disbursements 2021: Clear as a Bell | Fri. Feb. 26, 2021, 8:55 AM - 4:30 PM

CLE: 3rd Annual NCAJ Women's Caucus Retreat | Fri. March 12, 2021, 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM

For a full listing of upcoming virtual CLE programs, visit the Education homepage.

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Client Stories
 
Members of the NC Advocates for Justice work passionately to protect the rights of all North Carolinians. Their goal is to ensure the people of North Carolina experience justice, accountability and fairness as they navigate their lives.  

Justice
 The lives of  April and Macy Messer were devastated by mistakes during Macy's delivery in 1997. Macy was born healthy, but like more than 60 percent of infants, she had jaundice, a condition that occurs when a newborn baby’s liver is not yet fully functional. Jaundice is easily treatable, but if it goes undetected, it causes severe brain damage, killing the part of the brain that handles motor control. Macy Messer's jaundice went undiagnosed which damaged her brain and forced her into a wheelchair for life. She has to use a special computer screen to communicate with others. The day-to-day costs of her care are astronomical and will continue to be so for the rest of her life. Legislative proposals to cap “noneconomic damages” would keep children like Macy from receiving just compensation for losses that cannot be measured by lost wages or the cost of medical therapies. NCAJ fights to ensure arbitrary caps are not set, so that all victims whose dreams or future are stolen can get the justice they deserve.


Macy Messer: Caps on “Pain and Suffering” Make Little of Her Losses, Trial Briefs, June 2003
Medical Malpractice Becoming Hot Topic in Legislature, WRAL, September 2003
Dollar Value on Human Life?  Raleigh Metro Magazine, Nov. 2004

Accountability
 When Kellie Crabtree, a mother of two young children, was injured in a 1998 wreck caused by a North Carolina-owned truck, the state should have taken care of her medical costs.  It didn’t.  At the time, the state was protected by the North Carolina State Tort Claims Act. The North Carolina government offered her $150,000 which was less than one third of her medical costs. In response to her situation, the General Assembly passed the Kellie Crabtree Bill which stripped the state of governmental immunity. However, the principle of sovereign immunity remains at the core of how the law treats all who suffer harm at the hands of the local government. A citizen harmed by the negligence of a government employee should have the same legal rights as someone harmed by the wrongdoing of a private business or individual. Attorneys are supporting a local government tort claims act that will enhance an injured citizen’s right to hold local governments accountable for their wrongdoing.

The Kellie Crabtree Story—One Client’s Efforts to Change the Law, Trial Briefs, September 2001

Kelli Crabtree Profile, The Law Offices of John M. McCabe, PA


LIberty
 In 1984, Darryl Hunt, a 19-year-old black man, was charged with the rape and murder of Deborah Sykes, a 25-year-old white woman. Darryl Hunt was convicted by an predominantly white jury although no physical evidence linked Hunt to the crime. Darryl Hunt was sentenced to life in prison. In 1994, DNA testing cleared Hunt, yet he would spend another ten years behind bars. In December 2003, William E Brown confessed to the 1984 rape and stabbing death after DNA testing linked him to the crime. His confession led to Darryl Hunt's release. He was wrongly imprisoned for nearly 20 years before the new evidence set him free. How many other North Carolinians are in jail for crimes they didn't commit? Attorneys fight for them.
 

Darryl Hunt, The Innocence Project Profile

Fairness
 Elaine Gorski, 52, became a quadriplegic when her sport-utility vehicles rolled over. Gorski's accident happened six years and four months after her 1997 Chevrolet Blazer was purchased. She was unable to sue because North Carolina law sets a six-year time limit on lawsuits over defective products -- the shortest time limit anywhere in the country. She and her husband were unsure about their financial future -- he about keeping their house, she about their retirement. In most other states, a financial settlement would give Elaine Gorski the opportunity to buy a custom-built home and to take care of her future medical needs. The NC Statute of Repose takes away her right to that support. 

Reforming and Clarifying the Products Liability Statute of Repose, Trial Briefs, February 2009
North Carolina's Six Year Limit on Defective Product Lawsuits may soon be Extended, Injuryboard.com

 

North Carolina Advocates for Justice

PO Box 10918 
Raleigh, NC 27605
 

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