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Home My WebLink AboutApproved JAC Meeting Minutes_11.14.25 Criminal Justice Advisory Council (JAC) Meeting Minutes November 14, 2025 Meeting convened by MS Teams at 12:30 p.m. Council Members Present:JAC Chair Jamezetta Bedford, Commissioner Sally Greene, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour, District Attorney Jeff Nieman, Public Defender Woodrena Harrell, Clerk Mark Kleinschmidt, Carrboro Police Chief Chris Atack, Chief Magistrate Jennifer Hodgson, DSS Director Lindsey Shewmaker, Child Support Services Director Erica Bryant, Chief Court Counselor Amanda Farris, CHC School System representative Vickie Feaster Fornville,OCPEH Homeless Program Manager Danielle DeCaprio, UNC Campus and Community Coalition Director Samantha Luu, Housing Department Director Blake Rosser, and UNC Police Chief Brian James. Criminal Justice Resource Department(CJRD)Staff Present: Danielle Carman,Ted Dorsi,Tiffany Hall, Myiah Livingston, Erin McGovern, Megan Pickard, Ally Waters, and Allison Zirkel. Others Present: Deputy Manager Cait Fenhagen,SOG Assistant Professor of Public Law and Government Brittany Bromell, and UNC Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Family Defense Clinic Beth Posner. Welcome and Introductions Everyone present introduced themselves. Legislative Update Bromell shared a PowerPoint presentation on HB307 (Iryna's Law),which is on file with CJRD.The presentation covered the effective dates of the various provisions in the legislation; the changes to conditions of pretrial release will go into effect on December 1, 2025, but the changes that require judicial officials to initiate involuntary commitment (IVC) proceedings for some defendants have been delayed until December 1, 2026. Bromell said the legislation creates a new category of violent offenses and she reviewed the covered case types. It also eliminates written promises to appear as a permissible type of release, leaving unsecured bonds, custody release, secured bonds, and electronic house arrest as options, and directs judges to consider a defendant's criminal history and housing situation when setting pretrial release conditions. Bromell said the legislation directs the arresting law enforcement officer, a pretrial services program, or the district attorney to provide a criminal history report for the defendant, but it does not specify whether it needs to be a nationwide report. She added that there are some concerns about various actors' access to the federal DCI (Division of Criminal Information Network) and NCIC(National Crime Information Center) systems and their authority to share information from them. Bromell discussed the need for judicial officials to make written findings about why imposed release conditions are appropriate for defendants. Council members noted that the amount of secured bonds would still be set in accordance with local policy and that clerks do not want to have to do the work associated with executing on low dollar bonds when defendants do not appear. Baddour noted that local actors worked with SOG and others to develop a progressive bail policy that utilizes written promises to appear as a primary solution, in part to avoid the clerks having to chase elusive bond money, but the policy will have to be revised to conform with the statute. Bromell said the legislation creates a rebuttable presumption against pretrial release for violent offenses and requires judicial officials to impose secured bonds or electronic house arrest instead. It also requires 1 each judicial district to have an MOA with a vendor to provide electronic monitoring services by December 1, 2025, although there is no penalty for failure to do so. Dorsi said CJRD has a small electronic monitoring program but will not be able to handle the increase in volume that could result from this legislation. Bromell said there could be a lot of challenges with increasing reliance on electronic house arrest, including a lack of vendors and monitoring equipment and insufficient county funds to cover the costs.Those barriers may lead to an increase in secured bonds and denials of pretrial release,which will also increase strain on local jails. Bromell reviewed the changes for involuntary commitment proceedings (IVCs)that will go into effect on December 1, 2026. She explained that judicial officials will need to issue an order for an initial IVC exam under certain conditions, including if a defendant is charged with a violent offense and has been subject to an IVC order within the last three years or if there are reasonable grounds to believe a defendant is a danger to themselves or others. She added that AOC will be providing a method for officials to determine if a defendant has a prior IVC order. Bromell said,when a defendant is ordered to receive an initial commitment examination,the legislation will require the arresting officer to transport them to a facility with certified commitment examiners. Dorsi stated that, when magistrates set release conditions, defendants are typically in custody of the sheriff, not the arresting officer, and asked if officers will have to go to the hospital and stand by while an IVC moves forward. Bromell said that question has been raised, noting that the General Assembly is forming a committee to better understand the IVC process and that they may attempt to clarify some provisions before they go into effect. Bromell raised several unanswered questions about issues such as the application of jail credit and the capacity of law enforcement agencies and hospitals to implement these provisions. UNC Law's New Family Defense Clinic Posner said she launched UNC Law's new Family Defense Clinic this semester.The law school now has 10 clinics,with four of them (including the Family Defense Clinic) focused on litigation in state courts. She said the new clinic enables students to represent parents in Orange and Chatham counties who have been accused of abusing or neglecting their children and/or have had their children removed from their care. Posner said she has wanted to work in this area of the law for a long time, and that desire coincided nicely with work others are doing around legal deserts and the dwindling numbers of attorneys who are willing to handle these cases on a court-appointed basis. Posner said Orange County has four attorneys on the parent representation list and this is not an area that students learn about in law school or graduate wanting to handle. She said her hope is that the clinic will create a new pipeline of attorneys who are interested in handling these cases and/or serve as an impetus for additional large law firms to do this work on a pro bono basis. Posner said she collaborated with IDS and SOG on providing training for the clinic students, and all of them have completed SOG's parent defender training. She added that there are two social work students working with the law students, so her clinic students are helping clients access wrap around services and gaining interdisciplinary experience in addition to litigation experience. Nieman said clinics and externships are vital building blocks for practicing lawyers, and he thanked Posner for her work getting this clinic up and running. JAC Member Updates Baddour reiterated that there will be a new bail bond policy coming for Orange and Chatham counties. He said he does not expect a significant update, but the policy needs to be changed to conform to the revised statutes. 2 Bedford discussed plans for the new crisis diversion center. She said costs came in higher than expected but the Board decided to move forward with some modifications to control spending. She added that the facility will be located across from the hospital emergency room in Hillsborough, and there will be community spaces for visitors and family members. Bedford and Greene expressed their excitement about the new facility. Kleinschmidt asked when the facility is expected to be complete, and Bedford estimated 2.5 years. Bedford added that the Link Building is being renovated for the sheriff's office. In addition, UNC is willing to lease some space to the county for cold weather cots in Chapel Hill, hopefully starting next winter, and that space might also accommodate a day program for unsheltered people. Baddour noted that conversations are starting to move forward about interior renovations to the historic courthouse, and the timing of other county renovations will influence his views on what is needed there. Fenhagen said she would reconvene the justice stakeholders to discuss that. Proposed 2026 Quarterly Meeting Dates Carman proposed the following Council meeting schedule for 2026, with all meetings running from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m.: February 27t", May 29t",August 28t", and November 13t". Fenhagen suggested that Carman hold off on finalizing the schedule and sending Outlook calendar holds until after the Commissioners pick their 2026 committee assignments in December. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 1:35 p.m. 3