Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Criminal Record Expunction

DURHAM · Feb. 17, 2021—The coding collective that created a powerful tool for streamlining criminal record expunctions for Durham residents has received a high honor. Durham Mayor Stephen M. Schewel proclaimed Feb. 15, 2021, as Code for Durham Day during a city council meeting that evening.

Code for Durham is a network of volunteers that developed the DEAR Petition Generator, a program that takes data from a person’s criminal record and automatically generates the correct, completed forms necessary for the person to petition the courts for an expunction.

“This tool reduces a lengthy manual data-entry process down to a few clicks, reducing human error and allowing attorneys to serve more people,” Mayor Schewel’s declaration reads in part.

Code for Durham developed the software in collaboration with the Durham Expunction and Restoration Program, known as DEAR, a partnership of Durham agencies and organizations—including Legal Aid of North Carolina—that helps Durham residents expunge their criminal records and restore suspended or revoked driver’s licenses.

During the city council meeting, Code for Durham volunteer Celeste Richie gave brief remarks, which included a reading of the following statement submitted by Gina Reyman, managing attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Durham office.

The expunction petition generator tool created by the Code for Durham volunteers is poised to usher in a new era of expunction legal practice in North Carolina by helping attorneys quickly and accurately generate expunction petitions for dismissed charges. During initial testing at the DEAR office in Durham, Legal Aid attorneys found that the tool can save hours of time preparing a single petition and significantly reduced the number of data-entry errors. Instead of serving hundreds of clients each year, the tool has the potential to enable Legal Aid and the DEAR Program to serve thousands. 

This innovative tool was made possible by the unique partnership of volunteer coders and Legal Aid attorneys, working closely for two years, to integrate the nuances of expunction law into a user-friendly design. The selfless dedication and quiet perseverance of these volunteers was inspiring to witness, and the tool’s features have far surpassed what we as lawyers originally imagined was possible. With the guidance of the Code for Durham team, Legal Aid is currently working to integrate the tool into its case management system. We believe that the tool will dramatically expand the volume and accessibility of expunctions to our low-income clients. 

Aptly named, this tool not only generates petitions to expunge old charges but generates second chance opportunities for thousands of our neighbors in Durham and across North Carolina to get better jobs and have better futures. Special thanks to each member of the Code for Durham team.

—Gina Reyman, Managing Attorney
Legal Aid of North Carolina-Durham office

Learn more

Watch the city council meeting (relevant portion begins at 6:53)
Read the Code for Durham Day proclamation
Learn about the DEAR Petition Generator
Learn about the DEAR Program

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Legal Aid attorney Anna Cushman certified as immigration law specialist

CHARLOTTE—The North Carolina State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization announced on December 4 that it had certified Anna Cushman, an attorney with our Battered Immigrant Project, as a specialist in immigration law.

Only 4% of North Carolina attorneys achieve this status, according to the bar. To become a specialist, an attorney must devote an average of 700 hours annually to the specialty during the prior five years, be favorably evaluated by fellow attorneys and judges, pass a written exam, attend continuing legal education seminars in the specialty, and be an active member in good standing with the bar for at least five years.

Anna joined Legal Aid as an attorney with our Battered Immigrant Project in 2019. The BIP is part of our Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault unit. BIP attorneys help immigrant survivors of domestic violence navigate the complex maze of ever-changing immigration laws.

Anna recently helped a domestic violence survivor obtain a work permit, a big step towards achieving financial independence from her abusive U.S. citizen spouse. As a result, Anna’s client is better able to fight for the custody of her minor child in her care and establish a steady employment history.

“It is a privilege to serve immigrant domestic violence survivors as they assert the right to a life free from violence,” Anna said. “I am delighted to be certified as a specialist in immigration law after years of dedication to this practice area and to my clients along the way. Given the complexity of the U.S. immigration system and the high stakes for our clients, it is critical that immigrants have access to competent, experienced counsel. I am proud to say this is precisely the kind of representation that the Battered Immigrant Project provides to our vulnerable, low-income, immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.”

Before joining Legal Aid, Anna spent six years handling immigration cases for a small immigration law firm in Greensboro. She earned her juris doctor from Campbell Law in 2012, and her bachelor’s in political science and Spanish from Wake Forest University in 2008.

She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the North Carolina Bar Association, the Mecklenburg Bar Association, and a former member of the Greensboro Housing Coalition’s board of directors.

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Fair Housing

DURHAM—Richard Rothstein, the acclaimed author of The Color of Law (2017), will give a free public lecture via Zoom on Thursday, March 18, from 12-1 p.m.

Rothstein’s lecture will mark the launch of a speaker series organized by the Durham Eviction Diversion Program to raise funds for the new Durham Rental Assistance Fund, which will make direct payments to Durham tenants facing eviction for nonpayment of rent.

Lecture attendees who are able to do so are encouraged to make a donation to the new Durham Rental Assistance Fund. To donate, use our online donation form and select “Durham Rental Assistance Fund (Rothstein event)” from the “Donation Designation” drop-down menu. Those who donate $250 or more will receive a free copy of The Color Law by mail.

Following Rothstein’s lecture, Legal Aid advocates will lead a discussion of how attendees can support equality and justice in North Carolina.

Richard Rothstein is a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute and a Fellow at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He lives in California, where he is a Fellow of the Haas Institute at the University of California–Berkeley.

The Durham Eviction Diversion Program is a partnership of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Durham office, the Civil Justice Clinic at Duke Law, Durham’s Department of Social Services, and the courts. The program receives critical financial support from the City of Durham, the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin and the North Carolina Bar Foundation. To learn more about the program, read this article from Legal Aid’s 2017 Annual Report.

Register

Who: Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law

What: Free public lecture about government involvement in residential housing segregation in America

When: Thursday, March 18, 12-1 p.m.

Where: Zoom

Register: Click here to register on Zoom

Donate: To support the new Durham Rental Assistance Fund:

Click here
Select “Durham Rental Assistance Fund (Rothstein event)” from the “Donation Designation” drop-down menu
Donate $250 or more and get a free copy of The Color of Law by mail

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Housing

RALEIGH—Are you struggling to make your mortgage payments because of financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic?

If so, you may qualify for “mortgage forbearance,” which means you may not have to make mortgage payments for a period of time—but you need to act fast. December 31 may be the last day to qualify.

You can qualify for mortgage forbearance even if you were behind on your mortgage payments before the COVID-19 pandemic, and even if your financial hardship is only indirectly related to the pandemic.

Getting mortgage forbearance is easy. Just contact your mortgage servicer—the company that you make mortgage payments to—and tell them that you are experiencing financial hardship related to the COVID pandemic, and that you want to get a forbearance on mortgage payments. You will also need to tell them how long you want the forbearance to last.

If you qualify, you can receive mortgage forbearance for an initial period of up to 180 days, plus an additional 180 days if you continue to experience financial hardship.

If you need help requesting a forbearance from your mortgage servicer, or your mortgage servicer tells you that you are not eligible for a forbearance, we may be able to help. Call our toll-free helpline at 1-866-219-5262.

COVID-related mortgage forbearance is available to struggling homeowners because of the CARES Act, a federal law enacted soon after the start of the pandemic.

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Disaster Relief

Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Disaster Relief Project is helping survivors of Hurricane Matthew and Florence access recovery assistance for damage to their homes sustained during the storm.

Legal Aid is currently assisting North Carolinians with ReBuild NC Homeowner Recovery Program applications and appeals, and may also be able to help when other legal issues arise during the recovery process.

“Applying for the ReBuild NC Homeowner Recovery Program may not appear to initially be legal in nature, but applicants may encounter issues that Legal Aid can help with,” said Lesley Albritton, managing attorney of Legal Aid’s Disaster Relief Project. “Legal Aid has a disaster relief team with attorneys, paralegals and social workers who have experience with assisting during the recovery process and may be able to help survivors of Florence and Matthew access recovery funds and other resources.”

The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) opened applications for the Rebuild NC Homeowner Recovery Program in June to assist homeowners with repairs, reconstruction and/or elevation of storm-damaged homes.

For those applying to the ReBuild NC Homeowner Recovery Program, Legal Aid can help with:

Filling out and submitting applications
Online filing for those who do not have internet service or an email address
Reviewing applications before submission
Collecting the documents required to accompany an application
Assisting with any deed or title concerns that come up before submitting your application
Clarifying past assistance, if an applicant has received assistance from more than one source and is concerned about duplication of benefits

For those who disagree with a decision that they have received, Legal Aid can help by:

Talking to an applicant’s case manager to better understand a denial/decision
Assisting with writing an appeal letter
Helping a client collect additional documentation that may support an appeal

“Our services are free, and we encourage survivors of Matthew and Florence who think we may be able to help to call our helpline at 866-219-5262 to learn more about eligibility and how we may be able to assist with recovery,” said Albritton.

In September 2018, Florence made landfall in N.C. causing significant flooding and wind damage across 34 counties in the state. The storm caused $24 billion dollars in damage, making it one of the ten costliest hurricanes in United States history.

Those interested in Legal Aid’s services should call the Legal Aid helpline at 866-219-5262. Additional disaster relief resources are available the Disaster Relief section of our website.

About

Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. The Disaster Relief Project provides legal assistance and education to survivors of natural disasters in North Carolina and supports community economic development and long-term recovery in disaster-impacted communities.

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Fair Housing

RALEIGH—Douglas Matthew Gurkins, 34, a Greenville resident, has been sentenced to 28 months in federal prison for using racial slurs against and threatening the lives of a Black American family, consisting of a mother and her four children—a criminal violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. At the sentencing hearing, other Black American tenants who had been victimized by Mr. Gurkins in the same manner shared their stories with the court.

The sentencing is the latest development in a years-long and still ongoing legal effort launched by Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Fair Housing Project against Mr. Gurkins and others on behalf of another Black American couple.

The U.S. Department of Justice, which prosecuted the case, announced the sentencing in a press release on November 23, 2020.

In August 2019, Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project and the law firm of Brancart & Brancart filed a federal civil lawsuit against Mr. Gurkins; the owner of the property, who is also Mr. Gurkins’ aunt; the company hired to manage the property; and one of the management company’s employees.

In 2017, Legal Aid’s clients began renting one half of a duplex in Greenville owned by Mr. Gurkins’ aunt. Mr. Gurkins lived in the other half.

The complaint alleges that soon after the couple moved in, Mr. Gurkins launched a campaign of racial harassment against them, repeatedly addressing them by using the “N-word”—sometimes in front of their minor grandchildren—and threatening them with physical violence.

The couple allege they pleaded with Gurkins’ aunt and the property manager to do something about him, but no one intervened or even investigated their complaints. Instead, according to the suit, the defendants attempted to evict the couple from the property.

In the lawsuit, it is alleged that Mr. Gurkins’ racist behavior and the failure of the others to do anything about it violated the federal Fair Housing Act. The defendants have all denied the allegations. The case is scheduled to go to trial in 2021.

“We are proud that justice is being served in this case on the criminal side,” said Kelly Clarke, supervising attorney of our Fair Housing Project.

“No one should have to live in fear because of the color of their skin. The Fair Housing Act entitles all Americans to enjoy their home free of racial harassment. Our clients look forward to having their day in civil court,” said Ayanda Meachem, a supervising attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina.

Luis Pinto, staff attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina, also works on this case and is counsel of record; both Meachem and Pinto work in Legal Aid’s Ahoskie office. Legal Aid of North Carolina co-counsels this case with Christopher Brancart of California-based law firm Brancart & Brancart.

Individuals may obtain information about fair housing by contacting the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina at (855) 797-3247.

# # #

Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. To learn more, visit www.legalaidnc.org and www.fairhousingnc.org.

The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported in part by funding under a grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the federal Government.

Media Contact

Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, 919-856-2132, SeanD@legalaidnc.org

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Education

CHARLOTTE—The application period for the state Extra Credit Grant program has been extended. The deadline to apply is now December 7, 2020, at 2 p.m.

The Extra Credit Grant program provides eligible North Carolinians with a one-time grant of $335 to cover costs related to virtual schooling and childcare during the pandemic.

The state extended the application period because of a lawsuit brought by the law firm of Robinson Bradshaw on behalf of the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy and Legal Aid of North Carolina.

You only need to apply for the Extra Credit Grant program if all of the following statements are true:

You have not already received your grant
You have not already applied for the grant
You did not file a 2019 state tax return solely because your 2019 income was less than $20,000 for a married couple, $15,000 for a head of household, and $10,000 for a single person
You lived in North Carolina for all of 2019
You had at least one qualifying child who was age 16 or under in 2019

To learn more about eligibility:

Read the FAQs on the N.C. Department of Revenue website
Read the FAQs on the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy website

Click here to apply for your Extra Credit Grant at 335forNC.com.

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Housing

RALEIGH—Legal Aid of North Carolina is suing state and county court officials to stop the issuance of eviction orders that violate both the nationwide eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Governor Cooper’s executive order affirming the CDC moratorium.

We filed the suit November 9 in Wake County Superior Court.

Links

Legal Aid is asking the court to stop Archie Smith, clerk of superior court for Durham County, from ordering county sheriffs to evict tenants who are protected by the CDC moratorium and the Governor’s Executive Order. We are also asking the court to order McKinley Wooten, director of the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), and Nicole Brinkley, assistant counsel for the AOC, to direct all clerks of county courts to stop issuing writs of possession in such cases until a judge orders that a writ be issued.

The CDC moratorium temporarily prohibits the eviction of tenants who cannot pay their rent. To qualify for the moratorium’s protection, a tenant must submit to their landlord a declaration in which the tenant swears—under penalty of perjury—that they are protected by the moratorium. The agency issued the moratorium to keep people in their homes, thereby slowing the spread of COVID-19. The moratorium took effect September 4 and remains in effect through December 31.

Amidst widespread confusion about and noncompliance with the CDC moratorium, Governor Cooper issued Executive Order 171 on October 28. The executive order affirms that the moratorium applies to all residential tenants in the state and mandates that a landlord cannot request a writ of possession to evict a tenant who has submitted a declaration.

Nevertheless, the Administrative Office of the Courts directed clerks of county courts to issue writs of possession when the tenant has submitted a declaration to their landlord. This directive is contrary to both the CDC Order and the Governor’s executive order. Many clerks have followed the AOC’s directive, including Archie Smith in Durham, and have caused low-income residents who should be safe from eviction to become homeless.

Legal Aid filed the lawsuit on behalf of Durham residents facing eviction and a nonprofit advocacy group, Action NC. If the Durham residents are evicted, the tenants—a mother, her 3-year-old child and the child’s father—will become homeless, which will put them at increased risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19, all through no fault of their own. The mother and father lost their jobs during the pandemic.

# # #

About
Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Learn more at legalaidnc.org.

Media contact
Sean Driscoll, director of public relations, 919-856-2132, seand@legalaidnc.org

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Fair Housing

RALEIGH · Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) announced today that it has settled housing discrimination complaints against the architects, builders, and owners of five apartment complexes located in the Triad area of North Carolina. The five complaints, which our Fair Housing Project filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alleged that the respondents failed to design and construct the complexes to make them accessible to persons with disabilities in compliance with the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA).

The complaints identified a number of alleged violations of FHA accessibility requirements in individual ground floor units as well as in common and public use areas. The respondents in the cases denied the allegations.

The complexes involved are: Brightwood Crossing Apartments, located in Whitsett; Chamberlain Place Apartments, located in Clemmons; Granite Ridge Apartments, located in Greensboro; Lafayette Landing Apartments, located in Jamestown; and Robinhood Court Apartments, located in Winston-Salem.

As a result of the conciliation agreement signed by the parties and approved by HUD on October 5, 2020, accessibility modifications will be made in 325 ground floor units, as well as in common areas in each of the properties. The respondents have estimated the cost of the modifications will be $1.3 million.

The agreement sets forth detailed requirements for the Respondents to undertake a wide variety of remediations, including:

Provide accessible routes to certain buildings with apartment units
Replace door hardware on unit entrance doors and on interior doors
Retrofit kitchens to provide adequate clear floor space at the sink, range, and refrigerator
Retrofit the bathroom sink cabinets to allow adequate clear floor space
Ensure that thermostats, light switches, and least one electrical outlet in each room meet required height accessibility requirements
Upon request of a tenant with a disability, install grab bars in bathrooms
Retrofit doors within clubhouses and similar common areas
Retrofit garages to comply with accessibility requirements
Reassign mailboxes to increase accessibility
Retrofit laundry rooms to provide accessible routes and door hardware
Reposition or make changes in the access to playgrounds, pool areas, volleyball and tennis courts, dog parks, and other recreation areas so they have accessible routes

In addition to the accessibility modifications, employees of the builders, architects and owners with direct responsibility for the design and construction of covered multi-family dwellings will undergo training on relevant sections of both the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.

Jeffrey Dillman, co-director of the Fair Housing Project, noted that the accessibility provisions of the Fair Housing Act are of great importance to people with disabilities, stating, “Accessible housing is an essential means of ensuring that people with disabilities are able to fully participate in the community. Designers and builders must ensure that housing meets these modest federal accessibility requirements, in addition to state and local codes.”

The cases were filed with HUD in June 2017. The cases arose from accessibility testing performed by Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project, which uncovered the alleged violations.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of disability. Among other things, it requires all multifamily housing constructed after March 13, 1991, to have basic exterior and interior accessibility features. The requirements apply to units, as well as for public and common use areas, such as a leasing office, clubhouse, parking, dumpsters, mailboxes, picnic areas, and other site features or amenities.

The respondents in the case are BSC Holdings, Inc., Chamberlain Place Apartments, LLC, Granite Ridge Investments, LLC, Robinhood Court Apartment Homes, LLC, Lafayette Landing Apartments and Villas, LLC, Brightwood Crossing Apartments, LLC, Salem Commercial Contracting, L.L.C., dBF Associates, Architects, Inc., Windsor Contracting, LLC, and Erskine-Smith Architecture, PLLC.

Legal Aid was represented in these cases by Jack Holtzman, an attorney with the North Carolina Justice Center, a public interest law firm located in Raleigh. Legal Aid of North Carolina’s involvement in this litigation was made possible in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program.

Individuals may obtain information about fair housing by contacting the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina at (855) 797-3247.

# # #

Media Contact

Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, 919-856-2132, SeanD@legalaidnc.org

Author: pricelessmisc

WILMINGTON—Our Wilmington office and the New Hanover County Bar Association have honored 33 attorneys and one law firm for providing pro bono legal services to our clients from September 2018 to September 2020. The volunteers were honored October 9 during the New Hanover County Bar Association’s annual meeting. The full list of honorees is below.

James L. Seay, III, an attorney with the Seay Law Firm, received the Addison Hewlett Jr. Award for exceptional pro bono legal services for his successful representation of Legal Aid clients in complex landlord-tenant litigation. His name will be added to a plaque in the New Hanover County Courthouse.

Addison Hewlett Jr. was a respected Wilmington lawyer who was elected president of the New Hanover County Bar Association in 1948. “Mr. Hewlett was a defender of the rights of the common man,” reads his bio on the website of Hewlett, Collins and Allard, LLP. “He never let a just cause go unchampioned. He never declined when the person could not pay a fee.”

Honorees

Attorneys

Christopher K. Behm
Stephen J. Bell
Jillian C. S. Blanchard
Gina D. Cecil
Katherine A. E. DeLaura
Kathleen L. Eaton
Jamie S. Getty
Preston B. Hilton
Mark J. Ihnat
Alicia R. Johnson
Andrew R. Jones
Emily C. Jones
Heather D. Kaemmer
Gregory A. Kleva, III
Paula A. Kohut
Steven M. Laird
Sara E. Leopold
Miles C. Lindley
Aaron D. Lindquist
Marco P. Locco, Jr.
Jean S. Martin
Sarah E. Morin-Gage
Kyle J. Nutt
Susan Polizzotto
Jennifer M. Roden
James L. Seay, III
Gary K. Shipman
Paul R. Smith
Robert A. Solano
Miriam M. Thompson
Sandra D. Watts
William G. Wright
Thomas J. Zamadics

Law firm

Shipman & Wright, LLP