Category: Media release

Charlotte, N.C. – United by a common cause, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy (Advocacy Center), and the North Carolina Justice Center, are working together to obtain legal relief for immigrant victims of crime amidst significant delays in U Visa application processing.

Over 150 victims of crime have filed suit in Nebraska and Vermont against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) alleging that the agency has delayed the processing of the victims’ U Visa applications for years. The victims have cooperated with law enforcement agencies to prosecute the perpetrator, making them eligible for U Visa legal status in the United States. However, significant delays in the granting of the visas have left victims without justice.

Congress enacted the U Visa for victims of crime in 2000 as a tool for law enforcement and a means to provide benefits to victims of crime who have been helpful to law enforcement. Benefits such as work authorization and legal status help victims achieve financial stability and independence. The years-long delays in processing the applications mean that victims are unable to work and support themselves and their families.

“For the domestic violence victim who just reported the crimes of their abusive partner, the very same partner that paid the rent, it’s essential that work authorization is available as soon as possible, not five years from now,” said Rona Karacaova, Managing Attorney of Legal Aid NC’s Battered Immigrant Project. “These lawsuits will improve public safety and bring financial stability within victims’ reach like Congress intended.”

Legal Aid of NC’s Battered Immigrant Project, the Advocacy Center’s Immigrant Justice Program, the NC Justice Center, and Brad Banias of Banias Law, along with assistance from local counsel, Brett Stokes and Jill Martin-Diaz of the Vermont Immigrant Assistance Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School, filed the lawsuits against USCIS in Nebraska on Jan. 9 and Vermont on Feb. 2, 2023.

The lawsuits seek agency action on the delayed cases, specifically employment authorization, protection against deportation, and travel documents for petitioners abroad in need of re-unification with their families in the U.S. The lawsuits are also the first of their kind brought on behalf of U visa petitioners en masse in Nebraska and Vermont.

“We support the litigation filed by Legal Aid of NC, NC Justice Center, and Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy on behalf of U visa petitioners,” said Sheriff Charles S. Blackwood on behalf of the Orange County, NC Sheriff’s Office. “Any victim who learns it will take years to receive a U visa is likely discouraged from applying. The potential benefits of obtaining lawful status through the process feel too remote and are therefore not an effective incentive to report any crime or voluntarily engage with a law enforcement officer. Reluctance on the part of any portion of the community to report crime jeopardizes everyone’s safety and complicates our ability to protect the most vulnerable members of society.”

Legal Aid NC’s Battered Immigrant Project, the Advocacy Center’s Immigrant Justice Program, and the North Carolina Justice Center advocate for immigrant survivors. The lawsuits are intended to compel the USCIS to follow Congress’s intent to protect immigrant victims of crime and provide law enforcement effective tools to investigate and prosecute serious criminal activity.

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Category: Media release

WILMINGTON—The New Hanover County Bar Association and Legal Aid of North Carolina honored 23 local attorneys for their pro bono service to clients of our Wilmington office from 2020-2022. The attorneys were honored at the bar association’s luncheon in Wilmington on February 21. The list of honorees is below.

Ashley M. Coghill, an attorney in the Wilmington office of Cranfill Sumner LLP, received the Addison Hewlett Jr. Award for Exemplary Pro Bono Service in 2020-2022. Her name will be placed on a plaque on the wall next to the elevators in the New Hanover County Courthouse with previous recipients of the award.

Addison Hewlett Jr. was a Wilmington attorney who served as president of the New Hanover County Bar Association in 1948. To honor Hewlett’s work serving those in need, the award is given to an attorney who serves the community with selfless dedication to promoting equal justice for the disadvantaged in New Hanover County.

Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Wilmington office provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow and Pender counties. If you are an attorney interested in providing pro bono service to clients of our Wilmington office, please visit legalaidnc.org/pro-bono or contact Richard Klein, regional manager of our southeast region, at richardk@legalaidnc.org.

New Hanover County pro bono honorees

Gina D. Cecil
Ashley M. Coghill
Kathleen L. Eaton
Christian B. Felden
William C. Hurley
Paula A. Kohut
Steven M. Laird
Andrew Lanier
Aaron D. Lindquist
Kevin L. Littlejohn II
Emily A. McNamara
Sara A. Miller
Sarah E. Morin-Gage
Ryan H. Niland
Celecia M. Phillips
Emily Jones Queen
Anne J. Randall
Jennifer M. Roden
Jennifer D. Scott
James L. Seay, III
Kristina F. Smith
Kimberly Baxley Smithwick
Sandra D. Watts

Are you an attorney who wants to be a pro bono hero for North Carolinians in need? To learn more about our programs and join us on our mission for justice, visit legalaidnc.org/pro-bono. Want to stay in the pro bono loop? Join our email list or follow #LANCprobono on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Category: Media release

CHARLOTTE—Over pizzas and salad from a nearby restaurant, a group of Honeywell lawyers and paralegals spent a recent lunch hour providing pro bono legal advice to Legal Aid of North Carolina clients struggling with serious housing-conditions issues.

Hosted by the multi-national manufacturing and technology corporation in its technologically advanced Charlotte headquarters—the company is shaping the future, solving the world’s toughest challenges by inventing and manufacturing technologies linked to global macrotrends such as safety, security, and sustainability—the January 25 event was part of our Lawyer on the Line pro bono program, which recruits private attorneys to provide free legal advice to clients over the phone.

Dawn Savarese, Assistant General Counsel at Honeywell, and Larissa Mañon Mervin, a Charlotte-based supervising attorney on our statewide Pro Bono Programs team, organized the event.

“The Honeywell team is beyond grateful for the opportunity to participate in Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Lawyer on the Line program,” Dawn added. “The impact we can make in our community is so very gratifying, and working with Larissa and the knowledgeable and professional team at Legal Aid is a gift, not to mention incredibly fun. We are ready for the next one!”

“Dawn was the real driving force here,” Larissa said. “She’s a true pro bono champion. She wants to make sure her colleagues have accessible and meaningful pro bono opportunities. She worked hard to bring us all together and ensure everything ran smoothly the day of—she even picked up the pizza! I wasn’t surprised when she reached out a few days after the event to start planning the next one.”

Larissa was joined at the event by seasoned Legal Aid NC housing attorneys O’Shauna Hunter, head of our Charlotte office’s housing unit; Nicole Mueller, who shares her time as a supervising attorney on our Pro Bono Programs team and Disaster Relief Project; and Isaac Sturgill, head of our statewide housing practice group. The housing attorneys served as subject-matter consultants for the volunteers, who were advising tenants living in unsanitary or unsafe conditions.

Honeywell paralegal Naundra Taylor spoke with a client whose landlord refused to repair the collapsed floor in her hallway—a major safety hazard to her young child. Naundra advised the client about communicating with her landlord in a way that would allow her to make her case effectively in court (if it came to that) and what to do if the landlord tried to evict her—a common occurrence for tenants who complain to their landlords about housing conditions.

“It was wonderful!” Naundra said of her first-time experience handling a pro bono case for Legal Aid of North Carolina. “I’m ready for my next case!”

Daniela Tijerina, director of the company’s Integrity and Compliance division, also enjoyed her first pro bono experience with Legal Aid NC.

“I feel accomplished for my day,” she said. “Just knowing that someone now has a path forward makes me feel good. I would love to do this more!”

Brendan Clark, a Senior Contracts Representative at Honeywell, felt a personal connection to the work.

“As someone who grew up in an impoverished community where housing issues were commonplace,” said Brendan, a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and the Blackfoot Nation, “it was a tremendous honor to be able to provide assistance to someone who was in a similar unfortunate situation as many of my friends and family members. Many tenants fall prey to predatory landlords who use their power to negligently harm and/or discriminate against the very people they should be caring for. Lawyer on the Line plays a critical role in fighting back and I was happy to play a small role in this charge.”

Kris Pickler, general counsel for Honeywell’s Global Real Estate division, addressed the fears that some corporate attorneys might have about pro bono work.

“Some in-house counsel may not feel that they have the skills needed or time available to do pro bono,” he said. “Skills and time don’t need to be a barrier. Legal Aid has wonderful staff and online and in-person training resources to help you learn new subject matter. They have pro bono opportunities with variable time commitments so you can help those in need based on your availability.”

“Jump in and give it a go,” he said. “It is extremely rewarding.”

Other Honeywell lawyers who volunteered at the event:

Aparana Jaiswal, Senior Contracts Representative
Annie Matonis, Senior Contracts Representative
Will Munnerlyn, Deputy IP Counsel, Honeywell Safety & Productivity Solutions
Jeremy Whitley, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Honeywell Safety & Productivity Solutions
Darryl Wilson, Assistant General Counsel

Photos

Dawn Savarese (left), Assistant General Counsel at Honeywell, and Larissa Mañon Mervin, a supervising attorney on our Pro Bono Programs team, organized the event.

Category: Media release

High stakes in small claims court

Photo of McGuireWoods attorney Dylan Bensinger.

The McGuireWoods website describes Dylan Bensinger, an attorney in its Charlotte office, as a “high-stakes commercial litigator.” At first glance, a residential eviction case might seem worlds away from his typical work—but Dylan doesn’t see it that way.

“It’s definitely not the kind of commercial litigation that I do most days,” said Dylan, who recently won an eviction case for us pro bono, “but the case was certainly high stakes for the client. He was at risk of losing where he lived. That would be pretty high stakes for anyone.”

Our client’s troubles started in 2021 when, amidst the economic chaos wrought by the pandemic, he could no longer afford to pay his rent in full. Thankfully, the nationwide eviction moratorium then in place saved him from being put out on the street.

By the spring of 2022, however, when our client came to Legal Aid NC for help, the moratorium had expired, he owed thousands in back rent, his landlord wanted him out, and he had just lost his eviction hearing in small claims court.

Thankfully, his situation wasn’t hopeless. For one, unlike many Legal Aid NC clients, he knew he had the right to appeal the court’s ruling. Even more unusual, he successfully filed the paperwork himself. He also understood that he needed real legal help to actually win his appeal—and he knew to come to us for that help.

While eviction cases are bread and butter for our staff attorneys—housing is either our largest or second-largest practice area, depending on the year—the need for legal help in this area is so great that we rely on pro bono volunteers to help meet the demand.

Dylan came to us by way of the Charlotte Triage Pro Bono Partnership, a project launched in 2018 by pro bono leaders from the Queen City’s most prominent companies and law firms, including McGuireWoods. Partnership organizations work with our Charlotte office and Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy to identify and tackle Charlotte residents’ most pressing legal needs, which include eviction.

Through Charlotte Triage, Dylan learned about our pro bono programs and connected with O’Shauna Hunter, the head of the housing unit in our Charlotte office. When Dylan’s client came to our Charlotte office for help, Dylan agreed to take the case—his first pro bono housing case ever.

Dylan dove in headfirst, consulting with his client and studying North Carolina landlord-tenant law. He even went to small claims court to watch the eviction process in action.

“I was immediately struck by how few people showed up with attorneys,” Dylan said. “It seems like almost no one who goes through this process has a lawyer. It was also obvious how big a difference having counsel makes in the process. Without O’Shauna and me in our client’s corner, I think the outcome would have been very different for him.”

Throughout the case, O’Shauna served as Dylan’s mentor, consulting with him about housing law, case strategy, client communication and anything else he wanted to discuss.

“This being my first housing case, I would have been more apprehensive if I had been thrown into the fire completely on my own,” Dylan said. “It was great to have O’Shauna on my side. She was a huge help to me and was instrumental in successfully resolving this case. Everyone I know who has worked with Legal Aid NC attorneys, like O’Shauna, is very grateful for their help, so thank you to O’Shauna and her colleagues.”

“Dylan really went above and beyond to ensure that he knew the law and was pursuing the strategy that would be most beneficial to his client,” O’Shauna said. “The impressive outcome he achieved is testament to his dedication in this case.”

In fall 2022, after spending tens of hours over the course of the preceding months working on the case, Dylan and his client’s landlord reached a settlement agreement that left our client in a better position than he could have hoped for without legal representation.

As part of the settlement, the landlord agreed to vacate the small claims judgment against Dylan’s client, waive the thousands of dollars in back rent and provide a neutral landlord reference going forward. While Dylan’s client did have to find a new home as part of the agreement—he was able to move in with family while he looked for a new place of his own—the importance of the outcome cannot be overstated.

“I think it was a great outcome,” Dylan said. “We didn’t go to court and win, but the result is a big win for the client, who was looking at an eviction and a lot of back rent that he owed to his landlord. We were able to negotiate a settlement that wiped away all of that to the extent that it was possible. From what I understand, everything is going well for him so far. He walked away with as much of a clean sheet as he could.”

While this was Dylan’s first pro bono housing case, it definitely won’t be his last.

“There are people at my firm who are really dedicated to pro bono service. Angie Zimmern and Mark Kinghorn here in our Charlotte office”—Angie is the firm’s Pro Bono Director and Mark is a member of the Charlotte Triage housing and eviction team—”are very good at getting people involved and are always coming up with new pro bono opportunities. I hope to develop a similar reputation for dedication to pro bono.”

Here at Legal Aid NC, we have no doubt that he will.

About Dylan

Associate, McGuireWoods, Charlotte, 2021-Present
Clerk, US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Charlotte, 2020-2021
Clerk, US District Court for the Central District of California, Los Angeles, 2018-2020
Associate, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, Los Angeles, 2017-2018
JD, Magna Cum Laude, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C., 2017
BA, Journalism and English, University of Miami, 2013
Native of Los Angeles, California

Are you an attorney who wants to be a pro bono hero for North Carolinians in need? To learn more about our programs and sign up to join our mission for justice, visit our Pro Bono page. Want to stay in the loop on all things pro bono? Join our email list or follow #LANCprobono on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Category: Media release

← Back to Healthcare Access

HealthCare.gov Open Enrollment ends Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023.

Raleigh, N.C. – The NC Navigator Consortium urges all North Carolinians who need health coverage to enroll or update their coverage before Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, the last day of the Open Enrollment period for the Health Insurance Marketplace® at HealthCare.gov. Health insurance navigators still have available appointments to offer free help in person, and via phone or Zoom, to anyone in North Carolina who needs affordable coverage. Appointments may be scheduled by calling 1-855-733-3711 or online at NCNavigator.net.

“The January 15 deadline is make or break for millions who need affordable health coverage,” said Mark Van Arnam, director of the NC Navigator Consortium. “Those who miss this deadline will not be able to enroll in a new policy unless they experience qualifying life events or make 100-150% of the Federal Poverty Level. Make an appointment for help today!”

Since the 2023 Open Enrollment period began Nov. 1, 2022, the NC Navigator Consortium has helped more than 30,000 North Carolinians. The NC Navigator Consortium’s federally qualified health insurance Navigators connect consumers to qualified health plans that provide essential health benefits and preventive care, in addition to mental health care, ER care and maternity coverage, not limited by caps or pre-existing conditions.

The NC Navigator Consortium is the only federally funded Navigator entity in the state that serves all 100 counties across North Carolina, and it is supported in part by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Learn more at NCNavigator.net, and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Members of the Consortium are Access East, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, Council on Aging of Buncombe County, Cumberland HealthNET, HealthCare Access, HealthNet Gaston, Kintegra Health, NC FIELD and Pisgah Legal Services. The Consortium is led by Legal Aid of North Carolina.

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 and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Category: Media release

← Back to Housing

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Affordable housing is hard to come by, especially when living with a disability. Having lived in the same home since 2010, T. Totten* and her disabled mother and sister are now facing eviction.

In 2021, a chain of failed housing inspections, due to property management non-compliance, resulted in the termination of Totten’s Section 8 Housing Voucher. While the Housing Voucher was reinstated by the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem (HAWS) in Sept. 2021, failed inspections continued to threaten Totten and her family’s livelihood.

On May 19, 2022, Totten’s property manager was notified, yet again, by HAWS that the home was “un-inhabitable” and that renovations were necessary to pass inspection. If renovations were not made, and the inspection was not passed, they would have to stop making payments to the property. Later that day, Totten received a Non-Renewal of Lease letter from her property manager stating that she needed to vacate the home in less than 30 days.

“If I left when they wanted me to, I would be homeless,” said Totten. “Me and my handicap mother and sister would have nowhere to go. That’s when I called Legal Aid of North Carolina.”

Once connected with Legal Aid of North Carolina, supervising attorney Edward Sharp informed Totten that a tenant may not be put out of a rental home without being evicted through the courts first. While this was good news, it only delayed the inevitable — eviction.

Totten remained housed for the time being, but the property manager continued to ignore her and the Housing Authority’s repair requests. As a result, HAWS had to cease payments to the property.

Now, months later, the inevitable has arrived. On Nov. 8, 2022, Totten received a Nonpayment of Rent notice stating that she owed over $5,000 in rent, which was meant to be paid through her Section 8 Housing Voucher. If the payments are not made, legal action will be taken against Totten by the property.

The payment deadline has passed, and Totten and her family are struggling to find a new home. With extremely long waiting lists, unsafe living conditions, and little-to-no handicap accessible options, the possibility of homelessness is looming.

“It is very hard to find landlords who are willing to accept Section 8 Vouchers,” noted Sharp. “While the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem actively recruits landlords for the program, it remains a crisis for voucher holders looking for new apartments.”

A team of Legal Aid NC attorneys, paralegals and support staff are working together on Totten’s complicated case, providing her crucial legal advice, and connecting her with a social worker to assist in finding Totten and her family a new, safe place to call home.

As our Winston-Salem team continues their search to find Totten suitable housing, we urge you to email HelenH2@legalaidnc.org, if you, or someone you know, has a lead on handicap accessible, Section 8 Housing.

*Name partially redacted for client confidentiality

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Category: Media release

← Back to Healthcare Access

Raleigh, N.C. – In advance of the approaching Dec. 15 Open Enrollment deadline, the NC Navigator Consortium is hosting free enrollment events to answer questions about health coverage, help consumers update their HealthCare.gov policies and enroll in new plans through the Health Insurance Marketplace®. Open Enrollment will not end until Jan. 15, 2023, but those who need coverage starting Jan.1, 2023, will need to apply by Dec. 15, 2022.

“We encourage anyone who needs coverage to come and speak with us,” said Mark Van Arnam, director of the NC Navigator Consortium. “If you need coverage for the new year, now is the time to get help and get covered.”

Upcoming Enrollment Events:

Saturday, December 10, 2022, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Advance Community Health, 1001-1011 Rock Quarry Road, Raleigh, NC 27610
Monday, December 12, 2022, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Martin Street Baptist Church, 1001 E. Martin St., Raleigh, NC 27601
Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 2 – 6 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Garner, 601 St Mary’s St., Garner, NC 27529
Wednesday, December 14, 2022, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Alliance Medical Ministry, 101 Donald Ross Drive, Raleigh, NC 27610
Thursday, December 15, 2022, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Martin Street Baptist Church, 1001 E. Martin St., Raleigh, NC 27601

If consumers are unable to attend the upcoming enrollment events, they can schedule a free appointment online at ncnavigator.net or by calling 1-855-733-3711.

The NC Navigator Consortium connects consumers to qualified health plans that provide essential health benefits and preventive care, in addition to mental health care, ER care and maternity coverage, not limited by caps or pre-existing conditions. Health insurance Navigators help North Carolinians maximize their coverage by:

Taking time with them to help avoid mistakes
Showing all options, ensuring their providers are in-network
Explaining terminology and processes, increasing health insurance literacy
Assisting them with estimating their income for the year ahead, one of the most difficult parts of the HealthCare.gov application process

The NC Navigator Consortium is the only federally funded entity of its kind in North Carolina, supported in part by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Learn more at NCNavigator.net, and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Members of the Consortium are Access East, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, Council on Aging of Buncombe County, Cumberland HealthNET, HealthCare Access, HealthNet Gaston, Kintegra Health, NC FIELD and Pisgah Legal Services. The Consortium is led by Legal Aid of North Carolina.

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. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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The project described was supported by Funding Opportunity number NAVCA210405-02-00 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The contents provided are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HHS or any of its agencies.

Media Contact

Helen Hobson, Chief Communications Officer, 704-430-7616

HelenH2@legalaidnc.org

Category: Media release

Raleigh, N.C. – Legal Aid of North Carolina is proud to announce that staff attorney Cody Davis, J.D., M.P.A., has been elected chairperson of the North Carolina Commission for the Blind/State Rehabilitation Council (SRC). Gov. Roy Cooper appointed Davis to the board in 2019; he was reappointed to the board this summer, and nominated for the top position by peers. In this role, Davis will advise the NC Department of Health and Human Services for the Blind on issues relating to services for persons with disabilities, especially vocational rehabilitation, independent living and medical eye care programs. The council also develops and submits a state plan to monitor, review and evaluate these programs. More information can be found on Gov. Cooper’s website.

“I am blind, and in high school and college, I received services that made my education, training and livelihood possible,” said Davis. In addition to work-related vocational rehabilitation services, he has received support from independent living programs that help those with disabilities learn skills to improve daily living and mobility. “I will lean on my experience to develop a more active and engaged membership for the Commission for the Blind/State Rehabilitation Council. Additionally, I hope to create more opportunities for public input.”

Working out of Legal Aid NC’s Concord office, Davis works on the organization’s Medicaid Appeals Technical Team serving clients across the state. Davis and his colleagues help North Carolinians with appeals related to Medicaid eligibility, which includes helping someone prove that they meet the State’s disability threshold, or income and resource requirements. They also help those who have Medicaid with appeals related to denial for a needed service. Learn more about Legal Aid NC’s work to increase access to healthcare.

Davis attended North Carolina State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, philosophy and criminology, and a Master of Public Administration in policy analysis and management. After graduating from the Campbell University School of Law in 2018, he served the school as a Wallace Public Service Fellow. His work in public service continued as a program evaluator and legal analyst with the North Carolina General Assembly and as a fellow at the UNC School of Government. He joined Legal Aid NC in 2021 as an intake attorney and was promoted to the Medicaid Appeals Technical Team four months later. He has served on the North Carolina Commission for the Blind/SRC in various roles since 2019.

“Living with hearing and vision loss can be incredibly challenging, but there are so many people like Cody who turn their personal experience into a passion for advocacy,” said Legal Aid NC CEO Ashley Campbell. “We are proud of Cody. He’ll bring valued leadership to these organizations and increase their impact.”

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. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Category: Media release

Through local partnerships, expunction clinics offer students the opportunity to hone their legal skills while giving clients access to needed legal resources.

By Sean Rowe

After years lost to drug abuse, Anthony Darity, of Asheville, N.C., is working hard to turn his life around. Part of that includes overcoming the collateral effects of addiction by cleaning up his criminal record. “I never really realized how many charges I actually had for serious drug offenses,” Darity said.

*Legal Aid of North Carolina attorney Rachel Smith and Lok Ho JD/LLMLE ’25 meeting with a TROSA resident.*

Through TROSA, a 24-month residential recovery program located in Durham for men and women from across North Carolina, Darity has been able to secure a stable job and get access to health care. Thanks to a recent clinic offered at TROSA’s James St. campus by the Durham Expunction & Restoration (DEAR) Program, Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC), and Duke Law School, he will also be able to put his past criminal record behind him.

Nearly 40 Duke Law students volunteered to work with licensed attorneys to help TROSA residents determine if they were eligible to expunge one or more criminal records, including both dismissed charges and older nonviolent convictions. The service, which involves assisting clients with navigating confusing legal documents and terminology, was free.

“It’s a good thing, just the fact that you’re helping people out, people with families, people who never thought they would have a chance,” Darity said.

1L John Godfrey Jr. said the clinic was a high point to his first semester of law school. “It was humbling to be trusted by our clients and the supervising attorneys to do meaningful work,” he said. “As I prepare for exams, I feel much more grounded in why I decided to go to law school and what I can do with my degree.”

Criminal records can be a significant barrier to securing housing and employment and pursuing educational opportunities. In North Carolina, dismissed charges and acquittals are permanent public records that can create a negative impression with employers, landlords, and licensing boards that makes it more difficult for people to achieve stability and access economic opportunity.

TROSA resident Samuel Downey of Durham said his criminal record has been a barrier to finding work. Being open about his past often didn’t help.

“I’ve went to jobs and applied and when it gets to the point where it says, ‘Do you have a felony?’ I was always put ‘Yes,’” Downey said. “There are times when I can explain my way through it and there were times where it was like zero tolerance for a felon.”

In preparation for the clinic, students attended a series of three work sessions at the Law School, where they worked with a supervising attorney to review each of the 25 clients’ cases for expunction eligibility and to prepare necessary petitions. Jessica Miller ’24 said she looked forward to meeting with the TROSA residents and sharing some good news.

“It was so rewarding to be able to show the clients their petitions that we had worked to prepare for them, and to help them clear their records and get a fresh start!,” Miller said.

Darity said he was the first in-person client for the student he met with, recalling them as “nervous,” but “confident.” Downey said he came away feeling more informed about his options and more hopeful about his future.

“We had a good conversation,” Downey said. “They really broke it down, what I needed to know as far as letting me know what I could pursue as far as my criminal record.”

1L Caroline Granitur said working in the clinic is in line with her professional aspirations of doing post-conviction pro bono work. “Having this hands-on opportunity to connect with a real person and complete real work to help them expunge past records has allowed my law school experience to go beyond the confines of the classroom and do good for the broader Durham community,” she said.

On hand to supervise students at the clinic were Duke Law Director of Pro Bono D.J. Dore; Jessica Luong T’04, DEAR Supervising Attorney and a former Mecklenburg County assistant public defender; Ali Nininger-Finch, DEAR Staff Attorney; and Rachel Smith ’18, LANC Staff Attorney. DEAR’s Jeremiah Brutus coordinated the clinic.

Dore pointed to the expunction clinic as both a hands-on learning opportunity for students and a chance for them to see how their work can impact a client’s life.

“The TROSA expunction clinic provides the perfect example of experiential learning through meaningful pro bono work because it requires our law students to use a wide range of legal skills, including statutory analysis and application, document drafting, and client counseling,” Dore said. “But what makes this clinic special is knowing how hard these residents have worked to overcome significant substance use disorders. All the clinic’s clients have completed at least 15 months in the program, and I witnessed a few emotional moments when a student was able to inform a client about significant expunction relief. Allowing our students to play a small part in the residents’ recovery is an extremely meaningful experience.”

Darity says he’s looking forward to making a new start with a new foundation. “The future looks bright,” he said, adding some words of encouragement for the students: “Believe in yourself.”

Read this article on Duke Law’s website.

Category: Media release

← Back to Healthcare Access

Raleigh, N.C. – The NC Navigator Consortium welcomes the start of Open Enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace® at HealthCare.gov with an updated website to help North Carolina residents get covered at NCNavigator.net. While Open Enrollment lasts until Jan. 15, 2023, the NC Navigator Consortium’s statewide network of health insurance Navigators work year-round to answer questions about health coverage, help consumers update their HealthCare.gov policies and enroll in new ones after qualifying life events. To that end, the upgraded NCNavigator.net makes it easier to connect consumers with the information they need, and access to the free, unbiased help finding quality, affordable coverage they have come to trust.

Open Enrollment for HealthCare.gov Marketplace coverage will not end until Jan. 15, 2023, but those who need coverage starting Jan. 1, 2023, will need to apply by Dec. 15, 2022. The NC Navigator Consortium’s federally qualified health insurance Navigators are available by free appointments (by phone, in person or virtually) to provide local help to consumers needing to apply for or update their Marketplace coverage. Appointments may be scheduled online by calling 1-855-733-3711 or online at NCNavigator.net.

Designed and developed by Kelso Communications and J.D. Ledford of 18 Stone Design, the new NCNavigator.net features FAQs and resources to educate consumers on the importance of health insurance, the difference between HealthCare.gov and Medicaid/CHIP and more. The site also features important updates such as next steps for Bright Health policyholders following the termination of their policies, and those who may be impacted by the end of the family glitch which makes it possible for families to purchase coverage other than employer-sponsored health insurance.

“The service we provide is even more critical now the family glitch has been fixed, making millions more eligible for coverage on the HealthCare.gov Marketplace,” said Mark Van Arnam, director of the NC Navigator Consortium, who added that coverage has never been more affordable. “Thanks to tax credits and subsidies made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, four out of five enrollees are getting covered for $10 or less.”

Taking time with them to help avoid mistakes
Showing all options, ensuring their providers are in-network
Explaining terminology and processes, increasing health insurance literacy
Assisting them with estimating their income for the year ahead, one of the most difficult parts of the HealthCare.gov application process

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The project described was supported by Funding Opportunity number NAVCA210405-02-00 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The contents provided are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HHS or any of its agencies.