Paralegal II

Justice•Wake County, NC

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The primary purpose of this Paralegal II position is to provide administrative support to the Director of Criminal Appeals in the assignment, coordination, and tracking of direct criminal appellate matters filed each year as well as other petitions and motions and filings, and to provide support and guidance to the attorneys and paralegals and staff throughout the Department as to criminal appellate matters. The position requires the management of databases that track all criminal appeals in the Department in all stages from the filing of the Record on Appeal, through the Court of Appeals, to the Supreme Court of North Carolina, and to the United States Supreme Court. The position is the essential point of contact on criminal matters between the Department and outside entities and institutions including the following: the Clerks of the Court of Appeals of North Carolina and Supreme Court of North Carolina; the Offices of the elected District Attorneys throughout the state and the State’s Assistant District Attorneys; the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys and its personnel and staff; the Department of Public Safety and its Combined Records section; victims of crime who contact the Department; and other stakeholders and institutions involved in criminal appeals. The position is also the essential point of contact within the Department on matters affecting the Department’s support staff in their own duties with respect to criminal appeals and procedure. The position is responsible for drafting letters to the elected District Attorneys notifying them of and summarizing adverse opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The position also involves office manager responsibilities necessitated by the volume of appellate cases and the volume of interaction with and production of resource and training materials for attorneys and support staff throughout the Department, including maintenance of the Appellate Resources materials, templates, instructions, samples, and outlines. The paralegal will interact with a great number of people in managing the criminal appellate records and in assisting in the preparation of criminal briefs and responses to criminal petitions. Most of the work will be sedentary with a need for a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail. Some travel, including some occasional overnight stays are required. The Appellate and Post-Conviction Section represents the State in criminal matters after a defendant’s trial is completed. This includes: (1) direct appeals of criminal convictions in any of the judicial districts of the State before the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of North Carolina as well as state post-conviction petitions filed in the State Appellate Courts; (2) to research and prepare the State’s briefs and present oral argument in federal habeas corpus litigation in the federal district courts and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals; (3) the attorneys in the section handle the most difficult and complex criminal appeals and petitions, and therefore, because of their expertise, also serve as resources for all of the attorneys in the Department of Justice who handle occasional criminal appeals as part of their duties through the criminal brief rotation; (4) the section attorneys also represent the State of North Carolina in capital (death penalty) litigation, particularly at the state and federal post-conviction levels before the North Carolina Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of the United States, and the lower federal courts; (5) assist District Attorneys in all aspects of such state capital litigation, both at trial and in post-conviction proceedings; (6) act as liaison with Attorneys General and prosecutors on criminal law issues; (7) the section attorneys represent the State in non-capital state post-conviction petitions filed upon request of the District Attorneys and approval of the Criminal Bureau Chief; (8) the section also has the responsibility to defend against non-capital federal habeas corpus actions filed in federal courts by State prisoners seeking to overturn their North Carolina state court convictions, and thereby prevent expensive and time-consuming retrials or the premature release of criminals who cannot be retried.

Requirements

Graduation from an appropriately accredited institution for paralegal training and two years of experience as a paralegal; or Bachelor’s degree from an appropriately accredited institution and two years of substantive paralegal experience; or High school or General Education Development (GED) diploma and six years of paralegal experience performing delegated, substantive legal work; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Experience with Microsoft Excel or other database management software programs.

Responsibilities

Provide administrative support to the Director of Criminal Appeals in the assignment, coordination, and tracking of direct criminal appellate matters.
Manage databases that track all criminal appeals in the Department.
Serve as the essential point of contact on criminal matters between the Department and outside entities and institutions.
Serve as the essential point of contact within the Department on matters affecting support staff's duties with respect to criminal appeals and procedure.
Draft letters to elected District Attorneys notifying them of and summarizing adverse opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Perform office manager responsibilities related to appellate cases and production of resource and training materials.
Maintain Appellate Resources materials, templates, instructions, samples, and outlines.
Interact with a great number of people in managing criminal appellate records and assisting in the preparation of criminal briefs and responses to criminal petitions.
Represent the State in criminal matters after a defendant’s trial is completed, including direct appeals and state post-conviction petitions.
Research and prepare the State’s briefs and present oral argument in federal habeas corpus litigation.
Serve as resources for attorneys in the Department of Justice who handle occasional criminal appeals.
Represent the State of North Carolina in capital (death penalty) litigation.
Assist District Attorneys in all aspects of state capital litigation.
Act as liaison with Attorneys General and prosecutors on criminal law issues.
Represent the State in non-capital state post-conviction petitions.
Defend against non-capital federal habeas corpus actions filed in federal courts by State prisoners.